A Moment of Christmas: Luke 2:1-20 - Christmas Eve

shepherd by Reza Vaziri.  Creative commons image on flickr.

¹In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴Joseph 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. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And 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.
  ⁸In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³And 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!”
  ¹⁵When 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.” ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. (NRSV)

Today is Christmas Eve.  So what’s on your wish list?  What are you hoping for?

At this point in my life, there’s nothing that I truly need to be waiting for me under our tree.

What I’d really love is to live in the world of Norman Rockwell and his paintings from the Saturday Evening Post.  What I love is the sense of community his paintings capture; of people finding joy in each other… His was a simple, but beautiful world for everyone.  Wouldn’t it be great to capture a moment like these and live in it forever? 

If only…

But Jesus was definitely not born into a Normal Rockwell world. 

The names Augustus and Quirinius would have brought fear and loathing into the hearts of anyone living within their territory.  This was especially true for Mary and Joseph, who are forced from their home by Augustus’s decree, to make the grueling ninety mile trip to Bethlehem, to be registered for taxes. All this with the Christ child due to be born at any minute.  Sure enough, the time came for her child to be delivered—but with no room in the inn, they are forced to take shelter in the most unsanitary and inhospitable of places.

Not even Normal Rockwell could have captured the fear and exhaustion they must have been feeling. Mary and Joseph had to keep the child—and themselves—safe.  God’s plan for the salvation of the world was resting in their care. 

Normal Rockwell could never have captured the lard life lived by the shepherds… It is impossible to imagine the misery they endured tending sheep round-the-clock, eating like animals, and living in caves and barns.  What’s worse is that shepherds were regarded as ignorant, crude, and filthy; the lowest form of life.  Yet these are the people God chooses, along with a poor young carpenter and his betrothed wife, to be the ones who will bear Jesus to the world. 

For a brief moment in time, amid all the hardships, the dangers, the exhaustion, and the unpleasant odors, God in flesh lies in a manger.  The miracle of the moment is God born into the pains and struggles of our humanity; living on this broken world; immersed in poverty, vulnerable to all the powers of evil. What a wonder to behold that God loves you so much as to live, suffer, and die with you.  Here is Jesus, who will claim you his own; cleanse you of sin, and raise you to new and everlasting life.

This is why the Holy Spirit brought you here tonight—to see back into two thousand years of history to meet God in the baby Jesus.  But you will not remain in this moment forever.  We will sing our songs, present our offerings, and feast on Christ’s body and blood given for you.  But then you will leave here.  Christmas Day will come and go, and life will return to normal.  The decorations will be taken down; the songs will cease; the gifts be put away.  But remember this—God has given you this night as a stepping stone back into the real world where Jesus is. 

This means that when there’s suffering and pain; fear and danger; Jesus is going to be there with you.  That’s a promise revealed not just in the manger but especially on the cross.  You will be given moments of Christmas where God’s love and faithfulness will be made real to you. 

Faith is God’s way of making it happen—and tonight, your teachers include the shepherds, who share the word with others of what God is doing.  Your teacher is Mary, who treasures and ponders all these wonders in her heart.  Your teacher, who listens to and obeys God.

Tonight, you are given the gift of the Christ child to bear to the world, just like Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds.  And it is in joining with others, bearing their burdens, meeting their needs; and loving unconditionally, that Christmas will happen again. 

Tonight, 42 million Americans will be going to bed hungry—that comes down to 1 in 7 people and 1 in 4 children.  God’s children hide in the shadows, tormented by addiction, abuse, mental illness, and imprisonment.  We’re living in a bitterly-divided nation, where hate is always bigger news than love. 

Everything we do here tonight will amount to little more than sentimental pageantry if we fail to heed the Spirit’s invitation to making moments of Christmas with God’s children.  There, Christ will be born in forgiveness and reconciliation, goodwill and peace-making, charity and grace.  By faith, God will lead you to moments even more beautiful than Christ’s birth as God’s love works even more miracles to bear Jesus to the world. 

For in the same way that we see God’s love lying in a manger, God’s love comes through ordinary people like you and me.  When there is love and grace, there is Christmas.