1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The message from God’s Word this glorious
Christmas Eve is taken from Luke 2:1-20.
It’s entitled, “Stir Up the Power
of Joy,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Karlie Oliver was the kid next door.
He had a paper route. A big canvas bag on the front of his bike held the
newspapers. I guess you could say Karlie was a newsy. His friend Donnie would
help him roll the papers and tag along sometimes. When he got done with his
route, he’d give Donnie the leftovers and he’d read them. Sometimes, he’d give Donnie a copy of Grit.
Karlie sold a few of those too. Anybody ever hear of Grit? It’s still around.
Grit’s never had a huge circulation. It was a folksy tabloid back then, full of
positive stories, advice, how-to articles—you know, uplifting things. And it
still is. But as interesting as Grit is,
not too many people know about it. Why? Because it’s all good news, and good
news doesn’t sell papers. I find that remarkable. If there’s anything we need
in these dark days, it’s good news, news of great joy. And that’s what we have
in the news of the birth of Jesus. The
birth of Jesus is good news, wonderful news of great joy!
3.
What’s so great about it? Why
Should We Rejoice at the News of Jesus’ Birth?
First, we rejoice at the news Jesus is born because it means God is
in charge! The Readings for today speak
of times when the world was a dark place. In the Old Testament Reading, Isaiah
is writing to God’s people in the northern part of Israel, 700 years before
Christ. The Assyrians have overrun the land, destroying the villages and towns
and decimating the population. Most of the people are sent far away as
prisoners. The few left behind are poor and disheartened. It’s a scene of total
despair.
4.
Is God powerless? Has he abandoned
his people? Absolutely not! Suddenly, with the prophecies of Isaiah, there’s
hope. “The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light” (Is 9:2). But just what is this great light? It’s
news of great joy! It’s news of the birth of a King—and not just any king, but
a divine King! Here’s what Isaiah says
about him: “For to us a child is born, to
us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name
shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace” (Is 9:6).
5.
What a contrast this King will be to
the kings who came before him! Every last one of the northern Israelite kings
was a usurper. Every one of them led Israel away to worship idols. Not one of
them was a lawful heir of King David. Everything they did was evil and brought
the wrath of God down on his people. But
that’s all about to change. The new King will break the yoke and rod of the
oppressor. He will roll up and throw into the fire the bloody apparel of war.
From the day of his arrival and forever after there will be peace and justice
and righteousness as he rules from the throne of his father David.
6.
Now if you were God’s oppressed
people and heard this good news, wouldn’t you rejoice? Isn’t this the kind of
news we all long to hear? This isn’t just lofty poetry from a bygone era. You
and I are God’s people, and this good news is for us—and all the world too. The divine King of whom Isaiah speaks has at
last been born. His name is Jesus. At his cross and the empty tomb, he defeated
our enemies—sin, death, the devil. Jesus is forever in charge. At this moment,
by faith in Jesus, our newborn King, we have a safe home forever. Things haven’t gotten much better in America
since the days of Karlie Oliver in the middle of the 20th century. Today,
religious freedom isn’t just being threatened by our government, it’s being
taken away. Abortion still destroys three thousand lives a day. Idolatry is the
religion of the land. Terrorists threaten our safety. The gap between rich and
poor grows. Times are dark. But the
birth of Jesus is still good news! It’s good news of great joy because it says
a King is born, a King who is in charge and who right now is carrying out his
plan of redemption. By faith in Jesus we overcome the world’s evil no matter
how dark things look. Now that’s joyful news!
7.
Second, we rejoice at the news Jesus
is born because it means we have a Savior!
700 years after Isaiah, when the events of the New Testament occur,
God’s people are still living under the rod of the oppressor. It’s not Assyria.
Assyria has been assigned to the ash heap of history along with Babylon,
Persia, and the Greeks. Now the oppressor is Rome. Caesar Augustus, the distant yet ever-present
Roman emperor, controls Judea. Roman soldiers patrol the streets of Jerusalem.
Tax collectors hired by Rome bleed the people in every town. Soldiers bearing
shields and standards emblazoned with Roman gods insult the faithful as they
worship at the Lord’s temple. Has God forgotten his people? Will he ever
remember his promise?
8.
Like Israel in those days, we
Americans think of ourselves as a special people. What other country in the
world had ever before from day one been founded on the principles of liberty
and the rule of law? Where else in the world can you think what you want,
believe what you will, assemble with whomever you like, bear arms, and
criticize your government too? Where else are you free to succeed or fail
depending on your own ability and ambition? Nowhere, but we do like to think
it’s that way right here. But, how would you feel if tomorrow you discovered
all your freedoms were gone? What if you woke up and learned you were now
living under sharia law or that your elected leaders had all
been replaced by officials appointed by China or Iran? Or that a communist party official minded you
every hour of every day? How would you feel?
