Dec 22, 2013
Luke 2:1-20
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Celebrate Christmas
What is the “reason of the season?”
A simple Google search will prove quite revealing. While this might come as a surprise to many fundamentalist Christians who claim secular forces are waging a war on Christmas.... A new Pew Research study found that the war is all but over! While most American’s participate in Christmas festivities, it is clear a majority of people believe Christmas has very little to do with the birth of Jesus!
Though 90% of American’s celebrate Christmas, only 50% regard it as a religious holiday. What’s interesting is that the numbers of people who accept Christmas as a Christian holiday are declining: “While 70% of Americans say they attended religious services when they were children, only 54% say they plan to attend Christmas services this year.”
When people in the study were asked to describe what they most look forward to about Christmas: 69% cited spending time with family and friends; but only 11% said they looked forward to the religious elements of Christmas.
When asked what they like least about Christmas: 1/3 cited the commercialization of the season; while only 6% lamented the de-emphasis of the religious elements of Christmas (basically, anyone who watches Bill O'Reilly).
The decline becomes even more dramatic when you look at it generationally....
Adults over 65: 66% believe Christmas is a religious holiday, 60% will attend a religious service on Christmas or Christmas Eve, and 76% believe in the virgin birth. Adults between 18-29: 39% believe Christmas is a religious holiday (-27%), 46% will attend a religious service on Christmas or Christmas Eve (-14%), 66% believe in the virgin birth (-10%). Note: Even among Christians, young people are more likely to view Christmas as more of a cultural than a religious holiday than older adults.
Though by no means would I claim this is the main contributor to this decline, I do think we can all admit it’s becoming increasingly difficult to keep in mind the religious “reason for the season” when there exists such a large disconnect between the humble story marking the birth of Christ, and the commercial juggernaut Christmas has become in American culture.
The same study revealed that the way the religious and the secular celebrate Christmas is almost identical if you remove the religions connotations. Though it’s true those who celebrate Christmas as a religious event are much more apt to attend religious services this Christmas (73% vs. 30%) and to believe in the virgin birth (91% vs. 50%), the differences between Christians and Progressives end there.... Roughly 86% in both groups will spend Christmas gathering with family, and the same percentage will participate by giving gifts. An identical share of each group (33%) will pretend to get a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.
The results of diminishing Jesus from Christmas shouldn’t be surprising.
In the month of December alcohol consumption increases by 40% with 14% of those polled admitting they drank more than they intended. Shockingly, with the stress of the season is it any wonder that heart-related deaths increase 5% during the holidays.
Murder rates rise 4.2% in December with an astounding 1/3 more incidents of domestic assaults occurring on Christmas day than any other day of the year. Should it be a surprise that January 8th is known as the busiest day of the year for divorce lawyers when 1 in 5 couples will enquire about divorce citing the pressures of Christmas?
Roughly 1-in-20 Americans (4%) say there is nothing about Christmas or the holidays they look forward to, except perhaps the end of the season. Sadly, 18% of Americans agreed with the statement "I dread Christmas."
Q: Why do we celebrate Christmas?
Though it’s true that in the 4th century Pope Julius I proclaimed December 25th to be the official celebration date for the birth of Christ without any Biblical evidence to substantiate his claim.... And though history is clear this was only done solely as a way to adopt and absorb pagan celebrations concerning the winter solace....
This morning I want to contrast the results of our “Holiday Traditions” with the implications presented by the first Christmas! For the interesting reality is that each of us can choose our own “reason for the season.”
In an article titled, “The Joy of Celebrating a Godless Christmas” Torie Bosch concludes, “Instead of sitting in church, I can spend the day with my family, sleeping late, opening presents, preparing and devouring the Christmas meal, sipping a beer, watching the inevitable holiday Law & Order marathon.... Whether or not you believe in God, Christmas is a time of year when you head home or host guests, a rare occasion for the kind of togetherness that can drive you crazy, fill you with love, or both.”
And though I understand her point I am convinced.... if the “reason for the season” is the only fun tales of old St. Nick, Rudolph, Elves from the North Pole, or Frosty the Snowman.... if your time is only occupied decorating evergreen trees, hanging lights, or strategically positioning mistletoe.... if your focus is only on consuming copious amounts of eggnog, gingerbread men, or over-frosted cookies.... listing to holiday jazz, watching bad movies on A&E, or wearing ugly sweaters.... if your time is dominated by getting gifts, giving gifts, or returning gifts.... you will find yourself missing out on what’s truly significant about this day!
Luke 2:1-7, “And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke begins the narrative by telling us a “decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered....” Since Joseph was a descendant of King David, he and Mary were forced to travel “from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.” The inconvenient timing of this decree and the subsequent journey for Mary and Joseph is obvious. Luke tells us “Mary, Joseph’s betrothed wife, was with child.” As difficult as the trip would be even a doctor’s note wasn’t getting Mary out of this painstaking journey. Poor Joseph has no choice but to load up his extremely pregnant wife and make the roughly 100 mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
As brutal as this two week journey might have been, upon arriving, things quickly progress from bad to worse. Luke indicates Bethlehem was so overcrowded they were forced to set up shop in a stable “because there was no room for them in the inn.” Note: A stable was not a wooden shed set up on a Thomas Kinkade-like, picturesque hillside. It was a cave hewn from a hill filled with animals also seeking shelter.
