Luke's Gospel & the Spirit of Christmas, part 2
Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem and likely come to the home of some relatives. Our translations make it sound like “there was no room at inn.” The married women here in the room think of trips when their husbands said, “Don’t worry, honey. There’s no reason to make a reservation. We’ll drive up and see which hotel looks best.”
It’s like the time we drove from Prague up through Berlin into northern Germany to the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the North Sea. We were going to catch a ferry the next morning to a Danish island. With our two kids in the backseat, one still an infant, we set off. “We’ll just grab any old hotel,” I said. We got there late in the evening. No vacancy. No vacancy. No vacancy. Someone finally said that every hotel on the peninsula was occupied – it was a German holiday weekend. We were toast. In desperation I finally begged the owner of a guesthouse. He spoke no English. I knew a few German words. Luckily, I said “zwei kleinen kindern.” He looked at me with horror in his eyes and came out to our car. Upon seeing the already sleeping kids in the backseat, he made space in a lounge for us. The kids were the sign! We slept great that night. My wife has been gracious, but she hasn’t forgotten.
This was not Joseph’s fault. There was no hotel in Bethlehem, just the ancient obligations of hospitality. Other family members had already arrived, and the guest room over the stable was not available. Perhaps someone higher in the family pecking order was already there.
The young couple happily accepts the warm and safe confines of the stable. We don’t know how long they have to stay or exactly why, but the time comes and Mary has her baby. It’s a boy. They tightly wrap the baby in strips of cloth to keep it from moving and lay it in the feeding trough to sleep. They are totally unaware of anything but this baby. The halls of power could not seem farther away from this quiet, humble scene. There is no miracle, no delivery of gifts, no star in the sky, no royal proclamation. Just a young couple and their tiny infant in a small, cozy stable. This child is all the proof they need that God’s power is real.
Nearby are shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks. An angel appeared to them. The shepherds were terrified. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you; you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
It’s fascinating that God gives amazing signs to the people. All throughout the Old Testament, there are the most phenomenal signs meant to build and sustain faith. Think of how the people of Israel witnessed the ten plagues. Or how they crossed through the Red Sea on dry land. Or imagine witnessing the triumph over the city of Jericho—the people just had to march around and blow their trumpets while God brought down the walls. Would you have believed in the power of God if you could have seen one of those great signs? Would doubt and unbelief be destroyed if the world could witness something like that?
This may surprise you, but those signs failed to produce lasting faith. The very same people who crossed the Red Sea immediately doubted God’s ability to provide. People in Jesus’ day ask for a sign, something that would rattle their cages and let them know that the Savior is near and that God’s power is real. To these folks, Jesus replies that no sign like that would be given. God is no longer interested in flashy signs. There had been enough of those, and they don’t work. Instead, God cares about repentance and about living life in ways that are right and just.
But let’s not rush off too quickly. There is a sign. God gives the shepherds a sign. The birth of the Messiah should be announced with great fanfare. There should be parades and holidays and free drinks for all. Sure enough, a host of angels sing about the greatness of God and bring glad tidings of peace. Their song does not reach the ears of the powerful rulers. The angels announce this to but a few lowly shepherds—half asleep, terrified to death, knees buckling beneath the news.
The angelic host, however, is not the sign. The angel tells them that there is indeed a sign. “What sign?” you might ask. “What is the sign that the king is born?” The sign … the sign is that you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feed trough. That’s the confirmation. An ordinary baby born to a common, working-class family.
This is clearly not the stuff of empires. That’s why Luke is so ambivalent toward the decrees of Rome or the workings of government. For Luke, empire is nothing but a canvas upon which to sketch a far more beautiful and more important picture. What is that picture? It’s the simple birth of a baby born in quiet, humble circumstances.
This, this is the sign. It’s the sign that God welcomes everyone. God is not the God of exclusive clubs. He is not the God of one nation or of the religious elite. He is the not the property of one socioeconomic level or one group of radicals. The birth of this child is good news of great joy for all people. ALL PEOPLE! God accepts all people. The preacher Luke will tell us that God accepts all, but that the divine invitation should result in human repentance. Sadly, however, the preacher will make it clear that those most likely to repent are the poor, the blind, the lame and even those outside the nation of Israel. God invites all to the banquet, but those who have first dibs unfortunately tend to find excuses not to attend.
Why? I don’t know. I don’t why those who grow up knowing God become hardened and refuse to repent. I don’t know why.
But I know the sign by which we can know God’s love. It’s a sign that lets us know of God’s acceptance of ALL people. Perhaps the sign is a problem for those who are proud or puffed up or too sure of themselves. Because the sign is not found in the halls of power. You can’t find the sign where the emperor resides. It’s not in Rome or Beijing or Vienna or Washington, DC. The sign is a child, wrapped in simple, lying on a modest bed.
Do you need a sign today that God loves you? Do you need to know that God’s salvation is for you? It’s night. There’s a flock of sheep nearby. WAKE UP! Good news! A Savior! Go with your trembling knees and behold a simple child. And you will know that God’s power is for real. If you need a reminder, get out of your home. Break the monotony of your routines. Go to the Ukraine and look into the eyes of an orphan. Go to an impoverished Mexican village and play with the children there in the dirt. Go to Africa and touch a child born with the HIV virus. Go and behold a child, God’s greatest gift to the world. Look at THIS baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Repent and change your life, because God has come to dwell among in the flesh.
