Christmas Is Your Birth In Christ Too!

Christmas is Your Birth in Christ Too!

Luke 2:1-20

Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz

Luke 2:1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all 1the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a 1manger.” 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men 1bwith whom He is pleased.”

Luke 2:15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

I remember when I heard the reading of Luke’s narrative about Jesus' birth in church. That first time was when I attended Christmas Eve worship with my new bride. My knowledge about Jesus' birth and Christmas came from the TV shows like the “Peanuts Christmas special.” Therefore, it was all new to me. I found it interesting that there were so much fanfare around the story. I was wondering how Jesus could have grown up as a normal child with all these people, knowing that he was to be something special. However, over time, I learned more about Semitic writing and Semitic storytelling to understand how things were in ancient times.

Semitic storytelling differs completely from the storytelling that you and I learned when we were in school. Students who truly love their teacher would write stories about their teacher and embellish them with all kinds of interesting divine attributes. Now, I am not saying that Luke’s description is not correct or that he is embellishing anything false about Christ's divine attributes. Please do not think that. I say that we have to remember it is a Semitic story, and it has going to have numerous components in it that point to the messianic traditions of the time and as with all good Semitic stories, it has one that you are going to remember.

For example, the story of David and Goliath is an example. Something happened in the valley between the Israelis and the Philistines. The Israelis should have been wiped out by the Philistine army. It was Israel who won the battle. The author of the narrative created a story that could be told to children and that they would remember through all of their adulthood. The idea being communicated was that anything is possible with God. That is how a teenage boy killed a 9-foot giant. It is a fabulous story that we all probably know and remember that it is the lesson that anything is possible with God that is truly important.

So, how does the Christmas narrative affect us? I think if you allow it to affect your soul, it was quite impressive. I remember coming to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and it was an exciting moment in my life. Now it was not as cool as Luke’s description of Jesus' birth, but it was still pretty cool to me. I can relate my moment of understanding and revelation to the birth narrative. Every one of us is born again in Christ, that least that has what we say in our baptism. The baptism ceremony was wonderful, and I enjoyed that very much. However, the revelation that occurred when I said Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior was far superior.