CHRISTMAS EVE 2009 – Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20 –
A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado
Making a Place for the Everlasting Christ
INTRODUCTION – No place for them in the inn…
“While they were there [in Bethlehem], 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, for there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7)
Jesus – the Lord, the Messiah, the long-awaited One – was born to his parents not in their hometown, not even in an inn, not even in a comfortable bed, but probably in one of the barns of Bethlehem. And he was wrapped in bands of cloth – in rags, really – and placed in a manger, a feeding trough for the animals, because there was no other place for Mary and Joseph to go, and when a baby comes, a baby comes.
There was no place for Mary and Joseph, and no place for the arrival of Jesus, in that inn in Bethlehem.
THE BIGGEST QUESTION OF ALL
And that brings me to the biggest question of all, for the world at the end of 2009.
No, it’s not “What are all of us willing to do about climate change?”, although that’s a really important question.
No, it’s not “Will we care enough about every person in America to make sure that there is health insurance for all?”, although that is a really important question.
No, it’s not “Will the people of different nations and different faiths and different ethnic groups stop seeing life as a competition for scarce resources and start collaborating and working together, instead of killing each other and speaking ill of each other?”, although that is a really important question.
No, the biggest question facing the world at the end of 2009 is this: Is there a place for the Lord of Life – the Everlasting Christ – in our world?
My sense is that so many of us want to squeeze him out, so that there is no place for Him.
We want to squeeze him out of our discussions of what is right and what is wrong, as if He has nothing to contribute to our ethical discussions.
We want to squeeze him out of our marriages, our families, and our friendships, as if the Everlasting Christ has no guidance to offer us.
We want to squeeze him out of how we approach living with our enemies, as if the Lord of Life never had anything relevant to say on that subject.
We want to squeeze him out of our Sunday mornings, as if He has nothing helpful to say to us about our overcrowded, hyper-paced, be-at-the-mercy-of-technology-and-by-the-way-would-you-please-remember-to-turn-your-cell-phones-off lives.
MAKING A PLACE FOR HIM
A young woman named Mary, perhaps still a teenager, made a place for Him when the angel Gabriel came calling, and told her a most unlikely story, one that had inconvenience and potential ridicule and “are you kidding me?” written all over it. But she made a place when she said to the angel, with the conviction of faith, courage, and a vision that went way beyond just what was convenient for her, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
A man named Joseph, who probably died before Jesus ever began preaching or healing people, made a place for Him – even when Mary, to whom he was engaged, became pregnant before they had gotten married. And when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and told him of the plans that God was cooking up, Joseph, upon waking, didn’t say, “I just had the most bizarre dream I’ve ever had!”, dismiss it, and walk over to his carpenter’s shop. No, he did as the angel commanded. He took Mary as his wife, and when the baby was born, he named him Jesus, just as the angel commanded him to do. (Matthew 1:18-25)
And some shepherds, faithfully keeping watch over their flock by night, made a place for him, too. For when they had their own encounter with the living God, they did not rub their eyes and say, “Man, we really need some shut-eye!”, and curl up near the sheep. No. They 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.” (Luke 2:15) And they went with haste and searched all over Bethlehem, until they found that barn where Mary and Joseph and the new-born Jesus were, and they told the story of what the Lord had made known to them through the angels, and they gave glory to God.
Maybe you didn’t think of it exactly in these terms, but when you left your homes tonight and drove here, you made a place for him, too. You could have done so many other things tonight. You could have watched TV – surely there is some bowl game on, sponsored by some company that you have never heard of. You could have checked your email. You could have gone out to a movie, or read a good book, or gone for a quiet walk around your neighborhood. You could have done so many things, because you and I have so many choices.
But you came here. You made a place tonight for the One who has been born for us, and for the whole world. And what does that mean, exactly? What does it mean that Jesus has been born for us?
WHAT THE BIRTH OF JESUS MEANS
It means that love – everlasting love – has come into the world, because God is love, and Jesus brings nothing but love into the world.
It means that light – everlasting light – has come into the world, because in Jesus, God has sent his light into the world, to lead us forth from our darkness. We – the people who walked in darkness, who lived in a land of deep darkness – on us light has shined. (cf. Isaiah 9:2)
It means that salvation – everlasting salvation – has come into the world, because Jesus came to give himself for us, to redeem us… to save us from ourselves, because no one else can do the job. (cf. Titus 2:11-14; Psalm 96:2)
It means that grace – everlasting grace – has come into the world. Without this grace, without this undeserved favor, there is no hope for us. But indeed, “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace… grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:16-17) And this grace – the grace of God – changes everything.
Jesus’ birth means that guidance – everlasting guidance – has come into the world, for he is named Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6), and authority rests upon his shoulders, an authority like no other. And so if you want guidance for any decision, any challenge, anything you are wrestling with – if you have suffered a huge loss and don’t know where to turn – One has come who is always available, always just one prayer or one breath or one dream away.
Jesus’ birth means that a new kingdom of peace has been ushered into the world, for he is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), come to show us how to live with one another, how to love our enemies, how to affirm life and help him build an everlasting kingdom.
This is what you’ve made a place for, by showing up tonight. You’ve made a place for love, light, salvation, grace, guidance, and peace. For Jesus is all these things, and brings all of these with him, for he chooses to offer himself – all of himself – as an oblation for us.
And he keeps offering himself, not only tonight, but every day and every night – for He is the Everlasting Christ.
CONCLUSION
And so, when we walk out of here tonight, one question remains. Will we keep making a place for him in our lives? Or will we walk away, and forget what happened on this most holy night? Will we say, “That was a beautiful service!”, and go on with life, and quickly squeeze him out of our lives once again?
Or will we be changed? Changed by this night forever! Will we be changed forever, because a child has been born for us, a son given to us – to you, to you, to you, to you, to you, to you, to me… the greatest gift ever given… given for all of us.
If we can take in this gift that is the Everlasting Christ… not just tonight, but tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that… this year, next year, and all the years after that – this gift of love, light, salvation, grace, guidance, and peace – then we will rejoice with the heavens and the glad earth (Psalm 96:11), we will not be able to stop proclaiming the good news of his coming, and with the shepherds we will glorify and praise God for all we have seen and heard.
Is there a place for the Lord of Life – the Everlasting Christ – in your life? Is there a place for the Lord of Life – the Everlasting Christ – in our world? For the sake of the world, for the sake of you and me, let us pray that the answer is yes, yes – always and forever – yes!