Tag Archives: birth announcement

God’s Birth Announcement

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(St. Luke’s Church had an electrical outage over the weekend. The radiator pipes burst, and there was no worship service on Sunday, December 25, 2022. This sermon comes from my archives, from December 24, 2003.)

“God’s Birth Announcement”

Luke 2:1-14 – December 24, 2003

            I have several friends who have recently had babies. Welcoming babies into the world is such a joyous occasion. One of the first things most people I know do is spread the news about the new baby, letting other friends and acquaintances know about this new little one who has joined the human race. When and where the baby was born, how big it was, whether it was a girl or a boy, and what the parents decided to name the baby are all details that are joyously spread, as soon as possible.

             I wonder . . . what would God’s birth announcement look like?

            In the fullness of time, God sent His Son. Prophesied in many passages from the Hebrew Scriptures, foretold for centuries before His coming. Looking at the Old Testament passage for today, Isaiah 9, the prophet tells his readers about the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, who is the coming Messiah.

            Throughout the Advent season, we’ve been preparing for the coming of this Messiah. Well, I have news for you. He’s here. Today is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow we celebrate once again the earthly birthday of the Babe of Bethlehem, the Savior of the World, the only begotten Son of the Heavenly Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ, our savior and redeemer, from age to age the same, came into this fallen world as a baby. Imagine that. Emptying Himself of all His vast, eternal God-ness, and being born as a human baby.

            I wonder: what would God’s birth announcement look like?

            I think we have a pretty good idea, if we take a look at the second chapter of Luke. Doctor Luke gives a full accounting of what went on in those days. This account here is God’s version of a birth announcement, but what an unexpected sort of announcement!

            Let’s look at the parents of the Baby, first of all. The mother, Mary of Nazareth, is not even married yet. Sure, she’s engaged to this carpenter, Joseph, but they haven’t yet been fully joined in marriage. Marriage in those days, in the Jewish culture, was a several-step process. Mary and Joseph hadn’t quite finished the whole marriage thing.

            We read in chapter 1 of Luke that the Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and she conceived. Is Joseph the father of this Baby? No. Joseph could not believe this part of the account at first, until assisted by some heavenly help. An angel came and reassured Joseph that Mary was on the up and up, and that the baby inside of Mary was really the Messiah, the Savior of the world. In other words, the Son of God.

            So, the birth parents are not the usual kind of parents. The circumstances of the birth are not quite the typical birth scenario, either. Imagine the birth of a baby today, here in Evanston. Chances are that the baby would be born either in St. Francis or Evanston Hospitals, with the latest medical technology available, just in case. Not so for Mary, the mother of Jesus. Not only did she have the baby Jesus in less than optimum circumstances, in terms of hygiene and medical needs, but she was also far from her home as well.

            Mary and Joseph were both far away from familiar people, places and things. They were travelers, like many people in the town of Bethlehem at that time. Luke 2 tells us that there wasn’t any place for them to stay–anywhere. Because of the census ordered by Caesar Augustus, the town of Bethlehem was mobbed.

            Since Bethlehem was the ancestral home of King David (who had a lot of children!), that meant that there were quite a lot of people who had to be counted who were descended from David. And not all of them had money. We can see, from the offering that Mary and Joseph offered to the Lord shortly after the birth of the baby Jesus, that they did not have very much money.       

            Bethlehem must have been very crowded indeed, if a woman about to give birth couldn’t find even a room to have her baby in. She and Joseph had to room in a stable. It would be similar to today, where a young woman might have a baby in any common garage. We could even take it a step further, and draw some definite similarities between Mary and Joseph and some other young, homeless couple going to have a new baby, searching for a place to spend the night.

            I don’t know whether any of you have currently had the opportunity to see a sign in front of the First Presbyterian Church in Evanston, but one of the smaller trees near the front door to the sanctuary is practically covered with blue ribbons. There is a sign posted next to the tree, saying “While celebrating One homeless Family, these ribbons ask us to remember the homeless with us today.” I had never thought about the Holy Family in that way before. Again, it’s God’s unexpected way of announcing the birth of His Son.

