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Christmas Eve
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Mike Moffitt, December 24, 2017


From the Ground Up

Text: Luke 2:1-14

I recently read where professional wrestler John Cena was acknowledged for granting more wishes through the Make-A-Wish Foundation for children who have life threatening illnesses than any other celebrity. Apparently, he has given of his time to personally visit 500 children who are gravely ill. It was a very touching story about one man’s attempt to use his popularity with kids to make a difference in their lives while they are suffering. His motto has always been “Never Give Up” and that’s what he tries to instill into the hearts and attitudes of the kids and families that he meets. Many families stay in touch with Cena, sometimes writing that the time spent helped turn the child's attitude and physical condition around. He also receives heartfelt, thankful letters for brightening days for children who eventually died. It’s really amazing how much instilling hope into the human heart can change attitudes and even influence a change in the direction that people are going.

You may be asking yourself why I would begin a Christmas sermon with a story about the kindness of a professional wrestler but actually I think it fits with what I want us to focus on about the coming of the Christ child.

We will be focusing on the story of the birth of Jesus Christ from the perspective of Luke’s gospel. Each of the gospel writers chose a different way to introduce the coming of the Savior into the world.

Matthew chose to begin with the historical account of the genealogies leading up to the birth of the Savior to prove that he was indeed from the lineage of King David as had been foretold and that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah.

Mark begins with the story of John the Baptist, the herald and messenger, crying out in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’ from the prophet Isaiah chapter 40. Then Jesus arrives on the scene as a grown man preparing to begin the ministry that he had come for.

The gospel of John begins with declaring that Jesus Christ was divine, the eternal God who came in the flesh. He began with In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Whereas John starts with the whole story of Jesus’ position as the God and King who came down and became one of us for our salvation, Luke takes an approach from the ground up and begins with how he came. All the gospel accounts are right and true and are coming at the same truth from different angles and perspectives but for our purposes tonight let’s consider Luke’s account.

Let’s look again at our gospel story from Luke 2:1–7,

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 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 clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Our reading tonight begins the story of Jesus’ birth during the reign of Augustus, one of the most remarkable men of ancient history. He was born with the name Octavian, named after his father. His grandmother was the sister of Julius Caesar, and being a talented young man, Octavian came to the attention of his great uncle. Julius Caesar came to adopt Octavian as his son, and he was made his official heir in 45 B.C. For decades, the world Augustus lived in and Jesus would be born into, the world of the Mediterranean basin, was wracked by wars, destruction, brutality, financial hardship, and immorality.

Caesar Augustus changed that in a dramatic way. He brought peace by defeating all his enemies and building a structure of political and administrative skill. He also brought tyranny and absolute control over all parts of society and government. He took on the name Augustus which had before been applied to holy objects and places and to certain divinities. By taking the name, he was clothing himself with a halo of sanctity and the protection of religion and the gods. This is the world that Jesus was born into and it was hungry for a savior, but not a political one.

Caesar Augustus decreed that everyone in the Roman Empire needed to register themselves in the town of their birth. Historians suspect that the reason for this was two-fold:

  1. This was the best way to efficiently find out the names of everyone in the Roman Empire so that they could be taxed.
  2. Augustus knew how to rule and he was known to be very aware of the nationalistic pride and passion of his subjects. So he sent everyone to their birth place to soften the blow of taxation because even though they had to travel to register and they had to pay taxes, they also were able to gather with family and friends that they may not have seen in a long time.

All this seems like rather ordinary until you realize what it was that really happened and why. Since Joseph’s family was from the line of David he needed to go to his ancestral home to register. Legally he did not need to take Mary and in most cases he probably would not have since it was approximately 80 miles away and she was very pregnant. He most likely took her with him because even though they were betrothed they had not consummated their marriage. There was a real possibility that Mary would have been ostracized or worse because she was clearly with child, so Joseph could have taken her with him as a way to comfort and protect her. Neither of them could see what God was doing in sending them there together. It had been prophesied around 700 years earlier that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea. Micah 5:2–5,

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.

The truth is that as Augustus sat in his palace and made his decree, he thought that it was because of his power and authority and position in the Empire as sovereign lord. In truth he was nothing more than a tool that God used to accomplish his will. God caused Caesar Augustus to rise up in power and authority over an entire empire and in many ways, he fulfilled the same function as John the Baptist in that he prepared the way for Jesus.

As important as Augustus was to that time, his legacy did not last. He died and very few in the world today have any idea who he was, and this is where the second part of the story is such a contrast to the first.

It doesn’t say how long Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem. It merely says that while they were there it was time for her to give birth. There was probably no place for them in the Inn because Bethlehem would have most likely been packed due to the census. Even family and friends may have been unable to provide accommodations to Joseph and Mary because other friends and family were there ahead of them. They found shelter in a stable, which could also have been a cave where animals were kept, and this was possibly owned by family or friends. Either way Mary gives birth and wraps the baby in strips of cloth to protect him from the filth of a stable and injury to his limbs and then she places him on the straw in a manger used for feeding animals.

