Sermon -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2025)

GLORY TO GOD.  GOOD WILL TOWARD MANKIND.

LUKE 2:1-20.

In the name + of Jesus.

    Chances are, you are going to open gifts tonight or tomorrow.  Even though you may be excited to see what hides under the wrapping paper, the gift is not the only thing that matters.  Each gift will have a tag on it to let you know who the gift is from.  Who the gift is from matters just as much as the gift.  It is a statement about the love and concern the giver has for the one who receives the gift.  If all that mattered was the gift, we would not care if a gift was given anonymously.  We would just want the loot.  But it does matter.  We want to know whom to thank for their consideration and their generosity.

     When the angels sang the heavenly hymn above the fields of Bethlehem, they spoke of two gifts that were given: Glory to God, and Good Will to Mankind.

     The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14).  Who gives this glory, and why?  Before we ask that, let’s ask this: Why does God need glory?

     Even if we did not meet tonight to sing praises to God, God would not be any different.  He would still be all-powerful.  He would still be all-knowing.  He would still be holy.  He does not need us for any of these things.  God is glorious no matter what we do or say or think.  If God did not send his Son into the world to save sinners, God would not be any different.  So, if anyone wants to argue that God does not need glory from us, then it should also be noted that God did not need to save us, either.  God is the same, with or without us.

     But God did not want to be without us.  God loves what he has created.  When sin ruined the relationship between God and mankind, God acted to restore it.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  While God is glorious for being all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, and so on, we give God glory because he loves sinners and saves them.

     The angels sang their song of praise when God sent his Son into the world in human flesh.  The angels did not benefit from the birth of a Savior.  The angels do not need to be saved.  But the angels do marvel that God loved mankind so much that he became one of us.  That is why the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest!”

     We who benefit from this Savior have all the more reason to give glory to God.  When we sing our songs of praise, we do not merely praise God for being pure and powerful.  We praise God for humbling himself to take on flesh that would be cut by a crown of thorns and pierced by nails and spear.  We glorify God for submitting himself to live in the same troubled world we live in—to experience mockery, slander, sorrow, pain, injustice, and death. 

     The Lord did not do this just to experience what we experience.  He did it to deliver us from the evils which infect the world and infect our own hearts.  God became a human of flesh and blood so that his flesh would be rent and his blood would be poured out as a sin offering.  This sacrifice made by the righteous God for unrighteous men appeases the Father in heaven.  This is why we give glory to God.  The glory of God is that he is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and overflowing with mercy and truth, maintaining mercy for thousands, forgiving guilt and rebellion and sin” (Exodus 34:6-7). 

     The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2:14), because they witnessed God’s love for mankind.  We sing, “Glory to God in the highest,” because we benefit from that redeeming love.  We glorify God because his love moved him to become one of us, to pay for our sins, and to open heaven up to sinners.  When we sing our hymns, we don’t offer up bland words of generic praise.  The best praise does not tell God what we think of him; the best praise retells what our Savior did for us.  For example: 

          Christ, from heaven to us descending
             And in love our race befriending,
                In our need his help extending,
                   Saved us from the wily foe.

          Jacob’s Star in all its splendor
             Beams with comfort sweet and tender,
                Forcing Satan to surrender,
                   Breaking all the powers of hell.

          From the bondage that oppressed us,
             From sin’s fetters that possessed us,
                From the grief that sore distressed us,
                   We, the captives, now are free.
          “Come Your Hearts and Voices Raising” by Paul Gerhardt (1607 – 1676)

     Glory to God because he has taken up our cause and saved us from death and hell.  Glory from the angels.  Glory from mankind.  Glory to God.

     While our glory goes to God, the greater gift by far is God’s gift to us: Good will toward mankind.  The angels proclaimed this good news to shepherds who often did not receive the good will of their society.  They were usually the undesirables.  Yet, they learned that God had a desire for them to be his.  The angel proclaimed to the shepherds, “I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you.  He is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). 

     God’s good will toward mankind did not merely come in a proclamation, but in a person.  God’s good will came in that Bethlehem baby.  The baby in the manger is the Lord.  He who created the world comes to be with his creatures.  He who grants and sustains life comes to live among us. 

     To the shepherds, the angel said, “This will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).  That meant Jesus was a peasant, just like the shepherds were.  When they heard that the Christ was wrapped in strips of cloth, they would have thought, “That’s how our wives wrap our babies!  He is not in some palace that we have no chance of entering.  He is one of us.  He comes for the likes of us!”  God’s good will is not toward some of mankind.  It is good news of great joy for all the earth. 

