December 24, 2020. Luke 2:1-20 Sermon. Grace-Vail and Grace-Benson Sometimes the good gets in the way of the best. Christmas is an example. If Christmas is a time to enjoy family and gifts and food, that’s good. If Christmas is a time to get away from the challenges of the past year, that’s good. If Christmas is a time of general goodwill and peacefulness, that’s good. But what if there’s something far better? What if Christmas is more about what God has done for people than what people can do for themselves? That’s better. Luke 2 gives us far more reason for optimism, enjoyment of relationships, goodwill and peace than any of our own customs and traditions, as good as they are. Christmas is about a birth. Any birth has some planned and some unplanned parts. Today more than any time in human history, moms and dads can plan lots of details of a birth. They can plan the doctors and midwives involved. They prepare the crib and the car carrier. They can get all kinds of advice from friends and family. At times, they even get to schedule the baby’s birthday with medical interventions. And yet there still are unexpected and unique parts of every birth. Each birth story is unique. I think it’s safe to say that of all the planning that’s ever happened for a birth, of all the advice ever given to a new mom or dad; no one has ever planned to give birth in a place where farm animals stay. No one plans on putting their newborn baby in the animal’s feedbox; clearing out a spot, hoping it’s not too dirty or musty, and putting their new baby there. Yet with Jesus, that’s what happened. Mary and Joseph didn’t plan for the birth to happen that way; they reacted to the situation as it happened. Compelled to travel to Bethlehem because Caesar ordered a census. Not able to find a better place to stay in crowded Bethlehem. The time came for the baby to be born. There’s every reason to believe this meant contractions for Mary; blood, sweat, and tears of birthing pains leading up to delivery. When the baby came, they found themselves in a stable. Like any parent they figured things out. On the job training, they used the manger as a crib for their newborn baby. They didn’t plan this detail of his birth. Yet it’d be wrong to say the manger was totally unplanned. God knew about the manger. He knew about all the details of this birth. None of it happened by accident. God knew that in a real place, in real time, his Son who had become human would be born. God knew Caesar would decree the census that would get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, the place predicted by the prophet Micah so many years earlier as the arrival spot of a ruler for God’s people. God knew that a son of Eve would be born as a champion to undo the damage done by her disobedience in the garden. We’re even told in Ephesians 1, “God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ.” The manger was a surprise to Mary and Joseph, but not to God. That really applies not just to Jesus’ birth, but to all of our entrances into this world. Even if your birth was unplanned, or unexpected things happened when you were born, God planned you to exist and to live. Even if details of your childhood were undesired and thrown onto you; God knew
and on some level allowed every detail of your upbringing to happen. Even though God doesn’t desire evil to happen to any child or adult; he does allow it to happen, and knows all that happens. You can trust that God planned your life, just as he planned the life of Jesus in advance. The parts of this past year that were unplanned to you were known by God. He allowed the challenges to come, knowing that it would cause you to end up right here, right now; looking into the manger at his newborn son. Why a manger? God in human flesh could have entered this world any way he wanted. He could have come as a fully formed adult, made a throne of gold appear out of nothing, sat on it and demanded reverence. Instead he came in a manger. The manger is a reminder that God does not look down on people in their weaknesses and struggles and say, “Too bad for you. But you’re the ones who rebelled, so now deal with it.” No instead, in Jesus, God says, “I am here with you in your weakness, in your smallness, in your need.” Jesus came into a family that was not rich or privileged. Not even able to secure a hospital bed or comfortable room for his birth. An ordinary, traveling, humble family. He came to identify with ordinary, traveling, humble people. To become like us in every way. The manger is a sign of his humility. But also a sign of his greatness. He is great enough to become small. Strong enough to become weak. All as a preview of what he would grow to do. He taught people, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” He gathered people who didn’t have to be rich or poor, educated or not, any who would come to him he welcomed. And then he died for us. He submitted himself to the consequence of our human rebellion against God. He was great enough to die, so that he could become the only human who has died and risen in such a way that he lives gloriously, with life to share. The manger shows us what kind of mission Jesus, as God in human flesh came for. A mission of rescue, a mission of closeness between humble, ordinary people like you and I to God. The manger is a sign of what kind of savior Jesus is; it also can serve as a sign of what kind of life you are called to live in following him. When you humbly accept that his horrible death was for you; you then receive his glorious resurrection as your own as well. When you humbly accept that God calls you his child not because of what you’ve done, but because of who Jesus is; you then receive the glorious identity of a child of God. As a result, you humbly serve the people around you, and you receive the hidden glory of being a channel of Jesus’ love to others. When you accept the unplanned, even undesired parts of your life story, you receive along with it the glory of God redeeming you even at your weakest and most vulnerable moments. Jesus accepted a life in which he was born in a manger. He was ok with that. Can you be ok with your life, the one God has planned in eternity for you? Can you be ok with your mangers, with the things in your life which point to your limitations and vulnerabilities? When you trust God and accept the life he has given you, you begin to experience that life as eternally planned by God, filled with joy overflowing, lived not alone but with God’s presence beside you.
