Luke 2:1-20

By Joseph Moore
December 25, 2011
Reading: Luke 2:1-20

Listen now for the word of God:

[1]In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. [2]This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. [3]All went to their own towns to be registered. [4]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. [5]He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. [6]While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. [7]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.

[8]In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9]Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. [10]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: [11]to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. [12]This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger."

[13]And 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!"

[15]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." [16]So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. [17]When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; [18]and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. [19]But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. [20]The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Like many of you, Shelley and I have inherited or acquired a number of nativity scenes over the years. Two of them hold particular significance in my life. They are nativity scenes that my mother had before my twin sister and I were born. Each Christmas, going back as long as I can remember, my favorite job was to set up the nativity sets.

They are nothing extravagant...quite the opposite really. One has all the usually characters, except that it’s missing the baby Jesus. This year I tried putting a small lego man in there but it just didn’t seem right...

The other one is small consisting of just a stable made of pine, with a bark roof. Inside the stable there is barely enough room for Mary, Joseph, and the straw covered manger, this one, still containing the baby Jesus. There are no angels, no wise men, no shepherds, sheep, or donkeys. Just mom, dad, and newborn baby.

Between last Christmas, and this one, Mary cracked in half, so that if you were to come over and see one of my nativity scenes you would find Mary’s two halves sitting side-by-side in my little cramped nativity set. She looks like a damaged statue like you might find in an earthquake ravaged ancient Greek city. All Advent long I’ve debated as to wether or not I should fix Mary. Several times this year I’ve unintentionally found myself drawn into the visual of Joseph, the baby, and two halves of Mary crowded into that dusty old wooden shed sitting on my shelf. I don’t think I’ll fix Mary this year. I like the nativity story that’s less put together, less idyllic, more like ‘real life’...It’s a lot like the story we just heard from Luke.

You see, Luke’s is the most earthy and political version of Jesus’ birth. There is none of the wonderfully cosmic language that we hear in John’s version. The Word does not become flesh, there is no light shining in the darkness. There are no regal visitors like the Wise Men who come from a far like they do in Matthew’s version.

On the surface, Luke’s story is an ordinary one, filled with mostly ordinary characters. Unwed mothers, hard working boyfriends, animal stables, lowly shepherds. Sure there is an appearance by an angel and there is that heavenly choir that bursts into spontaneous song. But by and large it’s a story filled with ordinary people.

It’s also a protest story. Luke sets the stage by highlighting how Mary and Joseph had no say in what would follow. The emperor had made a decree. All people, like it or not, were to go and be counted. They were to be counted so that oppression could continue. The great emperor, the one called Son of God, the one legend had it was born of a virgin, he decreed and everyone under his power had to respond.

Decrees are usually like that...They were disruptive then, and they’re disruptive now. A nation forces a decision upon another nation. A company decrees that profits are more important than people. A partner states that their spouse just isn’t pretty enough any more, and someone needs to move out. Decrees from on high don’t leave room for pregnant teenagers...

So...Luke tells us... off they went to make the 90 mile trek from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Nothing extraordinary. Just another day as an oppressed people.

They arrive in Bethlehem and the village is full. There is no room for this pregnant teenager and her fiancé. So she delivers the child in a shed and places the baby in a feeding trough.

Some of you might have seen how The New York Times just released it’s annual list of best pictures from the last year. One picture was of a new born baby in India. A woman was pictured standing at, what I think was, a nursing station holding the newborn baby upside down by one leg. The lighting was poor, and there was a bare electrical outlet with wires running out of it just inches from the newborn baby. The rough concrete wall directly behind the nurse had “Baby Care Area” stenciled on it just above the nurses head.

At first I chuckled when I read that. It seemed sort of ironic. But the more I thought about it I realized that each day, thousands of babies are born in conditions much worse than that. Babies born in sheds with no electricity, no family, no medical care...it’s really quite ordinary.

