I wonder why you came to church tonight? Perhaps it was just to get out of the cold, or to have a sit down, or perhaps you enjoy singing carols.
Maybe you came because you always do. Its a personal or a family tradition, perhaps you even came reluctantly. Maybe you'd have preferred to stay at home, watch some telly, and have an early night – after all it's a busy day tomorrow. You couldn't, because its Christmas eve, and on Christmas eve we always go to church.
I've been coming to this service for more than 20 years and for a variety of different reasons:
- at first it was just a late night out with friends
- later it was to meet with friends and exchange gifts
- more recently, I'd wake up my young children and bring them, so that Father Christmas could sleep in late.
Its the start of Christmas, so we finish work early, if we're lucky enough to be able to, and start the celebration as soon as possible. That's what this service is supposed to represent. Get here for 11:30, and you will be able to take communion as early on Christmas day as its physically possible – so long as the preacher doesn't go on all night! We can sing the last verse of O Come all ye faithful too, because that can only be sung on Christmas day, when Jesus has been born.
Its the start of Christmas, and I feel obliged to give you an outline of the story. I want to do this, because although it gets told every year, and I'm reasonably sure that everyone here knows all the basics, but as a society we seem to be forgetting. We're told in a survey last week that 25% of people don't know where Jesus was born, and its up to about a third in the 18-25's.
So where was Jesus born? - Bethlehem – which one? In Judea, not Ceaserea, or Wales, because this Bethlehem is David's Town.
I don't care – really I don't. I'm much more interested in people understanding why Jesus was born. . Why was Jesus born?
Not of course a one word answer, but before we look at that, lets take a closer look at the story of the shepherds.
It's the start of Christmas, so we tell the story, over and over, until we all remember it.
There is of course no more evidence for the shepherds visiting Jesus than there is for the Wise Men. It is also true that there isn't any evidence to suggest that either of these event didn't happen. Just because we have no independent historical record of something doesn't automatically make it a myth. The stories were written down because the people at the time of writing believed them, and thought them important enough to record.
Why did the shepherds go to visit the baby Jesus?
Well, not for any of the reasons we've had for coming here. They went because an angel appeared in the sky, and the “glory of the Lord shone around them”. The angel made the announcement:
“Do not be afraid ...I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign a to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
and the Shepherds collected their stuff together and went off to find the baby.
Shepherd were the lowest of the low. They were not allowed in the temple because they were ritually unclean (from dealing with dead sheep). They were out in all weathers, wind, rain and cold. Most people thought of them as thieves. To look after the sheep they would have to face the dangers of bears and wolves, so they would be armed, with sling and a club, something like this one.
I was given this by the villagers in Chibelela in Tanzania in 2002, they would use it to defend themselves against robbers, but our shepherds would be more worried about wild animals. They had nothing worth stealing, so they wouldn't worry about robbers. The shepherds got their things together, tied them up in their goats skins, picked up their crooks, wrapped there cloaks around them and leaving the sheep, went off to look for the sign that the angel had promised.
Now you might think wandering around town looking for a new born baby was quite a challenge, but the town would have been dark, there would have been very few lights, and the commotion around the birth would have been quite noticeable.
Of course anyone will go and visit a new baby. Even as a young single adult, I went to visit my Sister and new new baby in hospital. As I bent over the cot, he formed a fist, and reached sharply upwards. I just got out of the way in time – imagine explaining that black eye!
Even if the baby doesn't give you a great welcome, there's still a sense of joy, anticipation, and hope that comes from hearing of a new born. That's one of the reasons we have to go to see them, to be sure its real - “I have seen it with my own eyes”.
What has a baby got more of than the rest of us?
Bones – yes 300 compared to 260 in an adult
but that's not what I was thinking about. A baby has more time left on this earth than we do, or at least that is always the hope that we have. The next generation is here, the future of our family, the next layer in the family tree is created, or is starting to fill up.. We can somehow look further into the future than we once did. What will the world be like when he or she is grown? - and has children of their own?
Every baby brings hope to its parents and their families for these reasons, but THIS baby ...
