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Home , Christ Child, Nativity of Jesus

The miracle we all share

SERMON Dec. 24/25 2020

Joy to the world! is come!

We celebrate again the of and we marvel at the wonder of it all.

We hear from of God’s promise and God’s fidelity. Paul in his letter to Titus describes the life of faithful and the result of living ethically: becoming heirs of God according to the hope of eternal life.

We sing to the Lord a new song on , reciting Psalm 96, and Christmas Day we praise God and the endless power of the Almighty. The stage is set for the most wondrous miracle of all, the deepest example of God’s love for us: the . Of course anyone who has ever given birth or witnessed a birth or even seen one discreetly portrayed on TV knows there is no miracle greater in our minds that the birth of a child. It is a marvel so incredibly sublime, yet so extraordinarily ordinary and commonplace. That you and I could have been born in such a way, you and I, just as Jesus was, creates for us the confidence of affinity with the child through his humanity.

Our this Christmas does more than tell the story of Jesus birth. In fact it does something other than tell the story of Jesus birth. It conveys the dire need of humanity for a savior, the desperate circumstances of the ’s birth, the frightened hostility of the emperor and the fearful delight of the shepherds, confronted by bearing Good News.

These are age-old conditions, known by people everywhere, known for ever, before Jesus and ever since.

Yet here we are, filled with delight as we learn of Jesus’ safe arrival, despite the conditions, travel and threats. And we realize we greet every birth that way, recognizing that lives are not easy, especially for expectant mothers.

We know a little about the “registration” required by Emperor . We know about using demographic information for political purposes. And we know the awareness of the impending birth of the was a source of considerable concern for the political authorities. They wanted him done away with, much as Pharoah wanted Jewish boy babies killed, to avoid the expected Jewish uprising by a new leader we came to know as .

From other Gospel accounts we know King Herod intended to do way with the baby Jesus. It is difficult in this age of mail-in census options and same day voting registration to imagine how great an imposition the registration was on the people. Their lives were hard enough without having to make a journey to the place of the father of the family’s birth to check in. Travel was infrequent because it involved expense, time, and loss of whatever income or crop gathering or flock tending the family had to survive on most of the time. We can hardly imagine.

It establishes a brutal backdrop for the trip Mary and Joseph were taking, however. It tells us they knew their mission was critical, despite the dangers.

Because they were engaged to marry, the very pregnant Mary traveled with Joseph from to . In Israel it is about 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The distance is covered by people walking or being borne by a donkey, which we believe or at least hope, Mary was. With Mary very near full term, that must have been quite a ride! Again, unimaginable to us today.

The stay in the stable conveys to us the degree to which everything was in upheaval due to the registration. And it makes clear to us that miracles do happen in the most unlikely places and to the most humble human beings.

Again we can relate to this story. We know of humble births. We know of people of no means who manage to deliver and care for newborns. We know of families operating under great stress—especially these days—who still get it together for the birth of a child.

This is one of the miracles of the Nativity account: although extreme, it is actually quite ordinary. The miracle of birth is the aspect that all of us reflect upon, despite its being utterly commonplace. How could we not? That’s how we got here, how our kids got here, and the more we learn about it and see of it the more we are amazed by it.

This miracle is unto itself a gift from God. But so is the special awareness of it that we receive with the Christmas nativity account. Because this is Jesus who is being born, who will grow up and become our Savior. And here he is, just like everyone else (so far). Being born. It thrills us no end.

When we come to the shepherds and their encounter with the , and then with the heavenly host, we come to realize that the message is not only for the rich and powerful, not only for the Family, but for every single person, no exceptions. By revealing these truths to shepherds God was saying, “Yes, even these. Yes, even you.”

So the shepherds hustled to Bethlehem and found precisely what the angels said they’d find. They told Mary and Joseph and others and all were amazed.

Our Gospel lesson this Christmas makes two key final points: the shepherds went back to work, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as well they might, these humble .

“But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

The heavens had revealed for Mary the truth that comprises our faith. We find ourselves at Christmas in the year 2020 with a more thorough grasp of the forces at work 2000 years ago on the first Christmas. We recognize in the registration demands and the travel mandate and the underlying murderous intent of King Herod what can only be called authoritarian megalomania. We see in the yearning of the shepherds for their experience to be recognized as real, and not a fantasy, the desire of people everywhere to live lives more free, more faithful, more fulfilling. And we see in the still unwed Mary the of a good life for her child, as all mothers dream for their children. When we explore today’s lessons, especially and Paul’s messages to Titus we realize that people have always looked for guidance on how to live and for an understanding of how living that way will work out for them in the end. Paul’s letter to Titus, one of his key lieutenants, says nothing surprising. We are to “live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly.” Except that we are to do so because Jesus made it so by giving of himself for us. In so doing Jesus brought us a faith that made it possible for us to live that way. The result, Paul says, is we will enjoy eternal life, having lived a moral and ethical life. So here we are on Christmas examining the aftermath of Jesus’ earthly ministry, with the babe still in the . This is another fascinating example of the time warp and timelessness of Christian teaching. Paul is exhorting Titus to remind Jesus’ followers that the promise of eternal life will be fulfilled for those who choose to follow his teachings, and by his I mean Jesus’ teachings, not Paul’s. And to clarify even further, the teachings of the grown Jesus, not the baby Jesus. In case you wondered. It’s complicated to connect Paul’s rather moralistic directions with the newborn in the stable. But the point, and perhaps what Mary is pondering in her heart, is how massively important the teaching of her baby boy will be for the world, how clearly it will change how people think about right and wrong and how they live their lives. In the Gospel lesson the shepherds have little choice but to go and see if what they have been told by the angel, with reinforcement from the heavenly host, is true. And indeed, it is. And they share it freely when they find Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, confirming for the the heavenly affirmation. It all comes together as we bear witness to the five scenes: the registration, the road trip, the shepherds, the angels, and the gathering at the stable. Like Mary we treasure these words and ponder them in our hearts. Our faith recognizes them as true and our hope informed by the validation of the Gospel story this Christmas. So let us treasure the words and experiences of the Holy Family and the shepherds. Let us ponder the words, so incredible and fulfilling. Let us joyfully welcome again the babe in swaddling clothes. ! The Lord is come! Thanks be to God. Amen. Alleluia!