Many thanks to Matthew for preparing our wonderful time of worship in anticipation of Christmas.  It was a special time to be together with our faith family.

Some of you may recall that on July 20th, we took some time to remember the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.  But, before Apollo 11, as Christmas approached in 1968, there was the almost equally historic mission of Apollo 8.  The astronauts on this mission were the first humans to break free from Earth's gravity, the first to travel at speeds in excess of 24,000 MPH, and the first to orbit the Moon.

 In some ways, perhaps, the three Apollo 8 astronauts may have been happy to escape the bonds of Earth, if only for a few days, at the end of 1968.  It had been a year of tumult, a year of tragedy, a year of tears.  Here are some of the pictures that told the story of that year.  Some of you remember each of these sad pictures:

But, when the Apollo 8 spacecraft entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968, something wonderful happened.  The crew became the first humans to witness this:

The American people, worn and weary with the pain of a tragic year, became enamored with this photo.  At a time when other photographs had left scars on The National Conscience - "Earthrise" was soothing.  Anders himself said, "We set out to explore the Moon, and instead discovered the Earth."  

 The Apollo 8 astronauts ended their Christmas Eve by reading the first 10 verses of Genesis One aloud to the World.  The Commander, Frank Borman, ended the broadcast with these words: "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with - good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and may God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

Much has happened in the 51 years since that famous night, and much of it has been terrible.  Neither the beautiful words from space, nor the beautiful photograph of Earth could fully heal the wounds of that time, or the wounds that have come since then.  In some ways, we are as worn and weary as the people of 1968.  Where is the God and His blessings invoked by the Apollo 8 crew on Christmas Eve, 1968?  Is there any hope?

"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which means 'God with us'." - Matthew 1:23 

 This really happened!  Our hope lies in the gift of Christmas, in the strange and wonderful truth that, because of Love, God became one of us and lived with us.  This is our hope.  This is the hope of the World.  My prayer is that the hope and love that comes with Christmas will fill our hearts this week, and all through the year.     

"Merry Christmas, and may God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth!"

~Shepherd Ambrose Ramsey