            While we’re thinking about the stable where Mary had her baby, what about that stable, anyway? Jesus, after all, was a descendant of King David, through both His mother Mary and His adopted father, Joseph. A stable is an unexpected place to find a king. I don’t know about you, but I’d expect royalty to be born in a palace, or at least in a nice house. Not in a stable, anyway.

            And who are the people who first receive this birth announcement? Are they influential members of the community? Rich, movers and shakers? Leaders of the local synagogues and teachers of the Law of Moses? Those would be the kinds of people who I might expect to have a birth announcement sent to them. But God doesn’t work that way. Again, God does the unexpected, and chooses the most unlikely people to receive a hand-delivered message from the Lord of Hosts, the King of Kings.

            Some people in the 21st century probably are so accustomed to the Christmas story that their idea of shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night is somehow associated with Christmas cards. But it was life as usual for these working people. An everyday way of life in Palestine. What’s more, being a shepherd was not a particularly high class job. The lowly vocation of shepherd was on the outskirts of society. A possible comparison today is to think of a person selling “Streetwise,” the paper sold for $1.00 outside of grocery stores and coffee shops here around the Chicago area.

            And suddenly, the angel of the Lord came to these shepherds–came to people in homeless shelters, people selling “Streetwise,” people down on their luck, people on the edge, on the outs of society. The angel of the Lord came to them with good news. Good news. With news of God’s birth announcement. We can see God again breaking through, in an unexpected way, to an unexpected group of people.

            God sends a birth announcement in unexpected ways to unexpected people, in many situations, all over the world. The angel was the first to tell of the newborn Baby, born in Bethlehem, but then the shepherds spread the news about the new Baby, letting other friends and acquaintances know about this new little One who has joined the human race. When and where the Baby was born, the news that it was a boy, and that the parents decided to name this Baby Jesus–for He would save people from their sins–are all details that the shepherds joyously spread, as soon as possible.

            Again, it’s God’s unexpected way of announcing the birth of His Son. Can you think of someone who hasn’t heard about this birth announcement? We today have the opportunity to spread the news about this Baby born in Bethlehem. And we can joyously praise God, for Jesus is the savior and redeemer of the world, as the angel of the Lord proclaimed so long ago.

God with Us, God’s Peace

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“God with Us, God’s Peace”

Matthew 1:18-25 (1:23) – December 18, 2022

            Where does your name come from? What do our first names mean? Do you know? Are you named after someone beloved or meaningful in our families? Many parents choose their children’s names carefully, and sometimes name them after someone beloved or meaningful to them or their family. Several of my older brothers and sisters have names like that. I suspect some relatives of yours do, too.

            The name Jesus had a special meaning. But before we get to that, let’s talk about this reading from the Gospel of Matthew. This is not the typical reading associated with Christmas! This is not the reading with Mary or the Magnificat, or with the angels, the shepherds, the star shining in the east, and shepherds rushing to find the Baby in Bethlehem. That is the reading from Luke chapter 2. Instead, we have today’s reading from Matthew chapter 1. This is the Nativity from Joseph’s point of view.

We can’t know much about Joseph and Mary’s marriage preparations, other than some generalities that we understand from cultural and historical studies of their area and the society of the time. But, I have some experience with people. I have learned how many people behave, frequently, on different occasions. I can tell you right now that from my observations, people have not changed much over the centuries.

            Matthew tells us that Joseph observes the Law of God. That is huge! Can you say that about yourself? Can I? Are we faithful to God’s laws? Since Matthew is a faithful Jew, this law-keeping is obviously very important to him. The very next thing we hear is that Mary is pregnant, and not by Joseph! What does that mean to Joseph, who is so faithful to the Law of Moses? Matthew does let his readers know that Joseph wants to dissolve the betrothal quietly.

How often, even today, do we make plans? Trying to fix, manage and control people, places and things? Doing our best to make sure all our ducks are in a row, making sure that everything is just right, trying to orchestrate everything, so that nothing is left to chance?

