Christmas Eve 2024

And about half of the kids in my class were in my class from Kindergarten all the way through our senior year. So, not only small… but really familiar.

After I graduated, I went to college at the University of Northern Iowa. UNI.

And I still remember to this day as a freshman walking into Maucker Union (which is this big, mostly in-ground student union building just across from the library)—

I remember walking in there for the first time and seeing this sea of people filling every booth and table in the place.

And I didn’t know a single one of them.

And not a single one of them knew me—or even cared to (at least, that’s what it felt like in that moment).

Still to this day I remember that to be one of the loneliest moments of my life. Kind of a “you’re not in Kansas anymore” kind of feeling.

In a room. Full of people.

But very much alone.

Here’s what I’d like for you to see from that story:

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We aren’t aware of how much we long to belong until we don’t.

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(Repeat.)

I think that’s part of the reason why Christmas (and the holiday season generally) can be difficult for some of us.

Because it’s billed as this “time for families.” And if you have a family or you like your family… it’s great.

My wife and kids… we love it. We decorate, and we go cut down a Christmas tree, and they have like 37 advent calendars, and all the parties… it’s great if you’ve got a family or like the family you’ve got.

But if you don’t…

The holidays can feel like the time where you’re in a sea of people, but missing out on what everyone else seems to be experiencing together.

Jesus’ Birth

One of the things that always strikes me about the story of Jesus’ birth and, more specifically, the family Jesus was born into, was this:

They were alone in a sea of people, too.

Here’s how their story starts:

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Luke 2:1–4 “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.”

Luke 2:5–7 “He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

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So, really quick, let me connect you to what was going on 2,000 years ago.

The country of Rome had conquered much of the known world. It had become an empire. And the emperor, Caesar, wanted to do some head counting for tax purposes. And so the way they did it required you to go back to your “home address” to be counted and pay your tax.

In Joseph’s case, that hometown was this little village of Bethlehem, a suburb of Jerusalem.

SHOW GOOGLE MAP/ROUTE OF NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM

He’s living in Nazareth at the time, which is about 90 miles north. It’s a two hour drive on the interstate now (Yitzhak Rabin Hwy. or Route 6 in Israel, if you want to know)—but back then, with a very pregnant fiancee, it was a few days’ journey on foot.

And of course, it’s event parking when you get into this little village. I mean, it’s gotta be overrun. Just packed with people.

But this is what is so striking about the story of Jesus’ birth—once again from Luke 2, verse 7:

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Luke 2:7 “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

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If you’ve read that verse before but maybe in a different translation, it might have said “no room in the inn”—which conjures up these images in our minds of walking into a hotel lobby, with your pregnant fiancee in labor, only to be turned away by some heartless hotel manager who is like, “Sorry. No vacancies.”

Probably not the case.

There is a word for “inn” that Luke doesn’t use here. He uses a word that is better translated as “guest room.” In fact, he uses the same word later in his gospel to describe the room that Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper in. This “guest room” is the second or upper room of a 2-story house.

SHOW PICTURE OF BETHLEHEM HOUSE

So this picture might help you to visualize it:

There’s the upper level where some people are staying. That’s the “guest room.”

And on the lower level is where the owners of the home are staying and where the cooking is done.

But also on the lower level of the home, there was space for animals to be fed and watered and brought in on cold nights.

So here’s what is happening:

Joseph and his pregnant fiancee travel back to his hometown (which is packed).

He likely stays with his extended family, but someone (or maybe a few someones) are already staying up in the guest room.

So he and his not-yet-wife have their baby…

In a setting probably very much like this one.

And after the cord was cut,

The Son of God was swaddled and placed in a cattle feeding trough. That’s what a manger is.

Jesus’ Family

I’ve always wondered, though, why they didn’t get the guest room. That just seems… unkind.

And there’s no way to know for sure why they didn’t. But I’m wondering if it had something to do with their story.

They’re both super young.

They’re engaged to be married.

But she’s pregnant. Which was a no-no.

And their story is…

God did it.

I wonder how that went over with their family?

If they were staying with Joseph’s parents or extended family, and here they come, just the two of them, most likely teenagers still, with her belly about to pop…

Swearing up and down that the conception was divine intervention…

What kind of atmosphere did that create in the ol’ 2-room house?

Was it, “Yeah, you can stay with us… but aunt and uncle so-and-so are staying up in the guest room already.”

Was it, “Hey… you can have the guest room, but only if you finally just admit what you guys did.”

There’s no way of knowing.

But what we do know is this:

Their family didn’t roll out the red carpet for them.

It’s possible that in a home full of people… relatives, even…

They felt alone.

Jesus’ Family Gets Bigger

But here’s how their story continues:

Angels appear to a group of shepherds tending sheep in the fields just outside of Bethlehem.

Then the night sky lights up with the heavenly armies who say this:

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Luke 2:10–13 “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,”

Luke 2:14 ““Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

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If you’ve had kids, you probably remember what that first night was like in the hospital.

Well… here’s what it was like for Joseph and Mary—their first night as a family:

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Luke 2:15–18 “When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”

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Their family grew literally overnight from 1) them, 2) their new baby, and 3) a goat or sheep or two, to | a few shepherds who were looking for the kid in the trough (and whoever else they told who stopped by).

Eight days later, when they go to have their baby dedicated at church, their family continues to grow.

God had been moving in the heart of a man named Simeon, who feels prompted to go look for this family at the temple. And here’s what he says when he finds them:

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Luke 2:28–32 “Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

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In that same moment, an old widow named Anna feels similarly led and finds them.

In about a week, they’ve got a new grandma and grandpa and some sheep-rearing aunts, uncles, and cousins.

And of course, we know from Matthew’s gospel that sometime later, 3 foreign dignitaries who were astrologers—literally studied the stars for signs—had felt they were told through the stars that they were to follow a particular star to Bethlehem. And they come to present this new family with gifts.

Get this:

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From the moment of Jesus’ birth, God begins to grow his family.

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What a picture for this new mom and dad. Immediately, they knew:

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From the moment of Jesus’ birth, God begins to grow his family.

Jesus makes you a part of a bigger family.

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The same was true at the other bookend of his life, by the way. Take a look at how similarly Luke describes Jesus’ death:

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Luke 2:7 “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

Luke 23:53 “Then [Joseph] took [Jesus’ body] down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.”

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Different Joseph; not his dad. Mary is still around, but her husband is likely dead at this point. This Joseph is a member of the same council who supported Jesus’ crucifixion, but was a secret follower of Jesus.

But right before Jesus dies, right before the last chapter of his life before his death on the cross comes to a close, here’s the bookened:

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Luke 23:39–42 “One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Luke 23:43 “Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

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Even to the very last, this Jesus, who at his very birth made God’s family bigger, grabbed one last guy and said:

“You’re coming with me. Welcome to the family.”

Optional Host Direction Ideas

By his blood, you can become blood. You can become part of God’s family.

Before Christmas is a time for your family, it’s a time for us to be one family: Jesus’ family.

Jesus wasn’t born into a large, extended family surrounded by love and care of a community… he was swaddled and placed in a feeding trough. Nor did Jesus die of old age in his bed surrounded by loved ones. He was crucified on a wooden cross and wrapped in linen in a stranger’s tomb. But he did it because… (no matter)

Some of you are in a room full of people and yet feel alone. You don’t know it yet, but these faces that are mostly strangers to you now could become closer to you than your brother or sister. You might have moms and dads in the room that you’ve never had.

Is it time for you to become a part of the family?

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