     At Christmas time, we hear a general appeal for people to have good will toward one another.  It is odd to me that this message receives such emphasis at this time of year.  But maybe it receives such emphasis because Christmas time can reveal the worst of us more than the best of us.  When we go to the store, wait for parking, shop among self-absorbed crowds, and stand in long lines, our good will toward others ran short.  The stress of year-end deadlines boiled over into rude remarks and office squabbles.  The pressure to produce the perfect Christmas magic in our homes made our homes unpleasant.  And while family gatherings seem like a great idea, family rivalries can flare up and arguments from the past can get renewed.  Our good will toward mankind takes a beating at Christmas, and it gets withheld throughout the year as well.

     If this is how we feel about our fellowman, what should God think of us who commanded us, “Love your neighbor as yourself?”  God does not put limits on this love, as if to say, “Love your neighbor, well, if he deserves it.  Love your neighbor, well, unless he is a jerk.  Love your neighbor, but only if he loves you back.”  On the contrary, this is what the Lord says, “If you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Even tax collectors do that, don’t they?  If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others?  Do not even the unbelievers do that” (Matthew 5:46-47)?

     But God’s good will toward mankind goes without limits.  The angel declared, “I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all people: Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you” (Luke 2:10-11).  The Savior comes for all people—for those who are rude, tired, stressed, snarky, bitter, sad, jealous, petty, abusive, addicted, and adulterous.  That is because the Savior comes to pay for the sins of the world.  His love goes beyond covering minor indiscretions or social faux pas, but he also covers great and shameful sins.  Rather than pick and choose which sinners aren’t that bad, Jesus acted to suffer and die for all.  Rather than debate which sins are serious and which are insignificant, Jesus paid for them all. 

     Jesus proves God’s good will toward mankind.  He does not leave you to wallow in guilt or to languish in your sins.  He delivers you from the guilt, rescues you from the punishment, and reconciles you to God.  He even restores shattered lives and mends broken hearts.  The grace he bestows is greater than your sins.  The joy he brings endures even in the face of death.  God is faithful in his love and lavish with his forgiveness.  The Lord Jesus has taken your sins away from you.  The only way they can condemn you now is if you take them back.

     If you are unwrapping gifts tonight or tomorrow, you might get exactly what you want.  Or you might not.  Loved ones take their best guess at what they think you will like or what you can use.  They mean well, even if they don’t do that well with their gifts.  But our Lord gave the supreme gift that is useful, beneficial, and necessary.  A Savior has been born for you.  He is Christ the Lord.  Through him, God bestows his good will.  And we give glory to God.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Christmas 2025

Join us for our Christmas services as we worship the Word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service:

A Service of Lessons and Carols

Wednesday, December 24 at 7:00 PM

Christmas Day Festival Service

Thursday, December 25 at 10:00 AM

o logos is Greek for "the Word."

Sermon -- Christmas Eve Candlelight Service (December 24, 2024)

Our Christmas Eve service at Good Shepherd follows the Service of Lessons and Carols.  There are nine lessons.  A short devotion was given for eight of them.  Three of those devotions are below.

2^nd Lesson      Genesis 22:15-18      

         God never lies.  His word is always trustworthy and true.  And yet, God intensified his promise by saying, “I have sworn by myself.”  There is no higher authority to swear by, so the Lord swore by himself to Abraham.  “I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord…  In your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”  God would send a Savior into the world.  The Savior comes for the whole world.  God stakes his reputation and his very being on it.  “In your seed,” God promised—no, God swore—"all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”

         God had tested Abraham, commanding him to offer up his beloved son as a sacrifice.  Abraham did not understand why, but he obeyed the word of the Lord.  He was prepared to offer up Isaac as a burnt offering, even having the knife drawn and ready to kill.  The Lord stepped in.  He called a halt to the sacrifice.  The death of Isaac would save no one.  Abraham’s faith and obedience had been proved genuine.  In place of Isaac, the Lord provided a ram whose horns were stuck in a thicket.  The ram was a substitute.  It was slain instead of Isaac.

