Rev.
Debra Cato
Luke
2:22-40 – The Message
First
Sunday of Christmas
Normandy
Park UCC
December
31, 2017 - The First Sunday of Christmas
Behold, The Child
Even though it was 30 years ago, I can still feel the awe; the wonder;
the overwhelming love I felt that first time I held my child, the pain of
childbirth instantly gone. I still feel the goosebumps when I looked at that perfect
face; held those tiny fingers; kissed that forehead. The relief I felt when I counted her fingers
and toes; when I knew she was healthy! I
couldn’t take my eyes off her! What a
gift from God she was.
I remember when I was pregnant with Tracy – my second daughter. I was so afraid I could not love another
child as much as I loved Jessica. And
then she was born. And there it
was. That feeling of awe and overwhelming
love. The goosebumps when I saw that
beautiful, perfect face, touched those tiny fingers, and kissed that
forehead. The relief when I counted her
fingers and toes; when I knew she was healthy.
I didn’t want to put her down! Such
amazing love. So overpowering.
Admit it. When I was talking
with the children about the birth of my daughters; when I was sharing with them
the joy of being a new mother and discovering how in love I was with my babies;
how many of you did your own walk down memory lane and thought about the birth
of your own children? Perhaps you
adopted and remember that first miraculous look at your treasured child. Perhaps you remembered the birth of nephews
or nieces or cousins or friends’ children.
But I must admit that as much as I loved my babies, this new 24/7 job I
had
accepted was exhausting. Neither
of my daughters thought much of sleeping and I quickly learned that sleep
deprivation turns life upside down. This
thing called motherhood required a lot of feedings and diaper and
clothing changes and just when they finally fell asleep and I had picked up the
house and laid down, the sound of my head hitting the pillow would wake them
up. The irony is, when they would sleep,
I would worry something was wrong and jump up and check! Being a Mom is the most rewarding thing I’ve
ever done but also the hardest. Anyone
agree?
Mary was a 14-year old virgin and she was forced to travel over 900
miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey when she was 9 months pregnant because
a Roman dictator ordered everyone to report for a census. When they arrive in Bethlehem, perhaps
because they were impoverished, perhaps because it was true, there was no place
for them to stay so they were forced to sleep in a barn. That night, Mary went into labor, gave birth
alone with her husband in a dirty barn and the only place to put her baby –
whom she wrapped in rags was in the feeding trough. I can only imagine Mary’s exhaustion; her
pain; and her fear.
Yes. The manger scene we imagine
in our nativity scenes and in our songs, is beautiful and romantic but the
humanness of the birth of Jesus cannot be forgotten. Birth is hard and messy in the best of
circumstances and I’m not sure giving birth in a barn, 900 miles from home, is
the best of circumstances.
After Mary gave birth to her baby, she must have felt the awe; the
wonder; the overwhelming love I felt that first time I held my child. Do you think the pain
and discomfort from giving birth disappeared when she looked at his
face? Did she get goosebumps when she
held those tiny fingers; when she kissed his
forehead? Did she sigh deeply
when she counted his fingers and toes; when
she knew he was healthy? Was
Mary able to take her eyes off him?
As Luke tells it, on that intimate night of Jesus’ birth, Angels sang,
shepherds visited, and stars shone on that scene in the barn. Mary took all this in – in fact we are told
that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart.” But as a mother myself, I’m making an
informed guess that Mary was mostly focused on her newborn son. This perfect baby that she found herself
madly in love with; this gift from God.
She would have remembered what the angel had told her nine months prior
– that she was chosen to give birth to the Son of God but that night, this baby
looked like any other human baby only more perfect, more beautiful – because he
was her son and she was deeply in love.
Mary gave birth to a human baby, no different than my babies. No different than yours. Except of course, Mary’s baby is the Son of
God. But for now, he’s a helpless, human
infant. Totally dependent on his
mother. And no different than ours,
Mary’s baby cried, and got hungry, and dirtied his diapers, and demanded
attention – 24/7. And just like us, Mary
must have functioned from a state of exhaustion.
