Ichabod—A Christmas Eve Homily

Behold, God is with us. This is the great announcement of Christmas. God is with us.

And for centuries this announcement has echoed into the darkness of this world. It has reverberated off the rubble. It has bounced off the brokenness of our fallen landscape. Maybe this evening this ancient announcement lands on you. Maybe it falls like a thud on your broken heart.

In Norway they have very long winters. It is dark for many months. And one thing Norwegians do to escape from the dark, lonely, winter depression is something they call koselig. 

Koselig is a word that doesn’t translate well into English. It describes a feeling, a vibe, a warm coziness. Think of those warm patterned sweaters Norwegians wear. Think of candle light. Or the Edison bulb vibe that some of these old relics put off. Think of hot cups of coffee. But koselig also describes a relational nearness. Think of the rich conversations you’re about to have with friends and family over a warm cup of soup. koselig describes the escape from the dark loneliness of winter and into the warm embrace of relationship. 

The reason I bring this word up is because it is the dark isolation of their context that makes the warm light of relationships that much more beautiful. So much so that they have their own word for it.

In a similar way the beauty of Christmas is enhanced by the dark brokenness that surrounds us. The light of Christ glows in our darkness. The nearness of Christ warms our cold hearts. Immanuel—our true and better koselig. 

1000 years before the birth of Christ there was a brith of another child. The story is preserved in 1 Samuel 4. Here’s the context of this birth. This child was born in a time of war. The Hebrew people were in conflict with a people group called the Philistines. A fierce battle had just been fought, and the Hebrews were crushed in defeat. They lost nearly 30,000 men. And to throw insult on injury, they lost the ark of the covenant, which was the symbol that God was with them. Not only did they lose life. They lost their God. They were utterly defeated. 

It was on the heels of this battle that back at camp a woman gave birth. She had just received the news that there was a great slaughter, the ark was captured, and her husband had been killed in battle. Grief overwhelmed her like cold black water. All of this loss and heartache was too much for her to bear. It was while drowning in grief that she gave birth to a son. And despite the beauty of her child entering the world she did not even look at him. Not even a glance. She simply hung her head in defeat. All she did was give him the name Ichabod. Which means “the glory has departed.” 

“I can’t even look at you right now.” That’s one of the worst things a person can hear. It’s especially hard when a Father speaks this to a child, a husband to a wife. The lack of face to face intimacy leaves a person feeling forsaken, abandoned, alone. It’s too much for our hearts to bear. The turning of our faces from one another is the strongest hurt we can inflict. And the turning of the face of God is a curse. 

Ever since Adam and Eve separation has been the defining feature of humanities curse. Estranged from the Garden. Alienated from the tree of life. Sleeping in separate beds. Under the same roof and yet miles apart. Lack of intimacy. These are the contours of the curse. This is the brokenness of an Ichabod world. You and I are all born into this world as spiritual Ichabods. 

And yet there has been one who was not. There was one born with a different name. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” God with us. The glory has returned. 

Immanuel. This is the name of the child that has been born to draw the Ichabod’s. This is the child that was born to take away the sin that separates the Ichabods from the love of the Father. This is because God loves the Ichabods. To show you he sent his only Son to die on the cross and remove the cursed isolation we live under. On the cross Jesus became the Ichabod on our behalf so that all we would ever know is the steadfast attentive love of God. Because of Christ God will never hide his face from you. 

This announcement still rings out even now in the darkness of this old church. This announcement still echoes into your hearts 2000 years later. This message is for you. For all who are far off and broken hearted, Behold, your God is near. 

As the Psalmist said, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in Spirit. All you who are crushed, broken, lonely, worn out, and lost, hear the Gospel this Christmas. Christ has come to save you from your sin and bring you into the loving presence of God. Respond this night in faith. By faith alone, not by your effort, not by your striving, not by anything else, by faith alone God draws near to you. Behold, God is with you. 

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past. No matter how bad you think you’ve been. No matter your church attendance, your giving record, your report card. No matter what you’ve done or left undone in the past God is not hiding his face from you. Look at him. Behold your God has come near. By faith alone look to Christ. He is here. He has come to you to embrace you. There is no cold shoulder from God for those who are in Christ. 

It is in the presence of Christ that we find peace and rest for our weary souls. By faith in Christ you have peace with God. It is finished. Christ has done it. You and God are good. This is called reconciliation. The relationship is restored through faith. And not only that, through faith in Christ you are restored to one another. No matter how many nights you’ve spent on the couch, no matter how many nights spent alone and unhappy. No matter how many years have gone by, no matter how much pain and anger has been kneaded into the dough of your relationships, isolation and loneliness is not your destiny. This is because Christ has drawn near in love. And he has placed his spirit in you to make possible the drawing near to one another. What you could never do on your own Christ has done and will do. Behold, God is with you. 

And so this Christmas Eve, go in peace. Go in the peace only the Spirit of God can provide. And may your households be filled with the presence of Christ this Christmas. 

Amen.