Luke 2:1-14 [15-20]
1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
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.]
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.]
Do not be afraid; for see—I
am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the
Lord.
·
Every
year, I come up here and tell you things you already know. So does every
pastor, I suppose. I’m sure some here could deliver a better sermon for
Christmas Eve than I. Any takers?
·
In
any event, if we look at the event we celebrate tonight we see a child born in
rather poor circumstances – no room at the inn, laid in a feeding trough,
looked at by strangers who saw angels
who told them to come to the place of the child’s birth.
·
We
celebrate with songs we’ve known our entire lives, with so many, many candles,
and a meal of bread and wine. We hear the word of ancient prophets and
preachers of the early church… words we’ve heard many times before. Simple
light, simple meal, simple words, all carrying a powerful message.
·
The
message isn’t one of power and victory. It isn’t one of strength and glory,
despite the presence of angel choirs… although they never seem to be visible at
the manger. The manger seems quite or at most, filled with simple sounds, the
normal sounds of a place where animals are kept. Maybe it wasn’t silent, but
the noises would be what you’d expect.
·
But
the unexpected is here.
·
Here
lies the presence of the Almighty. Here sleeps the embodiment of all grace.
Here the builder of the entire universe plays with his toes. Here the “shepherd
of Israel” thirsts for his mother’s milk. Here the Lord of Hosts is diapered in
rough cloth with all power laid aside.
·
Maybe
the angels were there, but had to be in awe of what was going on and so were
silent. The shepherds were amazed, telling an amazing story, and Mary
“treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”
·
So
tonight, we sing, recite our memorized responses, light candles, and then go to
our homes to continue the celebration. However in the silence between things,
we may hear our hearts ask “what has gone on here?”
·
An
answer I would give is not that we have ascended to God or sought God out, but
that God has come to us and sought us out just as we are right now. The
strangeness of that idea alone would make us be quiet for a while, while we
treasure all these words and ponder them in our hearts, even if
only for a few moments. That may be all it takes to leave us in silent wonder.
·
And
if silent wonder is our reaction to hearing of the child in the manger and
seeing it in our mind’s eye, it puts us in good company… with the shepherds and
the angels, with the Magi (when their time comes in our celebrations), with
Joseph and Mary, and with so many devoted, faithful people throughout the
history of the Church.
·
This
mighty mystery of weakness could make us think. It could make us sing. It could
make us stop and be silent before the wonder of it all.
·
All
in all, it could make us thankful and humble… for the child in the manger and
who he is for us makes us graced.
Who will celebrate Christmas correctly?
Whoever finally lays down all power, all
honor, all reputation,
all vanity, all arrogance,
all individualism beside the manger.
-
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
·
Merry
Christmas, little flock. Frohe Weihnachten, du kleine Herde.
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