In today’s account from Luke, it is forty days since Jesus was
born. According to Jewish law, Jesus was
circumcised and named when he was eight days old. Now, 32 days later, at 40 days old, it’s time
for Jesus’ parents to perform their duty as pious Jews by returning to the
Temple. They are to offer a sacrifice
and consecrate or dedicate their child to the Lord.
Simeon was an old man, filled with the Holy Spirit. He was a faithful
servant of God, having spent many years in the temple, waiting to see the promised Messiah. He wandered into the
temple when Mary and Joseph brought the baby in to be consecrated according to
Jewish custom.
Simeon didn’t see any miracles.
He didn’t see any signs. He didn’t
see any wonders. He simply saw a baby and
after all those years; he knew. He held the
baby in his arms and he said; “Lord, now let your servant go in peace; for your
word has been fulfilled. My eyes have seen your salvation which has been prepared
for all people.”[1]
No miracles. No signs. No wonders.
Simeon just sees the child and knows he is the Messiah. He believes and that is enough. By holding the baby in his hands, Simeon is
confident in God’s promised salvation. [2]
Then there’s Anna. She was by now a very old woman.
She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four[3]
so if we do the math, she is well over 100 years old. She too spent her years in the temple,
serving the Lord day and night; believing and waiting for the promised Messiah. There were no
miracles. No signs. No wonders. Like Simeon, Anna simply saw the child and she
believed.[4]
Luke’s description of the birth of Christ is my favorite Scripture for
Christmas Eve. It’s a romantic story of
the birth of Jesus that we can all imagine.
We’ve
seen it lived out by children year after year in Christmas programs –
perhaps like me, you were even in some yourself.
The idea that God became flesh in a baby born to a teen-age virgin
gives us
hope for the future. In today’s
passage, we can picture, this poor couple with their baby, walking into the
temple to dedicate their son to God – their son
who is God Himself. Two devout,
faithful people stand at the temple steps with them, praising God for the
arrival of his long-awaited promise of salvation. Simeon and Anna know
that the arrival of this helpless baby brings the arrival of the change agent
for the world.
I love the way Eugene Peterson transliterates John 1:14: “The Word became
flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.” God chose to save us
through a helpless, human baby – totally dependent on his mother for every
single need. God had promised a Savior,
a Messiah, hundreds of years before and faithful servants like Simeon and Anna held
onto that belief and were blessed by the opportunity to see and touch and feel
God’s promise, the promise that God will be with us and for us forever, the
promise announced in the birth of that innocent baby. The same promise God grants to us.
Perhaps more so this year that in many past years, we cannot afford to
miss the irony of the way God came to us. Rev. Andrew Scales said:
“Today I’m joining billions of people in worshiping a person
of color who grew up as a refugee, lived in poverty his whole
life, and ended up a death row convict by the justice system of
the most powerful country in the world.
of color who grew up as a refugee, lived in poverty his whole
life, and ended up a death row convict by the justice system of
the most powerful country in the world.
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, it was the first sign that
empires fall from prophetic demands for justice, love for one’s
enemies, and hope in God’s promise of life.
empires fall from prophetic demands for justice, love for one’s
enemies, and hope in God’s promise of life.
Jesus didn’t come to make Rome great again; he turned the
thing
inside out so that the last will be first, and the first will be last in his Kingdom. It’s Good News for all people.” - Rev. Andrew Scales
inside out so that the last will be first, and the first will be last in his Kingdom. It’s Good News for all people.” - Rev. Andrew Scales
This is what Christmas is about.
From the very beginning. God used ordinary
means and ordinary people to share his message of salvation. Christ comes to us as a real, live human
baby. Two old, ordinary but faithful
individuals – one of them a woman, recognized Christ in a 40-day old baby brought
to the temple by poor parents. [5]
Christmas is infused by God’s promise of his presence and peace so that
we
can leave worship today, and go out into the world with confidence;
neither denying the harsh realities of this life nor deterred by the by them,
but rather facing whatever comes our way with courage. For you are God’s beloved child and it was
for your sake that Christ was born![6]
Jesus birth was good news over 2,000 years ago and it is good news
today. Merry Christmas!
