Christmas: Noctilucent Light , Love and Joy
“Mommy! Help me! Come!” The little girl cried. Her mother, out of love, but perhaps with a sigh and with a nudge from her husband, got up, went to her room and turned on the light. At that moment, all of the monsters, wild animals and whatever other scary creature had crept into my dreams… vanished.
Perhaps you – or your children – have also suffered from bad dreams or even terrors of the night. Maybe you invested in a little night light to help you. I’m not sure why we never did. But one thing I do know… and that is that it only takes a little light – especially when offered with love -- to pierce the darkness.
Recently, I learned a new word for a night light: Noctilucent. Noctilucent literally means “lighting the night.” This word is used by astronomers to describe cloudlike ice crystals that are so high in the sky that the light of the sun continues to illuminate them even after the sun has set and the sky is dark. Noctilucent: lighting the night.1
On Christmas night, the shepherds were out in the fields, watching over their sheep – as they always did. Ordinary men, their job was to protect the sheep – the livelihood of their family. And so, they paid attention, listening to the world around them in case a thief or a predator or a storm would come up. They were poor –if they had money, they would have hired someone else to do this job. But they had drawn the short straw when it came to wealth, status and opportunities. Except on this night.
For on this night, suddenly an angel appeared and as they cowered in fear with knees knocking knees the angel said, “Do not be afraid. 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.” And then a multitude of the heavenly host, a noctilucent choir of angels, began singing, praising God for the birth of Jesus, God’s son, and lighting up the night.
The shepherds, with eyes and ears opened to something amazing and marvelous responded -- not with fear and trembling -- but with joy and wonder. The angels had given them the news, directions and a way to verify the identity of the savior: “This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” But then the angels left – not telling the shepherds what to do next.
However, they lost no time in going to check it out. Luke says they went “with haste” – so it sounds like they left their precious sheep – since no one can drive a herd of sheep in a hasty manner. And when they found Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus, their immediate response was to share with anyone who had ears to hear the Good News that the noctilucent choir of angels proclaimed to them: Jesus, the Messiah, was born.
This good news came to a people in a land that was occupied by foreign forces, and divided by ethnicity and class and wealth. Most of the people were poor – except for those who were working for or with the Roman Government. In a world like this, who would listen to a bunch of shepherds who said they heard a noctilucent choir of angels proclaim the Messiah’s birth?
And yet, God has a habit of using unexpected people to be his messengers. God chose Moses, a murderer and fugitive to lead his people out of slavery; God chose Rahab, a prostitute, and Ruth a Moabite, to be a part of genealogy of Jesus, and God chose ordinary shepherds to share the message of Christmas joy.
As Bishop Elizabeth Eaton in her Christmas message reminds us, “Joy is a sign of the reign of God…Perhaps that is why in the middle of the night, to terrified shepherds, outside of a small town, God chose to send the angels to announce the birth of Jesus. No distraction. No interference. Just the simple, deep, profound gift of true and lasting joy.”2
In December, the book club has a tradition of watching a movie of one of the books that we have read. This year, the movie was set in Paris and so we decided to have a French theme for our meal. One person, Sue, brought French-onion soup. Now I had tasted French Onion soup once before – and it was awful -- the cheese was rubbery and the soup bland and so I’ve always avoided it. But since this was the meal, I tasted it – and it was scrumptious. The cheese was phenomenal – and the soup broth was incredibly flavorful. It was delicious!
There were also a couple of kids there – and I wasn’t sure how they would like it. We had some chicken nuggets in the freezer so we heated those up for the kids. But it turned out that we didn’t need to do that. One of our youngest members, three-year-old Soren, wanted to try everything. And when he did, his reaction was delightful. He tried a small piece of cheese. “It’s my favorite” he declared. Then he tried some crackers: “It’s my favorite.” He tried a French cookie, “It’s my favorite, he exclaimed as he reached for another. And then he tried the French Onion Soup. I waited to see his reaction. Again, he declared “This is my favorite.” But he discovered that he was having a little trouble managing to keep the broth on the spoon. So, he turned to Mary, who he had just met and who he liked immediately – it didn’t hurt that Mary ws the one who made the cookies that were his favorite. He considered Mary to be his new friend, and since she was sitting next to him, he asked her to help him by feeding it to him. She did, and with her help, he ate the whole bowl.
“This is my favorite.” Apparently, Soren has never been told that he had to choose ONE thing to be the favorite – and so he assumed that everything and everyone could be his favorite. I hope Soren always believes that and he never learns to “exclude” things or people from being his favorite. Because it was wonderful to see how Soren, in his delight with new tastes and relationships brought joy and a smile not only to the face of his new friend Mary but to all of us. Soren’s joy in life and new experiences was contagious.
Like the shepherds, Soren is an unexpected messenger of Good News. Through his joyful and inclusive words and actions, Soren reminded me that our responses to the world around us matter – not only for us – but also for the people around us.
Of course, one could argue, Soren is a child. He has not yet had to deal with paying bills, losing loved ones, or any of the other challenges that face us in our daily and communal life. This is true. But it is also true, that we who have experienced life for a bit longer than Soren’s three years, and who have experienced challenges big and small have a choice on how we react to these challenges. We can respond with fear, anxiety, hatred or revenge. Or we can respond with faith in the one who created us and came to earth to save us, with wonder at the one who sent a noctilucent choir of angels to ordinary shepherds and with joy at the one who is Emmanuel, God with us.
Henri Nouwen writes, “It is important to become aware that at every moment of our life, we have an opportunity to choose joy. Life has many sides to it. There are always sorrowful and joyful sides to the reality we live. And so we always have a choice to live the moment as a cause for resentment or a cause for joy. It is in that choice that true freedom lies, and in that freedom is, in the final analysis, the freedom to love.”3
Brothers and sisters, friends in Christ, may you be open to hearing with awe and wonder the Good News of Jesus from noctilucent choirs, little children or from someone you least expect. May you be respond joy and gratitude and with compassion to each moment of your life and, may you be a bearer of the light and love of God to all you meet.
In the name of the Incarnate Christ, Jesus, the Word made Flesh. Amen.
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church + Christmas Eve + Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
1Susan Palo Cherwien, From Glory into Glory: Reflections for Worship, Morning Star publishers, page 344
2 ELCABishop Elizabeth Eaton, Christmas message 2024
3Henri Nouwen, Here and Now: Living in the spirit.”