May Almighty God, who sent his Son to take our
nature upon him, bless you in this holy season, scatter the darkness of sin,
and brighten your heart with the light of his holiness. Amen.
My
first word to you this most holy night is “welcome.” There is something special
about Christmas Eve. By the time we are usually crawling into bed, the magic of
this night beckons us to put on our Sunday best and come to sing glad hymns of
the Messiah’s birth. And I am so incredibly thankful that each of you are here
this evening. Welcome to all of you.
To those of you who haven’t been to St. Luke’s in
a while and are wondering who this new guy in the pulpit is- welcome to you.
Fyi- I’m new the Rector here. Some of you would much rather be somewhere else
right now, but you came out of a sense of obligation. Others of you had a guilt
trip laid on you and you decided it would be easier to show up than it would be
to fight it. Perhaps you are here spending your first Christmas without a loved
one by your side. Some of you are here because this is the church you have
spent every Christmas Eve in as far back as you can remember and you wouldn’t be
anywhere else on earth right now. Maybe you’re here for the first time. You
might believe in every aspect of this Christmas story: virgin birth, angels, and
all. But maybe you’re more of a skeptic and have more doubts than you do
answers. Whatever situation you find yourself in tonight- welcome to you. Welcome
to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate tonight.
As we celebrate the gift of Emmanuel, which means “God with us,” we are so glad
that you are here.
Tonight, I’d like to consider
the perspective from which St. Luke narrates the Christmas narrative. The tone
and tenor for the entire gospel, as found in Luke, is encapsulated in the words
of Mary when the angel announces to her that she will bear the holy child: “My
soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has
looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.” Throughout Luke, Jesus is
one who proclaims Good News and liberation to those who are oppressed and to
those who are forgotten. And as Luke narrates it, the birth of Jesus is a story
about God working through the lowly and the unexpected.
The first place that we
see this is in the characters of Mary and Joseph. They were unremarkable people
in that they were not royalty or celebrities. They were from Nazareth, a tiny
village in the backwater Galilee region of Israel. We don’t know how old Mary
was when the angel came to her, but we can fairly well guess that she was young,
perhaps fifteen years old. Joseph was a blue collar carpenter. And yet, when
the angel announces the birth to Mary, she is told that this child of hers “will
be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will
give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of
Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” The Christmas story is
one of God coming in unexpected ways.
And when the birth of this
King happens, the messengers of God do not announce the glad news of the birth
to those in power, but to the shepherds in the field. Shepherds worked with
animals all day long, making them dirty, and ritually unclean. They were poor,
and had a reputation for being dishonest. Shepherds were rejects of society,
the lowest of the low, despised by all. But yet, it is to this smelly lot that
the angels come and announce their glad tidings. Note that when the angels
leave, the go with haste to find this child. They don’t take the time to clean
the dirt off their hands or put on different clothes. The Christmas story is
one of God coming to us as we are, despite our flaws or stature.
When Jesus is born, it
happens without much dignity. There was no room for them in the inn. The
innkeeper tells them “sorry, but there’s a cave over there where the animals
spend the night. If you want some privacy, you can go there.” Mary tells
Joseph, “it’s time,” and so she gives
birth in a lowly place. As the hymn says “Why lies he in such mean estate, where
ox and ass are feeding?” When he is born, there is no crib for him, but a
meager manger; a feed trough will hold the One who created all that is and ever
will be. This is a sign to us that Jesus is a different sort of King. But
perhaps it is fitting that the baby Jesus lies in a manger, the place where the
animals’ food is kept, because Jesus is to become the Bread of Life that will
nourish all of our souls. In fact, Bethlehem, the town’s name, in Hebrew means “house
of bread.” In the way that Jesus is born, we see that great things can, indeed,
come in small packages.
At its core, the story of
Jesus’ birth is a story about God’s power and proclivity to work through the
lowly and the unexpected. There is a story that takes place at the US-Canadian
border. A man comes to the checkpoint riding a bicycle with a small box
strapped to the back. The customs official knows something is up, and so he
approaches the man and asks “what’s in the box?” He replies, “nothing, just
sand.” The official looks in the box and doesn’t see anything, so he waves him
through. A week later, the same man on a bicycle comes through with the same
box of sand on the back. The customs official is sure that the man is smuggling
something across the border, so he plunges his hand into the box of sand to
find whatever was hidden inside. But he finds nothing and waves him through the
border. Again, the man on the bicycle returns and the customs official is
beside himself. He orders that the man get off the bike, and he then picks it
up, turns it upside down and finds nothing but an empty box after all the sand
is poured out. The bicyclist rides across the border. Years later, the customs
official is having breakfast in a diner and sees the man ride up on a bicycle.
He buys him a cup of coffee and says “look buddy, I’m retired now, I’m not
interested in getting you into any trouble, but you’ve got to tell me- what
were you smuggling across the border?” The man takes a sip of coffee and then
replies, “bicycles.”
That story is a great
metaphor for how Jesus was born. Jesus came into the world right under the
noses of those in power to those in need. It was not in palace where you’d
expect to find a royal birth, and in Luke’s version, there are no wise men from
the East bringing any gifts, but instead it is the dirty and lowly shepherds that come to visit the newborn King. The Nativity of Jesus proclaims that God is
willing to go to any depths to come to us and show us what Divine Love looks
like. The limitless takes on the limits of flesh and blood. The Ruler of Heaven
rests in a manger. And all of this points to the enormity of God’s love and commitment
to us. Christmas is a miracle story that tells us that God’s economy is
different than ours, because in God’s economy God can get much out of nothing,
and something out of anything.
And so the message of the
angels is a message to us- “do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid that there is doubt
so intense that faith can never come. Do not be afraid that there is pain so
severe that there can be no healing. No loneliness so absolute that there can
be no companionship. No injustice so insidious that there can be no atonement.
No war so fierce that there can be no peace. No brokenness so deep that there
can be no wholeness. No hatred so strong that there can be no love. No despair
so profound that there can be no hope. No sin so bad that there cannot be reconciliation.
No lowliness so forgotten that there can be no glory. No night so dark that
there can be no new dawn. No death so final that there can be no Resurrection. Do
not be afraid.
As God says through the
Prophet Isaiah, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by
name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire
you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord
your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” If you remember nothing else from
this night, remember the assurance that God is with us and do not be afraid.
This is the hope and Good
News of Christmas: that God is with us and comes to us, even when we are not
aware of it. The Christmas story shows that God will stop at nothing to be
present with us and offer us the fullness of God’s joy. If, through sin, doubt,
or despair, we set up obstacles, God will come in unexpected ways. God is not
afraid to get a little dirty if that is what it takes to show us that we are
redeemed and loved. There is no situation or person through which God’s glory cannot
shine. And that includes you.
Whatever reservations you
have about God, or your ability to do the work of God, do not be afraid. That
most holy night, God came through a girl that was too young, through shepherds
that were too dirty, into a world that couldn’t even receive a baby with a
proper birthing place. And God can come through you, despite whatever brokenness
or fears that you may have.
Let us pray: O God, we
give you thanks for your immeasurable love in your coming to us in Jesus. In
this Christmas narrative, we see that you are up to something, and that you
will go to any lengths to show us your great love for us. Surprise us with joy
at your coming. Give us the strength and grace to be not afraid, that we might
be instruments for your work in this world. And may your blessing be upon us this
night, and forevermore. Amen.
