Graced! It's A Boy... PEACE!

Enough Bad News!

It is now just one month since the bad news came through that there was a new variant of the Coronavirus we’re calling Omicron.

The entire world has reacted with an awful mixture of dread, fatigue, and a collective… O no! here we go again!

Two years of the breaking into our world by Covid has seen over 5mil lives lost and literally billions… billions of lives adversely affected in myriad ways.

The question I want to think a little bit about today is this:

How does the message of Christmas help us muster the strength, the courage, the energy to confront a whole new round of Covid?

Is the Christmas story simply a lovely way to end the year?

A bit of light relief after a hard year?

Or is Christmas simply a novel way of introducing the entrance of Jesus into the world so that he could teach us some amazing lessons about life and be an amazing example of the way life should be lived?

Is there anything in these amazing 20 verses at the start of Luke 2 to give us hope, courage and energy to tackle the myriad problems of the world in every age… including the problem that haunts us in every day and age?

For long before Covid came on the scene human lives were haunted by diseases and plagued by death at most inconvenient times leaving trails of grief and despair at every turn.

Covid has been a Tyrant!

Almost two years ago our Prime Minister went on national television saying something like… I have some bad news.

There is a very bad virus making its way around the world.

It will come to Australia.

It is deadly.

2020 is going to be a terrible year we would all rather forget.

Since then it has been lockdown, vaccinations, freedoms curbed, isolation, don’t sit on the beach or in the parks.

You can’t leave your house except for essentials or exercise.

Fines, face masks, QR codes.

People lost jobs; people unable to return to Australia.

Border closed… open.... closed.

Vaccination, double vaccination, booster vaccination. Delta, Omicron… bad news on bad news.

It seems to me that for the Jews of Jesus day under Roman rule felt a bit like us today under Covid.

Like us… the Jews, under Roman rule, had a very unwelcome visitor that made life very difficult.

For Israel, Rome was a tyrant!

Rome stopped them worshipping God as they believed they should.

Rome extracted taxes… made people do things they didn’t want to do.

And, the Jews under Rome like us under Covid, are both helpless to free ourselves from his clutches.

Rome and Covid make life miserable;

Rome and Covid extracts a pound of flesh from God’s people;

As much as we wont to be free, neither Rome nor Covid will leave us alone… we pray for God to intervene… yet, so often it seems - NOTHING.

Nothing!

But then... Christmas!

While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem Mary went into labour and had her baby… and placed him in a manger because there were no rooms left in town.

Amidst great fanfare and angelic visits a baby is born.

Perhaps God shouldn’t have bothered…

Really? Is that your answer?

Another angel. This is now the third appearance of an angel in Luke’s gospel.

This angel appeared to shepherds… protecting their sheep at night.

Once again we read… fear not! Angels must look quite different to most drawings we see of them.

Good News… of Great Joy - From a Messenger (Angel) of the Lord

But look at what this angel announced: Good news of great joy for all the people.

Normally the birth of a baby is good news for a family.

Usually… after a time of waiting in anticipation… a baby is born into a family… with all the hopes and dreams and expectation of the family for the baby.

We hope the baby will be healthy and grow normally and school well and find a place in our community where they are part of the solution for the ills of society more than part of the problem!

But Jesus’ birth was Good News of Great Joy for… all the people.

In the town of David, a Saviour has been born… to YOU; Christ the Lord.

But hang on a minute!

Israel already has a saviour!

He is Caesar Augustus, the lord of Pax Romana; peace of Rome.

Caesar Augustus ruled via a huge army over much of the known world.

He had a professional army of 23 legions that was well paid in money and land entitlements.

Rome had been at war for a couple of hundred years… but Caesar Augustus organised his army so well that no one successfully tackled Rome’s rule, right from England around the Mediterranean to Iraq for a couple of hundred years.

Submit to Rome… and you can live in peace: Simple.

What will save us from the one that has so successfully ruled over our lives for the last two years?

Close Australian borders; stop people gathering for social events; close the pubs, clubs, coffee shops and restaurants; close the state borders; Close the schools. Print lots of money and spread it around the countryside.

And now, if I can mention something controversial without getting into a long discussion… we’ve finally found the answer; everyone get the jab… or two… or three.

Now I must say I think vaccinations seem on the surface to help.

But the trouble for Israel… and Rome… 2000 years ago is that even if people didn’t die in war… there is one undeniable, unmissable and yet un-talked about fact: they still died.

Even if people are not dying from Covid… they’re still dying.

You can give people 100 vaccinations… and even if we could stop the virus… people are still going to die.

So here’s God’s answer to our real need.

Lk 2:10-11 “10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

The real problem with humanity in every age is not Rome (or China or Russia or Hitler or myriad dictators… and the people in every age who make life miserable for millions) but standing before a holy God to give an account of our lives.

Our greatest need is not the abolition of Covid or lockdowns, or even car accidents or diseases that ruin the lives of so many people for decades… and kill others and leave people weeping and grieving for years.

Our greatest need is still the same as it always has been: God is holy and I am guilty… and therefore under his just condemnation.

The angel said… Lk 2:11 “11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

Someone to save me… save me from God’s anger at me for ignoring him, living like he didn’t exist, for ruling my own life in my own way.

The the millions of angels reinforce the message, Lk 2:14 “14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.””

That indeed is Good News of Great Joy for all the people.

Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world.

Those who believe in him, trust in him, walk with him, and own him as their friend and Saviour in this life will find that he will stand alongside them in the next life and save them from God’s wrath.

Those people who think that our greatest need is rescue from the virus haven’t understood their need of the Good News of great joy; the birth of the Saviour of the world!

Accept him, throw your lot in with him, trust him and he promises to be with you and keep you and care for you through all the ups and downs of life. If Covid finished tomorrow; our problems won’t.

Human beings need Christmas to survive.

Well, not quite!

Human beings need saving from our sins if were to successfully navigate through this perilous life, the death that is surely coming and into the next life where there we find peace and rest. Full, sure and forever.