Luke then tells us “while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger.” I can see Joseph’s trepidation when Mary’s water unexpectedly breaks. Ready or not she is going into labor and he’s going to play the role of doctor and nurse! Consider the details exclude by Luke in the simple phrase “she brought forth her firstborn Son!”
One would have thought such a monumental event in the history of humanity such as the birth of the King of Kings would have demanded more detail; and yet, instead of taking a few verses to elaborate on the details of the “manger scene,” Luke abruptly shifts in the most unexpected of directions....
Luke 2:8-14, “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke has brought us from Nazareth to Bethlehem. He’s taken us from the streets of this city to a stable in the country. He’s given us a glimpse into the maturation of the virgin birth. The scene though brief is nonetheless awesome! But.... instead of allowing his readers the chance to soak up the significance of the moment, Luke quickly transitions from the incredible significance of the “stable manger with baby Jesus” to the tranquil solitude of a “field full of shepherds!”
Because our 21st-century church culture has so sterilized who the shepherds really were, we have a hard time understanding the bizarre nature of this scene shift. 19th century Jewish-Christian scholar Alfred Edersheim wrote a book titled, “The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah” in which he claimed, “The Shepherds were outcasts because of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances and manner of life.”
Understand, shepherds were not the upstanding, model citizens we’ve made them out to be (or those we want our sons to play in the Christmas nativity). Being a shepherd meant your life had so unraveled you now were relegated to the lowest rung of society. Shepherds were known as drunkards and addicts. They were vagabonds - sexually perverse - known to be pickpockets. These men were dropouts - bums - deviants. Think of shepherds as a biker-gang of “outlaws” strait out of the hit TV show “Sons of Anarchy.” No mother dreamed their son would one day grow up to be a shepherd! Not only is it weird Luke prematurely leaves the glorious scene of the manger, but it really is bizarre he then shifts to a group of shepherds looking after their flocks by night, who.... by this hour... are sitting around a fire already half-passed hammered!
Imagine the shepherd’s reaction when out of the dark sky “an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them (literally the brightness of God engulfed them).” I can see these men immediately disoriented. The bright light. The angelic figure in front of them. Luke tells us they “were greatly afraid.”
We know the scene is hectic, because the angel’s first words seeks to squelch their obvious fear.... “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
Knowing what we know about shepherds, it really is incredible God would hand-select these men to (A) be the first recipients of the news His Son had arrived to save mankind from their sin; and (B) act as humanities welcoming party!
I wonder what the angel’s reaction was when he found out he was being sent to notify the world that Jesus had been born only to then discover his audience was nothing more than a few drunk shepherds and a field full of sheep. I would have been expecting the temple in Jerusalem (seat of religion), possible the colosseum in Rome (seat of power and politics), maybe the pantheon in Athens (seat of logic and thought).... not shepherds keeping watch over their flocks.
Though shifting from the “glory of the manger” to a “dark field full of shepherds” is bizarre, contrasting the “majesty of God” with the “sad plight of humanity” was divinely intentional in that it perfectly illustrated the ultimate mission and purpose of Jesus. You see a dark field and a group of obvious deviants presented a perfect picture of the world and outlook of humanity. The world had been darkened by sin and rebellion against God. Though the shepherds were the chief sinners of the day, the rest of mankind was equally lost in their sins!
It is with this backdrop the angel breaks through the darkness with news that “there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Jesus came with the mission to shine a bright light into the darkness. He came to save those who were lost - to redeem the sinner - to reach the outcast and downtrodden. Can you think of a better place to begin than with a field full of shepherds?
God purposefully chose to include these men in the story of His Son right from the beginning. A night that began like most every other night would be radically interrupted by the revelation that God wanted to involve His Son it their lives. The ramifications are incredible.... for if God would go out of His way to involve Himself in the lives of these shepherds.... if He would go out of His way to invite the likes of these men to be apart of His Son’s glorious story, then there is hope for you and I.
In many ways (whether by intention or accident) the many traditions of Christmas have become characterized by their unapologetic desire to claim the impossible as truth!
Old St. Nick possessing omniscient knowledge of who’s naughty and nice and then custom tailoring rewards based upon this judgment is an impossible claim.... haven’t we learned that only the NSA has that kind of intrusion into our lives?
One diabetic fat man in a red suit flying through the air distributing gifts in one night for the world’s seven billion residence is an impossible claim.... this won’t be possible till Amazon starts delivering gifts using drones!
Mistletoe providing this supernatural force-field by which a women will surrender all will-power and be magically compelled to kiss a man regardless of looks or breath is an impossible claim.... if mistletoe really had this effect many of our single guys wouldn’t be nearly as desperate as they all clearly are!
