| In those days a decree went out
from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This
was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius
was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns
to be registered. Joseph 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. He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a
child. While they were there, the time came for
her to deliver her child. And 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. |
| In that region there were shepherds
living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock
by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terrified. But the angel said to
them, "Do not be afraid; 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. This will be a sign
for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth
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 heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!" |
| 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." So
they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the
child lying in the manger. |
| When they saw this, they made
known what had been told them about this child; and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her
heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told
them. |
|
| Luke
2:1-20 |
| A familiar Christmas hymn has us sing, “Gentle Mary
laid her child, lowly in a manger; he is still the undefiled,
but no more a stranger. Son of God, of humble birth, beautiful
the story! Praise his name on all the earth, hail
the King of glory.” |
| The “King of glory” lies lowly in a manger. The “Son
of God” is of humble birth. Is this story “beautiful”? In
what way? I wonder if we’ve desensitized ourselves
from the scandal of God’s incarnation because we are
scared about what this scandal means in relation to our lives. That
we stand in need, always, of grace. |
| A decree went out and all the world, well the Roman world,
was to be registered. Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem
as per the Emperor’s orders. God Incarnate was
not born in Mary and Joseph’s hometown of Nazareth in
one of their family’s homes! God was born in Bethlehem,
the place Mary and Joseph were ordered to go. God was
born to a young unwed mother and her fiancée. God
was born to parents who were refused hospitality when Mary
was about to give birth. The story on this level doesn’t
sound so “beautiful”. Our God, the Ancient
of Days, was born in the dwelling of barn animals. Jesus
was a weak and vulnerable baby of parents who were just as
clueless as most new parents are about raising their baby. |
| Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth points us toward
the particular in the story. We are not supposed to gloss
over the circumstances of Jesus’ birth. The details
are there for us to ponder in our hearts and minds just as
Mary did. For it is God, who was born in lowly and vulnerable
conditions, whom Luke proclaims has come to save us. |
| The good news of God who came to be with us is mixed, for
all times, with what society considers lowly, scandalous, and
perplexing. Luke intended the story to read this way
because he believed only heaven could explain to the average
person the beauty of God’s incarnation. We worship
power and might. Who can accept the glory of God mixing
with lowliness? |
| So as shepherds in the fields were tending their sheep, in
the midst of an ordinary night’s work, the Messiah’s
birth is announced from the heavens by an angel. “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.” (Lk. 2:10-11) A multitude
of angels filled the sky giving glory to God in the highest. They
reveal that Jesus who looks utterly unpromising as an earthly
king, the promised Messiah, has come as God’s grace and
glory. |
| We need to hear Luke’s story of God who came and dwelt
among us. It’s the story of God incarnate, God
with us, who faced all that we have to face in this world. St.
John Chrysostom wrote in the Fourth Century that in Jesus,
God “decreed that shame shall become honor, infamy be
clothed with glory, and abject humiliation the measure of his
goodness. For this he assumed my body…taking my
flesh, he gives me his spirit…that he may save me….
Because God is now on earth, and man in heaven; on every side
all things commingle…(that God) might dwell amongst
us.” (1) In
Jesus, God shares our humanity and knows our desire, suffering,
joy, and sorrow. |
| Through the eyes of faith the glory of God revealed in human
weakness becomes for us a “beautiful” story as
God transforms our humanity by living as one of us. |
| God came in Jesus to show the depths God will go to give
us grace. This knowledge makes “beautiful the
story!” We cannot do a thing to save ourselves;
we are receivers of grace. Some days we stand with our
hearts open to receive God’s grace and love. Other
days we deny God with us. Yet we daily receive God’s
grace nonetheless! It is good news that we are indebted
to the grace of God revealed in the Christ child whose birth
was unpromising by the world’s standards. The
Incarnation leads us to believe that God will continue to give
grace to each one of us as we stand in need of continual reconciliation. |
| Luke proclaimed that God’s glory was revealed for the
particular individual as well as for the world! To you
is born this day a Savior! Receivers of grace, let us
welcome God into all the nooks and crannies of our lives. There
is no place to be ashamed of, no place God is afraid to enter,
and walk alongside of, and transform. Luke told us the
good old story. God’s glory is revealed in unexpected
places! What may look lowly at first glance could end
up being just the place, situation, time or life in which God’s
glory is revealed most clearly. |
| The Word became flesh and dwelt among us; therefore every
human life can be redeemed through God’s gracious love! This
is the good news of great joy for all the people. |
| Amen |
| Beth E. Godfrey - December 24, 2005 |
| Central Presbyterian Church, Geneseo, New
York |
| (1). St.
John Chrysostom, “The Mystery” in Watch for
the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas (Orbis Books:
Maryknoll, NY, 2001) 232-3. |
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