Sermon Tone Analysis

Copyrights December 4, 2022 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

We all have Christmas traditions.

We have family gatherings, traditions for gift giving and gift opening.

You may have traditions regarding Christmas cookies or maybe Christmas caroling.

Maybe you have a tradition of watching, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Holiday Inn,” “Christmas Vacation” or even “Elf”.

Perhaps your family is one that works hard to teach your children that Christmas is about giving and not about getting.

Whatever your traditions, it is part of the warmth and joy of Christmas.

Sometimes there is a certain panic, mess, or even anxiety that comes with Christmas.

We have lists, decorations, presents to wrap along with the feeling that there is not enough time to do everything.

In fact, sometimes actually getting through Christmas is a relief because all the preparation is finally over. . .

until next year.

All our traditions and busyness overshadow the significant but messy nature of the birth of our Lord.

We often sanitize all the circumstances of the birth of Jesus and I believe God was sending a message to us in the messy nature of that first Christmas.

This morning I want to zero in on some of the messy things about the first Christmas.

An Unmarried Mom

In our day, sadly, the reality of an unmarried mom is not that unusual.

But many of us can remember a day not long ago when such a thing would have been considered scandalous.

People would sometimes be forced to withdraw from their churches, endure the whispers of neighbors, and at times the pregnant daughter would be sent away until after the baby was born and then given up for adoptio.

Things were even more severe in the days of Mary and Joseph.

To be betrothed in marriage was more than simply being engaged.

It was a promise.

Money may have been paid for a dowry, work might have begun on expanding the family home to make room for the soon-to-be bride.

A betrothal was as binding as the marriage itself.

For a betrothed woman to be found pregnant would be considered an immoral and possibly adulterous act.

This was so serious that Mary could have been killed for her perceived adultery.

These facts make Mary’s quick agreement to the angelic messenger who announced the birth of Jesus remarkable.

Mary apparently believed if God wanted her to be pregnant with the Messiah, He would also protect her from public scrutiny.

In fact, that may have been one of the reasons Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth who was six months pregnant with John the Baptizer.

These facts also show the character of Joseph.

One would have to think that Mary’s testimony about an angel and being fertilized by the Holy Spirit would, I suspect, be a little hard to embrace.

Yet, when an angel appeared to him in a dream, he agreed to marry Mary and raise this baby as his own.

God picked remarkable and faithful people to carry out his work.

I can’t help but wonder if the mandatory trip to Bethlehem to be registered for tax reasons, wasn’t in some ways a welcome distraction and escape from the neighborhood gossip.

What do you think is worse, being talked about for something that you did or something that you didn’t do but everyone believes you did?

When you read an ad for a job you see the various requirements needed or desired for the job.

The job may require certain education, a particular kind of work experience, or maybe certain skills on the computer.

But, the only requirement Jesus is looking for is this: a willing heart.

Rick showed us that last week in the calling of the disciples.

The Lord is not looking for the skilled or the famous . . .

He is looking those who are willing to be used by Him.

No training is necessary!

Mary and Joseph were in a messy situation, but they were faithful.

Their Accommodations

Caesar Augustus wanted to have a census of the empire.

Everyone was to return to the place of their ancestor’s birth.

For Joseph, that meant going to Bethlehem.

Bethlehem was about 6 miles southwest of Jerusalem.

It was a small town (smaller than La Harpe).

Some estimate the population at 300-600 residents normally.

Because of this mandated census, the town swelled in size.

Surely, there was only one Inn in town and it was likely not very big.

The rooms were gone quickly.

Because there was no room in the Inn, the Son of God was born in a stable.

Imagine Joseph having to shovel out the animal dung so his wife could give birth.

No woman would want to deliver her child in these circumstances.

To the best of our knowledge, there was no midwife, and no family members were around to help out.

Joseph may have had no experience in the birth process and may not have seen his wife in this condition before (since she remained a virgin until Jesus was born.)

Can you imagine the fear this couple may have faced?

It was the birth of the Son of God, and they had to do it all alone.

In these humble circumstances we need to remember Paul’s words in Philippians 2

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(2:5-8)

Paul tells us the Son of God willingly surrendered the honor and privileges He deserves and humbly became a man.

Some who did not know what they were talking about would have called Him an illegitimate child, conceived out of wedlock . . .

perhaps in their mind of adultery.

They would see this as a shameful birth.

Jesus was born in unsanitary conditions like a slave.

There were no Doctors in surgical garb, no incubators, no nurses standing by to take and clean up the baby.

Jesus also humbled Himself by stepping off the throne as God Almighty and coming to earth as a human being.

In all the details of Christmas it is easy to forget that radical step that was being taken here.

Jesus did not come to rescue those who feel they have nothing to be rescued from.

He came to the poor, the weak, the broken.

He came to make the sick (spiritually and physically) well.

Yes, He wants to use a small town like La Harpe.

He is eager to take the simple and accomplish something profound.

He was born in a stable to identify with us.

A Missed Opportunity

It is a familiar part of the story . . . the birth of Jesus was announced in the skies themselves.

First the angelic host announced it to the shepherds (a group that was seen as on the lowest rung of society) and next to the Magi from the east.

Matthew gives us the details.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.

About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?

We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,

are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,

for a ruler will come from you

who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’

(Matthew 2:1-6)

We are all familiar with the “Three Kings” or the “Three Wise Men” who often appear in our nativity scenes and on Christmas cards.

However, these men (we get three because of the three gifts but there may have been several more) most likely did not arrive in Bethlehem until Jesus was living in a house with his parents.

(Was this to avoid the whispers of their hometown?)

The chronology if you are trying to put it together, went something like this: Jesus was born, the Shepherds came to see Him, on the eighth day Jesus was presented at the temple in Jerusalem where he encountered Simeon and Anna who both spoke prophetic messages.

Then, I believe, they returned to Bethlehem to build their life together as a family.

Sometime after this, the Magi from the east came to Jerusalem.

They asked the King Herod the Great (as he is known) about the matter.

Those who knew Herod could also call him Herod the paranoid!

Herod had a simple approach to dealing with potential rivals for the throne (including his own children!).