A No Frills Birth

Jesus was not born in what we call a barn, with a metal roof and a concrete floor, and a place for cars, tractors, and tools. It wouldn’t have looked like one of those red barns we see in rustic paintings. It also wouldn’t have been a small structure made with rough hewn wood.

In fact, you know the pictures we’ve seen of the stable with the gentle farm animals, sweet hay, and the warm glow from an oil lantern?

None of that is in scripture.

The innkeeper that’s in all our skits about Jesus birth? There’s no mention of him either.

We are told only that there was no place for this family to stay inside at night. All available rooms were occupied.

Perhaps they had a lean-to. Or perhaps they stayed in a small cave on the edge of town. But they could have been completely exposed to the outside elements and they probably slept on the ground.

These were truly poor people, just on the edge of existence. There was no government assistance program to give them a roof over their heads. There was no medical care available. There was no food being distributed. Plus, they were out of town far from their own community.

People like Mary and Joseph are not even seen by the world.

In this poverty stricken state, a baby was born. And no one noticed.

He was given the name, Jesus. A common name for a common baby. But this pitiful baby born to these desperately poor parents also carried a title that was given to him before he was born:

Emmanuel. Which means, “God with us.”

And his name, which was very ordinary back then, is actually a powerful statement when we translate it. It means, “The Lord saves.”

Today, we celebrate the life of a child who meant nothing to his society, but is everything to the world.

The Announcement

When a king is born, everyone knows about it. Grand announcements are made. Events involving huge crowds are planned. Celebrations are arranged with music and cheering. Politicians make their speeches and foreign dignitaries send extravagant gifts.

None of this happened at Jesus’ birth.

However, there was one small group who heard the news: Shepherds.

They were field hands--guys who handled the livestock. They slept outside, stayed dirty, and smelled like the animals they cared for.

They were not important people at all.

But their profession had a royal legacy. David, the greatest King of Israel, was once a shepherd picked by God from the pastures to lead the nation. This king later wrote one of our greatest psalms, describing God as a shepherd.

So it makes a kind of sense that shepherds were the only ones who were told about the arrival of the Christ. It was their eyes that beheld a mighty angel and their ears that heard him announce that the Messiah was born. Their eyes alone saw the night sky explode in white celebration as the angels sang their praises to the newborn king.

It was the shepherds who first found their way to the baby lying in a feed box. They were the first to worship the newborn king who would one day be called The Good Shepherd.

Touched by Holiness

The scripture tells us that Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

To us, the words “manger” and “swaddling clothes” have a sweet sound to them, and they are reserved for the story of Christ’s birth.

But they weren’t special. Swaddling clothes were simply old rags used because there were no cute clothes given to them at baby showers.

A manger was a feed box for the livestock. Most of us would refuse to put our babies in one. But it was the only place where these tired parents could lay their new child.
In our minds this grubby little box is beautiful and the old rags appear like royal clothing. Paintings depict the scene with soft hay and a gentle glow and we sing moving songs about it that make us cry.

Why is that?

It’s because the tiny person who lay there was holy, and he made everything he touched holy.

His holy touch healed people and raised people from the dead. And his spirit continues to breathe holiness into our souls.

The Christ Candle

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord
     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
 for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
  for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.

                                                       --(Luke 1:46-49)

During the month of Advent we lit a new candle each Sunday, each one symbolizing a special gift. 

The Candle for week one stands for Hope.  Week two is for love.  The third Candle is for Joy. And the fourth one is for Peace. We believe these gifts are real and eternal.

Tonight we light the large candle in the center, which is a symbol for Christ. 

We believe the qualities celebrated at Advent exist because of Jesus.  He is the center of our hope, love, joy, and peace.  His Spirit of Holiness is a flame that shines throughout the world, as well as in our hearts. 

May the fullness of Christ’s holiness be recognized and celebrated tonight in each of our hearts.

The Light of Peace

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
 
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward people!”

--Luke 2:12-13

It is interesting to note that Jesus later said in chapter 12 of the same book that he did NOT come to bring peace but division.

Before he would finish his task there would be a lot of violent conflict. And of course, there is still much violence in the world. 

Too many places suffer from the ravages of war.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have peace on earth? Where we could all lay down our armor and wrap our arms around each other? 

Where the lamb could lay down with the lion?

The angels sang about the day when peace would happen because the Christ child was born. Through Jesus, there will one day be peace. 

The candles of advent represent hope, love, joy, and today, we light the candle of peace. 

You Never Know

The minister introduced the young man to the Sunday school class. A lot of people knew who this fellow was although they didn’t know him well.

He was odd.

You know what I mean. Not a bad sort, but rather strange. In high school the other kids avoided him and he never once had a date. As he grew into adulthood, it never occurred to people that he was lonely and sad. Once, he felt so bad that he tried to take his life.

The minister found out and persuaded him to come to the Sunday school class. With his permission, the minister told the class of this boy’s struggles. 

“I thought we would make him a member of our group,” he said. 

Before the class dismissed each of the members hugged him and told him how glad they were to have him in the class. Every week, he came to get his hugs and to hear people say they were glad to see him. 

I don’t know the end of his story. I don’t know how well he’s doing these days.   

But I know that he never picked up a gun and went on a shooting spree. 

The Third Week of Advent

On the first week of advent we lit the candle of hope

Last week, we lit the candle of love. 

Today, we light the candle of Joy.  

 It is hard to acknowledge joy in the face of the dreadful act of violence that occurred in the Connecticut school two days ago. For the survivors who suffer greatly, we wish for them the tender compassion of Christ. Even at this distance, we bless them with our wishes of healing.  We pray that one day the gift of hope will return to them. 

We celebrate this third week of Advent because we will not shy away from the idea that joy is with us even in the darkest of times.

Today, as we light these candles, let them be for those who died in that tragedy, as well for the Christ child who one day will rescue us from dark times such as these.

From Psalm 30:5:  “Weeping may stay through the night. But rejoicing comes in the morning.”