Most babies arrival is announced by the parents, or the mid-wives, and possible then in the local paper, or if you're born into royalty, you'll get an announcement on the TV news – explaining what you position is in the line of succession. As we heard recently:
“The Queen has become a grandmother for the 8th time after her son, Prince Edward (Earl of Wessex), and daughter-in-law Sophie (Countess of Wessex) celebrate the arrival of a baby boy.
The baby is 8th in line to the British Throne and has not yet been named (though the name James looks likely). His title is Viscount Severn.”
Wow! What a way to enter the world, I'm sure he is destined for greatness, but it's not quite a choir of angels like THIS baby ....
THIS baby comes, not just with lots of expectation and joy from its parents, but with a message from God. There's all the prophesies about his birth, and the sort of person he will be. There's the angels visit to Mary and then to Joseph. Then when HE arrives the angels delivered a message about Him to the shepherds, and all heaven celebrates.
“Do not be afraid ...I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ”
The Jews had been waiting, hoping for the Christ to arrive for hundreds of years. Many of them were hoping that the Christ would re-establish Israel to its golden age when David was king, and the country was conqueror of the surrounding lands. That would have to be a military solution – to kick out the Roman occupiers. THIS baby comes with a different promise, and causes a different hope. THIS baby brings hope to everyone – all the people. It must be all the people, otherwise why tell the shepherds? That's hope for the Shepherds, the Jews, the wise men, the hated Romans, all the other human beings living in the world that the Jews had no idea about, and all their descendants all the way down their family trees to you and me.
That's what our other reading, from Titus, today (yesterday) is about.
Kenny Richey has been in an Ohio prison for 20 years, facing the death penalty for starting a fire which killed a two year old girl. Many times he has come close to being executed. Each time there has been a stay of execution. Now, because of a plea bargain he has a hearing scheduled that he hopes will result in his release.
That's like the position each of us finds ourself in with God. The apostle Paul says in his letter to Titus “we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”. Kenny had set the fire as revenge on his ex-girlfriend and the two year old was what the American's call 'collateral damage'.
Most of us won't act out our hatred to that extent, but its there inside each of us. You can see it. Just catch the eye of the driver you've just beaten into a parking space, or the person who can't get a seat on the train because you're ahead of them, or the person in the supermarket queue, when something you do causes them to be delayed – there are hundreds of other examples. We've all been that person too. Think back to the events of last week, or yesterday, or perhaps tonight in the church car park.
Kenny will enter a 'no contest' plea – neither 'guilty' nor 'not guilty' – at his hearing in January. That of course would not be good enough for God, although it will serve for Kenny in the American justice system. With God there can be no plea other than 'guilty', God already knows that you are, but he needs to know that you know, that you have admitted it to yourself. That you no longer want to live your life as one who is “disobedient, deceived and enslaved.” If that's the case then God because of His mercy and graciousness will not apply the ultimate penalty to us.
We have the hope of eternal life, of being put right with God our Father, and once again becoming heirs to His Kingdom.
Like Kenny's release, its only possible through careful planning. God told the prophets what to expect, and they told us. A virgin was given to be married to one of King David's descendants. She listened to what God's angel said, and obeyed. More surprisingly so did her intended. The civil authorities caused chaos in the community by deciding to count all the people, they were just doing what God had planned. The baby was born amongst the animals because there was no accommodation left. Some shepherds were given the message, and listened, and found the mother and told her what they had seen and heard. Astrologers or Kings or Wise Men (the Magi) were watching the sky, and saw signs of something very important. They found the child, and gave him gifts to acknowledge Him as King of the world. The family fled as the Roman governor sensed revolution, and decided to kill all the young boys.
God had broken into His world in order to free all the people from the certain death sentence that they were facing. To do that he sent his son to be born as a human man.
THIS baby is the source of our hope. His birth, His life, His death and His Life show us what God is like, they show us that He is merciful, gracious, and is prepared to release us from the sentence we are facing and accept us back into his family, so that we will no longer have to live in hatred.
I wonder if anyone will tell Kenny?
I wonder if anyone will tell those who are busy cooking the turkey, or watching the television, or tucked up in their beds, preparing to celebrate a festival they don't know the meaning of?
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”
Tell the Story
