Text Luke 2:1-20; Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14
Theme Right Here
Subject The Birth of Jesus at Bethlehem
Occasion Christmas Eve (7 & 10:45) – 12/24/2007 – Zion – Iowa City
Long ago, when I was little, there
was a mystery about Christmas (Maybe still?)
We knew gifts were coming
But we had
no idea what they would be
Oh, we had circled toys and
balls and gadgets
on
the pages of the wish-books from Sears and Penny’s and Wards
We had no idea which, if any, of these
would be ours
When I got older, maybe 7 or
8,
My big brother, Steve, added the dimension of mischief to
the mystery
During Advent he and I began
a casual searching of the house
After each evening’s devotion,
we would
wonder together if the gifts had arrived
As Christmas drew nearer,
our search intensified
in closets or dresser drawers
on the top shelves of cabinets
under their bed
behind the couch
Rarely did we find anything
Then, with only a few days before
Christmas
the packages would begin to appear under the tree
nearer
but still out-of-reach
By Christmas all that changed
What had been there (in,
on, under, behind)
was suddenly
here:
on my lap; in my hands
Ø
Right here
That’s what makes tonight such
an extraordinary night
What was once out there
is now right here
Listen again to the language
Dr. Luke uses to report how it was that night Jesus was born
First about Government and a pair of newly weds
In those days
to their own
while
they were there
in a manger
in the inn
Ø Not right here but out there, back there
And then Dr. Luke mingles a
motley bunch of shepherds with a chorus of angels
in
that region
in the fields
before them
around them
Ø Not right here but out there
And an angel speaks
in the city of David
in bands of cloth
in a manger
with the angel
in the highest heaven
on earth
Forgive me
for repeating myself
But again, according to Dr. Luke,
The news, the good news,
Ø is not right here
but over there OR up there
Could
there have been that growling in the voice of the shepherd?
"Let’s go now to Bethlehem and see this thing
that’s taken place, which the Lord’s made known to us." (Lk 2:15b)
Enough
talk of fulfillment
Ø never right
here but always
out there
over there
up there
in there
always someplace else
Finally, “Let’s go … let’s see”
The
good news about too many things has been
out there
over there
up there
in there
long enough
So they went from out
there with sheep and angels
To
right where the prophecy was fulfilled
With Mary, Joseph
and the baby in the manager
What had been out there – beyond them
Was
suddenly with them
Ø right here
These
shepherds were not the first
evangelists
They simply told Mary, Joseph, the Inn
Keeper, the stable boy, and anybody else
while they were tending their sheep at night
angels came and told them what they’d
find in Bethlehem
and sure enough
Ø right here
That was a big deal!
Angels with a heavenly message: amazing
Content of the message verified: amazing
That’s not the
mystery of Christmas
That’s
only amazing
There are people who run a mile in
less than 4 minutes
That’s amazing!
There are families who live on less
than a dollar a day
That’s amazing!
I heard
about a guy whose daughter gave him an island for Christmas
That’s amazing!
Amazing
stuff has no eternal significance
Amazing physical stuff – just today –
this side of the grave - interesting
Amazing poverty stuff – just today –
this side of the grave – thank God
Amazing wealthy stuff – just today –
this side of the grave – thank God
But something cosmic
Breeching
the realms of time and space
That’s the mystery of Christmas
More than amazing
That God,
seemingly so distant from us,
has come so near
Ø Right
here in Jesus
God
is not out there
Ø
God is right here
(Pause – organ begins to play)
Tonight Bethlehem is struggling – it is a walled
city longing to breathe free
The
birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is ancient and distant
Our prayer is that Jesus is born in us
Not out or over there
Ø BUT right
here
The birth of Jesus changed eternity;
the birth of Jesus in each of
us changes life
Ø right
here; right now