“Behold” 
Rev. Drew Colby
Christmas Eve 2024

We use a modern scholarly translation for scripture readings here because one of your pastors is a nerd and a Bible snob. And the translation we just heard it works! But there is this one word which I wish hadn’t been changed from the old King James. It’s in the line that Luke gives to the angel, “Do not be afraid,” the angels says, “For ‘see’–I am bringing you good news.” 

That’s nice, but in the King James it’s “Behold!” 

“Behold! I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people: for unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 

When I was in High School (around the turn of the century) we were the Henrico High School Warriors and our colors were green and gold. We had this corny principal who used to walk up and down the hallways bellowing “Behold! The Green and Gold!” But other than that rather cringey example, “Behold” is not a word I remember hearing very much. 

In Spanish, I guess it would be “Mira! Mira! Look! Look!” I like that better, but translating it as “See”? That just doesn’t quite do it for me. Beholding is more than seeing. Beholding is what our  preschoolers ask me to do when they show me some work of art they’ve made, or some potion they’ve concocted on the playscape, saying “Look at what I made!” 

“Behold!” 

Look, If you’ve made it here tonight I have good news and bad news for you. The bad news is, if there’s something on your list which you haven’t gotten done by now, it’s probably not going to happen this Christmas. The good news is, hey! If you haven’t gotten it done by now, it’s probably just not going to happen this Christmas! It’s quittin time! What’s done is done! 

Tomorrow morning is gonna be what it’s gonna be! 

By now, your family has all gathered, or they haven’t.
You’re all together and enjoying each other’s company, or you aren’t. 
The gifts are all purchased, wrapped, and arranged under the tree, or they’re not. 

Now I know there may be a couple last minute things to do. I work on Christmas Eve which means some of those last minute things happen after midnight when the kids are all asleep (or they aren’t). But whether it’s right now, or in a matter of hours, once what’s done is done, there’s not much else to do…. except… to behold. 

There is this moment on most Christmas Eves at our house, when what’s done is done, but before my wife and I turn in for the night. That’s when I catch my wife sitting still (perhaps for the first time since dessert on Thanksgiving Day). I catch her there, out of the corner of my eye, sitting on the couch, sipping a mug of warm milk which looks suspiciously like red wine, with not a light on in the house except for the lights on the Christmas tree. She’s sitting there, just taking it all in. 

She’s beholding. 
That’s what this word means to me. 
Beholding. 
Taking a moment to just behold it all. 

Tomorrow or over the next 12 days or so, if you’re lucky enough to spend some time around children of any age, again, if you’re lucky, you might catch them sitting unawares in some corner of the place, cradling in their hands that one Christmas present that has captured their heart this year beyond all the rest. A trinket. A stuffy. A nintendo switch. 

They’ll be holding it in their hands and not necessarily smiling.
Just taking it in, seriously. 
They are beholding. 
This is what the angels ask of us this night.
This is all that God requires of us this night. 
Behold. Look at what I made for you. 

Behold, for you is born this day a savior who is Christ the Lord. 

It’s easier said than done, I’m afraid. Amid the hurry and stress of the season, while we’re wearing some of our nicest yet least comfortable clothes, with the roast in the oven, or the daunting menu on the morrow, it’s tough to behold because beholding requires some stillness. 

Stillness is hard, and not just for children. Stillness requires willful in-action, and if there’s one thing our world wants from us, it’s that we stay constantly active. “Don’t just stand there, do something!” they say. But to behold, in stillness, that means “Don’t just do something. Stand there. Sit there.” 

Behold. 

But it’s not even just stillness that is required. It’s silence too. 

Silence can be even harder because silence can actually get quite loud! In stillness and silence the discordant choir of voices in our head starts to pipe up, loudly, louder even than the angel chorus it seams. 

And who are these voices? 

Well, there’s the voice that’s wondering about the roast in the oven, and the one that’s saying “My God these pants are itchy.” But the other voices come from somewhere deeper. They wait for the stillness and only really speak up in silence. 

One of them is worrying about your most difficult or troubled family members. 
“Where are they tonight?” 
“Are they okay?” 

Another speaks from the empty chair of those that have died. 
“I miss them, don’t you?”
“I wonder if they’re proud of me.” 

Another is the voice of the skeptic in the back, of course, saying 
“This is dumb. Who could actually believe this stuff? Why is this dude still talking?” 

When beholding, the stillness and silence is, at first, anything but. The voices and distractions, doubts and anxieties, demands and diagnoses, secrets and insecurities, they all conspire, it seems, to steal our stillness and disturb our silence. 

Okay. Yes. All of this is true. 
And so…
Let us greet them all
Every last voice.
Every last distraction. 
Let us greet them all as guests, friends,
Every one of them,
And let’s invite them to join us,
Invite them to go with us
To the manger. 
They won’t mind. It’s not all that still nor silent there either!

Mary is dripping sweat, feeling a mix of joy and terror. For Joseph it’s mostly terror. The ox and ass are mooing and lowing, not so sure about their new roommate laying in their feeding trough. The shepherds stink, and they lack decorum, elbowing one another closer and closer to the baby. And somewhere not too far away Herod is plotting about how to squash this newborn competition into oblivion. 

It is not a still or silent world which Christ enters. 
It’s not even safe. 

Nevertheless, the angel says, “Behold” 
“Behold. For you…
For all of you.”

“Behold. For you is born this day
A Savior.”

This is our task this night. 
Let’s try it, shall we? 

Behold. 
Behold this gift. 
Born a poor child, and yet a king
But unlike any other king you’ve ever known. 

A baby boy, and yet a God.
Your God. 
The God of Life
The God of your life
Placed in your hands. 

The mystical made material
The infinite made finite

At once your mirror 
And your maker 
Your teacher
And your healer

The incomprehensible
Come to be comprehended by you

The inapprehensible
Willing to be apprehended for you

Born, in the flesh, to live, to die. 
Dying to give you life. 

Be still.
Be silent.
Behold.
For he comes this night in order to be held. 
In your hands
In your heart 

The angel says,
“Do not be afraid. For behold: I bring you good news of great joy for all people. Unto you is born this day, a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 

Thanks be to God