Göttinger Predigten
Göttinger Predigten im Internet hg. von U. Nembach
Christmas Eve , 12/24/2016
Sermon on Lukas :, by Evan McClanahan
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the land,
Preparations were made for the season at hand.
It was the time of year to proclaim the good birth,
Of the beginning of our Lord’s life here on earth.
Now many hear this tale because of tradition;
They always enjoy the Christmas rendition!
It’s the right thing to do on December twenty-four,
To hear and delight in this most ancient lore.
But more than mere sentiment and memories,
More than the season’s joy and revelry,
More than a comforting and familiar fable,
Is the story of Christ and his birth in a stable.
For Christ’s coming was long since foretold,
And he came as one meek and as one bold.
He came to call sinners to their account,
He came so that no man would have any doubt.
But his story does not begin the night the star shone,
It begins with a man, in a garden, alone.
Adam would soon get a wife; her name was Eve.
They had all they needed, but they did not believe.
They disobeyed God; they ate and they fell.
The world was now under Sin’s cruel spell.
Their children bore fruit of this disease
When Cain killed Abel with the greatest of ease.
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse,
God sent a flood to remove the curse.
But sin remained in the fabric of man,
So God began to hatch a new plan.
A covenant was given of priceless worth,
To Abram, whose children would inherit the earth;
Then to Moses who would see the promised land
The tribes would win with the help of God’s hand.
To these people only had God been revealed,
His Law and his Word had become unsealed.
Through priests and kings, judges and prophets,
God could be known by all who sought him.
But God’s last covenant was offered by Christ,
His body and blood would be the price.
And it all began when Joseph and Mary
Learned that, though a virgin, a baby she’d carry.
Acting in faith and obedience to Gabriel,
Mary received with hope the word of the angel.
Joseph stood by her defending her honor,
He obeyed God and was the babe’s father.
The birth did take place in a dingy den,
It was all there was with no room at the inn.
Still, the star shone and the shepherds rejoiced.
With “Glorias” the heavenly host gave voice.
The Magi followed the star and brought their gifts,
Of gold, myrrh and Frankincense.
This probably was used by the Holy Family,
Traveling to Egypt to dwell in safety.
Upon their return to their Galilean town,
Jesus grew wise and strong and profound.
At the age of thirty he was baptized by John,
He began his ministry as God’s own Son.
He gathered some men to follow him round,
Fisherman and commoners, from both country and town.
He healed the sick and performed many signs
To show he really was the Lord Most High.
The dead were raised and the lame did walk.
The blind could see and the mute could talk.
No one doubted he performed these signs.
But some did think they were the devil’s designs.
Jesus taught his disciples to turn both cheeks,
That among the blessed, that would include the meek.
With parables and stories, he confounded his hearers,
For only in faith could their meaning be clearer.
His teaching was clearly that of one wise,
Some of his enemies opened their eyes,
To see he was more than just a teacher;
He was God’s very own Kingdom preacher.
Jesus sought the broken and lost, sinners and all,
For only they would respond to his call.
The self-righteous and proud, they needed no savior,
As they clung to their pride and their good behavior.
But enemies he had, and had them aplenty.
He offended many with his Jerusalem entry.
They never believed he could be God’s Son,
So they crucified him and were sure they had won.
On the cross he hung on that Good Friday,
This was the cost for sin he had to pay.
It was cruel torture for an innocent man,
But this was God’s work and his unfolding plan.
At noon, the stars that shined at his birth,
Were covered by darkness surrounding the earth.
At three the creation mourned the death of its maker,
As Jesus hung dead, a savior forsaken.
Mary, who carried Jesus in her own womb,
Watched as he was carried to his stone tomb.
All seemed lost, all the good he had done.
All the hopes he had stirred, the victories won.
But on the morn of the blessed 8th day,
Jesus was risen from what was his grave.
He appeared to the twelve and later five hundred.
On the road to Emmaus he broke bread among them.
The disciples saw signs of his tragic death,
Of nails and spear, of his last breath.
Even Thomas would see, so he would not doubt,
What the resurrection of Jesus for the world had wrought.
Just as the disciples came to know their Lord risen,
They forty days later saw him ascended.
Now sitting at the right hand of the Father in glory,
His second coming will be the end of this story.
For those who believe and call Jesus their Lord,
We love this man Jesus, the glorious Word.
We live as people forgiven and free,
We live as the people God made us to be.
In Christ, we find that there is no reason,
To be without hope this Christmas season.
For God became known in flesh, in history,
God revealed himself through this mystery.
It is a joy to know you are forgiven,
To hold to the promise of life in heaven.
It is a joy to live life as one known,
By God as his child, as one of his own.
But all this began on that first Christmas morn,
When God conceived was now finally born.
It happened in the most humble of ways,
With a stable-born baby, the Ancient of Days.
It is worth celebrating, this time of great joy,
Give gifts in memory of the birth of this boy!
Offer prayers of thanksgiving and tell the story again,
Tomorrow morning when the day begins.
What else can we say about this God become man,
First appearing in the town of Bethlehem?
Worthy of praise and honor is he,
Worthy of this feast of victory.