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Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this blessed day of His birth.

Kind of like Easter morning, Christmas morning always makes you smile. It's so exciting to get up at the fresh new day. This morning, I was talking to my son in Iraq and asking him how his Christmas went because the sun was setting there at that time, and he was telling me about all the things that they do in the dining facility…we call them "chow halls"…to make the boys and girls, the men and women, feel like it's Christmas. There were ice sculptures, there were gingerbread houses that are made, and there are all kinds of food to eat, and all kinds of decorations. But he said, "You know what, dad? You walk outside, and it's still the same dust, it's still the same dirt, and I'm missing home." I said, "I understand."

It is the same feeling I felt when I was away from you all as well, but there is nothing better than to be together with you, my parish family and friends, here to celebrate the glory that has come among us, the Word made flesh to dwell among us. That is our hope, and that is our great faith. It was David who said, "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" And again, he said, "O Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwells." And it is here, His house, where we come. It's here we know He is present.

Remember in the Old Testament when the people of Israel were "tenting it" every night out there in the wilderness, having to get their own water and so forth? And there in the midst of them would be the Tabernacle, and whenever Moses was in there to speak with the Lord, the cloud overcame that area. And every morning when they needed to move, the cloud would be there to be God's presence to keep them trusting in the midst of all the fears, because when you're wandering for 40 years, there is a lot of grumbling that goes on, a lot of doubting that goes on.

It's a lot like your and my life here…moments of great triumph, seeing God work in miraculous ways before your very eyes, in your very life, and then at other times, it is a dull and boring existence. At other times, it's heartbreaking, questioning, "Why, Lord, did You allow those people to be sucked up by the earth and swallowed again? Why did You allow those people to be bit and die by the serpents?" And so on.

We can really relate to those people of Israel as they tabernacled throughout the wilderness for those 40 years. And then, finally they were brought to the Promised Land, wherein they built then a permanent fixture, the Temple, and there God's presence could be pointed out. Where it once traveled with them in that moveable tent known as the Tabernacle, now it dwelt there in Jerusalem in that glorious structure. So, if anyone wanted to know where God was at, He was there in that Temple.

Well, you know what happened to that Temple. In fact, now on the very stones upon which that Temple was built now rests the Dome of the Rock, one of the holy shrines of the false god Allah of the Islamic faith. Now where is God's presence? That is what we talked about on the phone. It's the same thing that brought me comfort and you comfort because there are times when people aren't with us.

This Christmas, many of us maybe are celebrating without someone we love whom we can call up on the phone and wish Merry Christmas, or who isn't gathered around our table to eat with us. Where are they? Well, they are the same place where you are at right now. They are in God's presence. They are gathered around His presence with all the angels and archangels and with all the host of heaven, and are singing praises to the birth of the One born for them and for you. It is that which binds us together as one…the eternality of the Church, which has no time span.

It is joined here in this place where God's glory does reign and rule, just as it has for millennia. It is not with a pillar of cloud, nor a pillar of fire, but it is here in this preached Word, and it is there at that supper that we will gather around to celebrate. And there, I commune with my son. There you commune with those who have preceded you in the faith. My father and those whom you love who have died already, and you have laid to rest, there you are joined together with them.

There is no separation for God's people. By faith, we believe and trust in that though our eyes and our emotions scream out a whole host of other things. That is what you and I cling to, and we shall not let go of such things, for these are the things of the faith that you have been given since you were a little girl and little boy.

Just like those people wandering in the wilderness who at times asked themselves questions about God's wisdom, God's plan, so we too in this wilderness journeying of ours ask the same questions and get the same answer. "I was glad when they said unto me, 'Let us go unto the house of the Lord.'" There we will find answers…if not understanding answers, at least answers upon which our faith can rest and suckle and be succored that we may grow and not be fearful.

We will be brought to the great Temple upon which the Lamb sits upon His throne, and all those who are His people will gather around. Until that day, we gather here as God's people, and we gather with those who are not with us geographically or temporally, and we are one here.

When John said the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, yes, he was referring to God's Incarnation, whose birth we celebrate today, but for you and I who did not live 2,000 years ago, it is for us that these same words apply. For the Word became flesh in Word and in sacrament and dwelt among His people, and we have beheld His glory, the glory of sinners being received again by the spotless One, the glory of people whose broken lives and dreams are bound up again here. This is where God's glory reigns and dwells.

In the world…the world looks at us and laughs, and let them laugh. Let them scoff. Let them bah humbug all that they desire and wish. Do not let them take that from you. That is that which you will close your eyes in, just as the ones whose presence we miss this year died in. We are one in that same faith, and we shall never be parted one from the other, just as Christ, the One who was present, through whom all things were made, through whom you were made by His great divine command shall never be parted as well.

Merry Christmas, dear brothers and sisters in Christ! Go in peace and in joy. You have heard and you will taste the flesh of our Lord Jesus, and behold His glory and the glory of your sins forgiven, and you will be unified again with those whose presence is not geographically or temporally with you. In His holy name, Amen.

He came to that which was His own, but He was not received, yet still through Him, God's glory shone, and some His name believed. To these He gave the right to be the heirs of heaven above, born not of human ancestry, but born of God in love.

Lord Jesus Christ, You deigned to dwell among us here on earth as God with us, Emmanuel, to bring this holy birth. Though rich, You willingly became one with our poverty that we might share Your wealth and name for all eternity.

The peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds on Christ Jesus, Amen.