Luke
2:1-20
On this Christmas Eve I find the familiar
story of Jesus’ birth especially comforting. It’s a story that many of us have
heard year after year - maybe even for all of our lives. And in a year when so
much has changed and so much has been lost it’s especially nice to have at
least one thing remain the same. We may not be able to gather in person, but we
are united in spirit as we hear once
again the story of a child who is born. A savior who is come. The baby Jesus wrapped
in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.
InnAnd it is to that manger we are invited
to come. But before we get there, let us join those shepherds living in the
fields, minding their own business, keeping watch over their flock by night.
When all of a sudden, literally out of the blue, an angel of the Lord appears
before them, and the glory of the Lord shines all around them, and - guess
what? - they’re terrified. In fact, the original Greek reads that “they feared
with great fear.” It seems that the appearance of an angel in full on glory is a
rather frightening event - way out of one’s comfort zone. So after practically
giving these poor shepherds a collective heart attack, the angel speaks the
very first words we hear in the Christmas story, Do not be afraid.
But these words are not just meant for
those shepherds on a hillside long ago. They are meant for us as well, in our
time and in our place. Because we’ve all experienced rather frightening events
this year. We’ve all been pushed out of our comfort zone. Some of us may even
identify with the feeling of fearing with great fear. In all that we are facing
both in our collective life and in our personal lives, the first words of
Christmas for us are, Do not be afraid.
Honestly, though, those words have little
power in and of themselves. I mean who among us has ever stopped being afraid
just because someone told us to not be? What actually has the ability to calm
our fears is found in what the angel says next, 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. As that truth sinks in the “fear with great fear” that the shepherds
initially experienced is transformed by “news of great joy” - a Savior, the
Messiah, is born. The One whom we know as Emmanuel, God with us, is really with
us. And as we encounter God’s love with us, enfleshed in Jesus, fear fades and
joy, not necessarily happiness, but deep, soulful joy grows.
That’s certainly how it was for those
shepherds. Following their unexpected angelic encounter they are anxious to see
for themselves all about which they have been told. So they take off and find
this Savior, the Messiah, the Lord. But this time there is no spectacle. No
angel. No heavenly host, at least as far as the human eye can see. Instead, it
is a relatively ordinary sight - mother, father, newborn babe. Yet those
shepherds are not daunted. In what looks rather ordinary they are able to see
all that the angel proclaimed. And they are bursting with the same good news of
great joy - the wonder and mystery of God with us, even when it’s found in the
humble dwelling of a manger.
And it is to that manger that we are
invited to come. But not just to find comfort in a familiar story. Nor to come
as a passive spectator watching from a distance. But to come to the manger as
an active participant boldly trusting that even in the ordinary or even strange
circumstances of our lives we will encounter the divine. For tonight is born to
us a Savior, the Messiah. And with those shepherds we come not only to see but
be a part of the wonder of it all. We do this by bringing with us all of our
hopes and fears that we have experienced in this year of our Lord 2020.
Bringing to the manger all of our thanksgivings and disappointments. All of our
joys and sorrows. All of our desires and longings. We come bearing the fullness
of who we are so that we can be met by the transforming fullness of who Jesus
is - the pure love of God in the flesh. And as we encounter that divine love we
will begin to not only see with our eyes also know in our hearts that God is
always with us, that Jesus is the true fulfilment of all of our hopes as well
as the one who is able to calm all of our fears. And that truly is good news of great joy for all the people in
every time, in every place, and in every life.
Merry Christmas!
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