Christmas Eve - Impossible Hope

2 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 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. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 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.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 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: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Merry Christmas! We celebrate the Messiah, Christ the Lord, was born on this day, in a simple manger, surrounded by shepherds and animals and sojourners who traveled far and wide to participate in an imperial census. We celebrate that light has dawned, light of God with us, light of the world of whom angels sing. On this the deepest of early winter nights, we celebrate the light of Jesus’ birth.

This Advent season, I’ve been thinking a lot about the impossibility of this story, how all circumstances seemed stacked against the Holy Family, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. They are road weary, functionally homeless, alone. There is no cozy blanket to curl up in, no hot chocolate to soothe their weary spirits. Instead of a sanitized delivery room, the birth occurs amidst the smells and muck of a stable. Where we would normally expect well-wishers, a midwife or doctor, instead we have oxen, sheep, doves, and the like.

Think of this story told today. A displaced family, hunkered down in the cold underneath an overpass, the crying mother delivering her child. Perhaps they find themselves instead out in the shivering cold of our flooded Whatcom county, sneaking into the back of a dairy farm barn to hopefully find somewhere warm to sleep. Or perhaps they are among the countless refugees, longing for home, yet uprooted by war, climate disasters, and poverty. These are all impossible circumstances that no child should have to be born into.

And yet, it is into the impossible that Christ is born. A world of fear. A world division. A world of great uncertainty.

Perhaps, if he were born today, he might not make it. In so many ways, born into this manger at a stable, he shouldn’t have made it.

And yet, it is into the impossible that Christ is born.

Not only is this birth the dawning of an impossible light, but the impossible expands to encompass all creation. We see angels descending on shepherds, their situation not far from where Mary and Joseph and Jesus find themselves. The deep night, a nomadic people, doing their best to get by tending their sheep.

It is to these shepherds, these representatives of all humanity, that angels alight and sing of God’s glory. Not the glory of a selfish emperor, looking to gain more taxes through a properly counted and subdued population. But rather, glory that shines to these shepherds and invites them into a greater story, the full life of God’s way.

Here the words of verse 10 again: Do not be afraid; for see — I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people!

The glory they proclaim is for all people. Lowly shepherds and children born into squalor. Peasants and kings. The outcast, the pilgrim, the emperor, the servant. God’s glory is revealed to all who are waiting in this deep night.

And so it is for us — this night, from wherever we have come, this night draws us into this story of good news. All people means us, too. From where have you journeyed? What impossible struggles do you face? What uncertainty fogs your way? Come, let the Christ child be born in you today too.

This night, this feast of the nativity, this celebration of the birth of Christ — this moment is an impossible gathering up of all hopes, all fears, all struggles and standing, with them, to be received in love and comfort by the God of all Creation. The God of all is born not into the mighty, the powerful, the rich. The God of all is born in us — God is born and is with us. We may be rich, we may be poor, we may be hurting, we may be healthy — God is born in us today.

Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those he favors.

Who does God favor? Who is God with?

You. Us. All creation. Praise God for this, the good news and impossible hope of Christmas.

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