Sermon - Christmas Eve - Luke 2:1-20 - 2017

Merry Christmas! A special welcome to all of our guests and visitors with us this evening. It is such a joy and privilege for us to have you joining your voices with ours, the shepherds, and the angels this evening as we praise the one true God. I suspect that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are a couple of the most happy days in your life each year.

Here we are gathered together in this sanctuary, surrounded by gorgeous decorations both inside and outside. As you drive home this evening, I’m sure you’ll pass by any number of houses decked out in enough lights to give our electric companies a nice Christmas bonus this year. Along with the lights, the mood is enhanced by the chilly temps outside and the warm, cozy atmosphere inside. Soon we’ll light our candles, dim the lights, and sing everybody’s favorite: Silent Night. 

We’ll all go home, gathering around the Christmas tree, slipping into our comfy pants while we sip on a nice warm beverage. We’ll tear into our Christmas presents, elated at our new toys. Just as we will tear into our Christmas feast, of ham or roast beast. Oh the pleasures of Christmas are filled with happiness everywhere.

But what happens in a couple weeks when all have gone back home, the lights are torn down, the leftovers have been long eaten up, and the only thing left of the Christmas tree are stray needles that get caught in our socks. With everyone gone our loneliness and isolation really begins to sink in. With Christmas no longer on the mind, our old fears begin to creep back. We’ll set New Year’s resolutions to quit those bad habits and bad sins, until we fall back, once again feeling that old guilt and shame. But the one true joy of Christmas will always stay the same: the gospel of great joy in Jesus the Christ child takes away our fear, our isolation, and our sin.

On that first Christmas Joseph and Mary likely felt more fear, isolation, and shame than any happiness. Here they are, forced to return to Joseph's hometown by an occupying military force in order to be registered to pay more taxes to a foreign government. Mary is 9 months pregnant out of wedlock, yet betrothed to Joseph, as they make this trip on foot. Though they both know this child is Jesus, and Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, not through fornication, they are unwelcome in Joseph’s hometown. 

“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the” not inn, because there weren’t any inns, there was no place for them in the guest room. Here Joseph had returned home, his relatives live here, and yet not one is willing to give up their guest room for a woman in labor because they are ashamed of Joseph and Mary, they are ashamed of a baby. How sad. Talk about feeling isolated, alone, cold, and afraid while giving birth for the first time.

That same evening, shepherds felt some of the worst fear that has probably ever been felt. “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.” In the Old and New Testaments, about 80 times God and His messengers tell people to “fear not.” 

Each time an angel appears to people, they’re afraid, they fear. This time it’s not only an angel that appears before the shepherds, but  “the glory of the Lord shone around them.”  This is the same glory that dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the temple, the same glory of the Lord that shone like consuming fire on Mt. Sinai when God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses. This consuming fiery glory surrounded the shepherds. This is why they literally feared with great fear. These unholy sinful shepherds are surrounded by the holy, perfect, and righteous consuming glory of God.

Isolation, fear, and sin were all on the minds of those that first Christmas. This morning and last Sunday John the Baptist called us to repentance, showing us our sin that isolates us from God and each other, giving us a very good reason to fear. Our sin does isolate us, you know. Sin is always self-centered, pointing us to ourselves, causing us to look inward. Through our sin, we are blinded to those outside of ourselves, we are the “people who walked in darkness, who dwelt in a land of deep darkness.” 

As seemingly trivial and innocuous those sins might be, they always lead us to hate God and hate our neighbor, ultimately even causing us to hate ourselves. While Joseph and Mary probably felt much shame which they needn’t have felt, today it seems our sins have numbed the guilt and shame that we should feel when we sin. But when you do feel shame and guilt over sin, that’s appropriate, we should feel that way over what we’ve done. 

If that causes you to feel fear, rightly so. For God is perfectly holy and righteous. He punishes with far more than a slap on the wrist. His consuming wrath should seemingly never end on account of the magnitude of sins which all have perpetrated. So if after this Christmas season you experience feelings of fear and isolation because of those bad habits that you can never beat, even with New Year’s resolutions, I have good news of great joy to share with you this day and every day that is for all people: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

We who dwell in the deep darkness of our hearts “have seen a great light!” “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end.”

Though we’ve isolated ourselves and have been ashamed by our deeds that go before us, God has come unto us! Though Joseph and Mary may have been alone and shamed by their family, the Prince of Peace was born unto Mary and laid in her arms. Jesus, our God, has come to be with us and bring us into His presence. 

Christmas declares unto all the earth that we are not alone. Though our houses may be empty, and ours and others’ sins have cut us off from each other and God, Christ has come to restore that broken relationship by the power of His blood. As Christ came to Mary and Joseph in a poor lowly stable, so has He come to us in poor lowly elements of bread and wine, word and water. At this font, at this altar, at this pulpit too, your Jesus comes to you in a poor humble form. 

When our hearts are filled with fear by the strife of this life, fear of death, fear of germs, fear of sword and heartbreak. Fear of God’s holy, almighty wrath for His law that we break. The angels sing unto thee with the shepherds besides “fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 

You have nothing to fear, neither death, nor tempest, neither illness, nor pain, neither devil, nor hell “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” God, our God, Jesus has appeared in the form of a servant who dies for all people. He alone is our blessed hope in this present age where we stand surrounded by deep darkness. Jesus has come as the light of the world, “the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.” 

Jesus has come to redeem you from your sins, comfort you with His presence, and strengthen you to stand without fear. Like Mary this evening we treasure up all these things, pondering them in our hearts, knowing from where our salvation comes. But like the angels and shepherds, we don’t just ponder them for an evening, but continually returned “glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard.”

Each week Christ comes unto thee, not only Christmas and not only Easter, daily in fact in the Word and your baptism Jesus comes to be with you. So when the strife of this life once again overcomes the joy of Christmas, don’t wait until next year or the next holy day to find comfort in Christ. But flee to Jesus for refuge at all times. He has purified you in the waters of baptism, and made you a people for His own possession. You belong to Jesus now and always. Christmas is an everyday reality. Lift up your heavy hearts! We lift them unto the Lord! Merry Christmas!