Lk. 2:1-20 “A Celebration or a Sigh”
It’s finally here. The wait is over. We lit the white candle, the Christ candle at the beginning of the service as a physical reminder that Christ was born into this world on Christmas morning.
And so as we begin this message this morning, I have only one question for us. Is the reality that Christmas is here, for us, the cause for a celebration or a sigh?
In other words, on this Christmas morning are we rejoicing that Christ has been born and that God is with us or do we breath a sigh of relief that all of this season is finally over.
I wonder that for the characters in our Bible text as well. What was their response to this first Christmas being over? Let’s look at each one and perhaps we’ll learn what our own response should be.
First, there’s Mary. Celebration or a Sigh? Certainly there’s reason for her to sigh. For nine months, this young girl or young woman has gone through physical and emotional changes. She’s been sick, nauseous, tired, maybe she cries a lot, gets angry a lot. She went through all of the normal experiences of pregnancy. Just because she is carrying God’s Son doesn’t mean that she has been spared the normal issues of pregnancy. Not only that but she has been the focus of people’s talk and gossip and criticism. Her friends may have thought she was nuts. Her fiancé considered leaving her. Her parents may not have even known what to do. She’s traveled many miles, pregnant, and while she’s far from home, she gives birth and probably doesn’t have the things for the baby she would have had. She’s experienced the pains of childbirth more naturally than most people probably today know or understand.
And for her the birth of this baby, which we celebrate as Christmas might have meant a huge sigh of relief.
But as we saw last week, she was quick to say yes to God when He asked her to do this. She had been willing to take all of these risks for God and even while she may not have understood what would happen to her and how it would affect her, she was trusting.
So the more I think about it, for Mary, this first Christmas, this first child, the son of God was probably a celebration.
She had been able to do what no one else had ever done or would ever do again. And it wasn’t as if her life would return to normal now, for just as she had a normal pregnancy, so too she would have to take care of this special child just as a normal child.
And I don’t think there was one moment of regret as she looked into those tiny eyes and counted those fingers and toes and while she may not have completely understood what was going to happen and how her decision and this child were going to impact the world, in her heart, there was celebration.
No, I don’t think Mary sighed a sigh of relief but celebrated the birth of this child.
But what about Joseph? Celebration or a Sigh?
Again, he had reason to sigh. Here his fiancé was pregnant. He had considered putting her away but word had come from an angel to not do so. Still he wanted their relationship to start as soon as possible and this sudden unexpected pregnancy had really gotten in the way. No honeymoon. No time in which it was going to be just the two of them. There would always be the baby to think about. His wife had been a ball of tears or upset. She was always sorry later but he just couldn’t get the hang of these mood swings. He knew this wasn’t his Mary and he tried to help but sometimes his intentions were misunderstood and sometimes he was, well, he was just a man. You know what I mean.
Now that the baby was born, life could get back to how it was supposed to be to begin with. And so, it’s possible that with this first Christmas, Joseph’s response is a sigh.
On the other hand though, Joseph hears the words, “Congratulations, it’s a boy”. He begins to think about all of the things he will teach this boy, how to throw a ball, how to run fast, and before he knows it, Joseph has hopes and dreams for this little one. Maybe one day the baby will be a carpenter just like his old man. And he can teach him everything he knows.
He’ll teach him to make tables and chairs and mangers, and boats and eventually crosses for the government. And now Joseph’s attitude as he sees this tiny little baby with all of the potential and possibility is to celebrate.
Although they have reason to sigh, I think both Mary and Joseph spent that first Christmas celebrating the arrival of this child.
What about the angels, those who went to the shepherds and announced the arrival of this newborn baby. Is their response one of a celebration or a sigh?
You would think they would have no reason to sigh. That all there would be is celebration. Yet, think about it just a little more. These angels left heaven and came to earth. A place where just down the street from the manger where Jesus was born were all sorts of things taking place. Someone was taking advantage of someone else. Somebody was just robbed. It was a city just like any other city and there were a lot of tourists and visitors. And the angels could see all of this. They could see how far the world had fallen since the creation. They could see how far off track people had gotten from God’s original plan. And now He had also become like one of them. And probably they didn’t understand why. They did not know the plan God had just begun either. They did not realize that this was His ultimate sacrifice to redeem the world.
Yet, they did not always need to understand God. They had learned long ago and know far better than you and I that you can’t always question God’s intentions. That God’s plans are God’s plans and even if you try, you don’t always know what He is attempting to do.
So as they began to sing over those shepherds and take that message to them there was a celebration; celebration that they were the ones chosen to take God’s message to the world. There was a celebration that they were a part of this plan of God’s even though they did not understand it. That God had chosen to use their voices to proclaim Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.
No, the angels didn’t sigh on that first Christmas morning. God was up to something and whatever it was, it was something big. And as they looked on the face of a little baby boy laying in the arms of a young girl being watched by her husband, they knew that they were seeing the face of God.
Well, then what about the shepherds. A celebration or a sigh? Did they sigh because they suddenly saw angels who told them to leave where they were and go into town to see this baby? To leave their sheep in the pastures unguarded and unprotected to go and find a little one, a little infant? The Bible tells us they were terrified by one angel. But that they were also comforted. “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
The shepherds went and found Jesus, just as the angels had told them. And they told Mary and Joseph what they had been told and about the angels they had seen. And these shepherds were so excited that they just went back to their sheep and to their work and to their families and didn’t say anything right?
No, the Bible tells us that they went and told everyone they could. “[T]hey spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child”.
Just like Mary and Joseph, and all of the angels, these men too celebrated that first Christmas morning, for their lives had been changed forever because of their encounter with this one called Jesus.
So what about you and me? Now that it’s here. Today is Christmas. Not the first Christmas of course, but certainly no less meaningful. This is still the day we celebrate Christ coming to our world. It’s the day we celebrate God as Emmanuel, God with us.
So is today a day of celebration? Are we glad Christmas is here? Are we rejoicing because we are reminded what God did for us?
Or do we sigh? I’m so glad it’s finally come and now we can get back to normal. Now we can get back to life as usual.
Can I tell you the difference, not only for us but also for Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds?
It was an encounter with Jesus Christ. Each of these people were radically changed because of it and although they could sigh about the circumstances when they compared that to meeting God face to face, they celebrated.
And that’s the reason for our celebration today as well. Not the business, not the stress and the level of activity, but simply put, we have been invited to genuinely encounter Christ today and every day through the power of the Holy Spirit.
So as we close by singing today, let’s really celebrate what Christ has done for us on this Christmas morning.
