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Christmas day, 12/25/2008
Sermon on Luke 2:1-20, by Jennifer Gold
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. NRSV
* Sermon note, I will be using live actors for each character below who will enter as I talk about them - a way to make the Christmas story come alive.
ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS . . .
Once upon a Christmas far away in Bethlehem the shepherds are watching their sheep. The people in the villages and towns of Israel sleep off the weariness of another long, hard day. In Jerusalem, the High Priest and the other men of religious power sleep as though it was any other night. King Herod has no idea that his kingdom is being invaded, and that a new King is about to be revealed. Once upon a Christmas - that first Christmas night, the world sleeps not knowing that God was being born into their very midst.
Let's travel back to that holy night when Christ was born. Let's ponder that night once again and listen to how the story of Christmas comes alive.
"Once upon a Christmas . . ."
Joseph
Joseph is getting ready. Joseph is the forgotten figure of Christmas. He is the lone silent member of that first Christmas cast and often forgotten. Oddly enough only Joseph has no speaking part. Angels bring heavenly greetings. Mary sings the Magnificat. Wise men worship. Shepherds preach. But Joseph - he is silent. No notable lines are attributed to him. No famous quotes, only silence. However, while Joseph is the forgotten figure of Christmas, his importance cannot be overstated. Through Joseph, God protected the unborn life of Jesus, and we have something to learn from him.
Nine months before that first Christmas night, all Joseph wanted was a wife - he was in love with Mary - engaged to be married to her - he was committed to her, and he believed that Mary loved him too, until the news that his precious bride to be was pregnant.
Heart-broken and betrayed, how should he respond - how would you? Should he publicly shame her and divorce her? Should he hand her over to a public stoning? He had every right to have her put to death in that culture because he was not the father of the child she was carrying.
Out of hurt and out of anger, instead of murder, he chose mercy. He could have demanded justice and revenge, but he chose mercy and grace.
It is the righteous mercy of Joseph, which preserves the life of Mary and preserves the unborn Christ. This merciful carpenter would raise a merciful Savior - the very Savior who extends mercy to us!
Mary and Joseph
Now before all of this, Mary and Joseph were just living their lives trying to be responsible people within their culture, religion, and time. They didn't want to start a revolution. Joseph just wanted a wife. Mary just wanted a good husband. And then the angel appeared. The angel appeared to Mary, spoke to her about God's plan, and how could she respond but by saying, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." The plan was set in motion, and from that moment on, Mary and Joseph became powerless. They were powerless over what was coming. They were powerless over cultural norms and rules. They were powerless over what others would say and think. They were powerless in stopping what had begun. And in humility, they were willing to allow God's plan to work in their lives.
So we learn from this story as it comes alive for us that God moves in our lives and the unexpected can and does happen. And really, we're powerless in all of it. God has things for us in our lives that are part of his plan and that will only unfold in God's time (not ours). Humility allows us to be open to God's movement in and through our lives.
Mary
Mary. What a remarkable young woman she must have been. "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!" With those words from the angel, a young girl found her life changed, and with her life, our lives as well.
Imagine what was going on in her mind when told that she would be made pregnant - not by her husband, but through a miracle which came directly from God.
Mary, without being asked and without being given a choice really, was told that she would be a mother and would bear a son who would be called Jesus, Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-32).
Only a mother can look at Mary and say, "I know what its like," but do we really? Most mothers know what it is like to be late in pregnancy and need to take a long journey - but not riding in a car, rather on a donkey. Mothers know about heartburn and swelling, sleepless night, and tiny hands and feet kicking from inside out. And mothers can look at Mary, who lay down in a smelly, dirty stable, and imagine what it was like for her when it came time to give birth. But there was no sterile environment, no fetal monitors, no reassuring nurses and doctors, no hospital bed, no epidural. Just her silent husband Joseph and a few filthy farm animals were there to give her comfort when Jesus was delivered. Mary was a real woman who had real pain in childbirth, and who had felt her son grow inside her for 9 months just like us. But more than just being a delivery vessel for Jesus, she was something else - she was a delivery vessel for the world. And she would be Jesus' mother.
Mother - that's what Jesus would call Mary. And this mother named Mary was given a burden greater than any burden which has ever been given to any mother of all time.
Can any mother here tonight imagine what must have been on Mary's mind when it says that "Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart?"
No matter how hard we try to avoid it or cover it up with brightly colored bows on packages, lights on trees and candy canes, we face the reality that the birth of Jesus once upon a Christmas 2,000 years ago was a bittersweet moment for a mother named Mary.
The significance of Christmas is that it points to Good Friday - beyond that to Easter. There was a cross in the manger, and behind the cross, an empty tomb, and the promise of eternal life for sinners like Mary and Joseph - like you and me.
How a mother looked down on her Son - a Son like no other - the very Son of God - and she saw in his sweet little face the Redeemer of all humankind. A Redeemer who was given birth on this earth only to die for the salvation of the world!
Jesus
Jesus - the angels announce to the shepherds "To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord" (Luke 2:11).
This baby is "Savior," "Messiah," and "Lord"- three names that reveal the identity and ministry of the baby born once upon a Christmas 2,000 years ago.
He is called "Savior" because he came to "save His people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).
This baby came into this world to lay down his life on a cross so that we might be saved from our sin. He was born to die so that we can be born again.
He is called "Messiah" - the name that identifies this baby as the long -awaited Messiah - the One who will fulfill all the Old Testament prophecies. He is "the anointed one" - the King who came not to conquer the nations as they expected, but the King who came to conqueror death for us and to bring us life now and life everlasting.
And He is "Lord" - the name that portrays Him as the One in control. He is the Savior but also the Sovereign. He is the Lord of the Earth and he wants to be Lord of our lives, if only we'll let him!
This special baby, God in flesh, the Savior, the Messiah, our Lord and King, was not born in a palace and placed in a golden crib, but he was born in a barn and layed in a manger - a place where animals were fed. He was not wrapped in velvet like a royal king; he was wrapped in rags like a common person would be.
Once upon a Christmas, there was Joseph, Mary and Jesus. Everything was just as God planned it to be. Jesus came in the way that he did so that he might identify with us. He came as he did so that we might identify with him. Wouldn't you agree that it's much easier to approach a baby in a manger than a King on a throne?!
That is what Jesus does! Every person who meets him comes away changed. He takes our imperfect lives and makes them new. The birth of Christ is meaningless unless we believe that he is laid in the manger of our very own imperfect hearts - our very own imperfect lives. He is a life-changing Lord!
The Shepherds
The Shepherds can testify to that! After the shepherds heard the angel, they left their flocks and went with haste to see what the Lord had made known to them, and what they found was Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger (Luke 2:16). And their lives were never the same for it.
They told others what had been made known to them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them! The shepherds were the first evangelists - the first witnesses! They may have heard and seen the Good News first, but they would not be the last! When those shepherds met Jesus, their lives were changed and they were no longer the same. What they had seen transformed those shepherds into shouting missionaries for the Glory of God, and they went right out and told others, who told others, who told others, who told others until one day someone told you and me. That is how the Good News is spread! What they saw, they saw with eyes of faith. And like the shepherds, when we see God's Son - Jesus - with eyes of faith, we too cannot be silent. There was no more "silent night" once the shepherds visited the manger! Then how can we be silent now for we are the shepherds today!
Once Upon a Christmas . . .
What began there at Bethlehem once upon a Christmas 2,000 years ago has never ended. And it never will! The baby born in Bethlehem all those years ago changed the world! His birth, his life, his message, his death, and his resurrection are still changing the world today!
Once upon a Christmas - what changed the world will change you too! Amen.