Reflections on “Skipping Christmas: No Baby Jesus”; Luke 2: 1-7; Christmas Eve, 2023

 This sermon worked better at the 7:00pm service than the 5:00pm service.  I made a few changes, which probably are not reflected in the text below.  We have had some significant grief in the church recently, which clearly was on my mind as I wrote and preached this sermon.  I had a couple of stories to tell:  one about a graveyard that puts up white Christmas lights and one an EB Milne story from The New Yorker about a young boy reaching out to grab a baby Jesus from a manger scene for sale at a Woolworth's in NYC and his mother telling him "he didn't want that."  Perhaps the stories would have added to the sermon.  I had to cut quite a bit from the sermon to keep it within the time limits of a communion service with back-to-back worship services.

“Skipping Christmas:  No Baby Jesus”; Luke 2: 1-7; Christmas Eve, 2023; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. 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. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, 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, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Introduction: My mother has a little nativity scene.

Simple.  wooden.  takes center stage on the table in the main room, flanked by snow globes with Christmas scenes on one end of the table and Santa on the other end of the table.

somehow, when it was put up last year. baby Jesus got separated from the rest of the nativity scene.

When they went to put it out this year (I was not there; I was missing out on my familial duty) - they had two sheep, three wise men, Mary, Joseph, and a manger

But no baby Jesus.

The question quickly arose - can you have a nativity scene no baby Jesus.

Or better yet, can you have Christmas with no baby Jesus?

a.  As some of you may know, we have spent Advent imagining what it would be like if we skipped Advent - 

we discovered that if we skip out on Advent, we would skip out on the hope the prophet Isaiah brings to us, hope many of us desperately need.

if we skip out on Advent, we miss out on the Advent songs and Christmas carols that tell the story of God coming in flesh in a beautiful, musical way

if we skip out on Advent, we miss out on the witness of Mary’s incredible act of stepping out in faith to bear God’s Son.

If we skip out on  Advent, we miss out on the shepherds who recognize the urgency of following the one born in Bethlehem

b.  tonight, we imagine what would we miss if we were to skip out on Christmas.

Skip out baby Jesus. 

Move 1: We could still have a celebration

a.  We could have all the trappings of Christmas, like a birthday party.

We just would not be celebrating the birth of Christ.

1.  We could  give gifts; 

families could gather;  

we could have big meals.

we could take a moment out of our busy lives to celebrate together.

just no celebrating the birth of Christ.

2. We could even have a wonderful worship service.

with terrific music

a full sanctuary

we might not sing Christmas carols, but I suppose we could, except there wouldn’t be any Christmas carols!

3.  We could have a great celebration and worship service, but where would we be with no baby Jesus?

move 2:  Without baby Jesus, we would lose our hope in the God who comes to join with us and transform the world.

a.  this night we declare our hope in the God who comes to live among us.

2.  we gather here with family and friends in the beauty of this sanctuary, and we can almost escape the world outside.

3. Almost - but, we will go back out there.

Back to a world where violence and bloodshed continue.

where men and women from our nation serve in harm’s way

where medical issues challenge

where relationships are broken

where economic uncertainty continues

where loved ones die.

4.  We desperately need hope, a hope that can only be found in the God who has come as a babe in the manger to join with us.

b.  the birth of Jesus not only gives us reason to hope but introduces us to the one who comes to transform the world. 

1.  The baby born in Bethlehem, the one whom we welcome tonight,

grows up to be Jesus the Christ, the one who teaches, heals, and calls people to new life.

2.  the one who comes to redeem and save us,

to redeem and save the world.

3.  In 1966, Simon and Garfunkel recorded a song known as ”7 O'Clock News/Silent Night.

It is  a sound collage juxtaposing a rendition of the Christmas carol "Silent Night" with a simulated "7 O'Clock News" bulletin consisting of actual events from the summer of 1966.

As you hear “Silent night” in the foreground, in the background you can hear clips of real life news stories: 

A dispute in the House of Representatives over "the civil rights bill". 

The death of comedian Lenny Bruce from an overdose of narcotics at the age of 42 [actually 40].

Martin Luther King Jr. reaffirming plans for an open housing march 

The grand jury indictment of a man for the murder of nine [actually eight] student nurses.

Disruption by protesters at House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings into anti-Vietnam War protests .

A speech by "former Vice-President Richard Nixon" to the Veterans of Foreign Wars [actually to the American Legion] urging an increase in the war effort in Vietnam, and calling opposition to the war the "greatest single weapon working against the US”.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_O'Clock_News/Silent_Night)

Imagine how that song might be sung today:  

Silent night in the foreground and news in the background -

news of terrorist strikes in Israel and hostages taken, 

news of and civilian deaths in Israel and Palestine;  

news of the ongoing war in the Ukraine;

news of divisiveness and political unrest in the United States;  

4. We will, in fact, sing “Silent Night” as we light our candles tonight before going back into the world.

5.  a world that still needs transformation.

A world that needs baby Jesus to arrive because he is the one who transforms the world

he is the one who comes to redeem and save all the world.

he is the one who calls us to give our lives over to him and join with him in transforming the world.

we need baby Jesus.

Conclusion: My mother’s baby Jesus was found.  He’d been tucked away in a little nook in the desk, patiently waiting to become part of the manger scene this year.  

