Text: Luke 2: 9-11 / Christmas Eve -2014
Angels. Do you ever wonder about them? We sing: Angels we have heard on high. Hark the herald angels sing. Angels. God’s word tells us something about these mysterious spirit beings. They serve us in ways unseen. They protect us in ways we don’t always recognize. And if you know your Bible, you can’t help but notice how angels always seem to show up at critical times.
What are the angels doing tonight? I have to think some of them are watching us. Why? A long time ago they came to shepherds. They brought them this news of great joy. And now I have to think they’re watching us and wondering. What will they think of this good news? Some of us have heard this good news for many years. We’ve come to church for many Christmases. Will it still be special to us this evening? Then there are those of us hardly know this message. In either case are the angels wondering, what we will they think this night? Are they wondering: Will this be good news of great joy for these people?
I was just a kid. In fact, I was the only child in the house. I had my very own mom and dad who I did not have to share with anyone. But then one day, they brought someone home. My baby sister. And I wasn’t too sure how I felt about it. I’m glad now, but I wasn’t so sure about this little one born to my family.
Now think about this little one born so long ago to Mary. We hear Luke tell us the story every year. Even so, it can’t help but touch us in some way, even those who are not so sure about this Jesus stuff. But it really doesn’t sink in until you realize this, unless you take this to heart. What the angel said to these shepherds is true for you as well. This very special Child was born to you. That’s the good news for this night that I am so very happy to share:
Born to You…
I. A Savior
II. Christ the Lord
Picture the scene. You are out in the fields. It’s very dark except for the fire that barely keeps you warm. It’s very quiet except for the occasional bleating of a sheep or its lamb. When suddenly and I mean suddenly an angel of the Lord stands before you. How do you know? A subtle hint. You are surrounded by a brightness that makes the night like day.
You’re afraid. Of course you are! What sinful human being wouldn’t be who found himself in the presence of a holy angel of God. Yes you’re afraid.
But shaking fear was the total opposite of what this moment was about. He tells you so. Then He uses a word that signals something important. It doesn’t come across in our English version. But you may remember it from your King James. Behold! Look pay attention now. Behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.
A Savior. Most of us can think things we might wish to be saved from. These Jewish shepherds lived in a land under the cruel oppression of a Roman occupier. They were also poor, looked down upon. What about you and me? We might wish that someone would swoop down and save us from: That troubled relationship, that sky high debt we’ve racked up, that physical or emotional pain that is relentless, and yes that cancer.
But this Child came to save us from something bigger. He is a Savior from the messed up direction of my life. I think of my life without him. I did what I wanted but I was far from free. My life was full of stuff and gratification but I was empty. Yes I thought of others, but only in terms of what they could do for me. It was all about me. Not you, not God. Jesus saved me from that messed up direction. His grace saved me to care, to love, to serve. And of course, He’s not done by far. He’s still saving me.
But this Savior is far more than that. He is a Savior from the messed up direction of my life in a much bigger way. For what was that direction? What was yours? Where were we heading without this Child. To a day when we would stand before God with a mile long list of the ways we have wiped our feet on God’s will for our lives. Where were we heading? A day when we would hear God say to us: Go away. Go away forever.
This Child came to save you and me from that. He came to put us on a new road that doesn’t bring us to a dreadful dead end. His coming is about hope, hope that is real. It about a gift that you won’t find under a Christmas tree. It’s found only in one place, in that manger. A Child. A Child who came to live for you. A Child who would lay down his life for you and me.
So this Monday I will stand before a family and friends at a funeral. There will be sadness. They’ve been through a long night of seeing their father and grandfather fade away. But of this they can be glad. He is with the Lord. And he’s never been better. That’s the good news from this night I am so happy to share. Born to you…A Savior. He is Christ the Lord.
Christ. That’s another very special part of this good news of great joy. Christ. Some think of it as Jesus’ last name. It is not. It’s not a name. It’s a title. Jesus THE Christ.
You may know that Christ is the Greek Word for Messiah. Both words mean the Anointed one. You see, anointing was an Old Testament ceremony. You anointed a king or a priest into office by pouring olive oil on his head. So there were many anointed ones in the Old Testament.
But God had promised one very special anointed one. He would not be anointed with olive oil, but with the Holy Spirit. And he would be more than just a king or a priest or a prophet. He would be a prophet who would preach good news that would heal broken, fearful hearts. He would be a priest who would offer a sacrifice for the sins of all. Himself. And he would be a king who would win a great victory for his people over their worst enemies and rule them like a good shepherd. So I hope you can see why God’s angels filled the sky with praise this night. I hope you can see why the Shepherds wasted no time going to see this Child. Born to you, the Christ.
Christ the LORD. Have you heard people use the expression. the Miracle of Christmas? I’ve heard it used to describe all kinds of things: a change of heart in the worst of enemies that twinkle in the eyes of little children. I’ve heard it used when a person in desperate need gets a liver or kidney transplant this time of year.
But now let’s sit back and consider the true miracle. He is Christ the Lord. In the Bible the Greek Word for Lord is used sometimes as a title as respect. But other times it is the very special name God gave to himself so his people could know him.
The question is: how does the angel use it here? If you read through this gospel of Luke we see that name used 17 times in the first chapter. In the second chapter, it’s used two times. Every time it is the name of God. Then we come to this third time. He is Christ the Lord.
It doesn’t take a great scholar to figure out what the ANGEL is telling us today. This Child born of MARY. This Child born to you was and is God.
You’d never know it by the looks of things. The child has to be nursed, have his diapers changed. God doesn’t come to us with unmistakable proof. The angel merely speaks his word and so do I. A word that can only be accepted by faith. He is Christ the Lord.
Yet the heart that sees this Child through those eyes of faith knows the joy and amazement of Christmas. For it’s about God’s love. That he would come down to us in this messed up world and become our brother to live for us and die for us. Become our brother to make us God’s children. That is the true miracle of Christmas. Born to you, Christ the Lord.
So maybe the angels are watching us this night. What we will they see? Think about it. Some of you will see a movie this Christmas season. Unbroken. I’ve read the book, not seen the movie. It’s a about a man named Louis Zamperini. He grew up as a tough kid. He became an Olympic athlete. He went to war, was captured and was horribly mistreated for years. I am sure the movie will depict Louie as a hero and he was. But Louie would tell you his hero is somebody else.
You see when the war ended and he came home, his life became a mess of drinking and unresolved anger. His marriage was all but over. One day his wife convinced him to go to a Billy Graham crusade. He grudgingly agreed. The first time he got up and walked out. But for some reason he went back another day. And something happened. Something I pray happens for all of us this night. Jesus was born in his heart. The Lord Jesus born to you and me years ago. I pray He is born in you this night. Then the angels will smile. Amen.