     Abraham’s son, Isaac, foreshadowed the future Son of Abraham.  The Seed of Abraham would do what Isaac could not.  He would be slain to appease God.  God the Son, the only begotten Son of the Father, the Son whom he loved, would shed his blood to atone for the sins of all the world.  When he would be slain, the Father would not put a stop to it.  There would be no substitution, and there would be no mercy.  The Son would die.  His body would be consumed in God’s fiery wrath.  The Seed of Abraham would be the substitute, slain for you. 

         God has sworn by himself: All the people of the world would be blessed.  The Seed of Abraham takes away the sin of the world.    

4th Lesson        Micah 5:2-5a       

         When God created the world, he called all things into being out of nothing.  That is how God works: He takes what is nothing and makes it into something with which he is pleased.

         The cities and troops of Israel were organized in groups of thousands, and each was summoned by name to serve the Lord.  Though Bethlehem was among the towns of Judah, they were too insignificant to be listed among the thousands.  Bethlehem was little, obscure, unrecognized—like a small town with a blinking stop light at its one cross road.

         The Lord, however, takes what is nothing and makes it into something.  Out of little, insignificant Bethlehem comes a great king.  His origins are from of old, from ancient times.  If he exists long before the promise is even made, that means he is eternal. 

         Out of Bethlehem comes a king who is the eternal God.  He comes to shepherd his people.  He will provide for all his people’s needs.  He will protect his people from all that would destroy them.  The lion prowls around looking for someone to devour, but the Shepherd-King will fend him off.  The sheep tend to go astray, but he will search for them, put them up on his shoulders, and bring them back. 

         Out of Bethlehem comes one who will shepherd his people—a Good Shepherd.  He will guide his sheep by the words of his mouth.  He will encourage and instruct so that we walk the paths that are good and safe.  He proclaims words of comfort, admonition, and peace.  The sheep who hear his words and take them to heart live securely.  The prowling lion cannot have them. 

         There are many today who consider it an insult to be called a sheep.  They believe sheep to be gullible creatures that follow anyone.  But they don’t.  The sheep follow the shepherd they know.  We know our Good Shepherd.  He does not lead us to slaughter, but to pleasant pastures.  Some may regard sheep as nothing, but they are the ones with whom God is pleased.  For he takes what is nothing and makes it something good, something beloved, something precious.  He does that for you; for that is how God works.

8^th Lesson       Matthew 2:1-12                     The Magi worship the newborn King

         The Magi sought their king.  They already had a king in their homeland.  They met another king in Jerusalem.  But that’s not what they wanted.  They did not need a king who flexed his military muscle to demonstrate his power and to strike fear.  They needed a king who was rich in mercy and soothed fears.

         The Magi found their king.  They did not care that he was an infant—at the time totally dependent upon Mary and Joseph for everything, at the time hated by Herod and later hunted by him, at the time years from fulfilling all that he had come to do.  They knew he was king, and they bowed down before him.

         The Magi praised their king.  Even though Jesus had come for their good, they presented him with their goods.  They thanked him for work he had not yet done.  They paid homage to him even though he was not yet in his glory.  They rejoiced that their Savior had come.

         The Magi confessed their king.  Their journey to Bethlehem was no small feat.  But Jesus mattered enough to them to put forth the time and effort.  They made it a priority to see him.

         The Magi were saved by their king; for that is why he came. 

         This king still comes.  He comes veiled in word and sacrament to give his gifts of forgiveness, new life, and salvation.  If you would be wise for salvation, then it is wise to put forth time and effort and priority to come and worship him.  We do not come to God’s house for his good; rather, we come to receive his goods.  It is here that our Lord Jesus Christ continues to prepare us for death, to comfort us through life, and to sustain us in the saving faith.  It is good, right, and salutary to seek him and to confess him so that you would live under him in his kingdom and serve him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness—just as he has risen from death and lives and rules eternally.  This is most certainly true.

Christmas 2025

Christmas Schedule at Good Shepherd

 

Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service

Tuesday, December 24, 

7:00 PM

Christmas Day

Festival Service

Wednesday, December 25,

10:00 AM

YouTube -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2023)

Here is the service from Christmas Eve -- A Service of Lessons and Carols.

Sermon -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2023)

We followed the Service of Lessons and Carols at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.  There were eight brief homilies presented at the conclusion of each reading.  A few of them are below.

3^rd Lesson       Isaiah 11:1-10             

Our righteous ruler shall bring an everlasting peace.

