Good morning, friends -
I hope you all had fantastic Christmases and are looking forward to 2016 right around the corner! On internship I was able to preach Christmas Eve at all three of our candlelight services - it was a beautiful afternoon and evening. Here's the sermon! :) The text was Luke 1:1-20.
Sisters and
Brothers, grace to you and peace from God our Creator and the Savior of the
World Jesus the Christ. Amen.
Let me begin by saying
that I absolutely love this story. The way that the Gospel of Luke records the
birth story of the Christ child is probably among my favorite passages of
Scripture. This account has so much to offer to us as hearers and listeners. We
begin by meeting people on the road who are traveling back to their cities of
origin to be registered and accounted for due to a decree from Emperor
Augustus. On the scene are indeed Mary and Joseph, who are going back from
Nazareth to Bethlehem. We have Mary, carrying the son of God, an impoverished
young woman with a common name, and Joseph, a carpenter. Neither of them have
much, and neither of them hail from the upper classes of Nazarene and Galilean
society. They make the 90-some-mile trip into Bethlehem and upon arrival, are
ultimately unable to find a place to stay – there are no relatives in town or
Jewish families with an open room or home – so they seek refuge elsewhere. The
story tells us in an inn. While there, during the time the couple was in
Bethlehem being registered, Mary gives birth to her first born son, wraps him
in bands of cloth, and lays him in an animal’s feeding trough.
When I read through the
text, the only thing I can think of is, “Wow. What a beginning.” What a totally
opposite experience from what was expected of the Savior of the world. The
Jewish culture at the time was expecting a savior king coming in splendor with
a mighty arm to save the world and redeem it to God’s reign. Someone that acted
like and resembled a Messiah; a leader for their cause. Instead, a baby is
born.
A baby is born to Mary, a
poor teenaged mother. A baby is born to a couple who cannot find a place to
stay, who seek refuge in an inn and lay their newborn in a manger. A baby is
born to Joseph, who questioned whether or not to leave Mary after finding out
she was with child. A baby was born in the darkness, in the still quiet of a
Bethlehem night. At this moment, as his cry pierced through the silence, the
world was all but turned over. God, who for thousands of years had been active
in human history and narrative through chosen and individual prophets, who set
the Spirit ablaze in called and claimed communities and cast judgments and
fulfilled promises, has now come down from heaven to earth – when we hear the
words, “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”, and “a little child shall
lead them”, it explicitly means Christ incarnate. In this baby, in the Christ
child, we have God drawing near to us – God chooses to dwell among us, be with
us, and be for us in the body and mission of Jesus Christ. The very magnitude
of this event cannot be kept silent, and it isn’t kept silent.
The second part of this
narrative continues – we look out beyond Mary and Joseph and travel to the
fields where the shepherds, who were akin in that culture to prostitutes, tax
collectors, and others as dirty and scummy and sinful, were watching their
flocks. Angels appear before them and the shepherds are terrified. Who are
these beings coming to speak with us? I can imagine them asking. The angels
tell them of the birth of the baby boy, and give the shepherds signs of what to
look for. The angels tell them that through this God is glorified and there
will be peace bestowed upon the earth.
It’s no coincidence that
the first people chosen to hear about this miraculous news are those on the
outskirts of society, those who are marginalized, and those on the fringe. We
have a baby born to take away the sins of the world, and the first to hear of
it are those who God chooses to dwell among. God, in this story, doesn’t come
to the rich and wealthy and powerful who were expecting a savior to be someone
else. God tells shepherds who are keeping their sheep on the hills that to them
this night a baby has been born for them who will be the cause of joy for all
people – and what better news is there than this? The shepherds go, the wise
men appear, and soon the world ‘round begins to hear of this miraculous event
that has taken place. The Christ child has been born, God has become flesh, and
the world is turned upside down. Here, we hear the story of a God who
deliberately chooses to be with those who are ultimately other – with those who
we so often regard as different or unworthy or bad. The same rings true today –
we hear and see of God moving for the marginalized and outcast. We as hearers
and listeners of this story now suddenly have a great responsibility. Because
God has come to dwell with all of humanity beginning with the birth of Christ,
we now need to go and proclaim it to the people who need to hear these words of
hope and promise. We need to proclaim this to people who have lost hope, who
doubt, who question, who wonder. How many of us in the pews tonight have had
seasons in our lives where we have been lonely, felt oppressed, lost hope, and
questioned the mystery of this faith we have been called to? I know I have!
This is why this story is
so important. This is the turning moment when God breaks in to human history in
the form of a little baby boy, who came to give faith and saving grace to you
and to me and to your neighbor. Like the shepherds, we cannot keep silent, we
cannot be still – we must go and see this for ourselves, and even today we have
the responsibility of bearing this word to the whole of the cosmos. We, as
participants in this community of faith where the ancient meets the future,
have been brought into the everlasting love of God and into the communion of
the saints in light. And to think – it all began with a baby boy born to the
least expected people.
Friends, go this night in
the hope, promise, and light of the Christ child. Many years ago, a newborn’s
cry first pierced the darkness, and as Mary and Joseph gazed over their child
God started doing something new for all people in all times and spaces. Go this
night, knowing that Christ is for us, with us, and among us. There is no better
news than this. Thanks be to God. Amen.
God's Peace -
Dean
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