Though Christmas is full of these impossible claims, the one that takes the cake is the notion that 2000 years ago God became flesh and dwelt among us! God as a babe - resting in a manger - who would grow up to be the Savior of all mankind is quite an outlandish assertion! But, as He did with the shepherds, God doesn’t ask us to believe this claim with blind faith. Rather, He invites us to undertake a quest - to embark on a journey - to authenticate the claim. He invites men and women (shepherds) to go and see for ourselves!
Note the progression of the angel’s pronouncement:
1. There was a statement of fact.... “there is born to you this day.”
This was a claim of absolute truth. The reality of the event was not debatable. It wasn’t up for discussion or question. The reality Jesus (the Savior - the Christ the Lord) had been born in Bethlehem was truth regardless of perspective or opinion!
2. Then there was an invitation to authenticate.... “this will be the sign to you.”
It’s almost as though the angel is saying, “Though the birth of Jesus is a fact, you don’t have to take my word for it. I invite you to go look for yourself.” Then the angel goes one step further by challenging these shepherds to search for a particular “sign” (or literally, a point of authentication) that would serve to validate the claim and dispel their natural skepticism.
3. Finally, there was a promise.... “you will find a Babe.”
The English phrase “you will find” is actually one Greek word that literally means “you will find out for yourself.” The angel promises that if these shepherds would accept the invitation to seek out proof for themselves, they would discover the claim was indeed authentic. This is what I love about God.... as we see with the shepherds, God always presents truth (not as some cumbersome pill He forces people to swallow) but as something He invites people to authenticate for themselves.
Luke 2:15-20, “So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.”
The angel disappears and the shepherds looked around at one another and they reach a very simple conclusion.... “what do we have loose? Let’s go see.” They responded to the invitation and ended up finding themselves included in the divine story of Christ’s birth!
After recognizing the significance of what had just taken place, the shepherds made a resolute determination to act upon God’s Word. A challenge had been issued by the angel (go and see). These men concluded that after what they had just witnessed a step of faith was reasonable.
Then we’re told “they came with haste and found the Babe lying in a manger....” Equipped only with the limited knowledge there was a “babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger” somewhere in Bethlehem, these men showed tenacity by urgently acting on limited revelation. They searched for the child! The phrase “they came with haste” denotes “eager intentness.” These shepherds were determined to see if what the angel said was true.
Luke continues.... “Now when they had seen Him they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.” The word Luke uses for “they had seen Him” communicates more than just “seeing.” The verse would be better translated “now when they perceived who He was.” These men urgently acted on faith with their limited revelation. They entered the stable and not only saw Jesus, but recognized Him for who He really was! They believed what they had seen.
We know they believed, because of the reaction that came from their encounter. Luke tells us these shepherd left the stable - entered Bethlehem - and proceeded to tell anyone who would listen what God had just revealed to them! They told people about the angel’s pronouncement - how they had searched to see if this was true - and what they had found at the end of their quest. In many ways these shepherds simply communicated their testimony. As a witness, witnessing became a natural manifestation of their encounter with Jesus.
Finally.... “They returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told them.” After an encounter with Jesus, Luke describes two reactions these shepherds had to the “things they had heard and seen.” (A). They “glorified” God describing their attitude before God, and (B). They were “praising” God describing their actions before God. The experience changed their lives.
After all of this Luke tells us “they returned” to that dark field in Bethlehem. Though these men’s lives changed through an encounter with Jesus, their environment didn’t change. They returned to the same fields and the same flocks. Sure Jesus might not have changed their environment, but you can imagine things would never be the same! God never saves us to remove us from our environment. He saves us so that we might shine in the darkness of our environment.
Q: Why should be celebrate Christmas?
A: We should celebrate Christmas because God sent His Son (not to the religious, the political power-brokers, or the great intellectuals), but to lowly shepherds!
You see in shifting from the “glory of the manger” to a “dark field full of shepherds,” we find presented for us a perfect picture of Jesus’ mission coupled with a glorious invitation!
On Christmas we are afforded an opportunity to take a moment and recognize the incredible reality that the “majesty of God” came and entered the “sad plight of humanity.” The true “reason for the season” is that Jesus (a Savior and a Christ) set aside the majesty of heaven to come to earth - enter your fray - and invite you to be included in His majestic story!
If you find yourself feeling unworthy.... If like Buddy the Elf you see yourself as a cotton headed ninny muggin.... If you’ve boughten into the lie that whatever you’ve done or whatever you’re doing places you beyond the reach of God.... As illustrated with these shepherds of Bethlehem take heart.... Jesus came to earth with a simple mission: to shine in the darkness and involve Himself in the lives of sinners.
The question you should consider this morning is rather simple: Why do you celebrate Christmas? Do you only celebrate the cultural traditions that dominate the American landscape (which are fun in their own right), or do you find time to celebrate the deeper, more spiritual implications found in the birth of Christ?
This morning the angel is speaking through the darkness and maybe even over the “Muppet’s Christmas Special” telling you, “For there was born to you in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” I’d like to echo his invitation to “come and see.”