         God so loved the world.  He loves his whole creation.  God was pleased with all that he had made, and he called it very good.  He is not pleased, however, that it has become corrupt.  He is not pleased with the sins of people.  He did not create animals to be predator and prey.  He did not intend the earth to destroy by quakes and landslides and volcanoes and hurricanes.  He did not design plants to prick or to poison.  But sin entered the world through one man.  That sin did not just affect people, it brought a curse upon all creation.  It is not just that our minds are warped and our hearts that are turned in on ourselves, it is also that the entire creation has been corrupted and subjected to death and decay.

         Nevertheless, God loved the world.  Rather than toss it in the trash bucket, he sent a Savior to reclaim all creation for himself and to restore all creation back to perfection.  The Savior comes to redeem everything.

         This righteous King brings back righteousness to you.  His own righteousness is put upon you in holy baptism.  By baptism, all that Jesus has achieved is given to you.  His innocent life answers for yours.  His sacrificial death is where he dealt with your sins.  His resurrection brings about your eternal life.  Though Jesus, you are declared innocent, righteous, and an heir of the eternal kingdom.

         Isaiah declared the perfection of that eternal kingdom.  This world remains broken and corrupt.  Disorder, destruction, death, and decay rule in a world of sin.  But when Jesus comes again, Eden will be restored.  Mortal enemies will live in peace.  Deadly threats will be extinct.  For, where there is no sin, there is no curse. Where everything has been restored, there is no corruption.
         No more let sin and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found. Let heaven and nature sing. For God so loves the world.

5th Lesson Matthew 1:18-25
The angel Gabriel visits Joseph in a dream.

         Joseph was a righteous man.  He took the word of the Lord seriously.  If you page through the Scriptures, you will discover that Joseph never says a word.  He has no lines.  But he is outstanding at listening to the word of the Lord and obeying it.

         Joseph was betrothed to Mary.  Betrothal was more binding than an engagement.  It was legally recognized by a ceremony.  The consummation of the marriage would take place a year later, but the bride and groom would rarely see each during that year.

         So, when Joseph learned that his betrothed was pregnant, he knew that the child was not his.  How disappointed, even devastated, he was!  She must love another if she carries his child.  What other conclusion should Joseph have drawn? 

         Joseph was a righteous man.  He was not out for revenge.  He did not seek to shame the young woman.  “Let her go to the man she loves,” he reasoned; and he resolved to divorce her quietly.  But before he could do that, the Lord revealed to Joseph what was really going on.  The angel appeared to Joseph in a dream to let him know what he could never have known unless God revealed it.  What was revealed to Joseph has also been recorded for us so that we will know it too: “That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).   

         So, Joseph learned that Mary was not only faithful to him, but was also virgin pure.  The child who was conceived was not fathered by another man, but by God.  Therefore, the child is Immanuel, “God with us.”  And since he takes on humanity in the womb of the Virgin Mary, the child is not only God with us, but God who has become one of us.  In this way, God binds himself to humanity.  He becomes God for us who will save his people from their sins.

         We hear not a word from Joseph, but we see that Joseph knew how to listen to the word of the Lord.  Perhaps he did not understand it.  Surely, he marveled at it.  But Joseph certainly believed it.  The Lord God would come through the Virgin Mary, but he comes for all of us.

Christmas -- 2024

 Christmas Schedule at Good Shepherd

 

Christmas Eve

Candlelight Service

Sunday, December 24, 

7:00 PM

 

Christmas Day

Festival Service

Monday, December 25, 

10:00 AM

Sermon -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2022)

Good Shepherd observes the Service of Lessons and Carols for its Christmas Eve services.  After all but one of the lessons, there is a brief address.  Here are a few of them.

The 3rd Lesson -- Isaiah 11:1-9

         Jesse was the father of David who became King of Israel.  David was anointed to take the throne, and God sustained David’s line for many generations.  But, since the kings of Jerusalem continually turned away from the Lord, the Lord lost his patience.  God had sent prophets again and again to urge Israel to repent and turn back to the Lord.  Their message was treated with disdain.  The prophets were met with derision.  Some were put to death.  So, the Lord brought the kingdom to an end.  David’s line was cut off—like a tree reduced to a lifeless stump.

         But that lifeless stump would see life again.  After centuries of dormancy, a branch sprang up.  The Son of David came forth who would take up a throne and reign.

         Unlike many of Israel’s kings, he would be faithful to the Lord.  His kingdom would be established and endure forever.  He would judge all people accurately, neither persuaded nor deceived by flattering words or phony people.  The guilty will be exposed for their sins and judged accordingly. 

