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Calvary
Episcopal Church
Memphis, Tennessee
Christmas Eve 2003
 Bethlehem,
A Birth and A Baby
The Rev.
Dr. Robert R. Hansel
Gospel:
Matthew
1:18-25
(This sermon is also available in audio)
On this
very night, two thousand years ago, a strange thing happened...The
Bible tells us that ANGELS SANG A SONG TO A BUNCH OF SHEPHERDS ABOUT
THE
BIRTH OF A CHILD
Now, I am well aware that, despite the honor this night has been accorded
in poetry and song, in carol and creche, it's message still remains STRANGE,
a mystery, something illogical and beyond comprehension. For the literal-minded,
those who can't bring themselves to believe in angels, the whole story
seems awfully far-fetched. For the purely scientific in viewpoint, it
completely defies human reason. Even for many who seriously study religious
belief systems and traditions, it seems like a curve ball that comes at
us from somewhere totally off the playing field. Problems, illogical,
irrational, incomprehensible: these are just a few of the responses that
cluster around this wonderful and strange occasion called "Christmas
Eve."
I'd like
to invite all of you--literalists, skeptics, scientists, theologians,
whatever--to approach this particular Christmas Eve by laying aside all
your very legitimate and understandable concerns. Instead, let's borrow
a page from those Shepherds in the Christmas story. Remember how the story
goes? When the angels had finished telling them about the birth of Jesus,
they didn't get into a big discussion. They didn't raise all sorts of
questions and argue about whether the whole experience really happened--whether
it might have been some sort of mass hallucination. These Shepherds were
simple, straightforward, practical men who took things at face value.
What they immediately said to each other was this: "Let's go over
there to Bethlehem and take a look at things. Let's see for ourselves
if it all might be true." That's the attitude I think it would be
good for us to embrace tonight, just as they did that first Christmas
night. At least in our mind's eye, let's go, you and I, "unto Bethlehem
and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord has made known
unto us."
When we do
this--when we go back and take a closer look at this strange story from
St. Luke, we notice some very striking things--things that all of us here
tonight might just find worth singing about.
- The first
thing might be the place we're going to, the City of David, a tiny little
town called Bethlehem. The fact that this child is being born in Bethlehem
is absolutely critical. Bethlehem is not a famous place, not the center
of anything, just an out-of-the-way obscure no place. And yet, Bethlehem
had for centuries been named by prophets as THE location--a place of
hope that would confound and confuse all the wisdom of the world. A
great King, the Lord of Lords, our Savior, the Prince of Peace--it had
been foretold--would not come out of the great cultures and
civilizations, those places of false hope--not Rome, or Athens, or Babylon.
The angels tell us that all those empty years of earthly hope were at
an end, the fulfillment of authentic hope--the hope that comes only
from God--has arrived. Because the place is Bethlehem we know immediately
that this is a night like no other--the night that REAL HOPE was born.
- The second
thing worth singing about is when, in Bethlehem, we see the baby. Babies,
I guess, are always worth singing about, once again, we remember the
message of the angels. This is a special baby--this baby is a physical
expression of God, the appearance of complete love in the form of a
beautiful child. Now all of the facts and theories that the world has
ever known can neither prove or disprove that claim. It's a matter of
recognition. We see in that innocence and vulnerability the nature of
the God who loves us so much that all of God's "Omni's" are
laid aside. No longer omniscient, omnipresent, all-powerful, our God
is humble enough to come into our hands and hearts as a helpless, defenseless,
utterly dependant infant. The angels, you see, have it right: "the
baby wrapped in swaddling clothes is a sign to us"--an unmistakable
sign that this is the night that faith was born.
- The third
thing worth noticing--beyond the place and the child--is the birth itself.
Births, again, are always worth singing about, especially two thousand
years ago. There were none of the medical safeguards we know today.
Every childbirth was a time of crisis, a huge risk. The leading cause
of death among women was childbirth and infant mortality was commonplace.
But here's the thing: wherever there is risk there is usually also a
lot of opportunity for love. That's exactly the case this very first
Christmas night. Here we have the Creator of every person in this whole
earth becoming a person too. This night God was born into an ordinary
human family and, to that monumental miracle, who was it that God invited
to be the first witnesses? God's love reached out to embrace and include
ordinary shepherds--folks just like us. No wonder those angels sang
that night--the night when love was born.
So what did
you see? I saw three things: Bethlehem, a baby, and a birth. All the clues
provided by ancient seers and prophets. These are the clues to a truth
that, if you let it, will absolutely take your breath away--which, of
course, makes it very hard for us human beings to sing. Maybe that's why
these songs require angels.
So, here
we are celebrating a strange and wonderful night:
the night that hope was born, the night that faith was born, the night
that love was born. All of that is what we celebrate this evening.
This
is the night when angels sing and we are invited, once again, to join
them, to go with the Shepherd so that hope, faith, and love can be
born
right here inside each one of us--in every heart and mind.
"Let
us go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which
the Lord has made known unto us."
Copyright
2003 Calvary Episcopal Church
Gospel:
Matthew
1:18-25
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his
mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together,
she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph,
being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace,
planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do
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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the
Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for
he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place
to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look,
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,"
which means, ‘God is with us.’ 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep,
he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,
25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and
he named him Jesus. NRSV
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