Xmas Eve-25

FCF:

Sermon Opening:

Think about your "to-do" list over the last 48 hours. The grocery runs, the gift wrapping, the travel plans, the frantic cleaning. I don’t know about you, but in the "Christmas rush," in the last 48 hours, I’ve felt like a passenger in my own life—driven by schedules and demands I didn't necessarily choose. We end up exhausted and, ironically, feeling a bit lonely in the middle of all the noise.

Tonight, we see that the very first Christmas began in that same kind of upheaval.

Text Opening:

Scripture Opening: We are looking at Luke 2:1-7. While we often see this as a peaceful, snowy scene on a Christmas card, Luke wants us to see the gritty reality of a world in motion.

Text Background: Luke sets this birth against the backdrop of the Roman Empire. He mentions Caesar Augustus and Quirinius to remind us that while the "great" men of the world were making decrees, God was making a way for our salvation in a tiny, overlooked village.

Point 1:

Luke 2:1–7 NIV

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. 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.

Explain:

As we dive into this text tonight, I want to pull out three things: the census, the stable, and the savior.

The first is the census.

Luke 2:1–3 NIV

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.

The census means taxes and upheaval.

The census meant travelling from wherever you are living now back to your families hometown.

Not just you, everybody. Imagine how many places would be closed without workers. Think about how many people work at Chick-fil-a who’s families migrated to Mason City.

Everything would shut down.

It would be chaos across the Roman empire.

In the census you have chaos.

The second thing I want to pull out is the stable.

Luke 2:4–7 NIV

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. 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.

Let’s look at the distance traveled and the full inn.

From Bethlehem to Nazareth is 70 miles or about 3 days journey.

So, there is a chaotic journey with a 9-months pregnant teenager.

Then when you arrive. There is no room.

Our translations say inn or guest room. The Greek word is kataluma. A kataluma was like an inn but for caravans of people. It was a safe resting point for travelers.

The space that was meant to house travellers was full.

Have you ever thought about who would be there?

It’s the people whose hometown is Bethlehem - Joseph’s family.

There is no room because Joseph’s family can’t or won’t make room for Jesus.

So in a lonely place, separated from family and friends, Mary gives birth to Jesus.

The Census is Chaotic. The Stable is lonely.

The savior and his humble birth is the third thing I want to pull from this text.

Luke 2:7 NIV

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.

While they are there in Bethlehem, the time comes for Mary to give birth. She wrapped him in bands of cloth, swaddling clothes, she laid him in a manger, a trough for food.

Normally, when a baby was born at this time. The doula, the midwife, would take the baby from the mother, wrap him cloth and lay him down.

There is something very normal in Jesus birth and yet something very abnormal.

The normal is that Jesus is wrapped in cloth and laid down.

But, there is something abnormal - Mary does this herself. In the intensity of birth, she has nobody to guide her. After the fatigue, she has nobody to help her. Birth is simultaneously intimate and communal. Since early people, in every culture through time, women help women give birth.

At the birth of the savior, Mary is alone and wraps her own baby in cloth.

Bede, the 7th century English monk and most learned man in the world at the time, wrote about the swaddling clothes of Jesus:

New Testament III: Luke Swaddling Clothes, Not Tyrian Purple

It should be noted that the sign given of the Savior’s birth is not a child enfolded in Tyrian purple, but one wrapped with rough pieces of cloth. He is not to be found in an ornate golden bed, but in a manger. The meaning of this is that he did not merely take upon himself our lowly mortality, but for our sakes took upon himself the clothing of the poor.

Here are the three things, The census is chaotic - it causes upheavals in our lives. The stable is loneliness - in the space where we should be surrounded by many we find ourselves alone. The savior is poor. The rich God has become the poor infant.

The census is chaotic; the stable is lonely, and the savior is poor. Chaos, loneliness, poverty. Does that describe anybody here?

Illustrate:

How many of you are hosting a Christmas dinner? Imagine you are hosting a massive Christmas dinner. You’ve spent weeks planning the menu, polishing the silver, and decorating every inch of the house. The doorbell rings, and it’s a neighbor you know is going through a hard time.

But as you look at your perfectly set table and your timed-to-the-minute oven schedule, you realize there’s literally no chair left.

There’s no room for one more plate without ruining the "plan".

We often treat our lives like that table. We aren't "evil" people for not having room; we are just "full" people.

We are so occupied with the celebration of the day that we have no margin for the Person of the day.

Apply:

Chaos, loneliness, poverty - those words capture the vibe of the Christmas story.

Maybe you can relate.

But here is the beauty of Grace: Grace is God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. Grace is Jesus showing up in the middle of the chaos, in the heart of the loneliness, and in our poor state.

He does not wait for us to "clear the table." He enters the stable.

Closing:

Tonight, we’ve seen that the birth of Christ did not happen in a vacuum of peace. it happened in a the middle of a chaotic census and a crowded house. God used the decrees of an emperor to fulfill the promise of Micah:

Micah 5:2 NIV

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

As we prepare to enter into a moment of worship, I want to give you one thing to do: Seek God’s Grace. Whatever part of your life feels the most "crowded" or "lonely" tonight—be it a relationship, a worry, or a loss—stop trying to manage it on your own. Let the "Light of the World" enter that space.

In a moment, we are going to dim the lights. The world outside is still moving; the "census" of our lives is still demanding our attention.

But right here, we are making the room that Bethlehem didn't.

We are going to take the light of Christ and pass it from one person to another. We pass the light of Christ from one to another. Hold your lit candle upright and allow others to let theirs off yours.

As your candle is lit, imagine the "stable" of your heart. It may feel dark, it may feel messy, but when the Light enters, the chaos has to flee.

The world was loud and the rooms were full, but in that one quiet corner of Bethlehem, there was finally a "Holy Night."

Let's stand together, light our candles, and welcome the Savior as we sing.

Transition to Song:

The world was loud and the rooms were full, but in that one quiet corner of Bethlehem, there was finally a "Holy Night." Let's stand together, light our candles, and welcome the Savior into our midst as we sing.