It was a good night of worship. The in-person crowds were down compared to two years ago, but we had a strong live-stream presence. I have discovered in recent years that my sermon preparation for Christmas Eve is a collision of two thoughts: on the one hand, I want to preach a sermon that is worthy of this incredible moment and impacts those who show up for worship on this glorious night; on the other hand, I am mindful of those who are grieving over loved ones who died and are not with them in worship, or have loved ones near death as Christmas approaches, or who are in the middle of very challenging medical battles.
the music in the service was terrific, which always makes the sermon better!
“God’s Journey” SAPC, Denton; December 24, 2021; Christmas Eve
Luke 2: 8-16
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,[a] 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,[b] praising God and saying,
14
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”[c]
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.
Introduction: We have arrived in Bethlehem.
Our Advent journey to Bethlehem has taken a little longer than the shepherds who went with haste. But here we are!
If you joined us for our Advent journey, you have had time to reflect and prepare, hopefully you gained an insight or two, maybe even a laugh a bit, or have an “aha” moment as you made your way to Bethlehem.
tonight our journey has brought us to Bethlehem to stare into the face of the Christ-child.
I hope as you gaze upon the Christ-child you are filled with joy and awe.
one of the reasons we travel to Bethlehem is to have that moment - that moment when you have the indescribable feeling of discovering the one who transforms the world and changes lives.
of meeting the one who invites you into his life.
Cherish the moment!
Move 1: But tonight is also about celebrating and proclaiming God’s journey to meet us in Bethlehem.
a. Telling the story of the night God burst into the world.
1. the night the Messiah arrives.
2. the Messiah for whom God’s people have cried out for.
3. The Messiah about whom the prophets have spoken.
b. Frederick Buechner describes this night of Jesus' birth as the time when “all heaven broke loose.”
1. Angels announcing good news to shepherds;
2. wise men on a journey following a star’
3. lives being changed;
4. the world transformed when the God of the universe comes down and joins us as a child in the manger. (Jeffrey Munroe on Buechner’s fifteenth non-fiction work, Secrets in the Dark (2006); 158-159; .https://www.frederickbuechner.com/quote-of-the-day/2021/11/18/jeffrey-munroe-on-secrets-in-the-dark?rq=shepherds)
c. Who would imagine a God who comes in flesh?
1. no other gods the world offers us will.
2. No god chooses to be with us in flesh, except the God who shows up as the Christ-child in Bethlehem.
move 2. God’s journey is more than the arrival of a baby in the manger.
a. Christmas is more than creating a warm moment for family.
1. Christmas is more than just a good feeling on Christmas Eve and exchanging presents on Christmas morning.
2. That’s too small.
2. the birth of Christ is about God showing up to change and redeem the world.
b. have you ever heard of a theme park in Orlando, FL.
1. not Disney World, but “the Holy Land Experience.
2. A theme park featuring the Great Temple of Jerusalem.
3. The Qumran caves.
4. Street vendors dressed as Middle Eastern shepherds selling food like the Goliath burger.
4. 35 bucks for adults and 20 bucks for kids and you get to spend a day in biblical times, in the Holy Land, and you don’t even have to book an international flight.
5. The theme park presents a make-believe world with no conflicts or problems, except between tired kids waiting in line. (Joanna Adams, “Stone to Bread,” Journal of Preaching, Lent, 2010)
6. If you never went, it’s too late. After two decades, it closed this year.
7. it could not survive changing leadership and the pandemic.
c. The make-believe world might work for a while, but it is not enough.
1. Christ is not a theme park character.
2. Christ did not come to a make-believe world.
2. he comes to join us in the reality of our world.
3. We know that reality, don’t we?
4. Covid continues with the Omicron variant. Christmas gatherings are being canceled left and right because of it.
5. Nations still wage war against each other.
6. Injustice still raises its ugly head.
7. Divisiveness takes center stage.
8. Some of us are watching on live-stream because our medical situation does not allow us to go out.
9. Some of us are remembering a loved one who is absent this year.
10. some of us have a loved one near death.
11. We do not live in a make-believe world.
12. Frankly, a sweet little baby Jesus is not enough.
c. so hear the good news the angels announce to the shepherds and to us.
1. A Messiah has been born.
2. do not let the image of the angelic face we give to the Christ-child or a few verses of “Away in the Manger” seduce you into missing the life-changing event that has taken place.
3. God has arrived in our midst.
4. God has come to comfort us in our sorrows,
give strength to us in our challenges,
celebrate with us in our joys,
give us hope in the face of difficulties,
redeem us and save us.
5. The shepherds race to Bethlehem because they need a Messiah.
6. We have that same need.
Conclusion: A poem by Sharon Lodygowski entitled "Sharon's Christmas prayer":
She was five,
sure of the facts,
and recited them
with slow solemnity,
convinced every word
was revelation.
She said
they were so poor
they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
to eat
and they went a long way from home
without getting lost. The lady rode
a donkey, the man walked, and the baby
was inside the lady.
They had to stay in a stable
with an ox and an ass (hee-hee)
but the Three Rich Men found them
because a star lighted the roof.
Shepherds came and you could
pet the sheep but not feed them.
Then the baby was borne.
And do you know who he was?
Her quarter eyes inflated
to silver dollars.
The baby was God.
And she jumped in the air,
whirled round, dove into the sofa,
and buried her head under the cushion
which is the only proper response
to the Good News of the Incarnation.
We have journeyed to Bethlehem and found the Messiah, the one who comes to be with us and to save us.
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