Christmas Eve, 12/24/2012

Sermon on Luke 2:1-14, by Carl A. Voges

The Passage

"In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!'" [English Standard Version]

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people...to redeem us and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."

[Titus 2.11, 14]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

Coming into this holy evening, we may be worn out by the overfilled days that began to emerge in November. We may be ground down by the absorbed and incessant demands of this world's life. We may be dispirited by our many attempts to live the Lord's Life yet only in the ways we want!

But, coming into this holy evening, we are also rejuvenated, confident and energized! Since the overfilled days of the past two months, our Lord has been confronting the unholy trio of sin, Satan and death. Through the strong figures of the Advent season (Isaiah, the Baptizer, Mary), our Lord has been showing his people how his Life overwhelms the realities of the unholy trio and replaces them with THE reality of the Son's crucifixion and resurrection.

That's why it is calming to gather in the Lord's presence this night, worshiping the One who is slipping his Life into and alongside our lives. While our Lord's birth is not THE replacement of the world's life, it does mark its beginnings. There are significant numbers of people in the world who do not see the need for the Lord to pull them away from the world's life and give them another. Such people are quite sure they can manage the life into which they have been born. This is a startling attitude when we see the chaos in a country like Syria or when we confront the shootings of school children. The Lord God, however, knows we cannot manage our born lives on our own. He sees how the unholy trio, always stunningly attractive, hammers the world's people with a fierceness that always concludes in destructive behaviors and death. Thus the Lord God is determined to replace the world's life and he begins it with the birth of his Son.

This replacement is hardly noticed by the world's people, but it does grab the attention of those who have been baptized, those whose lives have been shattered and restored by the Lord God. As we turn into the Gospel for this night, it is striking how Luke has the world on his mind as he describes Jesus' birth. This comes out first in the setting for his birth.

The emperor of Rome, Augustus, has thrown the whole country into motion with the order to have all people register themselves in the places from which they have come.

What catches our attention about this is that Augustus, a powerful and skillful leader, is currently being hailed as the world's savior! He has brought peace to the entire Mediterranean world and is being thought of as a god! Luke, however, audaciously details how the real Savior of the world is beginning to make his way into it and the world has no idea this is occurring!

In the middle of this motion and turmoil, we see a barely known husband and a teen-aged, pregnant wife making their way to Bethlehem. Because of Mary's pregnancy, the journey is difficult and dangerous. They, along with all the other people (both the wealthy and the poor) are traveling in response to the government's order. So they come to Bethlehem and settle into a stable.

This raw setting, however, marks fulfilling of the Lord's promises over the centuries:

First, Bethlehem is the city of David, Israel's greatest king and the head of a family line from which the Messiah would eventually emerge. Second, the word, "Bethlehem," also means "House of Bread"; Jesus, who is "the Bread of Life," is being born into this house. Third, the bands of cloth wrapped around Jesus' body show the Lord's people (through Mary's actions) receiving and caring for the Messiah. Fourth, the manger (mentioned in Isaiah 1.3) shows the place where the Lord God is choosing to dwell with his people.

Luke's description of the setting for Jesus' birth assures the Lord's people today, whose lives are marked by difficulty and danger, that their Lord continually makes his way into such lives through the four holy places of his Baptism, Scriptures, Forgiveness and Eucharist.

Luke still has the world on his mind as he describes the Lord's announcement of Jesus' birth to the shepherds out in the fields. Biblical teachers suggest that these people were keepers of the sheep that were sacrificed in the Jerusalem temple (if so, Luke may be pointing to Jesus' crucifixion). It is night and they are doing their work when the Lord's appearance through an angel startles and terrifies them. This is somewhat surprising because shepherds are a hard and rough group! The Lord's angel calms them, telling them that this birth is the fulfilling of the Lord's promises to his people over the centuries. This angel is joined by others and they burst into a song (an eruption that has surfaced in the Liturgy as a hymn of praise, "Glory to God," for hundreds of years since the birth).

This birth announcement reminds the Lord's people today, that when their lives fill with terror and fear, he rolls in on them through his Scriptures and Sacraments, calming them and enabling them to see what is really going on. What is really going on in Luke's description of Jesus' birth is that the replacement of the world's life is beginning to get underway. THE replacement, however, will occur in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection some thirty-three years after this birth.

Our world is infatuated with replacements. They may involve rooms in homes or entire homes; they may involve vehicles or electronic products; they may involve portions of our lives and bodies. While they differ widely from each other, they do demand incredible amounts of commitment on our part to make sure the replacements work. Observing these replacements or participating in them, people cannot help but be struck by the phrase that is always blurted out when a replacement is completed - "O my god (omg)!" In a way, though, the phrase does make sense because it is reacting to the things (the gods) that are very important in this world's life. But the phrase is also tiring and of little account because these replacements, as good as they may look, are only temporary. There is no sense of permanence to the work that was put into them and the commitment that was required.

The Lord's baptized people, on other hand, are also infatuated with THE replacement!

With lives squeezed by the destructive and deadly realities of the unholy trio, they are grateful that the Lord God is slipping his Life into and alongside their own lives this night. They recognize that Jesus' birth is going to lead to his crucifixion and resurrection, events where THE replacement of the world's life took place. THE replacement requires commitment and work, too, as people struggle to remain faithful to the Life given them at Baptism. But the baptized plunge into that work and commitment because they know the Lord's replacement is permanent!

This sharp and transforming contrast with the world's life is seen very clearly tonight. When the baptized, uncertain of who they are because of the things pressing in on them, remember that they have been marked as the Lord's daughters and sons, they do not blurt out "O my god!;" they calmly exclaim "Glory to God!" When the baptized, confused by the things written in this culture, have the Lord's Holy Writings break into their lives, they do not blurt out "O my god!;" they powerfully exclaim "Glory to God!"

When the baptized, unhealthy because of the things being fed them by the culture, are able to eat the Lord's Food at his altar, they do not blurt out "O my god!;" they calmly exclaim "Glory to God!" When the baptized, dispirited by unreliable relationships, have them restored through the Lord's Forgiveness, they do not blurt out "O my god!;" they powerfully exclaim "Glory to God!"

Worn out, ground down and perhaps dispirited, but also rejuvenated, confident and energized, the Lord's people are gathering tonight to worship him because he is slipping his Life into and alongside their lives! The overfilled days of the past two months are now giving way to the fullness of Christmass' Twelve Days! Thanks be to the Lord God for his overwhelming and saving gift!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts

and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord.

Pr. Carl A. Voges
Columbia, SC
E-Mail: cavoges@bellsouth.net

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