Christmas Eve 2023 - Good News - No Fairytale

 CHRISTMAS EVE 

 

This year I purchased an Advent calendar.  Each pocket has space for a small gift or card with holiday treats, suggestions or challenges – depending on how you wish to prepare for Christmas.  We could say, the journey through Advent to Christmas day is filled with treasures.  This reflects our story of faith, where we find treasures of a different kind for an eternal purpose. 

 

Each of our weeks in Advent reveals both challenges and treasures as we explored the prophecies about the coming of Christ and we understand that these also point to Christ’s second coming.  Last week I was at St. Charles and we lit the candle of Joy.  Throughout this Advent, something that has been impressed upon me, is that all this joy was proclaimed against a backdrop of darkness.  We have lit the candle of Peace against a backdrop of war.  And we light the candle of love knowing that many in the world are broken and have no understanding of the unconditional love of God.  Our first candle was HOPE.  This might be the most important.  Hope is always the first glimmer of change – of light.  When we hope, we move from a position of depression and resignation to …. Something else is possible… and here we find the motivation for action and change.

 

Our hope is in God.  However, for many, God is so distant that they may say they don’t even believe.  Tonight, we celebrate an historical fact, which for us proves that God is not distant. “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

The historical fact is that a baby was born who was called Jesus.  He grew to perform wonders, was crucified for claiming equality with God and his followers claimed him to be the long-awaited Messiah.   This part is historical Fact!  It is recorded by non-Christian historians.

 

What do we believe about this fact?  Was there indeed more to the story, and did his followers have the inside scoop on his true identity? Was he the long-awaited Messiah?  We are here because this is what we and so many others do believe.  Our reading from Isaiah tells us that this Son who was born is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.   This is telling us that this SON, is our Mighty God.  This Son is the Everlasting Father.  This Son is God.   God himself became the word of God made flesh.  This is mind blowing. How can it be that the God of the universe cares so much for us that he became vulnerable for our sake? 

 

There were shepherds in the field that night, on the outskirts of Bethlehem.  I’d like us to imagine the scene.  Though it was a busy night in Bethlehem, the shepherds went about their business of keeping watch over the sheep, noticing the buzz about the township of travellers coming to be counted for the register. 

 

Being a shepherd in the community at that time was not like being an Australian farmer.  This was an occupation, not as low as a tax collector, but it was certainly not an aspired career choice.  Among the shepherds, there were probably also those who were quite young.  Tending the sheep may have been a first job, or a job for the younger son, while the older brother learnt his father’s trade. 

 

Yet the nation of Israel was full of very significant shepherds.  Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, was a shepherd.  King David was a shepherd and he describes God in the famous 23^rd psalm, as a shepherd.

 

This group of shepherds near Bethlehem were a slightly elevated group, as they were most probably those who cared for the flock who were to be the sacrificial lambs at the religious festivals.  They were a group who understood that a lamb without blemish was the one who would be offered as the sacrifice to take away the sin of the people.  It is suggested that those religious festivals were not necessarily something attended by these shepherds, due to the fact that they actually needed to be working on the Sabbath and were pretty much always ceremonially unclean.

 

What was the scene prior to the Angels visit?  What were these shepherds doing as they settled down for the night?  Perhaps some were sleeping while others kept watch.  Perhaps they had just set up their swags for the night and made themselves a warm drink and were telling stories.  Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.  There is so much that we don’t know, but what we do know is that there suddenly appeared a great light… the glory of the Lord, and an Angel who proclaimed that he was bringing good news of great joy for ALL the people.  Some traditional translations actually quote the Angel as saying, “Behold… I bring good news..”.  Apparently, the original word translated as “Behold” means something like, “– pay attention…or an NB” -This is an important message -take note! 

The message was; “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."

 

Why was it important that these shepherds understood the message?  My guess is, that the shepherds were tasked with passing the message on, and not just the message that a baby was born, but the divine nature of this baby.  They went and found the baby Jesus and told everyone who’d listen, the message that the Angels had told them.  People heard and were amazed.  They couldn’t dispute the message because it was heard and witnessed by the whole group. 

 

Through divine proclamation they knew that this baby was no ordinary child.  This baby was the Messiah, the Lord.  They had been waiting for the promised Messiah for about 4000 years.  The prophecy from Isaiah was about 800 years before this holy night.  On this night the Angels declared that he, the Messiah was born.  It is important that we note that this Good News is for ALL people.  The shepherds were no longer outsiders who enabled others to partake in the story of God with His people.  This was a message of God, who came for ALL people.

 

Hearing this story over the years, and now with the, perhaps, confusing array of Christmas fairy tales and magical stories, this story can become lost in the baubles, glitter and tinsel as just another magical story, however, this is history - a true story.

 

This story comes to us from the Gospel of Luke.  Luke was a physician and Greek-trained historian who begins his Gospel by telling us the reason for his writing.  He begins his Gospel by saying; “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.  With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”

 

The Gospel of Luke is not a fairy tale.  It is a well-researched account of the life and ministry of Jesus.  Luke travelled for some time with Saint Paul and, in his travels, he interviewed and researched the facts surrounding the story of Jesus so that he could pass the message on with authority…  So that they and we can know that the story passed down to us is not passing on myths and legends, but the facts.

 

Two thousand and twenty-three years later we continue to tell the greatest story ever, about how the God who created us, came to us as a baby.  The Messiah, the lamb of God, born to die for the sin of our turning away from God, and bring us back to God. 

 

Here is the important extra part of the story; We have more than a story to pass on.  We have abundant and eternal life to proclaim.  Christmas is only one episode of this incredible story.  Jesus grew up, performed miracles, set people free from oppression by his amazing love, and he died to pay all spiritual debts that keep us separated from God the father.  Not only that, but he rose from the dead, proving his power even over the grave.  But wait… there is more…  Jesus also then went back to be with the father, but he sent us all his Holy Spirit to be with us now and always.

 

All this is testified by Luke in his writings.  Those shepherds who heard the Angelic message testified that they really and truly saw the Angels and heard the divine message.  Luke interviewed many eye-witnesses to the ministry of Jesus and he shares their testimony.  Today, we, gathered here, are all invited to become part of the greatest story of all time.  There is certainly a darkness in our world tonight.  The world is certainly not the way that things ought to be.  Our world is broken and we are invited to ask the God of the universe to live in us, by his Holy Spirit, so that we can bring his light of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, to a world that God loved so much, that he came and died to save it.

 

There is no fiction in the story of our faith.  Our invitation today is to heed the message of the Angels and come to Jesus.  The historical fact is that he was born.  The faith fact is that he is the Messiah – He is God become flesh…. Such an amazing act of Love!  The word of God to us today is “Peace be with you, and Joy.”  He says, “Here I am.  I am the gift for you.  Will you receive this gift?” 

Will you respond to that love, and call that baby born 2023 years ago your Lord – your king and saviour?  It is Christmas and God loves you.  Receive God into your life.