Grace, Mercy and
Peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen, our text today is from the Gospel of
Matthew just read, especially these words, “She will bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ, on a dark night, nearly 2000 years ago, a little baby rested in a barn
outside an inn. We all know the
Christmas story, or in so far as the nativities in our living rooms tell
it. Jesus was born, there were cows
lowing and sheep quietly sitting there, while wise men arrived and shepherds
gawked. As we imagine this scene, we are
hit with its sentimental theme. We like
to think about baby Jesus, we like to picture him wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laying in a manger. It makes us feel
good to picture. And it should, that
little baby has come because of you.
But in our text
today, Matthew doesn’t spend time on angels and shepherds, or even sheep or
great tidings of joy. St. Matthew almost
mentions the birth of Jesus as if saying, “Oh, by the way, he was born.” You see, in the Gospel of Matthew, the focus
is on all the other things going on at the time. Joseph thought Mary was cheating on him
before they were married. He was trying
to call the whole thing off in a holy and upright way. You can only imagine the scandal that was
going on! Mary claimed God gave her a
baby, and Joseph had his doubts.
And so in the
midst of this scandal, a young woman pregnant and a fiancé in doubt, Jesus is
born. In the midst of chaos, in the
midst of doubts, in the midst of struggles in regular people’s lives, the only begotten
Son of God was born, and born for a reason.
In fact, dear friends in Christ, it is good that Matthew writes his
Gospel in this particular way, because it reflects our own lives, doesn’t it?
Christmas time is
here, and family is in town, we want to try and spend some time with them
before they head home again. We have had
a busy month of preparation, and now it is crunch time: get the food cooked,
get the dishes cleaned, rush, rush, rush, until we get to January – then we can
work, work, work so that we can pay off all our Christmas bills. We are always busy. Our lives are always chaotic. We have our own problems and issues that come
up, just like Joseph and Mary.
In the midst of it
all, it is easy to lose track of what is actually going on in our text. It is easy to lose track of the reason we are
gathered here tonight. Jesus is
born. And He is born for a purpose. Jesus enters our busy lives, and he comes to
save us from them. He comes to rescue
us.
The little babe is
born to die for you, as we sing, He is “Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth.” That babe is born, so that “now the foe, sin
and woe, death and hell are broken.”
He’s born for you. He lays in a
manger for you. He lives for you. And most importantly he will die for
you. For thirty years, Jesus lived here
on this earth. He interacted with
countless people in the midst of their busy sinful lives. He helped those who struggled as his own
parents had. He cared for the broken
hearted, he cared for the sick and he healed those who needed him. And most importantly, he set his eyes on
Golgotha, and suffered on an old rugged cross, on a Friday we call Good.
That is who this
baby is, and friends, today he enters into your own busy lives as well. You don’t need do anything, you don’t need to
invite him in. He comes! He comes on his own for you. He is with you in your struggles and promises
something better for you. He is as our
text says, Immanuel, God with us, with us at all times and in all places. With us for calm and peace.
Dear friends, it’s
Christmas, and tonight we have sung countless Christmas hymns all describing
the joy and wonder of angels and shepherds – good hymns that we love and
cherish. But tonight, in just a few
minutes, we will turn down the lights, and have a minute of silence. Silence in the midst of our busy lives, silence
in the midst of suffering and struggles.
Silence to reflect on the meaning of this day. And as we sit in the dark, a warm glow will
build from our candles, as we celebrate the coming of Jesus, the light of the
world.
For with Jesus, it
truly is a silent night, a holy night.
All is calm, and all is bright.
He has come. He has come for
you. He will die for you. All so that you may have his chickens. Merry Christmas dear friends in Christ. Merry Christmas. Amen.
