Marvelous Peace In The Mess

Perfectly According to God’s Plan of Salvation

12.24.24 [Luke 2:1-7] River of Life (Christmas Eve)

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men, women, and children on whom God’s favor rests. Amen.

Nowadays, when you find out that you’re expecting your first child, there’s so much that must be done. First time parents spend a ton of time and money and energy getting ready. Doctor’s visits & ultrasounds. Parents-to-be must let their loved ones and coworkers know the good news and then coordinate details about baby showers. Then there are classes to take about what to expect during delivery and feeding and bringing your child home.

What’s more is that first time parents must get their homes ready for their little bundle of joy. First they decide where the nursery will be and what theme the baby’s room will have. Then dressers and bassinets and changing tables must be assembled and positioned perfectly. Baby clothes and baby blankets must be washed and folded and baby monitors must be paired and put into place.

But it’s not just the home that must be made ready. The family car goes through a transformation too. Some parents trade out the fun sports car for something more practical. They make sure the stroller fits in the trunk, the car seat is secure, and the sun’s not too bright and the A/C is just right. It’s all a lot of work. God sure knew what he was doing in giving them nine months to get it all done.

As the day draws closer, the hospital bag must be made ready. Clothes for mom and child. Chargers for all the electronics. Binkies and blankets. It’s all a bit much. But first time parents go through all these steps because they want to know that they’re ready. They develop a plan so that when the time comes, they have everything under control.

Now maybe all that seems like overkill to you. Maybe you’re thinking back to the days when you brought home your first child and all the things on those lists that you didn’t do. That may be true. But you didn’t do nothing. You planned differently. You prepared in your own way.

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about how Mary and Joseph prepared for the birth of their first son. There’s no details about Joseph getting the nursery ready or Mary taking any classes or having a baby shower.

But it’s not a stretch to think that Mary and Joseph hoped to be able to stay close to home and have Mary deliver their son in a safe and familiar setting, near their home in Nazareth. But that was not to be.

Yet, sometime during the pregnancy, the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. He wanted to get a better handle on what kind of taxes should be coming his and Rome’s way and he did not care how it might inconvenience his subjects.

So Joseph took Mary and they made their way from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea because Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David. But they weren’t the only ones flocking to this little town at this time. By the time they arrived, Mary was ready to deliver and there was no place that would rent Joseph a room. There was no nursery, no bassinet, no warm blankets, just a stable, a manger, and swaddling cloths. What first time parents would plan a birth like this?

It’s hard for us to feel safe or secure when things aren’t working out the way we planned, hoped, or dreamed. That’s not just true when you’re a first time parent. We all have plans, hopes, and dreams about the future. Maybe we’re hoping for a promotion at work or a great vacation, a better year for the stock market or a healthy year ahead. Maybe we’re hoping for a bright future for our kids or our grandkids. Maybe we dream of a time when things are calm and peaceful in our community, in our country, or in our world. If we were in control of things, that’s how things would work. That’s what would happen.

Each of us tends to think, talk, plan, and act as if life would be better if we were in control. We’d be safer, happier, better if everything went according to our plans. I understand this about you because it’s true about me, too.

And that’s what’s so beautiful about these words from Luke’s Gospel. It’s not hard to imagine that nothing was going according to plan for Mary or Joseph. Mary didn’t plan on being a virgin mother. Joseph didn’t plan on marrying a woman who told him that she was carrying the Son of God. Neither of them planned on having to travel so far so late in her pregnancy. People didn’t plan this. But God did.

People planned to eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and become like God. People planned to do their own thing and rebel against God. God planned to make his dwelling among us, to truly be a God who is with us. God planned to take on flesh and blood and become a baby plopped in a place that farm animals ate from.

People planned to try and make the best of living in a land of deep darkness. God planned to send a great light. People planned to try to ignore their guilty feelings and explain away their sinful actions. God planned to take our guilt and save us from our sins. People planned to try to do more right than wrong and hope that was enough in the end. God planned to do the righteous things we could not do for ourselves and suffer and die for the wrong things we did so that we could have real hope without end.

God’s plan was to bring you, his beloved child, home. So he made everything ready. He lined up all the prophets. He checked all the boxes. He sent his Son to be our holy Substitute and our willing Savior. Jesus is the culmination of all God’s promises and plans. And God didn’t need everything to fall into place, to bring us home. He made it happen because he is a God who works powerfully and perfectly and marvelous in our messy world.

God’s plan, in every way, is better than man’s. And that’s what we celebrate this evening. God had a plan. He gave us his Word. And everything, down to the last little details, happened exactly as he said.

God’s plan for you continues to this day. The Immanuel came to be with us. God wants you to be with him. That’s why we gather in his house and around his Word with his fellow people. it’s not that it’s never messy or something less than we planned. It’s that God is here and he is doing what only God can do. And that is marvelous in our eyes.

Not only that, but God wants you to be like him. He wants to make his dwelling in your heart. He wants to rule your mind and your life, not to rob you of pleasure, not to spoil your plans. But because he has something greater to give you. Joy without end. Peace that passes all understanding. Safety today and salvation for eternity.

So all God’s people say: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to all those on whom God’s favor rest, now and forevermore. Amen.