The contrast between the birth’s humble circumstances and the child’s greatness could not be more apparent. The promised one from God enters creation to dwell among the creation. The creator himself enters as one created and this reveals that God was at work fulfilling the promise that he had made to redeem those without hope and this Messiah’s first throne room was a stable.

Luke has drawn a vivid contrast between man’s idea of greatness and what true greatness is. Caesar Augustus was esteemed among men as being powerful and wise but for all that he did to further the Roman Empire, it did not last and they became a conquered people themselves. While during the same period a child was born in poverty and humility to a teenage mother and an elderly earthly father and after 2,000 years we are remembering and celebrating his birth as we anticipate his return to fully restore all things.

Our gospel text shows us that the birth of this child that had been spoken of through the prophets was also a reason to celebrate among the Heavenly hosts. Let’s read again from Luke 2:8–14,

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. And the angel said to them, “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. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!

I love to think about this scene with the shepherds keeping watch over the sheep outside and suddenly an angel from the Lord appears to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. Remember the story in Exodus 33:18 where Moses asks the Lord, show me your glory, then God allows him to see only his back as he passes by. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai after seeing the glory of the Lord he glowed so brightly that the children of Israel could not bear to look at him. Now here is an angel just come from the presence of the Lord addressing the shepherds in the field at night when it was very dark. This scene must have been really luminous but I don’t believe that their fear was based solely on the glory of God shining all around but also because of the appearance of an angel. I suspect that if one of the Heavenly hosts was standing before you it would wake you right up. As I mentioned this morning they instill fear because they are the mighty warriors of Heaven and the protectors of God’s people and they are most likely fearsome to behold.

In this case the angel did not come to do battle, but he came bearing good news of great joy. The word used for “good news” in the Greek is “euaggelizō” which is the word used for gospel and the root word for evangelist. The angel is telling the shepherds to not fear because the good news has finally arrived. The angel is encouraging them to rejoice as the identity of the child is revealed to them and his major roles in coming are revealed in one sentence: he is Savior, Lord and Christ, that is, deliverer, master and anointed king. In this setting God is showing his true heart for those who are broken and without hope.

The one who has authority over all of creation and has eternally ruled and reigned in righteousness and power did not come to us in splendor and fanfare but instead he spends his first night in the open air and is announced to the lowliest people in the culture: shepherds. To be a shepherd was to be at the lowest rung in society. They were not trusted but were considered those who had questionable ethics and morals, but these were the ones to whom Jesus was first announced to.

Born in the ancient equivalent of homelessness, Jesus arrives to fulfill God’s promise and show God’s concern for people regardless of their social status or vocation. The angel tells them that they will know that these things are true when they see the child lying in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes. This was not a mystical sign but a real life and tangible sign of God’s blessing and favor.

As if the angel and the glory of God were not sign enough, a multitude of the Heavenly hosts (warriors of the kingdom) who stand before the throne of God to do his bidding suddenly appear singing and praising God saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! They had come to announce that God through this child was the peace offered to men and he would also show the way of peace between men. This child would make a way for the justice of a holy God to be satisfied and peace to eventually be returned to creation.

Even the pagans of the first century sensed this need for peace and a savior. Epictetus, a first century pagan writer expressed this:

While the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which men yearn for more than outward peace.

Our reading from Titus 2:11–14 reminds us of this,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of 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.

Our reading from Isaiah 9 is a prophetic word written over 600 years before the birth of the child but reveals to us the character and nature of this child that was born that night in Bethlehem.

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, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Here’s the irony: all the things foretold about him are not reflected in the baby lying in a manger or even as a falsely convicted criminal hanging on a cross. He doesn’t look the part of Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. In the Old Testament God was clearly seen through his power over the enemies of Israel and his deliverance of them in amazing ways. The Father then sent the Son as his perfect image bearer. Hebrews 1:3 says that, the Son is the radiance of the Fathers glory and the exact representation of his nature, but in him we don’t see the thunderous power from Heaven but the tenderness and humility of God.

Who could have seen that coming? They were expecting someone like Caesar Augustus but instead received a Savior that would truly bring peace and restore all things to where they were intended to be. That seems to be the way of the God who shows mercy and grace. He comes to us in ways that we weren’t expecting but he brings something more wonderful than we asked for.

The day will come when Jesus will return in power manifesting his authority and glory but in the meantime his presence is usually seen in the most unlikely of circumstances, places and in the most unlikely people, like you and me.

Tonight, as we gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord we need to be careful that we don’t miss his glory by the distractions of those things that are false gods meant to take our focus off the hope and good news announced by the angels so long ago. For those here tonight who have found salvation through Jesus Christ, this night is a reminder that we are called to be those who continue to announce the Good News of great joy that the child was born, the Son was given, and he now reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all creation. Our response is to go and tell this to all people. Remember, that hope can change the attitude and direction of those in despair.

For those here tonight who have not yet realized that your only hope for peace and salvation is through coming to Jesus Christ and embracing him as savior and Lord, we invite you to surrender to him tonight. This is the reason for the season. Let’s pray.

©2017 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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