Sermon
for Christmas Day, December 25, 2020
(EHV)
Luke 2:15-20 15When
the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
“Now let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord
has made known to us.” 16So they hurried off and
found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they told
others the message they had been told about this child. 18And all who heard it were amazed
by what the shepherds said to them. 19But
Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen,
which were just as they had been told.
Rejoice
for what shepherds saw and heard.
Dear faithful
witnesses,
Last night we heard the prophecy about an amazing sign
and a miraculous presence, and how that was all fulfilled in Jesus, but what do
you do when you see or hear something that is so amazing that everyone on earth
will eventually have a reaction to it?
Some, like King Ahaz in our text last night, reject the news out of hand
and go to their destruction, but others have it change their hearts and
lives. This morning, we see what happens
when ordinary people experience extraordinary things, and seeing what they experienced,
we Rejoice for what shepherds saw and heard.
On an
ordinary night in an ordinary Judean field, ordinary shepherds were startled by
a heavenly light, by an angel announcing good news for all mankind, and the
heavenly host praising God with exultant voices. What would you do if that happened to
you? Would you run away scared? Would you marvel momentarily and go back to
what you were doing? Would you roll over
in your sleeping bag and decide it was just a hallucination?
It is
always risky to speculate on what-if scenarios like that, because we tend to
overestimate the good things we might do, though the reality is often quite
different. When those humble shepherds
heard the messenger tell of a Savior born for them and saw the angel hosts break
forth in praise to God for putting His plan for our salvation in motion, many people
might think that they should keep such a wild tale to themselves. Why tell anyone something so fantastic and farfetched? Why risk embarrassment if your friends and
neighbors don’t believe you?
On the
other hand, whenever we do experience something so life-altering, it’s hard to
keep quiet, isn’t it? When someone we
are madly in love with says yes to our proposal, we want to shout that news
from the rooftops, and we spend thousands of dollars celebrating with family
and friends. Students who get offered
scholarships get their pictures in the newspaper with their parents smiling
proudly behind them. When our favorite
team wins the Super Bowl, most places celebrate with a giant ticker tape
parade. I’m not sure what would happen
if Minnesota should ever experience that, but I’ll bet there would be
excitement in every town and city around.
What did
those sheep herders do when they heard the news? First of all, they believed the message. It was so out of the ordinary that they
couldn’t imagine doing anything but believe.
They were so amazed; they couldn’t wait to go see the Savior in
person. “When the angels went away
from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Now let’s go to
Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known
to us.” “Let’s go now,” they
said. They didn’t wait till
morning. They didn’t wonder if their
sheep would be okay if they left the flock alone in field for a few hours. They immediately went to see and worship
their Lord and Savior.
So
maybe, we should ponder what those shepherds saw in themselves that would make
them react with such speed. They didn’t
see themselves as so righteous they didn’t need a Savior. They didn’t assume God is so weak that He
wouldn’t judge them guilty. No, nothing
like that. Out there in the fields, they
knew exactly their own faults, and God’s righteous judgment they could not deny,
so they rejoiced to hear the news of God’s promises being fulfilled in their
time and their presence. They didn’t
hesitate or dawdle along the way but hurried to meet this Child who the angels
had told them was God’s Son and their Savior.
I wonder
sometimes how we see ourselves. Do we
see the sinner inside? Do we respect the
righteous God who created us? Do we
believe what He promised? If we see
ourselves as we truly are, we must Rejoice for what
shepherds saw and heard. As we
heard last night, God gave miraculous signs that have only been fulfilled in
Christ Jesus. But, God also provided us
with so many reliable witnesses that everything the Bible says about the Savior
simply has to be fact.
How do we
know that these shepherds are reliable witnesses? Because they had no agenda to fulfill. They had no airs to maintain. They didn’t start some cult or political
movement. They simply heard the message,
rushed to confirm the truth, and rejoiced telling their friends and neighbors
the marvelous things they had seen and heard.
Then, they went back to their ordinary jobs but still kept telling their
friends and families about the Savior who has come into the world to save us.
The
people who heard the shepherds’ report were also amazed. What they did with their amazement we are not
told. Yet, we can expect that many
believed their friends. Many trusted
that the Promised One truly had entered the world. Did they ever learn more? The Bible is silent on that, but we do have
God’s promise that “Just as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and
do not return there unless they first water the earth, make it give birth, and
cause it to sprout, so that it gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater, in
the same way my word that goes out from my mouth will not return to me empty. Rather, it will accomplish whatever I please,
and it will succeed in the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)
Whether
or not the people dwelling near Bethlehem in that day believed, thousands upon
thousands have heard the shepherds’ story and believed for the salvation of
their souls. Throughout the centuries since
that night in the fields around Bethlehem, the Christian Church has grown from
those few shepherds into a body of billions of believers. St. John was given a vision of this church in
the future and he reported, “I looked, and there was a great multitude that
no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language, standing in
front of the throne and of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palm
branches in their hands. They called out
with a loud voice and said: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the
throne, and from the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:9-10)
The
shepherds rejoiced for what they had seen and heard, and they didn’t hesitate
to tell their friends and neighbors. The
news was too good not to share. Likewise,
Mary treasured both the messages and the events that happened to her, in her,
around her, and through her. Her
first-born Son would be her Savior too.
The child she was privileged to carry in her womb, nurse at her breasts,
and raise to adulthood under her care, is the Lamb of God who would carry the
debt of sin for the whole human race to the cross where He would die for you
and me and all people.
The angel
had told Mary the pain this Child would cause in her heart. But no, it wasn’t pain caused by failure,
rebellion, or ordinary childhood faults; it was the pain of seeing what her
sins and the sins of the world would cause her beloved first-born Son to suffer. Mary’s heart would be pierced by knowing that
we all needed her Son to die so that we might live.
An angel
appeared to those humble shepherds that night telling them about the Lord and
Promised One who had come to earth to be their Savior and how and where to find
Him. They saw the glory of the Lord and
heard the angelic choirs singing praise to God for the peace this Child came to
win. Startled, amazed, excited, and full
of wonder, the shepherds went immediately to meet the Child and there in the little
town of Bethlehem they confirmed the truth of all they had seen and heard.
Dear
friends, Rejoice for what shepherds saw and heard. Everything they witnessed that night confirms
for us that this Baby born of Mary is the Savior God had been promising since
Adam’s fall into sin. God’s Son left His
Father’s side in heaven to dwell on earth in all lowliness and humility so that
we may dwell on high in glory. That
little Baby, entering our world in humblest fashion gave Himself into life and
death so that our sins can never again be counted against us. He lived so that we are counted righteous in
His Father’s eyes. He lived with us on
earth so that we can be confident of our welcome back into God’s presence
forever. And, Jesus died on a cross for
sins He didn’t commit, so that the devil can never again accuse us before the
throne of God.
With the
angel hosts and those humble 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) “Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward mankind.” (Luke 2:14) Rejoice for what shepherds saw and heard. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment