A Christmas Story

Here is a story that I used as the main part of a Christmas Eve sermon:

He had noticed the man and woman out there when he had brought the scraps out for the animals. It was one of his many duties as a servant at the inn. The place was as full as it could be which, he found out, was why that man and woman had to sleep in the stable. He had a lot of work to do with so many people staying over but he was curious about this couple. He could sense that something was going on. So after emptying the bucket and tending the animals he paused for a while, back in the corner behind one of the big cows.

The stable was not very big and it was cramped with the animals. It smelled like dung and sweat and damp straw. There wasn’t a lot of light either but he could see the man and woman huddled together over in the far corner. They looked exhausted and scared. It was quiet, except for the soft sounds of the animals. He always thought the stable was a peaceful place and it was particularly calm on this night. At the same time, there was a certain energy and sense of something mysterious there.

And then he heard a whimper and the cry of a baby. It surprised him and it startled him. He saw it now, nestled down in the straw of the big manger. It was wrapped tightly in dingy strips of cloth. He hadn’t noticed it before because it was so small and who would expect a baby in a stable.

The woman picked the baby up and calmed him like only a mother would. She held him for awhile until he fell back asleep and them she tucked him back into the straw.

Then some shepherds came rushing in, all dirty and smelly, like most shepherds. They were all worked up in a commotion about something. They were talking over each other and babbling about angels and bright lights. He crouched down a little behind the cow. He didn’t like shepherds that much and he was pretty sure they were talking nonsense. Shepherds weren’t very smart anyway. Finally when they had caught their breath they told the woman that an angel had come to them and had told them to come here and find a savior, the Messiah. The woman took all this in and there was something rather matter of fact about her response.

Eventually the shepherds left and the stable was calm and peaceful again.

Looking out from behind this cow that baby didn’t look much like a savior. He was nothing more than a common baby—dirty and crying with his poor parents. If he was the Messiah then why hadn’t the great teachers and priests come and announced it. They were always reading those prophecies about the one to come. Why didn’t the king come to honor him? He might expect the Messiah to show up in the temple or a royal palace, but here in the stable of this dumpy inn? No, he sure didn’t look like much of a savior.

The child lay there, swaddled tightly in those bands of cloth, his arms and legs bound close to keep him calm. The manger was made of thick, sturdy slabs of wood. They were worn around the edges, but strong. They reminded him of the thick timbers that the Romans used to nail up criminals. He had seen a crucifixion once. The criminals were dirty and kept crying out. Their arms and legs were bound so that they could not move them. It was a horrible thing to think about so he tried to focus on something else.

He examined the rocky walls. The stable was like a cave and it reminded him of a tomb. One time he had to help place the body of a wealthy man in a tomb. It was cold and dark and small, sort of like this stable. It sent a chill up his spine to think about that dead body.

It was strange that he would be thinking about such things like crucifixions and death on this night. Especially as he stood there so near to a brand new life and the innocence of a baby; but somehow on this night, in this humble stable, as he witnessed this baby and the shepherds and heard of angels and the Messiah, those sad thoughts were there, hanging in the back of his mind like a shadow, or a premonition.

He wondered who this child was. On one hand he seemed to be nothing more than a peasant baby, dirty, crying and already living a hard life in the manger. On the other hand there was something different about him. All those things the shepherds had said. They seemed pretty convinced and excited and how could they make up such a story. And this child did seem special in some way. It was as if he had some great past behind him, even though he was only a few hours old.

He wondered about these things but he couldn’t stay there in the stable all night. There was much to do in the inn and his master would soon come looking for him. So he quietly left and went back to his work, but he kept thinking about that baby. He kept thinking about what kind of life he would live. What would he do? Would he really be a savior? What child is this?

Newsletter Article December 22nd, 2010

This article was originally published in the churches newsletter. I am posting it here for your perusal:

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Merry Christmas! I hope and pray that after four weeks of anticipation during Advent, you now find yourselves filled with joy and awe at the birth of a savior. God has become a human, in order to come to us. There is an incredible mystery in this. We can’t really grasp how it happened, but we can be assured that it is reason to celebrate.

There is a lot of talk about “seasons” this time of year. This is the “Holiday Season,” a lot of people are sending out “Seasons Greetings,” the secular Christmas season began sometime before Thanksgiving and comes to an abrupt end right after the 25th.

However, Christmas is not so much a season as it is an event. Sure, the church also has a Christmas season, which begins on the 25th and ends on Epiphany, Jan 6th, but that season is about a singular event: God becoming human.

The Christmas season, as we know it in our modern world, is about cookies and gifts and family gatherings. It is about children with visions of sugar plums and the warm sentiments of charity and goodwill toward all. These are all great things, but they are peripheral to the event. In the center or it all is the birth of a child who is God.

God became a human being. That is the event and as St. Paul writes “Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great.” This is the mystery of God, who is infinite, and powerful, and eternal, becoming finite, weak, and mortal. There is no logical way to explain this. It is a miracle and a mystery.

We don’t have to explain it though. We know that it is great news. So we celebrate this good news with a season of festivities. We celebrate with cookies and gifts and family gatherings. We are joyous about this mystery and that joy wells up into warm sentiments of charity and goodwill toward all.

Now that we are past most of the December Christmas bustle, I hope you have some time to think about the mystery of God becoming human. It is a deep and profound mystery that inspires both fear and hope. God is no longer far away. God is right here, walking and breathing and living among us. There is no telling what He will do, but one thing is for sure: this world will never be the same now.

With all the peace that a Savior brings...

Mid-December Newsletter Article

This article was published in the mid-December newsletter:

“But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” -Luke 10:38-42

December is undoubtedly a busy time of the year. People are focused on school Christmas programs, community Christmas events, making Christmas cookies, and of course buying Christmas presents, wrapping Christmas presents, and receiving Christmas presents. There are Christmas parties to go to and Christmas gift exchanges. There is Christmas decorating to be done and Christmas cards to be sent. And then the day comes and there is Christmas worship to attend and family gatherings to get through.

Every year pastors try to help people to understand and experience the Advent season and every year the secular Christmas machine rolls through December, yelling “Merry Christmas, celebrate this holiday season with merriment (and a lot of spending too, of course).” And it drowns out the words of the prophets, “Prepare the way of the Lord” and “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

In the secular world December is the Christmas season, with all its festivities and celebration, but in the church December is the Advent season, a time of reflection, anticipation, and preparation. We are not yet celebrating the coming of a savior; we are observing and reflecting on just how much we need that savior. We have been told that the Christ is coming to shine as a light in this world, and as we anticipate his coming, we take an honest look at just how dark this world is. Sometimes we forget how dark the night is, until we see the first light of dawn.

Too often we are so focused on getting ready for Christmas and the Christmas season, that we don’t have time to prepare for the coming of the Christ. We are a lot like Martha, distracted by many things, when there is need of only one thing. We get so busy with our traditions that we lose sight of our need for a savior and God’s promise to send one.

Take time during this Advent season and consider what it means for a savior to come into the world and into your life. In order to do this, you will have to seriously consider what you need to be saved from and how much you need a savior. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle, stop and reflect on who you are and who Jesus is.

One concrete way to contemplate the coming messiah is to set up a nativity scene putting only the livestock in the stable: the cattle and donkeys and sheep. Before Jesus was born, the stable was just a barn where animals lived. There were no angels there, no Mary and Joseph, no shepherds, no wise men. They all came later. What would the world be like if God had not sent them at all? What is the world like without Jesus Christ?

We are distracted by many things, but there is need of only one thing: a Savior, God himself, and he is coming.

With Anticipation and Hope...