A Christmas Message

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.

He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.


Isaiah 9: 2-7

God’s Faithfulness Redeems Us

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.

Scripture Reading: Luke 21-14, (15-20)

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)

And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,

and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,

and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Here ends this reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer

Gracious God, we rejoice in the good news of the birth of Jesus; with the angels, the shepherds, and the faithful of every nation, we glorify your holy name. Amen.

Christmas Meditation

            It seems like at every hour of the day, no matter the weather, no matter how dark it is outdoors, someone is playing basketball in the court across the street from the church.  When it is raining, they are playing.  When it is snowing, they are playing.  When it is a dark, cloudless night, they are playing.  In the beginning of the pandemic, park officials put an orange fence around the court because it was technically closed – as soon as the park trucks drove away, kids had climbed over the orange fence and were shooting hoops.  Bill said that the only way they could be stopped would be if the parks department actually removed the hoops – I doubt it – the tenacious players would probably devise hoops out of laundry baskets and keep playing.

            The story of Jesus’ birth is a story of tenacity.  Mary and Joseph had a lot stacked against them.  They were young.  They were unmarried.  They were poor.  They were from a back country town.  They were Jewish natives living in a land ruled by the Romans. 

            During Mary’s 9 months of her pregnancy, she had to contend with the whispers and gossip that swirled around her.  She was a very young, unmarried mom.   Who knows what kind of mean things people said about her.  Joseph was also probably the target of rumors.  And, although he was very honorable when he agreed to marry Mary, people may then have thought he was involved in her pregnancy.

            Plus, the Roman rulers did not care about the individuals who lived in Israel.  They did not care that Mary was very pregnant and not in a good condition to travel.  They wanted to make sure the people were counted in the census so that they could be taxed accordingly.  The Empire couldn’t run without the money used to build roads and aqueducts.  The Empire couldn’t run without the money to pay the wages of soldiers and government officials. The government couldn’t run without the money to keep everything afloat.

            When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, the town was crowded.  Everyone had to travel to their ancestral hometown to be counted.  And, little Bethlehem was the city of David, a country boy.  David was a shepherd, not a big city dweller.  So, his hometown was small.  All of his descendants had to travel there to be counted, even though the little town was bursting at the seams. 

            There was no empty room left in the town.  Joseph and the very pregnant Mary had to bed down with the animals in a stable.  At least they had a roof over their heads, although we always picture the stable as open to the elements.  I hope for their sakes that they were protected from the wind and the cold. In Israel, there are archaeological sites of stables that were craved into soft rock—sort of like man-made caves where people would store things and their animals would dwell.  I hope Mary and Joseph were bedded down in a rock hewn cave, surrounded by animals and warm straw. 

            Mary and Joseph were tenacious.  They were young and poor.  They were from the sticks.  They were surrounded by people and empires who were more powerful than they appeared.  Yet, they were tenacious.  The stood up to their neighbors.  They stuck together through the thick and thin.  Joseph protected Mary and the baby.  Mary protected Jesus and protected him.  After the Magi visited the Holy Family, they were warned that evil King Herod was plotting against them, so Mary and Joseph fled for their lives to Egypt, to another country outside of his ruling jurisdiction.  Mary and Joseph did everything they could possibly do to keep Jesus safe and ensure he lived to adulthood—and lived to fulfill his destiny as the Messiah, who came to save us all. 

            In this long, long season of Covid-19, we have to work to maintain our tenacity.  These last few months have been full of unexpected surprises – many of them unwelcome unexpected surprises.  Some of us have become ill with Covid, a virus we have no experience with.  Some of us have lost relatives to the disease.  Some of us have spent sleepless nights worrying about loved ones who have the disease.  Some of us have lost our jobs.  Some of us have had to move. Some of us are stuck at home, stuck at home and waiting for the other shoe to drop.  We are scared and worried and bored.  On the one hand, we feel cut off from our loved ones and friends we can’t see in person.  On the other hand, if we are working from home or doing school from home, we may be at our wits end with the loved ones we are spending a little too much time with.  Everything has been in flux.  We are frustrated and lonely and exhausted. 

            But, as Christians, we have role-models who show us how to be tenacious.  The Hebrew people lived as slaves in Egypt for 400 years, fled from an angry Pharaoh by crossing the Red Sea, wandered the desert for 40 years, and then entered the Promised Land.  – talk about delayed gratification.   The people of Judah lived in captivity in Babylon for 70 year and then were able to return and rebuild Jerusalem. Mary and Joseph overcame great odds and succeeded in doing what God asked them to do – they parented the Holy Child and ensured he made it to adulthood to fulfill his life’s work.  Their tenacity enabled Jesus to minister to the people of Israel, extend the salvation of God to all people (not just the Jewish people) and give himself in sacrifice so that all of the people of the world will have access to God’s grace and redemption.  If Mary and Joseph had not been so tenacious, perhaps the story of our faith would be very different indeed.

            So, friends, take heart.  We will overcome this time of Covid.  We will overcome this time of fear and isolation.  We will overcome this time of restrictions.  Like Mary and Joseph, we can endure much because God strengthens us.

            Thanks be to God. Amen.