Sunday 12/24/13 Freeville/Homer Ave
UMC’s (Christmas Eve)
Sermon Title: “Born in rags in an Animal Stable”
Old Testament Scripture Lesson: Psalm 96
New Testament Scripture Lesson: Titus 2:11-14
Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:1-20
Welcome once again my brothers and
sisters. Welcome on this night of hope, on this night of love, on this night of
majesty, on this night of excitement. Welcome on this night of anticipation, on
this night of wonderment, on this night that we await the birth of the
Christ-Child.
For the birth of Jesus Christ was
foretold though the prophets of old, who declared that one day a decedent from
the line of mighty King David would come and save all of humanity. The birth of
the Christ-Child shows a new way of living, that didn’t exist before. The birth
of the Christ-Child shows us a new way of loving our neighbors, feeding the
hungry, clothing the naked, and carrying for all of God’s precious children. For
the very birth of Jesus Christ is even a change in our very way of counting
years. For we go from the years “B.C” to the years “A.D.,” as we are coming to
the end of 2013 A.D.
In many studies that have
been conducted both past and present, it has been determined that the most
famous and the most popular person to ever walked the earth, was Jesus Christ.
You see, rarely do I encounter a person that does not like or love Jesus. The
coming of Jesus’ birth was so big, that King Herod in Jerusalem feared it. Soon
after the birth of Christ, King Herod ordered
his soldiers “to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and in the surrounding
area who were two years old or younger.” For even the great King Herod
feared this “King of Kings.” This Immanuel, this Priest of all Priests, this
Shepherd of all Shepherds, this Truth above all Truth’s, the Prince of Peace,
God in the flesh.
This king that was so prophesized
and so heralded for centuries, that even three Magi or wise men came to pay
homage to this Messiah, to this Christ-Child. These three wise men ventured for
weeks, even months, carrying those gifts we know oh so well, those gifts of
Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. The Shepherds near the manger saw an angel of
Lord, who told them the savior have been born. The Shepherds crowded in around
the manger with joy, with tears, and with hope.
Even in our Old Testament
Scripture reading for this evening from Psalm 96, it says, “Then shall the
trees of the forest sing for joy before the LORD; for he is coming, for he is
coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the
peoples with his truth.” You see the
Psalmist wrote these words centuries before Jesus Christ’s birth. I can imagine
that the Psalmist though might have uttered the same words that we might utter
tonight, “O Come, O Come Immanuel!” “Come Lord Jesus!” “Come Lord Jesus!”
In the Epistle or Letter
of the Apostle Paul to Titus reading for this evening, we hear, “For the grace of
God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety
and worldly passions, and in the present age live lives that are
self-controlled, upright, and godly.” This scripture then, only adds to
majesty, the power, and greatness of this coming Christ-Child. The Child who
will come, and will be the one who can do all the things, the one who is savior,
teacher, healer, and the Son of God.
You see then, we have
quite a picture of this Messiah, of Jesus the Christ, the most popular person
who ever walked the earth. Given all of this, it would make perfect sense that
the “King of Kings” and the “Lord of Lords” would enter this world with great
power, wealth, and fanfare. I would make sense that Jesus would have been born
in a great mansion, with elephants, hundreds of soldiers, gold and riches,
ivory, marble, a huge in-ground pool, the best food, and the most power and
might.
Yet, the most popular
person in human history, the one foretold for centuries, God in the flesh,
comes to us “Born in rags in animal stable.” In some accounts of Church
tradition, some have said that when three Magi or wise men arrived at the
manger that they were shocked. Perhaps for a second they thought as they looked
at the animal stable, that was probably more of a stone structure in heavy
rocks, with animals, and poor shepherds, “this is the Messiah?” “This is the
Christ-Child.”
You see, in this season
of Christmas, we await the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the most
popular person in history, the savior of the world, who was born like a poor
peasant.
Jesus chose this path to
show us, that as the living God, while he had great power and might, that he
was coming not just for the rich and the powerful, but that he was coming for
the poor and the downtrodden. Jesus was born this way to send a message to the
world, that he was the savior of the common people. He still is the savior of
all people, but most people in this world are not people of great wealth and
power. Due to this, Jesus Christ saw fit to come as one of the common folk. He
saw fit to come down like an average person. Like a person who lives in a
little place, has very little, and yet is at the same time the King of Kings.
Jesus
Christ, the living God would go on to endure all the pains and sufferings that
this world has, so that he might show us he is among us, and that he loves all
his children. This means whether you are the poorest of poor or anything else,
Christ came for you. This incredible demonstration of love, of humility, of
God’s grace, is one of the things that makes Christmas so powerful for us all.
For Jesus meets us right where we are at.
You
see my brothers and sisters, very soon the Christ-Child will be among us, and
everything we know will change. We will have a rebuilt relationship with God,
we will have a whole new way of being and existing, whereby we can build the
kingdom of Jesus Christ in the here and the now. We can love the poorest of the
poor, we can feed the hungry, we can clothe the naked, we can care for the
widow, and we can serve unfortunate, because the God of the Universe, the most
popular person who ever walked this earth, came to earth, took on flesh, and
taught us to do the same. “Come Lord Jesus!”
