Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
The birth of this most important baby has become somewhat fairytale like to us. The Christmas Gospel reading we heard tonight is an historical account. It contains all the necessary information to situate it in the realm of fact, not fiction. Yet, with all our love that we have for Christmas, with our favourite shows, and carols, and obsession with shopping, Christmas has become more myth than fact for us. Maybe you even heard Linus' voice as that Gospel account was read.
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
The birth of this most important baby has become somewhat fairytale like to us. The Christmas Gospel reading we heard tonight is an historical account. It contains all the necessary information to situate it in the realm of fact, not fiction. Yet, with all our love that we have for Christmas, with our favourite shows, and carols, and obsession with shopping, Christmas has become more myth than fact for us. Maybe you even heard Linus' voice as that Gospel account was read.
And is it any wonder? Just ponder the beloved carols we’ve sung this evening: Away in a manger: "The little lord Jesus, no crying he makes!" Ever? No? As God does the little lord use telepathy to communicate hunger or the need for a change of diaper? Or did he come out of the womb with full set of teeth and fully developed speech?
Or Silent Night. "All is calm?" Only because an exhausted mother has just given birth. She’s got no more energy. It’s all she can do to hold this child. All is bright? In that dark stable-like room where the animals are kept? Where is this brightness coming from? From a thousand LED Christmas lights? No, the carol tells us: "Radiant beams from thy holy face?" Really? Is the baby atomic? Is he not fully human? I’ve never seen any newborns glow. I’ve never baptized a child and seen it glow.
The reason I poke fun at these pious and beloved carols we sing is that while they are trying to remind us who this baby is—God Most High, creator of the universe, in our flesh—they have led us to have a mythical, fantastical, fairy tale view of Our Saviour’s birth. They have led us to almost deny that He took on our flesh, and laid aside His full power as God for a time, so that He might be one of us and suffer and die for us. (Phil. 2:5-8)
Or Silent Night. "All is calm?" Only because an exhausted mother has just given birth. She’s got no more energy. It’s all she can do to hold this child. All is bright? In that dark stable-like room where the animals are kept? Where is this brightness coming from? From a thousand LED Christmas lights? No, the carol tells us: "Radiant beams from thy holy face?" Really? Is the baby atomic? Is he not fully human? I’ve never seen any newborns glow. I’ve never baptized a child and seen it glow.
The reason I poke fun at these pious and beloved carols we sing is that while they are trying to remind us who this baby is—God Most High, creator of the universe, in our flesh—they have led us to have a mythical, fantastical, fairy tale view of Our Saviour’s birth. They have led us to almost deny that He took on our flesh, and laid aside His full power as God for a time, so that He might be one of us and suffer and die for us. (Phil. 2:5-8)
Of course, there were some fantastic details surrounding His birth. His mother’s miraculous conception—for He the Word of God, who spoke all things into existence in the beginning (John 1:1-5, 14), was conceived and given flesh in the Virgin’s womb by a word from an angel messenger. (Luke 1:30-31, 34-38) Which means the Virgin got pregnant by her ear. Which is of course, how you get born again, by a miraculous faith creating word entering your ear. (Rom. 10:17) And don’t forget that His birth was hailed by glorious spiritual messengers from heaven speaking, not singing, to poor shepherds. His birth meant eternally good news was proclaimed to the poor and still is today. (Luke 4:17-21) For no matter how much physical wealth you have, we are all spiritually poor and downtrodden, under the weight of our own failings and sin. And while the spiritual beings of heaven were invading the physical stuff of boring old earth, even the physical universe responded by spitting a possibly supernatural celestial occurrence into the night sky. (Matt. 2:1-2) For the God who created the heavens by a Word, allowed those heavens to pour forth speech about Him. (Psalm 19:1-3) And this speech which showed His lordship over the natural world led philosophers from the East to kneel before Him. (Matt. 2:9-11) But they didn’t miraculously arrive that night, but rather as much as a year or two after He was born. (Matt. 2:16)
This birth is something to remember year by year, for all of history revolves around this birth. The fate of all humanity revolves around this birth. For Jesus Christ is the most important human being to have ever been born. For He is God in our flesh. Fully God, but setting aside His divine power until the time of His death (Phil. 2:5-8) so that He might live and die as one of us. He is fully man, so that He might save mankind. Body and soul. Not just your spirit, but your body too. You see, just as that baby grew, and hugged and embraced, and ate, and drank, and enjoyed the good gifts of God’s creation, so He is a body and soul human being, come not merely to save your soul or spirit, but all of you. Which means that though the corruption of sin pollutes your spirit, causing increasing decay in your body, Jesus came to save you from that.
He gives you glimpses and tastes of that triumph over death here below, while you live your life trusting in Him for your salvation. He has deposited His own spirit into you when you were baptized into Christ. But that deposit, is just a down payment guaranteeing much more to come. For you who are spiritually poor will have the fullness of His resurrection on the Last Day. You will have all of promises to you of not a fairytale ending, but the God-designed paradise your heart longs for. The peace on earth that we all crave. For God the Father has worked it through the flesh of His Son.
In +Jesus’ name, Amen.
A blessed Christmas to you.
—Pastor David Haberstock
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Thunder Bay, ON
This birth is something to remember year by year, for all of history revolves around this birth. The fate of all humanity revolves around this birth. For Jesus Christ is the most important human being to have ever been born. For He is God in our flesh. Fully God, but setting aside His divine power until the time of His death (Phil. 2:5-8) so that He might live and die as one of us. He is fully man, so that He might save mankind. Body and soul. Not just your spirit, but your body too. You see, just as that baby grew, and hugged and embraced, and ate, and drank, and enjoyed the good gifts of God’s creation, so He is a body and soul human being, come not merely to save your soul or spirit, but all of you. Which means that though the corruption of sin pollutes your spirit, causing increasing decay in your body, Jesus came to save you from that.
He gives you glimpses and tastes of that triumph over death here below, while you live your life trusting in Him for your salvation. He has deposited His own spirit into you when you were baptized into Christ. But that deposit, is just a down payment guaranteeing much more to come. For you who are spiritually poor will have the fullness of His resurrection on the Last Day. You will have all of promises to you of not a fairytale ending, but the God-designed paradise your heart longs for. The peace on earth that we all crave. For God the Father has worked it through the flesh of His Son.
In +Jesus’ name, Amen.
A blessed Christmas to you.
—Pastor David Haberstock
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Thunder Bay, ON
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