Isaiah 9:2-4,6-7
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Psalm 96 or 96:1-4,11-12
There are some here with us tonight, and across the nation, even around the world, for whom this will be their very first Christmas - or at least, the first one that will guide them for the rest of their lives. Tonight they will find, in a simple haystack, a silver needle.
On the head of that needle they will find an eye, and running through that eye they will find a golden thread. And somewhere in the golden thread in the eye of the needle in the middle of a haystack they will find their name written on a small gift wrapped in plain paper.
It was on such a Christmas Eve long ago I first saw the tiny needle. I was twelve and a half years old and had been chosen to play the part of Mary in the annual Nativity play in the small Moravian Church our family attended.
I wore a white robe and a pretty blue scarf on my head that draped down over my skinny shoulders. Some of the boys in my Sunday school class were dressed up as shepherds and wise men who arrived on cue from the back of the church as Joseph stood by my side.
A bundle, which we all knew was the infant Jesus, laid quietly on a mound of hay in a wooden manger, and all eyes watched in silence. I sat, head bowed, near the cradle, my eyes glued to the infant, afraid to move for fear I'd disturb the sacred moment that had been given me.
Down from the hillsides in the east, came the shepherds driving their flocks of sheep. Down the church aisles they came and knelt with respect and reverence before the newborn child. We beheld a glowing radiance as we listened, again, to the story of Jesus' birth.
That night no one called me clumsy, or "four eyes", or even just a dumb girl. They called me "Mary", the same name as the woman God chose long ago to carry His gift, the baby Jesus, to a world so much in need of love and hope.
I listened as an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and stood before the shepherds that night. I saw the glory of the Lord shine around them, but I was not terrified like them because I had already heard the angel say,
"Do not be afraid; for I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
Then the angel pointed to a bright star in the east and told them, "This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."
And then I saw there were many angels there, and they were praising God and singing, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those who he favors!"
Now the shepherds set out to find a particular newborn baby in a particular manger in a particular stable in a particular town called Bethlehem. Surely, it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack.
Some of you might recall a time when something very special, or something you have lost which you wish to find again, remains hidden far longer than you can bear; and there seem to be haystacks everywhere and not one of them holds your lost treasure, the one with your name wrapped in plain paper.
No shining star appears to guide you and, Hark! - No angels sing with good tidings, praising God and singing, "Glory to God in the highest heaven"; - and there is no peace on earth, not even in your little space. It seems there is no one who God favors - least of all You!
But the shepherds trusted the angel's words, "To you is born today a Savior." The great prophet, Isaiah, told of the promised coming of Jesus. "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light", he said, "those who lived in a land of deep darkness, on them light has shined."
"For a child has been born for us": - "and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
The shepherds knew, well, the ancient prophesy and their hope is born anew. Hark! The angels sang, "To you is born today a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord."
Together they went, they with their sheep that God left in their care. They followed that bright star to Bethlehem and not one sheep was lost on the way. The star stopped and shone down on the spot where the baby Jesus laid sleeping.
How easy it was to find the right haystack that night on the first Christmas Eve! It was the only haystack to be found and with the only silver needle with golden thread, and it wove 'round a small gift wrapped in plain clothing. On the golden thread the shepherds found their names, each written by the hand of God, each tied around a small gift, labeled with one small word, "HOPE".
That was the small package I found on Christmas Eve long ago when I was twelve and a half years old. It was the gift of "hope" - the gift that all too often has been laid aside, forgotten like a needle in a haystack somewhere, waiting for me to remember.
It is the gift of Hope that waits for each lonely child, that none should go to bed hungry and none should be without a bed. The hope that consoles each forsaken man or woman, and lifts every sick or crippled soul.
It is the gift of hope that comes to every prisoner, where Jesus sits waiting by his side. It's the hopeful gift of laughter, of smiles exchanged with strangers who pass it on again, and when we say "Merry Christmas", we mean it all year long.
It is the gift of Hope that waits on all the battlefields - waits expectantly to turn a "Christmas truce" into lasting peace.
It's the gift of Hope God sent us in a little child named Jesus - to teach us what a child can teach us best.
Hark! Christ, Our Savior is born!
Amen.