         But his kingdom will not be established by the slaughter of others.  It will not be known for violence and destruction.  His kingdom is established by him being slaughtered for the sins committed against him.  His reign is known by mercy upon those who deserve to perish.  He forgives sins and proclaims peace.  But he will not force anyone to believe in him and be part of his kingdom.  Those who want no part of him will get their way.  They will get neither forgiveness nor peace.  They will perish forever.

         But for you who believe in him, you will be delivered into Paradise, into a perfect kingdom of peace where there is no war, violence, hatred, or anger.  A Branch has sprung up from the stump of Jesse.  The Son of David reigns over a kingdom of grace and peace.

The 6th Lesson -- Luke 2:1-7

         When the Lord entered the world, he did not come down from heaven at age 30, appearing out of nowhere.  He came into the world in the common way.  He was conceived in Mary’s womb and gestated there for nine months.  She gave birth to a baby boy.  It was her first, so that was special, but it was not amazing.

         We might get the idea that the moment Mary passed the city limits of Bethlehem she went into full blown labor.  We may also envision some wicked hotel manager who banished a pregnant woman.  We might even think of house after house in Bethlehem refusing shelter to Mary as she was panting in pain and the baby’s head was crowning.  All of that would make for a great movie, but the Bible does not record anything that dramatic.

         There is a tradition that Jesus was born in a cave.  Or maybe it was in a stable.  The Bible does not really say that, either.  It says that Jesus was laid in a manger, in other words, a feeding trough.  We keep our animals in barns.  Some are kept in caves.  The word translated “inn” would be better translated “guest room,” which was an upper room in someone’s house.  So, whether Jesus was born in a cave, a stable, or a house is irrelevant.  What is relevant is that God came to earth in the flesh of a baby boy.

         Christ the Lord is born, and he came into the world in unspectacular fashion.  Mary gave birth and wrapped her newborn in strips of cloth, like any other peasant would have.  But that is the point.  He was a commoner, and he came for common people.  He is like us in every way, but without sin.  We would not be able to approach him in his bare glory, so he hides it in humble human flesh.  Veiled in flesh the God-head see.  True God, hidden under lowly, infant flesh.

         What was visible was common, ordinary, and earthly.  What was truly going on had to be revealed, and that is truly amazing.  We will hear about that next.

 

The 7th Lesson -- Luke 2:8-20

         What was witnessed at the manger was unspectacular.  But a spectacle of angels revealed what was really going on.  A great heavenly mystery is hidden behind a common, earthly birth.  God’s glory was hidden in the flesh of Jesus.

         Mary knew what was going on.  The angel had told her nine months earlier: The child to be born is God Most High.  Joseph knew, too.  The angel had revealed: Mary’s child is Immanuel, God with us.  Now the angel told the shepherds in the fields: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  So much is packed into that sentence.  We will work backwards.

         He is the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He is the one who divided the Red Sea and led Israel through the wilderness to the Promised Land.  He is the one who put his name on the Temple and dwelt there with his people.  The one born in Bethlehem is the Lord.

         And he is the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord’s Anointed.  Those who were anointed were given an office to fill.  Aaron had been anointed as High Priest.  David had been anointed as King.  Elisha had been anointed as Prophet.  Jesus is all three.  As Prophet, Jesus proclaims the word of the Lord to you.  As King, he goes out to conquer your enemies—sin, death, and the devil—for you.  As High Priest, he comes to make a sacrifice for you.  In fact, he IS the sacrifice made for you to atone for your sins.

         He is the Savior.  If he is the Savior, that means you need to be saved.  Jesus delivers you from sin by taking your sin away from you.  Jesus saves you from the grave by conquering death for you by his resurrection.  Jesus destroyed the work of the devil and snatched you away from him.

         But perhaps the most important words of the angel are these: “Unto you.”  Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, but he has come for you.  He is Lord for you.  He is the Christ for you.  He is the Savior for you.  Glory to God in the highest, and peace from God for you.

Christmas 2022

Here is the schedule for our services this Christmas season.

Saturday, December 24 

at 7:00 PM
Christmas Eve 

Candlelight Service

Sunday, December 25

at 10:00 AM
Christmas Day 

Festival Service

Sunday, January 1 

at 10:00 AM
The Circumcision of our Lord

and The Name of Jesus

Sunday School & Adult Bible Class will be on a break December 25 and January 1.  We will resume these classes on Sunday, January 8 at 9:00 AM.

