A MESSAGE FOR THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
(a link to a worship service including this message on the YouTube channel is found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh1O1qnGcFI)
Prayer of the Day:
Almighty God, you make this holy night shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus’ presence and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Luke 2:1-20
2In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph 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. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And 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.
8In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” 15When 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.” 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
It is the nature of the Scripture that it is, well, lively. We can read the same passage over a period of time and, each time, it seems to mean something quite different. Sometimes, the meaning is so different it is as if it is a completely different passage. Different words seem to rush to the forefront. Different people seem to populate the story. And, sometimes, it is as if the passage meant nothing until this moment, as if it had been waiting for this very time. This can even happen with the most familiar passages.
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.” We have heard it dozens of times, maybe lots of dozens. We could recite most of the words from memory. We might get the names wrong: which Caesar; the proper spelling of Quirinius. But I think we would be pretty close on the main details. Then a pandemic strikes. And suddenly different words rush to the forefront.
“A decree went out…All went to their own towns to be registered.” An emperor in Rome decided that everyone needed to be counted – this would have been for taxation purposes – and messengers take this news all over the empire until it reaches some 4,000 kms away and Judea is suddenly a checkerboard that is turned upside down. Whatever passed for normal up until that point would have to wait. The Romans wanted to count everyone. So, everyone packed up and took to the highways and byways and entered into temporary lodgings somewhere they may have never been before. And they would stay there until the Romans said they could go home.
And here we are, amid a global pandemic, and half the world wondering whether it is safe to travel and the other half traveling like crazy. There are limits on who can gather with whom. There are families deciding whether to gather at all given each other’s vaccination status. A different kind of chaos, but chaotic all the same.
We are reminded at the very beginning that the first nativity was a story with global significance. Luke begins at the center of the known universe – Rome. Admittedly, here is a kind of arrogance reflected here, that Caesar considered his empire “all the world”. I mean, it was close. Britain and Western Europe, south across Spain to North Africa, across all the way to Egypt and the Holy Land, up to Turkey, and across Greece to Rome.
And we are not sure why Caesar picked that point in time to count everyone. I mean, we can say it was God and I am willing to sign off on that, but what was Caesar’s thought process here? One signet ring print in a clay tablet and the world is upended. It is good to be king. And the time it would take is hard to estimate. Caesar decided to count everyone. Messengers had to be dispatched from Rome to all parts of the empire. By land and sea, by foot and by horse and by ship and maybe by camel and who knows what. And the messages got to governors like Quirinius. They then had to get the word out to their populations. Their populations had to then determine where they needed to go. And then they had to get there. It really is staggering.
And in the midst of all this commotion and chaos are Joseph and a very pregnant Mary. Nazareth to Bethlehem is over 150 kms. The roads would have been congested with caravans of others relocating to their own towns. Everyone muttering about Rome and who did Caesar think he was and where would they stay and for how long. And the closer they got to Bethlehem, the more concentrated would be those to whom Joseph was related. Remember, if it was his town, it was the town of everyone to whom he was related. So, there may have been some family support for this young couple. Although maybe not. It was such peculiar situation with Mary pregnant during their betrothal. Joseph would have reassured everyone, but it may have still been quite awkward. Then again, the coming of a baby during all this chaos may have been a wonderful distraction.
Then they arrive. Oh my gosh. Where to stay? Bethlehem was not big enough for all these people. The earlier arrivals would have found space in inns to peoples’ home. The later arrivals may have had to camp out. Mary and Joseph? Well, there is no room. Likely not a malicious rudeness of an overwrought landlord. There were simply too many people and not enough room. Where to put this couple, this very pregnant young mother-to-be?
Our modern sensibilities marvel at the thought of a manger, a feeding trough. But a place had to be found and the animals were kept in a part of the house to there would be shelter and with some fresh hay in the manger, it would not be so bad. And remember, every relative Joseph had would have been in town. A baby? Imagine all the aunties!
And so, all the chaos of the world was quieted. There was not world stage here. Only the fish-eye lens view of a new baby and a new mother and a new father, surrounded by family, none of whom likely would have known anything about this particular baby. Only that there was something else to think about. A wonderful something else who would be named Jesus.
And talk about distractions! Into this happy scene entered shepherd…smelly, unkempt, shepherd. People preferred that shepherds stayed on the outskirts of town. And shepherds mostly did. But these shepherds had their own stories to tell. I never thought of this until this year. Did the shepherds have to move too? Were these local shepherds or transplanted shepherds? It actually makes no difference. Just a thought.
The story the shepherds had to tell was astonishing. They had been in the fields, keeping watch over their sheep. There were predators to be watched for. And sheep are, well, not bright. The sheep had to be watched because they might act like sheep. It was a night like a hundred other nights. Until…
9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
First, we saw this lowly couple, of no consequence to the world and certainly not to Caesar Augustus and Quirinius. Now entered the even more lowly shepherds. This lowly couple would be the parents of the Messiah. These lowly shepherds would be the first to hear the news. And what did they do? Something very un-shepherd-like. They left the fields and went to see what the angels had announced so dramatically. And, like the cover of a Christmas card, there are shepherds and family and Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. And the rest of the world has no idea that everything was about to change.
This Christmas is in no way what anyone expected, let alone wanted. The worship observances of Christmas here and around the world are in no way what anyone expected, let alone wanted. But maybe, in some small ways, we are brought closer to that first Christmas. Great tides of global significance ebb and flow around us. And what we have is what we have.
I share with you again a quote from the Reverend Dr. David Lose:
“It is an unexpected inversion of expectations that continues to reverberate through the ages and sets the pattern for how God acts in the world. Few if any remember much about Augustus or Quirinius, yet close to three billion people will celebrate the birth of the child born to Mary and Joseph this week. When circumstances threaten to overwhelm and people can feel like they have little control over their lives, it is perhaps important to remind our folks that God continues to care for the world through the small, easily overlooked gestures of love, whether the helping hand of a neighbor, a meal offered with love, the sacrifice of a congregation’s traditions for public safety, or the meager words of the preacher. In all these ways, God is at work, still changing, loving, and blessing the world. And at a time when it feels like so many of the grand gestures of Christmas have been taken away, perhaps we might find both comfort and courage that God is at work in the many, many small gestures we offer.” *
Christ the Saviour is born. Alleluia!
Be safe. Be well. God bless you all.
Pastor Greg