As we await the birth of
Lord Jesus, I would like end this Christmas Eve message with a story. This
story is called “Celebrate
the Light,”
by Helen Grace Lescheid.
Here is how it goes: “The second World War raged in Europe during Christmas Eve
in 1944.Mother, with four small children, had fled our native Ukraine with the
retreating German army. Father had been reported missing in action.”
“Now we were refugees
living in a two-room shack in Dieterwald, Poland. But again the fighting front
was only about fifty kilometres away. Frequent air raids sent us scurrying for
cover. Explosions rattled the windows. Army trucks brought in the wounded and
the dead. Hay wagons filled with refugees rumbled west; bombers droned overhead
and army tanks rolled east. Partisans (underground resistance) attacked
innocent women and children at night. Nobody in his right mind went out into
the dark winter night.”
“And yet, it was
Christmas Eve. Two women had prepared a Christmas party in a neighboring
village and invited us. Mother, wanting to give us children joy, accepted.”
“She instructed my sister
and me to dress warmly against the winter's cold. "Tonight we're going to
a party," she said. Being only eight-years old, I sensed no danger--only
wondrous excitement.”
“Hurriedly my sister, two
years younger, and I dressed. If only Mother would hurry! A simple wick
flickered in a saucer of oil--our only light. We could barely see her shadowy
form as she bustled about getting my four-year-old brother, Fred, and almost
two-year-old sister, Katie, ready. Finally Mother was putting on her heavy
winter coat, kerchief, and warm felt boots. With one small breath, she blew out
the oil lamp. It was pitch dark now. "Open the door, Lena," she
called to me. We stepped onto the crisp snow covering the farmyard. A moon
crescent hung above a large house across the yard where the estate owners
lived--kind people who treated us refugees well. It, too, was shrouded in
darkness.”
“Mother lifted Katie and
shuffled her to her back: she'd carry her piggyback for the five kilometers. "Hang
tight onto my coat collar," she coaxed. Then, turning towards us girls,
she said, "You take Fred's hands." My younger sister and I complied.
We had often taken care of our little brother while mother had culled potatoes
in the big barns or had done other chores for the landowners.”
“At the road, we stopped.
Although I knew it well from my treks to school, I could barely make out the
houses on either side of the street. No street lights were allowed now. Windows
heavily draped permitted no light to seep out of the houses. My mother
hesitated for a brief moment. Then she said, "Come, we'll take the
shortcut across the fields." The snow crunched as four pairs of feet
punched holes in the white expanse of open fields. Stars spangled the vault of
sky above us. A blood-red glow smeared the eastern sky. At times an explosion
sent flames shooting into the sky. "Girls, recite your poems to me."
Mother's voice sounded a bit shaky. Her arms aching, she put Katie down on the
snowy ground. Our recitations of Christmas poems made white puffs in the cold
night air. When we finished, Mother said, "Speak up loud and clear when
your turn comes. No mumbling." She lifted Katie once more onto her back,
and we began to walk again. On and on we walked. But we were far too excited to
be tired.”
“Finally we arrived at
our friends' house. The door opened and we stepped inside. I felt I had stepped
into heaven itself. Lights! A whole room-full of lights. Candlelight flickered
from a small Christmas tree and bounced out of happy children's eyes. Heavily
draped windows kept the light inside--for us to revel in. Red paper chains
decked the tree; delicate paper cherubs smiled down upon us.”
“We squeezed in amongst
women and children sitting on the floor. Soon the room filled with singing:
"Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht."(Silent Night, Holy Night) Some mothers
sang alto, the rest of us, soprano. We sang with gusto and from memory, songs
that lifted our hearts above the terrors of war and inspired new hope for the
days ahead.”
“I can't remember our
long trek home that night, but I do remember the wonderful gifts I received; my
right pocket bulged with the most beautiful ball I'd ever seen. A very colorful
ball it was. Much later, I learned it had been made out of scrunched up rags
wrapped in rainbow colored yarn probably gleaned from unravelling old sweaters.
The other pocket held three cookies!”
“Soon after that
wonderful Christmas party, we were evacuated. Icy winds blew snow into our
faces as we cowered on an uncovered hay wagon pulled by two scrawny horses.
With the front so close behind, we traveled day and night. Once it was safe to
stop, we slept in drafty barns. We ate hunks of frozen bread and drank the
occasional cup of milk supplied by a Red Cross jeep. But the warm memory of
that Christmas celebration shone like a small candle in the darkness.”
“Even years later, when
my own life's circumstances seemed too bleak to celebrate Christmas, I
remembered the truth of Christmas born in my heart that night: Jesus, the light of the world came to us at Christmas time and no
amount of darkness can put out that light (John 1: 4,5).”
My brothers and sisters,
on this night we prepare with wonder, with joy and with hope, as Jesus Christ,
the light of the world, will soon be among us. For as it said in the reading from
the gospel according to Luke from tonight, “Glory to God in the highest
heaven,” as the King of Kings will very soon come to us, “born in rags in an
animal stable.” “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.”
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