A sermon preached by the Rev’d Dr Daniel Dries
Christmas
Christ Church St Laurence – 24 & 25 December 2015
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight: O Lord, our strength
and our Redeemer. Amen.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
On the 13th of November this year, one of the world’s most beautiful cities was held captive by a
few deranged people claiming to act in the name of their God. The following day, the Premier of
the State of New South Wales, the Honourable Mike Baird, posted a brief but powerful message on
his Facebook Page. A photograph of the Sydney Opera House, with red, white and blue sails was
accompanied by this most defiant statement from the First Chapter of St John’s Gospel: The Light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This post generated almost 2,000 comments,
though not all of them were favourable. The Premier was criticised for mixing religion and politics.
He was condemned for focussing on one act of human aggression, while others seem to go
unnoticed. Other critics remarked that religion is the cause of so much violence in our world that it
should be abandoned entirely.
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The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The reality is that there are times when it seems that the forces of darkness have indeed overtaken
our world. John’s defiant statement can seem more like a vain hope than a reality. For the very first
readers of St John’s Gospel, a message of light shining in the darkness must have also seemed, at
best, like a completely futile aspiration. As they waited for their long-promised Messiah, the Jewish
people endured centuries of oppression, corruption and exile. Terrorism and barbaric acts of human
aggression exceeded anything we could imagine. John’s message of light overpowering the
darkness must have seemed far- fetched, particularly for those who were completely caught up in
the politics and power struggles of their society.
It often comes as a surprise, even to Christians, to discover that our Christmas tradition is pieced
together from three of the four Gospels. John the Evangelist speaks of the incarnation – the Word
becoming Flesh – in beautiful, yet mystical prose. Luke gives us the account of the shepherds
running to the manger to witness the light of Christ coming into the world, while only Matthew
gives us the dramatic account of the Magi or the Wise Men. As this is a very correct church, you’ll
notice that the Wise Men are nowhere to be seen. They will arrive for the Epiphany. After all, they
were 12 days late.
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Jokes abound about the benefits of having three wise women. They would have asked directions,
arrived on time, cleaned the stable, helped to deliver the baby and made a casserole. The truth is
that the Wise Men did not simply lack practicality and a sense of direction. They were caught up in
politics and power struggles. They were delayed in seeing the light of Christ because they were
distracted by the dark forces that have always been present in our world. It was only the shepherds,
the simple ones of little account in their own society, who were capable of gazing upon the Christ
Child without hindrance or interruption.
Above the altar of this church hangs a lamp that burns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It has been
burning now in this church for over 130 years. It reminds us that the Blessed Sacrament is reserved
here, and it constantly reminds us that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness will never
overcome it. As I enter the peace and stillness of this historic church day by day, I often find the
homeless of our city taking refuge here. I mean no disrespect when I say that our treasured homeless
brothers and sisters are the shepherds of this community; the ones who are often overlooked and
ignored. And they are the ones who so often claim the darkness of this place, gazing upon the light
of Christ, while the rich and powerful of our city are caught up and distracted by so many other
forces that dominate our world.
The media does us no favours as it dwells so much on misery, corruption and violence. The front
pages of our newspapers or news websites often suggest that the dark forces of our world have
indeed conquered the light. As wise men and women, we also become completely consumed by
stories of corruption, aggression and greed. Even the Christmas Eve edition of the Sydney Morning
Herald was dominated by stories of abuse, terrorism and Sydney’s ever-worsening transport crisis.
To balance things, there was an article suggesting that “Your dog needs to get online”, complete
with a photograph of Rosie the Boxer, who dreams of the day she’ll become fully connected to the
internet! The light may shine in the darkness, but sometimes it really is a great challenge to see it.
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On the 13th of November, the world media was understandably consumed by the latest senseless
act of violence, justified by a completed distorted expression of religion. What the media failed to
report is that while we were so focussed on acts of human aggression, a family sat around the bed
of a dying man at that Sacred Heart Hospice in Darlinghurst. As we were completely distracted by
barbaric acts of violence, a volunteer was offering words of encouragement to a refugee in a brutal
Australian detention centre. As we were completely focussed on one of the world’s centres of
culture and sophistication, a homeless woman was being given something to eat in the park across
the road.
You may wonder how I know these things were taking place. I know because they are always taking
place – these simple acts of love and grace. While the wise people of our world are so preoccupied
with power, corruption and domination, those of little account are being shown the light of Christ.
And as we are constantly overwhelmed by dark forces, that lamp and others like it continue to
remind anyone who stops to look that The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome
it.
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I wish you and all whom you love every blessing of this most holy season. I pray that you find the
time to be silent and still, and to bask again in eternal light of the Christ Child, the Prince of Peace.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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