We can see that Joseph made plans, too! Yes, he cared enough for Mary – pregnant as she was – that he planned to divorce her, to break the betrothal quietly. He wanted to organize what he could of his life, while still being considerate of her. But, what happened next?

            Let’s take a closer look at Matthew’s words: “But after Joseph had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

Sure, Joseph had lots of fear and anxiety, because of the unknown and unexpected. Because of a situation he did not plan for. The angel came to him with words of comfort and hope. Can you imagine how heartwarming this must have been for Joseph, hearing these words from an angel sent from God? Can you imagine how earthshaking it would be for an angel, a messenger sent from God, delivering words of comfort and hope to us?

            We do not know much about Joseph at all, from the biblical record. He does not get very much attention, compared to Mary. But, this appearance of the angel of the Lord is certainly dynamic! In case Joseph had second thoughts about where the baby came from, the angel’s words gave Joseph no doubt: “what is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit.”

            Joseph and Mary were even told what the child’s name would be! As I said a few minutes ago, names can be meaningful. In this case, Jesus’ name means something very important. Let us hear what the angel said: “Mary will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”       

            The name “Jesus” means “the Lord saves,” revealing the birth of the Savior of the world. This statement is an angelic birth announcement of an historic nature, indeed! But, this is not all. Matthew goes on to give the words of the prophet Isaiah: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

            My favorite bible commentator Carolyn Brown states, “The name Joseph and Mary are to give this child is Immanuel, “God with us.”  When we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus.  Jesus once said, “If you have seen me, you have seen God.  What I say is what God says.  What I do is what God does.” [1]  In Isaiah the name Immanuel is defined and connected to God’s promise to be with us, even right by our sides. In the gospel Joseph is instructed to name the baby both Jesus and Immanuel. God-with-us.  

            A preview of what is to come at the end of Matthew’s Gospel is also a reminder to all of us. “The last sentence in Matthew 28 and Jesus’ last words: “remember I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  “I will be with you” is God’s promise to us always.  It was God’s promise for hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God’s promise was God-with-us when Jesus was alive, and is God’s promise to us forever. [2]

What better source for a name than a God-given name? How amazing is the prophecy from Isaiah that lets us know God will always be right by our sides!

Unexpected situations may come up, but they are not unexpected to God. Human plans may fail, but God never fails. Through it all, God is faithful in all God does, and we can count on the Lord one hundred percent. Immanuel – God with us!

[1] http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2013/08/year-fourth-sunday-of-advent-december.html

[2] Ibid.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

What Christmas Is All About

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“What Christmas Is All About”

Chilean nativity scene, 1955.

John 1:1-4, 9-14 (1:14) – December 24, 2018

Christmas expectations can be wonderful. When we think of small—even middle-sized—children, they can be all wide-eyed and filled with amazement at the sense of wonder found in Christmas. That sense of wonder goes away somewhat as children get older, but then their expectations change, too. As people shift into adulthood, parenthood, and even grandparenthood, their Christmas expectations can shift even more.

What are your expectations of Christmas, this year?

I noted in one of my Advent sermons several weeks ago that December 9th was the 53rd anniversary of the first showing of the “Charlie Brown Christmas Special.” Over fifty years of this Christmas special has certainly affected how people in the United States view Christmas.

I wonder—how do we view Christmas? How are our expectations affected?

If we consider the people in and around Bethlehem on that first Christmas eve, there was a lot of hustle and bustle, a good deal of coming and going. The little town of Bethlehem was certainly a popular place, especially since the Roman law had been in effect for a while. Many descendants of King David needed to return to Bethlehem and register with the Roman government. We all know that Joseph was of the house and lineage of David, and that was why he was there.

We have heard about the shepherds, who were the first to receive God’s super-special birth announcement. They not only came to see the newborn King in a manger themselves, but they also alerted the whole town to the new birth, too. I suspect a goodly number of the people in Bethlehem had at least heard about the birth of a possible Messiah, by the time the shepherds were finished.

I wonder—what were their expectations, that first Christmas Eve?

