Sermon for SMHP, Christmas Eve 2017
Luke 2:1-14
In
those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be
registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while
Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be
registered. 4Joseph 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. 5He went to be registered with Mary,
to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
6While
they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And
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.
8In that
region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their
flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and
the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10But
the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news
of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be
a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a
manger.” 13And 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.”
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.’ 16So they went with haste
and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.17When
they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen,
as it had been told them.
“There was no place for them in the
inn.”
Jesus was born into a world that was
full. Full of empires. Full of rulers for those empires and
kingdoms—Augustus, Quirinius, Herod.
The world was so full it was
necessary to count. Count the
people. Count their money. Take some of it. Take some more. Give it to the people who already had enough.
This is the setting into which God
chose to be born. A world that, for all
intents and purposes, belonged to Augustus, and Quirinius—men who had taken it,
and held it, by force.
This is the world into which God
chose to become incarnate…in the most exquisite of contrast to all of the
power and extravagance of Empire. “A
child, wrapped in bands of cloth, and lying in a manger…” because “there was no
place for them in the inn.”
The inn had no place for them. The world didn’t seem to have room for
Emmanuel to be born.
But the animals made room. And some shepherds made haste, having heard
that a thing had taken place that was for them. For them and for
all of the people left out by the empire’s lopsided allegiances.
The shepherds made room in their busy
night of shepherding to go and see the thing that had taken place…just as all
of you have made space to come and see and hear about the thing—the most amazing thing that ever happened. It has taken place for us tonight; it takes place at this time every year. Every time we remember that God came down for
us. That a child has been born for us.
We need to hear and to tell that story every year, but I
feel as if this year it might be particularly poignant.
Our world doesn’t seem to have much
room for Jesus right now, either.
Even the celebration of his birth
doesn’t seem to have much room for him—for his messy humanity and his
egalitarian values and his love for all people.
There seems to be less room for those
things these days.
I’m afraid the image that sums up the
world this Christmas for me is going to be that Mercedez commercial--you might it: a little boy wakes up and runs to the
window. He looks out at the empty snow
covered driveway and hangs his head in disappointment. The same scene plays out when he is an older
boy, and then a teenager.
Next scene, and a little voice says,
“Daddy, it’s Christmas!” The man rolls
out of bed and heads for his living room, passing a window. He slows, stops, and goes back to the
window. Outside in the driveway is a
Mercedes GLE Sport Utility Vehicle with a big silver bow on it. He looks at it with surprise and delight as a
voiceover says “Mercedes-Benz: the best
or nothing.”
The best or nothing. It’s not a bad sentiment, is it?
But is the “best” way to celebrate
Jesus’ birth really buying each other luxury cars? Or feeling bad because we can’t buy luxury
cars and therefore what we give is essentially “nothing,” according to the
advertising executives with the Mercedes account.
The firm that gave us “the best or
nothing” as the tag line to a commercial about Christmas.
They were on the right track, those
executives. “The best or nothing” is a
good tag line for Christmas. It needs a
little polish, though.
How about this: “Christmas:
Jesus or nothing”?
Because I’m guessing when each of us
wakes up tomorrow morning and looks out into the driveway, there’s not gonna be
a Mercedes with a big silver bow.
And we won’t miss it.
There will be a savior. (Not in
your driveway, cuz that would be weird.)
There will be good news of great joy for all the people.
The best news ever. At a time when we really need to hear it.
So hear it, people of God:
No matter who you are or where you’ve
been, God loves you!
No matter what’s under your tree, or
not under your tree, or in your driveway, God loves you!
God became human and was born on a
night long ago in Bethlehem, to teach us how to love one another and to remind
us how much God loves us.
Our world may be struggling to make
room for Jesus, but we don’t have to. We
can make a big space for him, and let him be incarnate in us, just as he was
long ago in the City of David.
Our world is full once again. Full of empires and threats and
inequity.
But this night our world is full of
hope. For we are full of love.
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