We cannot skip Christmas.

We cannot skip Christmas because we desperately need baby Jesus.

We cannot skip Christmas and the coming of the Christ-child because God will not let us.

God does leave us on our own with no hope and no future.

God will not be stopped.  

Baby Jesus has arrived and even now lives among us.

Reflections on “Skipping Christmas: No Shepherds”; Luke 2: 8-20; 4th Sunday of Advent

I preached this sermon Sunday morning.  Our morning service was a 4th Sunday of Advent liturgically, although the passage about shepherds clearly falls into the Christmas category.

The sermon worked well.  I have preached on the shepherds a few years ago, but this sermon had different points.  It seemed like a good Christmas Eve morning sermon.

 “Skipping Christmas:  No Shepherds”; Luke 2: 8-20; Fourth Sunday of Advent;   December 24, 2023; SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp

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.

Introduction:  last morning of skipping Advent, before we come back tonight to imagine skipping Christmas.

Actually, our reflections this morning move us into the Christmas story as we imagine what it would be like to not have any shepherds in the story.

Move 1:  If we did not have shepherds, we would not have their example of our calling to give voice to the message from the heavens.

a.  The angels make a grand appearance in the heavens above the shepherds.

1.  The angels have a glorious announcement to make.

2.  ‘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.” 

3. it startled the shepherds in the fields who see this amazing sight in the skies.

4. But, then the angels disappear into the night.

5. Gone.  

6. No more heavenly voices to proclaim this message.

7. Who will share this good news with the world?

b.  The shepherds will.

1.  the shepherds give voice to this glorious message from the heavens.

2. First, they will go to Bethlehem and verify the truth (I guess you can only trust angels so far!).

3.. then they will be the first voices in the world to proclaim that God has come into the world, 

that Christ has been born.

c. If we did not have shepherds, we would miss our calling to be the heavenly voice on earth.

1.  We who have heard the story.

2.  We who have laid claim to the story.

3.  Now, we have to tell the story.

4. Sometimes with our words;

sometimes with our actions

maybe always with our actions.

5.  the story of Christ’s birth is waiting to be told.

Waiting for the shepherds to tell it.

Waiting for you to tell it.

Move 2:  Secondly, if we did not have the shepherds, we would not understand the urgency of responding to what God has done.

a.  in the middle of the night, the shepherds stop what they are doing and head off to Bethlehem.

1. we do not know the details.

Maybe they left a few with the sheep.

Maybe morning will arrive with sheep wandering around with no shepherds to guide them.

We can imagine it how we want - the biblical text is silent on that matter.

2.  But it is impossible to miss how important the arrival of Christ is and the urgency brought to following him

b. If we did not have the shepherds’ witness, we would not understand the urgency.

1. great story.

God arrives in flesh.

God is still at work.

2. A story that demands a response. 

Now.

A story that changes lives.

Now.

A story that calls us to follow.

Now.

Move 3: Finally, if we did not have the story of the shepherds, we would not understand the need for witnesses to go back into the world.

a.  The Gospel of Luke tells us that after the shepherds had seen the Christ-child in Bethlehem, The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

1. They did not stay or hang out at the manger forever.

they did not move to Bethlehem permanently.

2. They went back

to their families

to their fields

to their lives

But now they were witnesses to what God had done.

b.  Martin Luther:  “There are some of us...who think to ourselves, ‘If I had only been there!  how quick I would have been to help the baby.  I would have washed his linen.  How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!’  

Yes, we would. We say that because we know now how great Christ is, but if we had been there at the time, we would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem…

But then he asks the question:  if we believe we would have helped the Christ child, “Why don’t we do it now?  We have Christ in our neighbor.” 

1.  the shepherds live into the role of witnesses to the God who lives among us.

2. We are called to be witnesses to the God who lives among us.

Conclusion:  In my role as a minister, I've been involved in lots of Christmas pageants in churches.  I suppose I did it a time or two as a child. 

The time I remember best was being in the church pageant here at St. Andrew in my Sr. year in high school.  

The person directing the pageant asked me and two others to be shepherds - if you don’t believe my story, ask Bill Cornelius - he was one of the other shepherds. No problem.  We agreed to be shepherds.

At the first rehearsal, we had reason to wonder about agreeing to be shepherds.

turns out the director has something special in mind for that year's pageant.  It would be set in West Texas. 

 So the shepherds had to dress accordingly:  shepherds crooks, of course, and the obligatory bathrobes, but apparently on cold nights in W. Texas the shepherds wore long johns.   and, naturally, we had to wear cowboy boots. 

Clearly, we were the comic relief portion of the pageant.

So there we were. Three shepherds from the fields of W. Texas, startled by the singing angels in the sky and then proceeding with haste to the manger in Bethlehem to find the Christ-child.

I can still remember the sound of our boots striking the tile floor as we walked across the fellowship hall to announce our arrival.

our bath robes and long johns coming into full view to the audience drawing laughter as we made it to the manger at center stage.

But the three shepherds did not care.  We were there to see the Christ-child.

We need the shepherds to give voice to the good news from the heavens;

we need the shepherds to remind us of the urgency of responding to what God has done.

we need the shepherds to show us how to go into the world as witnesses to God’s presence among us.

We need to join with them.  Amen.