We have the main players, Joseph himself, and Mary, his fiancée. The Holy Family. When the baby Jesus was born and the shepherds—and some others—showed up, I suspect Mary and Joseph were a bit perplexed at all the attention their Child was getting. What’s more, Dr. Luke records Mary treasuring up all these events in her heart, and reflecting upon them from time to time in the years to come.

I wonder—what were Joseph’s and Mary’s expectations from that first Christmas eve?

We shift from the common, ordinary smell of farm animals and the baby Jesus lying in a manger bed that Dr. Luke relates in the second chapter of his Gospel, to quite another scene. We shift to the first chapter of the Gospel of John. We shift from the warm, homey scene of a blessed Mother rocking her Baby to the time eternal before the heavens and earth began.

What kinds of expectations do we have from this particular retelling of the Gospel story, found in John, chapter 1? These verses, this retelling of the entrance into this world of the Messiah, goes like this: “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it. To all who received Him, who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God.”

Expectations of such cosmic significance! We go from the intimate, everyday retelling of Luke to the universal, cosmic retelling of John. Mind-blowing, to be sure. Most of the time, I cannot even begin to get my head around this eternal perspective.

The Apostle John was a mystic, a contemplative, and probably the least worldly of any of the disciples. It shows, in his writings. Yet, the beginning of John’s Gospel is a necessary part of the Nativity story. This cosmic retelling lets us know that Jesus broke into this world not only as a helpless Baby born in Bethlehem, but also as the pre-Incarnate Son, eternal from the time before the universe began, and eternal, to the time after the heavens and the worlds in the universe have all passed away.

One of my favorite expressions is “both/and.” I am uncomfortable with “either/or.” I do not like “black/white.” I much prefer “both/and.” Not either this, or that. Not either the Luke 2 Nativity, or the John 1 Prologue. But, both/and. Luke tells us of the very relate-able pregnant teenage mother, having her baby at a very inconvenient time. And at the same time, John tells us of the cosmic Christ, the Word, the One who spoke the universe into being at the beginning of all things. We have both. Often, too much for our puny human brains to grasp, but true, all the same.

What kind of expectations do we have from John’s cosmic retelling of the Nativity, in John chapter 1?

Let us draw closer in to the familiar Christmas story. Charlie Brown’s Christmas story. As with any cartoon, we need a villain. The villain in this cartoon special is no personification, no Abominable Snowman or Grinch, but instead the commercialization of Christmas. This is what is causing such angst and despair to Charlie Brown.

What does make Christmas? What kinds of expectations does Charlie Brown have?

Sometimes I feel like Charlie Brown at the Christmas pageant rehearsal. “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” I know Linus responds, “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He then recounts the Nativity narrative from Luke 2. Except—the blessed truth doesn’t penetrate into Charlie Brown’s head. Yet.

These whole four weeks of Advent we have been retelling the Nativity narrative from Luke, in anticipation of this very night. We have been singing the songs, and lighting the candles on the Advent wreath, all in preparation for this main event.

An Episcopal minister, the Rev. John Holton from Connecticut, uses this same Christmas special to relate the Nativity narrative. He says, “The good feeling, that warm fuzzy feeling I get watching A Charlie Brown Christmas is, at its core, a feeling of hope that even I could be loved.  The hope—the knowledge—that God who sees even our unloveliness loves us fully.  Loves us so much that God comes to be among us.  As one of us.  That God won’t let us go.” [1] Isn’t that the true meaning of Christmas? Isn’t that what Christmas is all about?

This is a gift that cuts through the commercialization of Christmas. Caring, compassion, and love for one another.

We can thank the Lord for God’s greatest gift, the gift to each of us of God’s Son, of God’s Love. And, we have the opportunity to bring glad tidings to all people right now, to people aching to hear of God’s love for them, for us, for all the world.

Won’t you share your expectation of Christmas with someone, tonight? Won’t you share God’s love with someone, today?

[1] http://www.christchurchnh.org/sermon/2017/12/28/thats-what-christmas-is-all-about-charlie-brown

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2018: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!