It all started at the manger. You need God to come in the manger before the war horse. You needed the humble Savior before the powerful Lord. Jesus will come again in a different way. But his first visit into our lives comes as a gentle rescuer. In his first visit, he accepted the flawed world as it was. He didn’t demand the perfect birth in the perfect place. He accepted being placed in a manger. He came into a flawed world so he could make a perfect world again. He accepts being placed into your heart as you are, so that he can change you. I want you to imagine yourself at work, and a new employee is hired, and you get to meet them for the first time. One question you might have is, “Are they willing to do the work? Are they willing to get their hands dirty?” You could only find out by spending time with them. When Jesus came into our world as the newest member of the human race, let the manger show you that he came to get his hands dirty, he came to do the work needed to bring people close to God again. Now, God coming into our world you’d think would be a time of celebration, news coverage, and festivities. There wasn’t much of that on the first Christmas. The widespread celebration that happens around the world didn’t happen back then. It was really only Mary and Joseph and some shepherds that we know got to celebrate this event. We can learn a lot from how the shepherds experienced the birth of Jesus. They were out in their fields watching their sheep, and then an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The first ones to hear about what happened didn’t say, “Great, it’s Christmas.” They wanted to hide their faces, or run away. It’s interesting what made them afraid. They were out in the fields watching their sheep. What’s it like at night out in the country? Dark. When it was dark they weren’t afraid. It’s only the light that brings the fear. The light of God’s glory. That’s really a principle of human nature. When people are in darkness, they’re not afraid, but when the light of God comes, fear comes with it. John 3 says, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Before the presence of God brings comfort, it first brings fear. Only through understanding the fear, and seeing why the presence of God has come, then comfort comes. Why were the shepherds afraid? Is it only that they were out in the dark field, and a bright light shone, and if you were asleep in your bed and I came with a bright light and was shining on you, you’d be afraid? That’s true, but there seems to be more going on here. Many places in the Bible when the bright glory of God comes, people are afraid. On Mount Sinai, when God showed up in a fiery smoky presence with trumpet blasts and earthquakes, the people asked not to have to go too close. They were afraid. When Peter, James, and John saw Jesus’ appearance shine brighter than the sun on a mountain one time, they hit the ground and hid their faces. Or even further back to Adam and Eve, when they knew that they had disobeyed, and God came walking, they hid from him. They didn’t want to be found out.
