{"id":646417,"date":"2023-10-30T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T17:00:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-15T07:57:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T11:57:07","slug":"the-archangels-christmas-day-i-december-25-2023","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/the-archangels-christmas-day-i-december-25-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"The Archangels, Christmas Day (I) \u2013 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-yellow-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-yellow-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm?e=DFMS7190732124&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-yellow-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-yellow-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/lectionary\/christmas-day-i\/\">[RCL] Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14(15-20)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/CD-2023-Cover-FB-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-296428\" style=\"width:512px;height:undefinedpx\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The archangel Gabriel crouched low so he could see clearly when enough shepherds had assembled for the great announcement to be made. He was looking through a tiny hole in the firmament, smaller than a pinprick. The light emitted by Gabriel and the angelic choir behind him, although equal in human terms to a supernova, through the pinhole would have looked just like a star, at least until what Gabriel was calling \u201cthe great glad tidings.\u201d When the time was right, the angelic host would tone down their luminescence to a level tolerable to humans, go through the opening, and announce their good news to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabriel had been waiting nine months for this moment, ever since he had gone to visit Mary, the one chosen by God to be part of God\u2019s plan to dwell among humans as one of them. Gabriel remembered with a smile the moment Mary had said yes to God\u2019s plan: \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord,\u201d said the girl. \u201cLet it be with me according to your word.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There was great rejoicing in heaven that day, although some of the angels thought God was taking a great risk in becoming a human. God had explained the plan, and, of course in their obedience, the angels had supported it, but they were awestruck when God had shared the details. God was going to entrust God\u2019s very self into the care of humans, and even more, God was going to begin this plan, what God called \u201cthe Incarnation,\u201d or the taking on of human flesh, in the very same way that humans do, that is, as a baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabriel loved babies. He thought the sound babies make, especially when they laugh, was the sweetest sound in the entire universe. And he should know, he thought. He had heard other beautiful sounds: the flutter of a myriad monarch butterfly wings as they take off <em>en masse<\/em>, whale song, the hiss of a red giant star. But a baby\u2019s first laugh was the very best sound of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabriel also knew too well the sorrowful sound of a baby uncomforted\u2014he had heard plenty of guardian angels\u2019 reports to know that being a human baby was tough. Even though loving parents tried their best, babies are vulnerable, and although God never wanted any of God\u2019s creatures to suffer, allowing free choice in the world meant danger and sorrow, especially for the smallest and weakest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, when God announced the plan to become incarnate, live with people and as one of them, and to begin it all as a baby, Gabriel found himself with the other archangels first a little dumbstruck and then offering their specific archangelic assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will protect you,\u201d said Michael, the Protector. \u201cWith my flaming sword, I will prevent anyone from harming you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo,\u201d God said, \u201cI will go without your special protection. I will get hurt. All humans do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThen,\u201d said Raphael, the Healer, \u201cI will tend to you and restore you instantly to health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo,\u201d God said, \u201cI will be wounded and bruised. All humans are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Michael and Raphael nodded silently, obedient. Gabriel wondered if, at the Almighty One\u2019s words, the other archangels were also thinking back to the day God had first made humans, way back when. They were the pinnacle of God\u2019s creation and the Almighty One beamed with delight when, just before God placed them in the garden God had made for them, God showed them first to all the angels. The man and the woman appeared to be sleeping. God hadn\u2019t opened their eyes yet so they would be protected from the glow of the heavenly court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBehold,\u201d said God, \u201cHumans. The only creature made in my image. Bow down before them in honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All the angels retracted their luminescent wings and bowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Except one. Gabriel heard the slight thrumming of one angel\u2019s still-outstretched wings and a throaty humph of protest. Gabriel couldn\u2019t believe it, and peeked up to see who among them would rebel, who among them did not understand the love they were privileged to behold between Creator and creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was Lucifer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBow down,\u201d said God. \u201cMy love for them does not diminish my love for you. I love everything I have made. But you,\u201d God said, and motioned to all the angels, \u201cwere made to serve me and my creation. Honor them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will never honor them.\u201d Lucifer hissed. \u201cI will make it my purpose to destroy them.\u201d Lucifer\u2019s eyes flashed and he vanished from the heavenly court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The remaining angels were stunned. What would God do? Cancel creation? Destroy all the wonderful, exquisite things God in love had created?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The angels watched in silence as God blessed the humans, placed them in the garden, and said to them, \u201cLove me. Love one another. And trust that I will never stop loving you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God had kept God\u2019s promise, never giving up, always loving and calling humans to love themselves, their neighbors, their God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now here they were, generations later, as God\u2019s love was taking a new form, God\u2019s plan, a new step\u2014a magnificent, risky, wondrous step. God among humans as a baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s the only way,\u201d said God. \u201cI need people to understand, to know how much I love them. To know that I understand them. That I\u2019m willing to go through anything and everything because of love for them. And I will show them what true love looks like, the joy and freedom that comes from true love. And I will start as a baby so they will know there is no part of their lives love cannot touch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabriel thought for a moment, then spoke, \u201cBut how will people know about your plan? Don\u2019t they need to know that\u2019s what you\u2019re doing, so they don\u2019t miss it? Babies are so small, so easy to overlook.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYes,\u201d God said. \u201cThey need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThen, O Great One,\u201d Gabriel said, \u201cLet me announce your plan to all the powerful, those whose words people listen to and obey. I will alert the kings and the princes, the rulers and the magistrates, the scholars and the sages&#8230;\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">God interrupted him. As the highest ranking of all the herald angels, Gabriel could go on a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou know, Gabriel,\u201d said God, \u201cThat\u2019s not how I usually work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabriel was quiet. He knew. God had this thing for going to the poor, the lowly, the people on the edges. Why, even the girl God had chosen for this plan, Mary, was not of noble birth, far from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo,\u201d said God. \u201cThe first people to whom you\u2019re going to announce the good news of the baby\u2019s birth are some shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks outside the town of Bethlehem of Judea. Tell them this: \u201cTo you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ah, thought Gabriel. Brilliant. God, who was from the beginning, the source of light and life, the life of all people, becoming flesh and dwelling among them. This baby will show them that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness will never, ever, ever overcome the light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gabriel gave one more check through the pinhole in the firmament. The shepherds had gathered. It was time to go tell the good news of the savior\u2019s birth, and hope that the shepherds and all faithful people through the ages would choose God\u2019s love and light, seen first and most fully in this tiny child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>Dr. Amy Richter.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-7d7e80aa-9b4b-4d0a-9a63-cb9d3eeb359e\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Sermon-Christmas-Day-English.docx\">Word \u2013 Christmas Day Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Sermon-Christmas-Day-English.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-7d7e80aa-9b4b-4d0a-9a63-cb9d3eeb359e\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-3d85841b-84bb-4fe3-b1dd-f6d02b6b6db0\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Sermon-Christmas-Day-English.pdf\">PDF \u2013 Christmas Day Sermon<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Sermon-Christmas-Day-English.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-3d85841b-84bb-4fe3-b1dd-f6d02b6b6db0\">Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL] Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14(15-20) The archangel Gabriel crouched low so he could see clearly when enough shepherds had assembled for the great announcement to be made. He was looking through a tiny hole in the firmament, smaller than a pinprick. The light emitted by Gabriel and the angelic choir behind&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16,43,52,3],"tags":[157],"class_list":["post-646417","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-christmas-day-i"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":16,"label":"Christmas"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":157,"label":"Christmas Day I"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/646417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/646417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3473299,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/646417\/revisions\/3473299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}