YouTube -- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (December 24 & 25, 2021)

Here are the services from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 2021.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service -- A Service of Lessons and Carols.

Christmas Day Festival Service.

Sermon -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2021)

Our Christmas Eve service at Good Shepherd follows the Service of Lessons and Carols.  There are nine lessons.  A short devotion was given for eight of them.  Two of those devotions are below.

6^th Reading           Luke 2:1-7

         Luke 2:1-7 tells us what was visible in Bethlehem at the birth of Jesus.  What was apparent to the eye was nothing spectacular in any way.  A woman gave birth to a baby boy.  It was her first, so that was special, but it was not amazing.

         When the Lord came into the world, he chose to enter in the most common way.  Joseph and Mary had been inconvenienced by the decree of Caesar Augustus.  They were compelled to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem.  Behind the scenes, the prophet Micah would smile.  The word of the Lord through him would be fulfilled.  But many others had also come to Bethlehem.  No one would have had special pity for Joseph and Mary.  They were like the rest.

         We might get the idea that the moment Mary passed the city limits of Bethlehem she went into full blown labor.  That may make for a more compelling story, but the Bible does not say that.  I don’t know how long they were in Bethlehem, but while they were there, she gave birth.  We also do not need to create a villain.  The word translated “inn” is better translated as “guest room.”  Every house had a guest room.  The family lived in the main room.  An upper room was available for guests.  So, there is no wicked hotel manager who banished a pregnant woman panting in pain as a baby’s head was crowning.  But Bethlehem had swelled with people.  Guest rooms were occupied.  Since there was no space in the guest room, Mary was in the main room which was more private anyway.  She was there, by the lower level where the animals were brought in each night.  There would have been a manger or two there so that the animals could feed if they needed to.  There, Mary gave birth and wrapped her newborn in strips of cloth, like any other peasant would have.

          When the Lord entered the world, he entered as a commoner. He did not come down from heaven at age 30, appearing out of nowhere. He was conceived in Mary’s womb and gestated there for nine months. He was born in a house in Bethlehem. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. It was utterly common, but that is the point. Jesus did not come in majesty, but in humility. He came as a common person for common people. He is like us in every way, but without sin. We would not be able to approach him in his bare glory, so he hides it in humble human flesh. The God-head was veiled in flesh. He came as a common person for common people.
          What was visible was common, ordinary, and earthly. What was truly going on had to be revealed, and that is truly amazing. We will hear about that next.

7^th Reading           Luke 2:8-20

         What was witnessed at the manger was unspectacular.  But a spectacle of angels has revealed what was really going on.  A great heavenly mystery is hidden behind a common, earthly birth.  God’s glory was hidden in the flesh of Jesus.

         Mary knew what was going on.  The angel had told her nine months earlier that the child to be born is God Most High.  Joseph knew what was hidden.  The angel told him that Mary’s child was Immanuel, God with us.  Now the angel told the shepherds in the fields: A Savior has been born for you.  He is the Christ, the promised Messiah.  He is the Lord—the Maker of heaven and earth, the one who divided the Red Sea, the one who led Israel in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, the one who dwelt between the cherubim above the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies.  Yes, THAT One is a baby in Bethlehem.  He is Christ the Lord.

         But note the sign: He is wrapped in strips of cloth lying in a manger.  This sign might seem meaningless to you, but it was not meaningless to the shepherds.  When they heard that the Lord was wrapped in strips of cloth, they understood that he was a commoner.  He had come for the likes of peasants, shepherds, and everyone.  This is how the angel emphasized that the good news was for them.  And it is for you.  Christ the Lord has come, for you!

         This is the glory of God which the angels sang about.  We often think the glory of God is that he is holy and all-powerful.  He is that, but no one is saved because God is holy and all-powerful.  Those things are terrifying.  So, Jesus did not come in power, but in weakness.  He came to reveal the true glory of God—that he loves and saves sinners.

         Glory to God in the highest!  There is good news for all people; for you!  A Savior has come.  He is the Christ.  He is the Lord.  He is for you. 

Christmas Schedule -- 2021

Christmas 2021 

Christmas Eve 

Candlelight Service

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Friday,

December 24, 

7:00 PM

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Festival Service

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Saturday,

December 25, 

10:00 AM

 

Festival of 

St. Stephen, 

Martyr

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December 26, 

10:00 AM 

 

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Sermon -- Christmas Eve (December 24, 2020)

On Christmas Eve, we follow the order of A Service of Lessons and Carols.  There are nine lessons.  I offer a brief devotion after the first eight of those lessons, the 9th lesson being the Gospel for Christmas Day.  I save those thoughts for Christmas Day.

