The Savior is Born

CONTEXT

Our lesson comes from the gospel according to Luke. It is story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Previously

The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, and said: You will conceive the Son of the Most High, virgin though you are.

The angel appeared to Joseph, and said: Take Mary to be your wife, the child is of God, you will name him Jesus.

Mary and Joseph both accepted this high calling upon their lives.

Then we are told the events of the birth.

Text

Luke 2:1–20 “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”

INTRODUCTION

Finally Christmas is here.

#1 Christmas question I am asked:….

Proably same question you are asked as Christmas approaches:

Are you ready?

I suspect that we are all on a spectrum of readiness. Some of us more ready than others.

God has a good word for all of us, prepared or not.

Christmas is not dependent on us being ready.

The good news of Christmas is that God is ready.

EXEGESIS 1: Travel to Bethlehem

Joseph and Mary had been chosen to be the parents of the Christ. The Son of God.

Like most couples, Mary and Joseph were probably preparing themselves to welcome their child in usual way.

An appointed, cleaned room. Wash basins. Experienced women. Family.

Maybe since their child was the divinely conceived Son of God, extra favorable flourishes. Extra smoothly and safely.

But then seemingly out of the blue Caesar proclaims that a census must be taken. Everyone has to stop what they are doing and register at their ancestral family homes

...for Joseph and Mary, this meant a 90 mile journey on foot for Joseph and on donkey for Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem. (From here to Jacksonville; about 4-days journey)

Expectations of a home birth replaced with an arduous, and even dangerous journey, during Mary’s last trimester.

Conversations during roadside breaks: We weren’t ready for this.

What they could not see at the time, was that God was ready.

Behind the scenes God is at work, for the prophets specified that the Messiah would be born not in Nazareth, but in Bethlehem.

Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.”

From ancient days, God planned the birth of his Son to happen in Bethlehem…to show all the clearer that Jesus was the Son of David, whose hometown that was.

The plans of the emperor were only the surface. The real mover of events was Almighty God.

Though the journey was not easy for the holy couple, they were enable by God’s grace to make it.

They did not think they were ready….but God was ready.

APPLICATION 1: God comes into our lives.

Mary and Joseph on the way to Bethlehem is a sign for us.

We are not in control of life. But that does not mean that life is out of control.

At Christmas we are celebrate that God is secretly at work in all our lives. Orchestrating all things so that Christ may come to us and be born in us.

Employer…surface. Finances …surface. Politics…surface. Health…surface.

Behind and Before all these things is our faithful God.

From ancient days he has known you and me and determined that in our chaos the Christ will be born.

“O you, who are one of the little ones, the least, or the lost…to you shall come the one whose origin is from of old and ancient days.”

At Christmas, we may not be ready. But God is ready.

EXEGESIS 2:The angels appear

So Mary gives birth to the Son of the Most High and Joseph names him Jesus, places him in the manger, the animal feeding trough, for there was no room for them in the inn. Not the situation they had anticipated, but according to the plan of God.

Then the scene shifts from the city to the country, to the fields where shepherds were watching over their sheep at night.

Suddenly a great light shines about the shepherds and an angel appears to them: I bring you good news, of great joy, for all people. Unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord.

Before the shepherds can begin to imagine the pomp and privilege that must attend such a divine birth they are told…this will be a sign for you — this is how you will know the Savior and Lord — he will be lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloths.

The shepherds were surprised to hear that the Lord and Savior would be laying in a manger, but God had it all prepared.

Later in the gospel Jesus is shown to be Savior: that he will save his people from their sins by giving his life on the cross

Then shown to be the Lord: by rising from the dead on the third day.

This was the mission that only the Son of God could perform.

Each detail of Jesus’ birth, though unexpected by the Shepherds, points in the direction of this plan.

Early church fathers, such as Ambrose, mused on the details:

Jesus’ life begins by being laid in a wooden manger because it will end on the wood of the cross.

“... he was wrapped in swaddling clothes to free us from the bonds of death […].

He came down on earth to enable us to rise up to heaven;

he had no place in the inn so that we might have many mansions in heaven.

He became poor for our sake—so as to enrich us with his heavenly blessings

The tears of this crying child prefigure the drops of blood that wash away our sins” (St Ambrose, Saint Luke’s Gospel, The Navarre Bible ,42.)

The shepherds were not ready for a lowly Lord and swaddled Savior, but God was ready to give them one.

APPLICATION 2: God saves us

At Christmas time, we celebrate God’s plan to give us a Savior who is the Lord in a way that we can receive him.

And by “we”, I mean all us sinners.

On the outside we are festive, and rightly so, for we celebrate good news!

But we also know our own hearts…our hearts are not palaces, spic and span…they are stables. Our souls are not grand temples, but mangers. Our innermost selves are cluttered with various sins and wounds and fears.

Christ comes into exactly that place. Coming as a baby placed in a manger on the first Christmas was God’s way of saying to us, you may not be ready for me, but I am ready for you.

At Christmas, we may not be ready. But God is ready.

EXEGESIS 3: Everyone Rejoices

The shepherds make haste to find the child described to them.

They go into town, go door to door, stop at the inn, ask questions, telling bits and pieces of their story.

In my imagination, other townspeople got drawn into the search. Soon you have a gaggle of people on the move.

Eventually their search leads them to Mary, Joseph and the baby, her first-born.

Probably Mary and Joseph first thought: This is what we need...strangers and shepherds.

Not prepared for this.

Then the shepherds began to tell their story in full.

the angels appeared!

A savior, Christ the Lord!

For all people!

He would be in a manger, swaddled in cloths.

As they speak…Mary treasured this all up in her heart. …Joseph stood a bit taller.

The townspeople begins to get caught up in the wonder

Slowly a transformation is happening.

Strangers and shepherds and couple are uniting together around the Christ Child.

The Bible’s first congregation.

These strangers did not expect to be all together…shepherds, townsfolk, visiting couple from Nazareth, pilgrims from other locations…maybe not ready to be together…but God was ready.

APPLICATION 3: Christ brings us together

We look around our world: We see division and conflict.

It all springs from our woundedness in sin.

We all have our own sins and our preoccupation with the sins of others that keep us at odds with then.

We don’t like cousin Eddie

We don’t understand people like this. If people like that would just stop…

And so we are separated from each other.

But when each of us is made right with God through Christ, our Savior and Lord, we also begin to get right with each other.

The holy couple, the shepherds, the strangers, gathered around Christ are sign for us of God’s goal in sending Christ.

Since Christ died to save each of us, he means to save us all together in Christ.

Ephesians 1:10 “as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

Here we are. What has brought us here? A holiday? A tradition? A person. Christ.

Slowly as we gather in faith, tonight, Sunday after Sunday, Christ begins to rebuild our relationship with him AND with each other

Through Christ, God acts on our prayer: let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me!

At Christmas, we may not be ready. God is ready.

CONCLUSION

#1 question at Christmas: Are you ready?

Christmas Answer: whether I am or not: God is ready.

Ready for us to give us Christ

Ready to forgive and save us

Ready to call us into the life of living together for him.

PRAYER

Glorious God, in Jesus your grace appears, bringing salvation to all. Help us to ponder your words of love by the light of your Spirit, that we may know and proclaim glad tidings of peace and we all might welcome Christ in our world. Amen.