Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Focus Statement
There is a big difference between God for us and God with us.
The birth story is a perfect example of that.
A bunch of shepherds and a couple poor kids gather at a barn in some backwater Roman province.
Yes, God was with us there
and any other "last place on earth” you might find yourself.
God is with us there, too.
Point of Relation
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a person who has struggled with depression and, especially, anxiety.
The two feed off of each other really.
For years, I had tried different things to conquer those diseases and to very different levels of success.
This went on for my whole life, right up until this year...
I had spent all of those years for God to help me.
Yet, it felt like God did not hear my prayers.
You ever have that happen?
Well, I have...
Over time, I just figured there was to be no real relief from the hell that is anxiety and depression.
I speak openly about it because I am not the only who experiences this…and so hopefully people knowing my story makes them feel less alone in theirs.
But over time, I figured I was a hopeless cause.
Then one day I was getting tattoo work done...
And my tattoo artist was talking about anxiety and different things that have helped her.
And, in doing so, I realized that there were legitimate and effective avenues I had not considered or tried.
I realized God had answered my prayer at a time I wasn’t looking for it...
at a time when I was just living my ordinary…plain…life…getting more tattoos as I am wont to do! LOL!
Things to Consider
When we think of God showing up for us…we often let our imaginations run wild!
We expect a Charlton Heston like experience...
With a big booming voice from the sky, flashy miracles like a non-burning, burning bush,
or we imagine God stopping something from happening
or even making something happen against the laws of nature, etc.
Or we often think things have to be a certain way for God to show up
For example, we think we have to be in a calm, quiet place,
in church,
or once we’ve started reading the Bible.
Yet, Jesus’ birth shows us that God with us
means God has chosen to enter our messy, busy, imperfect humanity as one of us
(this is the incarnation)
What Scripture Says
The way the writer of Luke tells Jesus’ birth story is special.
The writer describes what is going on in the world at the time,
not just what is going on religiously but what is going on socially/politically.
Augustus calls for a census.
People are traveling to take care of these civic responsibilities.
The world does not stop.
There is no fanfare for God’s arrival.
It is while world affairs keep going that God enters the world in the infant Jesus.
In the first chapter of Luke, the story alternates between preparing for John the Baptist’s birth and Jesus’ birth.
While it’s clear Jesus is the Messiah and John is not,
this back and forth emphasizes how Jesus’ story happens alongside
and within the story of regular human beings.
Further, alternating the John/Jesus stories situates Jesus as the fulfilment of the Jewish hope for a Messiah
God does not bypass the religious faith of the people of Israel but enters into it,
albeit in a way that they would not have imagined.
While Jesus enters into the social, political, and religious world of the Ancient Near East “as it is,”
the incarnation (enfleshment of God) does mark the beginning of a new way of God relating to humanity.
In verse 10, the angel tells the shepherds that the newborn child is “the Messiah, the Lord.”
This word, “Lord,” is the same one used to refer to God (YHWH) in the Greek translation of the Jewish Scriptures
that would have been widely used at the time.
This is a big surprise!
People are using the name given to the God who split the Red Sea
and brought the Israelites out of Egypt to describe a vulnerable baby born to a poor family.
The all-powerful God who may have felt too big to approach
is now actually with us
AS ONE OF US.
God is near to us and God will know our human experience from the inside,
not from a divinely safe distance.
Not only does the story of Jesus’ birth show us God with us as humanity, in general,
but further as God on our side, as human beings living in a world
and under systems that constantly threaten to undermine our humanity.
Under Emperor Augustus, who called for the census, the Roman empire entered a time called the “Pax Romana” (Roman Peace) –
a time of “peace” and “stability” – except that it only looked that way.
This political peace was achieved by killing off any enemies and suppressing anyone who disagreed with the ruling empire.
The emperor, Caesar August, was referred to as Lord.
The birth of Jesus is “good news of great joy for all the people,”
not just the powerful or those who were useful to the Roman political machine.
A new Lord is now on the scene, wrapped in cloth and lying in an animal’s trough.
This means God does not operate by the rules of the world
or any regime of what defines humanity as worthwhile.
God is here to bring true peace and joy for everyone,
starting with those whom the world has despised.
God loves humanity enough to become human,
not ruling with iron fist from above,
but babbling from a manger in true human solidarity and compassion.
What This Means For You
I want you to consider the ways you shut God out of the very human, ordinary, or messy parts of your lives.
For instance, when we come to church…we put on a good show, right?
We dress our best, act our best, and pretend we’re good Christians...
Not in need of help from anyone.
Yet, privately....personally…we now that is a façade.
We know that we really do struggle with things.
We sin…no matter how much we don’t want to admit it.
We hide those sins for fear that people will judge us...
In fact, we do this so well…that we often forget we are sinners...
or we justify our sins because of the “good people” we’ve fooled ourselves into believing we are.
Sure, we pray to God…we pray for help, for him to appear to us where we need...
But we don’t seek Christ out…we don’t spend time reading the Scriptures…we don’t pray often and consistently...
And for some, worship is merely a weekly obligation…if it is that at all...
And we don’t really bother serving God in community...
As it doesn’t fit our schedules.
Hence, why God seems to be far away, over and above you...
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