We experience the same kinds of fears. Fear of God getting to close and destroying life as I know it. Fear of being exposed as weak and cruel and perverse. Fear of not being able to stand in his presence. Fear of death and what lies beyond. We all experience this. Not in the absence of God’s presence, but when his glory gets too close, we feel this fear. What is God’s glory? Glory means weightiness, heaviness. What is glory? Glory means weightiness. God has glory because he has a weightines, a heaviness. He’s beyond our capacity to take it in. The light that shone on the shepherds was glorious because it was beyond the capacity of eyes to take it in. The light of God’s full glory still exceeds our ability to take in and see as it is. But his glory includes more than how much more powerful and great he is. It also includes the glory of his willingness to help us in our need. The angel told the shepherds, ““Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ, the Lord.” The angel came not just to terrify the shepherds, but to share good news and great joy. The glory of God strikes fear first, then brings comfort. Here’s the comfort: in a real place, at a real time in human history, God entered. He came not just for the elite, not just for the best, but for all people. He was born as a Savior. A Savior who as God is the only one who can rescue from God and his wrath. A Savior whose main business was to accomplish the forgiveness of sin, the greatest problem any one ever faces, the great problem beneath all others that defies human solution no matter how many other problems we solve. A Savior who’s birth was destined to lead to death, an innocent death, a death to save you from death. He came as Christ. Christ means the anointed one, the Messiah. The final anointed king who would rule as all kings combined cannot. The final anointed prophet who would speak for God as his final and most complete Word of revelation. The final anointed Priest who would not only give a sacrifice, but who himself would be the sacrifice. The Anointed one who makes all of God’s promises come true, and fulfills all the true hopes and dreams of people. He came as Lord. The ruler, the sovereign God over all, the everlasting one. The one who has the right to command your life and receive obedience, worship and honor from you. The One who could justly crush you if he determined but who instead determined to be crushed that he would be a lord of grace and mercy. Lord who serves rather than demanding service. Jesus was born to you. God did all this so that you would have what you really need and desire. So that you could be his - right now through faith, and his going forward into eternity. That is what happened at Christmas. You and I are blessed to know of it after it happened. Without any of us asking for it, God gave exactly what we need. The event happened, and he’s made sure and is making sure that you know about it. The result? Peace to you. Peace means wholeness, harmony between you and God, you and others, you and world, you and self. A kind of peace which is not only lack of violence, but presence of joy. End of hostilities, instead friendship with God and with others. End of guilt and self hatred, in its
place acceptance and approval. End of self confidence and pride, instead the peace of companionship with God. The peace of welcome-ness, confidence, excitement; satisfaction and gratitude; meaning and purpose beyond yourself. And the final result is glory to God. The angels came with a glory that terrified the shepherds, but they announced a glory that transformed their terror to joy. Because of Jesus, God’s glory is no longer only a cause for fear, but also a cause for joy in you as well. You can celebrate God’s importance. You are invited to freely give him your attention, to allow him to be the foundation of your every decision, attitude and action. This is why God created the world and all that exists. This is why even after the ruin of his creation, he renews it and is making it new. His glory, your peace. His greatness, your joy. His beauty, our pleasure. He gives this all to you simply for you to believe it and be blessed as a result. When the shepherds simply listened and took in what the angels said, and went and saw for themselves what had happened, their fear changed to joy. Your fear can transform to joy like theirs. Your fears are removed when you hear what the angel said. Jesus’ birth is God fearlessly making you his number one priority. In order to have you close to him again as he desires, Jesus had to be born into a world filled with fearful and terrible things. Not long after his birth, king Herod showed what kind of world Jesus was born into. A world in which babies can be killed at the order of cruield kings. Jesus fearlessly experienced the place where his Father’s holiness and human rebellion met. He made you his priority by dying for you. He takes away your fear by becoming overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death for you. He overcomes fear by rising again and there’s nothing for Jesus to fear anymore. So now, think of your fears, and compare them to the glory of Jesus. Give weight to what he has done more than you give weight to what you fear. Fear of rejection? Give weight to his acceptance of you. Fear of guilt? Give weight to his death on your behalf. Fear of being alone? Give weight to Jesus calling himself your eternal brother and friend. Fear of death? Give weight to Jesus saying, “Because I live, you also will live.” Fear of the future? Give weight to his ability to take care of it. Fear of obeying him? Give weight to Jesus showing you the adventure of a life of obedience. This Christmas may not be a grand life changing event for you. But it is part of the bigger picture of the many moments which put together forms a fuller picture of who you are. Ask God to be involved in these moments, in this Christmas celebration. As good as family love and holiday traditions are, don’t forget the best. Take time to celebrate what Jesus has done for you. He was born to save. And today he tells you about it so that you can simply stand back and marvel, and receive, and start spending an eternity unpacking all the implications of the amazing gift that is Jesus. Amen.