When I read this story from Luke I tend to want to jump to the next verses. The part where angels declare, “good news of great joy for all the people.” The part where they tell those smelly, rough, and uncultured shepherds that, “to you is born this day in Bethlehem a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” It’s only after they are told that they will, “find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger” only after the heavenly host bursts into song, that we go to the manger. Once the angels make their pronouncement, once the shepherds show up, it’s all a little easier to take.

When the angels show up the story becomes extraordinary. No longer is this ‘just another baby.‘ This is now a baby who can lead his people against Rome, this is a baby who can Save us from oppression, this is a baby who can look at those who make unjust decrees and cause them to shudder.

But when we rush to the angel’s announcement, when skip over to the heavenly choir we miss something important...The scandal of Christmas, the great mystery of the Incarnation is that God comes to us as a baby, nothing more...and nothing less.

We are tempted to come to Bethlehem and to equate the power of the Incarnation with the power of Empire and Influence.

We are tempted to look at Jesus, to hear the proclamation of the angels, and then to figure out how this baby can be used, how his power can be harnessed, how it can be turned into a slogan, how it can be used to determine who is in and who is out.

I think sometimes we sentimentally read this story...we are moved...and then we move on. It’s easy to do that when we ignore the ordinariness of it all. When we take the down-to-earth, dirty, ordinary Jesus and turn him into something other than a God filled human being...one who’s whole life was a protest against those who tell you you aren’t good enough...when we take this Jesus and turn him into another version of Ceasar...we give ourselves an out...

I wonder if we are afraid that if the story is true...if Jesus really was a helpless baby born out of wedlock, visited by people no one else cared about...if that’s true...if the Incarnation was not just a one time event then we too might be vessels of the divine. If Jesus didn’t live in the halls of power and he could change the world, then maybe, just maybe the Christmas story tells us we can too...

There is a story about Jesus that doesn’t appear in the bible...but it could...it’s a nice reminder about where we might find Jesus...The story goes...

Around a large campfire late one autumn evening, Jesus comforted his disciples by speaking to them of a heavenly realm that far surpassed the beauty of anything on earth. He spoke of a place that never grows dark or cold, a vast city that is filled with beautiful mansions, with streets of gold, and with unending expanses of green and fertile land a place of perpetual peace and fulfillment.

Jesus spoke of this kingdom late into the night, painting pictures of heaven until the fire began to turn to ash and a chill filled the air. One by one, each of his disciples drifted off to sleep with the images of heavenly treasure and luxurious mansions feeding their dreams.

In the end only Jesus and a poor, unknown and uneducated disciple were left, each one lost in thought, watching as the last cinders of the fire began to die. After some time had passed, this solitary disciple looked over to Jesus and spoke.

“I was wondering about something,” he said.

“Yes my friend,” Jesus replied.

“Well there are so many people who follow you now that I can’t help worrying that someone like me, and old uneducated sinner, may get overlooked amidst all the great thinkers, politicians, preachers, and radicals who are being attracted to you and your message.”

Then he turned his face away and continued, “I’ve never been in a mansion: in fact, I have never even seen one. So, I don’t care too much if I miss out on all that. But tell me, will there be room enough for me when I die will there be somewhere for me to stay in this kingdom of which you speak?”

Jesus looked at the man with compassion. “Don’t worry,” he whispered in a tone that could barely be heard over the distant contented noises of the sleeping crowd. “Tucked away in a tiny corner of heaven, away from all the grand mansions and streets of gold, there is a cramped little stable. It doesn’t look like much inside or out, but on a clear night you can see the stars shine bright amidst the cracks, and you can feel the warm breeze caress your skin. In this kingdom, that is where I live, and you would be welcome to live there with me.” (The Orthodox Heretic, p. 151).

Luke tells us, “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...Let us go now to Austin...to Central Presbyterian Church and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.

It’s the most ordinary and miraculous thing in all the world.

Merry Christmas.

Amen.