9.
The distress I’m feeling as I
contemplate this scenario is maybe what a Jew in Palestine was feeling around
the time Jesus was born. Imagine that you are Joseph or Mary or Zechariah or
Elizabeth or one of the shepherds. You’re a son or daughter of Abraham, living
in the Promised Land, a land given you by God himself where your family has
lived for 1400 years. You’re a child of the covenant in a blessed relationship
with God. But despite this noble
heritage, you’re not free. You’re ruled by outsiders who hate you. How terrible
that would feel! Your only hope is that God will keep his word spoken through
Isaiah, that he’ll send the Child, the promised heir to David’s throne, the
King, born to set you free. You cling to
that hope. But the years go by, and there’s no Child of promise. All is
darkness and despair, when suddenly above Bethlehem’s field blazing light
explodes in the heavens! A holy angel appears. With terrifying voice, he
trumpets forth his joyful tidings, “I
bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Lk
2:10–11). Then a whole choir of angels joins him, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (v 14).
10.
Can it be true? Has God at last kept
his promise? Is this the miracle everyone’s been waiting for? Well, you won’t
know unless you go to Bethlehem, find the manger, and see for yourself. And
that’s just what the shepherds do. They go and find Mary and Joseph. And there
is the baby, lying in the manger. What they’d heard with their ears they now
see with their eyes. And they leave rejoicing, proclaiming to all they meet the
joyful good news.
11.
Isn’t that why we’re here tonight—to
hear the joyful news again and see its fulfillment with eyes of faith? Aren’t
we here tonight that we might believe this good news afresh and leave
rejoicing? Yes! But like the shepherds, we don’t keep the good news to
ourselves. Neighbor, have you heard the news? A Savior is born! There’s a new
King! Satan is on the run! We’re free at last! That’s reason for us to rejoice
together!
12.
Finally, we rejoice at the news
Jesus is born because it means there’s no need to be afraid! Every time I read the Christmas story, I
chuckle to myself. Over and over the angel of the Lord shows up without warning
and says, “Do not be afraid!” He says
this to Zechariah when he announces the birth of John the Baptist. He says it
to Mary when he announces that she will be the mother of Jesus. He says it to
the shepherds watching their flocks in Bethlehem. In each case, after everyone is already
terrified within an inch of their lives at the sight of the angel, he says, “Do not be afraid!” Then he delivers his
message. You’d think after his first client has a heart attack, the angel would
work on his entrance technique, maybe tone it down a bit. But maybe there’s
just no way a holy angel from the throne of God can make himself known without
terrifying mortals.
13.
Now, the angels are not divine in
any way. But just from serving God at his throne they shine with the divine
brilliance of reflected light. When one of them appears to a lowly mortal, it’s
going to be traumatic. We’re not used to being in the presence of holiness like
this. We hide our faces. We turn away lest we die. Remember how Moses’ face
glowed so brightly after he’d been in the presence of God on Mount Sinai. The
Israelites were afraid to come near him (Ex 34:29–30). If the mere appearance of an angel is so
terrifying, imagine how it would be for us to meet God! We’d perish in an
instant! Sin can’t coexist with God, and we are sinners. That’s why Peter,
after he lets down the nets at Jesus’ command and hauls in the biggest catch
he’s ever seen, tells Jesus, “Depart from
me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk 5:8). Peter realizes he’s a sinner
in the presence of a holy God, and he’s afraid he’ll die.
14.
But the whole point of the
incarnation, the Son of God taking on human flesh like ours, is to save us from
death when we see God. Zechariah, Joseph, and the shepherds don’t die when they
see the holy angel, because he brings the message of the incarnation, that God
is coming as a baby to save us. See God
apart from hearing and believing the message of the incarnation and you die.
But see God in the person of Jesus by faith and you live forever. Now that’s
joyful, good news! That’s the joyful good
news of countless Christmas carols, including this one: Christ,
by highest heav’n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord, Late in time behold Him
come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled
in flesh the Godhead see, Hail the incarnate Deity! Pleased as Man with man to dwell, Jesus, our
Immanuel! (LSB 380:2). We pray: O God, you once caused this holy night to
shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that by faith we see this
Light in the face of Jesus and thus may we experience the fullness of joy in
heaven. In his name we pray. Amen
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