This will be a sign for you; you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
It’s like the time we drove from Prague up through Berlin into northern Germany to the tip of a peninsula jutting out into the North Sea. We were going to catch a ferry the next morning to a Danish island. With our two kids in the backseat, one still an infant, we set off. “We’ll just grab any old hotel,” I said. We got there late in the evening. No vacancy. No vacancy. No vacancy. Someone finally said that every hotel on the peninsula was occupied – it was a German holiday weekend. We were toast. In desperation I finally begged the owner of a guesthouse. He spoke no English. I knew a few German words. Luckily, I said “zwei kleinen kindern.” He looked at me with horror in his eyes and came out to our car. Upon seeing the already sleeping kids in the backseat, he made space in a lounge for us. The kids were the sign! We slept great that night. My wife has been gracious, but she hasn’t forgotten.
This was not Joseph’s fault. There was no hotel in Bethlehem, just the ancient obligations of hospitality. Other family members had already arrived, and the guest room over the stable was not available. Perhaps someone higher in the family pecking order was already there.
The young couple happily accepts the warm and safe confines of the stable. We don’t know how long they have to stay or exactly why, but the time comes and Mary has her baby. It’s a boy. They tightly wrap the baby in strips of cloth to keep it from moving and lay it in the feeding trough to sleep. They are totally unaware of anything but this baby. The halls of power could not seem farther away from this quiet, humble scene. There is no miracle, no delivery of gifts, no star in the sky, no royal proclamation. Just a young couple and their tiny infant in a small, cozy stable. This child is all the proof they need that God’s power is real.
Nearby are shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks. An angel appeared to them. The shepherds were terrified. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you; you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
It’s fascinating that God gives amazing signs to the people. All throughout the Old Testament, there are the most phenomenal signs meant to build and sustain faith. Think of how the people of Israel witnessed the ten plagues. Or how they crossed through the Red Sea on dry land. Or imagine witnessing the triumph over the city of Jericho—the people just had to march around and blow their trumpets while God brought down the walls. Would you have believed in the power of God if you could have seen one of those great signs? Would doubt and unbelief be destroyed if the world could witness something like that?
This may surprise you, but those signs failed to produce lasting faith. The very same people who crossed the Red Sea immediately doubted God’s ability to provide. People in Jesus’ day ask for a sign, something that would rattle their cages and let them know that the Savior is near and that God’s power is real. To these folks, Jesus replies that no sign like that would be given. God is no longer interested in flashy signs. There had been enough of those, and they don’t work. Instead, God cares about repentance and about living life in ways that are right and just.
But let’s not rush off too quickly. There is a sign. God gives the shepherds a sign. The birth of the Messiah should be announced with great fanfare. There should be parades and holidays and free drinks for all. Sure enough, a host of angels sing about the greatness of God and bring glad tidings of peace. Their song does not reach the ears of the powerful rulers. The angels announce this to but a few lowly shepherds—half asleep, terrified to death, knees buckling beneath the news.
The angelic host, however, is not the sign. The angel tells them that there is indeed a sign. “What sign?” you might ask. “What is the sign that the king is born?” The sign … the sign is that you will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a feed trough. That’s the confirmation. An ordinary baby born to a common, working-class family.
This is clearly not the stuff of empires. That’s why Luke is so ambivalent toward the decrees of Rome or the workings of government. For Luke, empire is nothing but a canvas upon which to sketch a far more beautiful and more important picture. What is that picture? It’s the simple birth of a baby born in quiet, humble circumstances.
This, this is the sign. It’s the sign that God welcomes everyone. God is not the God of exclusive clubs. He is not the God of one nation or of the religious elite. He is the not the property of one socioeconomic level or one group of radicals. The birth of this child is good news of great joy for all people. ALL PEOPLE! God accepts all people. The preacher Luke will tell us that God accepts all, but that the divine invitation should result in human repentance. Sadly, however, the preacher will make it clear that those most likely to repent are the poor, the blind, the lame and even those outside the nation of Israel. God invites all to the banquet, but those who have first dibs unfortunately tend to find excuses not to attend.
Why? I don’t know. I don’t why those who grow up knowing God become hardened and refuse to repent. I don’t know why.
But I know the sign by which we can know God’s love. It’s a sign that lets us know of God’s acceptance of ALL people. Perhaps the sign is a problem for those who are proud or puffed up or too sure of themselves. Because the sign is not found in the halls of power. You can’t find the sign where the emperor resides. It’s not in Rome or Beijing or Vienna or Washington, DC. The sign is a child, wrapped in simple, lying on a modest bed.
Do you need a sign today that God loves you? Do you need to know that God’s salvation is for you? It’s night. There’s a flock of sheep nearby. WAKE UP! Good news! A Savior! Go with your trembling knees and behold a simple child. And you will know that God’s power is for real. If you need a reminder, get out of your home. Break the monotony of your routines. Go to the Ukraine and look into the eyes of an orphan. Go to an impoverished Mexican village and play with the children there in the dirt. Go to Africa and touch a child born with the HIV virus. Go and behold a child, God’s greatest gift to the world. Look at THIS baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Repent and change your life, because God has come to dwell among in the flesh.
This will be a sign for you; you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
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