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Dec.
28, 2003 (Jimmie Johnson) Old Testament Lesson I Samuel 2:18-20, 26 Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, “May the LORD repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the LORD”; and then they would return to their home. Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the LORD and with the people. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Gospel Lesson Luke 2:22-40 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they off ered a sacrifi ce according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, fi lled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sometimes I am shocked that certain verses made it into the Bible. That last verse I read from the gospel is one of them. The verse that goes, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.” That’s an amazing verse to me, a verse that implies in every way that the Christ Child grew. The Christ Child fully participated in our experience as a child. Yes, I am still amazed that the defenders of orthodoxy let that verse slip into the story of Christmas. Here’s what I mean. If you haven’t put away your manger scenes, go examine them this afternoon. Pay particular attention to the face of the Christ Child in your nativity. Look at the detail of the portrayal of his face. Odds are you will see perfect little cheeks, faintly glowing. Some Christ Childs even have a halo signifying specialness in the sense of differentness from us. There is an aura about his face that sets him apart from us. You can see this portrayal of the Baby Jesus as the perfect child even in some of our Christmas carols. The carol “Away in a Manger” is an example. I am sure you remember these well know words: “The cattle are lowing, the poor baby wakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.” I love that little carol. It truly touches my heart. But that stanza is horrible theology. A terrible belief is expressed in that verse. It is the belief that Jesus was only God pretending to be one of us, only seeming to be one of us. If Baby Jesus can’t cry as a child because he isn’t truly human, then the Christmas story can’t be true, not in the sense that really matters. If Baby Jesus can’t cry real tears as a real baby, then it is impossible for him to be our Savior. If Jesus grows and does what he does as God and not as one of us, then his birth and life and death can’t touch my life. His experience can’t be of the same flesh as my experience. Look before you put away your nativity scene. Do something both for the Christ Child’s sake and, more importantly, for your own sake. Take a close look at that manger scene and do one more thing. It will sound silly, but pick up the little figure of the Christ Child. Now holding the Baby Jesus in your hand, use your imagination. Pull down the little blankie that wraps him so tightly. Examine his little toenails and fingernails. Pull away some of the straw that has stuck to his hair, and as you do so, say to yourself: “This is God in my arms.” Smell Mary’s milk on his breath, feel the damp warmth of his swaddling blanket, and say again, “I am holding God in my arms. This is what God has decided to look like and become all for the love of me.” And then I want you to imagine the sounds of this Baby Jesus beginning to cry. Our mighty, magnificent, all-knowing, all-powerful God cannot even sit up by himself. Our King of Kings, Lord of Lords is completely and totally dependent upon others for mere survival. He cries. His crying is so important. If he doesn’t cry, he can’t save you and me and the creation because you and I and the creation all share a lifetime of tears. If the Christmas story is true, and I believe it is, then this little bundle would screech and squall at the sound of cattle waking him from his sleep. This Baby Jesus of Christmas would keep his parents up for nights on end, soil his diapers and throw tantrums with the best of them. This is what God’s becoming flesh is all about. The baby, the real Baby Jesus, is why we gather this morning. We gather to proclaim that God loves us so terribly much that God willingly brought God’s might, God’s grandeur, God’s celestial specialness into our tinyness. God gave up everything that might set the Christ Child apart from us. God chose flesh, and God’s greatness will forever include then our smallness, our frailty, our growing, our bodily experience. It is an intellectual scandal. It really is. There is no pretending otherwise. Imagine the splendor God could have chosen. Imagine the dramatic way God could have swept into this world, overturning kings and rulers, conquering armies with power and glory, wowing the masses with miracles, choosing the 21st century rather than the 1st century because of all the communication technology available to spread the message instantly. Yet, the Christmas story of this morning and all mornings is that God chose to be smuggled into the world through Mary’s body, slipping unobtrusively into a small town two millennia ago far from the seat of power and notice, laid in a bed of straw, and I’ve got to believe wailing his little heart out. Those interested in this story were workers on the night shift. Those interested were outsiders to the religion called Magi. God chose to come among us as a poor child whose beginning was a feeding trough surrounded by the marginal people of society. God did not choose to come among us as the Art Masterpiece Child, the perfect child, rather as one of us. He was the lily of lilies, the rose of roses alright, but he was God’s humbleness and God’s love among and with and for us—so much so that yes, this little one would one day wear the crown of thorns upon a leafless tree; and cry he would for himself but most of all for you and me. Because of the Baby Jesus, there is nothing we can experience in life or death, including our tears, most of all our tears. Because of the Baby Jesus, there is nothing we can experience that God in the Christ Child has not been absorbed into God’s very self. This is what Christmas is all about--not perfection separating itself from us but perfection joining us. So, yes, go home one final time and look at the Nativity scene. Be amazed. This is God with us. |
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