Here are two of the devotions from Christmas Eve.

2^nd Lesson  --  Genesis 22:15-18                

God’s promises to Abraham

 

            From all of the people and nations on the earth, the Lord had called Abraham to be the one through whom God would bring the Savior into the world.  The Seed of the Woman would also be the Seed of Abraham.

            The Lord had promised that salvation would come through him, and through his promised son.  The promise was astounding.  It was first given when Abraham was 75 years old.  It was not until Abraham was 100 years old that the Lord provided the son through whom that promise would be kept.  Understandably, Abraham loved his son, his only-begotten son of a promise.  But the Lord tested Abraham.  He commanded him to sacrifice his only begotten son as a burnt offering.  But to do so was also to sacrifice the promise.  What was Abraham to do with this? 

            Abraham did not try to work around the word of the Lord.  The Lord had made a promise, and—somehow, some way—the Lord would be faithful to his word.  Abraham had a heavy heart, but it was an obedient heart.  Abraham would offer up his son as a sacrifice to the Lord.  And the Lord—somehow, some way—would be faithful to his word.  Before Abraham slew his son, the Lord stopped him.  Abraham had proven himself faithful and obedient.  In place of Isaac, the Lord provided a ram to be slain.  The Lord—somehow, some way—was faithful to his word.  It was not this son of Abraham who would be an offering.  It would be the son who would come later.

            Through the Seed of Abraham, all nations would be blessed.  When Abraham’s Seed would come, he too, would be the only begotten Son of his Father.  God the Father would send his Son to be a sacrifice.  But this time, there would be no mercy.  No one would stop his death.  The Seed of Abraham would be offered up by God’s command—a substitute for the whole world. 

            Jesus is the “how” God would be faithful to his word.  Jesus is the “way” God would provide salvation to sinners.  The Seed of Abraham, the Son of God, would pay for the sins of the world; for the sins of you.  Through Abraham’s Seed, you and all the world are blessed. Through Abraham’s Seed, you are saved.

 

3^rd Lesson   --  Isaiah 9:2,6,7 

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light

 

            People have always longed for a ruler, a leader, or a king who would fix everything.  We crave an honest man who would put an end to suffering, to hardship, and to any number of problems we must endure.  Stop the war.  Feed the hungry.  Clean up the system.  Fix the economy.  Find a cure for COVID.  Leaders come and go.  The problems still remain.  In a broken world, that should not surprise anybody.

            Even the Lord is zealous for such a ruler.  For, the Lord is not fond of a broken world or crooked rulers.  Nor is the Lord pleased by broken lives or crooked hearts.  The Lord is not the one who broke it, but he has promised to fix it.  The Lord did not make it crooked, but he would act to straighten it all out.  The Lord said he would send a child.  He is the Prince of Peace.  Everything weighs on him.  His reign will not be limited by nationality, race, language, borders, or even time. 

            What's more, he is not crooked.  He does not play favorites, and he cannot be bribed.  His rule will be marked by justice.  The guilty will be punished.  Those who have done wrong will pay the price.  It does not matter who you are; the Prince of Peace is not impressed by your fame or pity you for your anonymity.  It does not matter if someone's sins are flaunted or concealed.  He knows who is guilty, and the guilty will be judged as guilty.

            But he does not revel in shaming and condemning.  He is the Prince of Peace, and he acts to secure your peace.  It all rests upon his shoulders.  He takes your guilt from you.  He becomes the guilty and pays the price for you.  Therefore, the punishment has been taken.  If all the punishment is gone, there is nothing left but blessing.  If the wrath has been removed, there is only peace. 

            The Prince of Peace establishes an everlasting kingdom.  In his kingdom, all things are right.  In his kingdom, everything which was broken shall be fixed.  Every rift will be reconciled.  In his kingdom, darkness will be chased away by light.  In his kingdom, everyone will see God’s mercy and salvation.

            Don’t think he has failed because this world is still broken and the people in it are still crooked.  Rather than make a heaven on earth, the Prince of Peace will deliver you from this broken world to a better one—the everlasting, heavenly kingdom and the home of righteousness.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this; for he is zealous for your salvation.