“The Story”

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

As we journeyed through Advent, we looked at a number of events that all led us toward this night that is bathed in the glory of God.
We began at the beginning, or rather before the beginning, when there was only God. It was Father, Son, and Spirit – all together, and nothing else. And in the Wisdom of the Almighty, Creation was put in motion. It would not be a static conception, but a living and active one that was given as a specific beginning that would be consigned to a specific end. And the most important aspect of this “new thing” was that God would be an active part in it. And not only active, but far into the future, he would actually enter his creative order and subject himself to its limitations and its will to ensure that humanity could have a life that existed beyond the end.

And then we began to move through the created order to see how the Lord prepared the people to truly live a life in him. His promise was that anyone could experience his grace – not just the chosen of Israel – but anyone who would truly believe that he is God and would allow him to work in their lives, including in the joys as well as the burdens that they carry. But God’s point in all of this is that we must be prepared for his arrival – we can’t leave our eventual meeting with him up to chance.

As part of this preparation, we would be shown who the Anticipated One truly is. It wouldn’t be easy to recognize him, because God was about to join us, not as a heavenly Spirit, but as a Man. Fully God and fully man. God in every way, who would allow himself to be subject to the trials and emotions and conditions of a human and mortal person. And his task? To destroy the hold that sin has on each and every person on earth. Unfortunately, humanity must also let go of their sin, so that God’s work can be completed in them.

Everything was in place, the Lord’s prophets had been telling the world of his coming for hundreds of years. And then it happened - Almighty God sent his angel Gabriel to earth to enact the Great Plan of Salvation, but in such an incredible way that most would never believe it. An elderly woman would bear the one who would herald the Lord’s arrival, and an unwed teenager would become the mother of the Salvation Child.

What “in the world” was God up to? Messiah was supposed to be a Power unlike anything known in all the earth! He was supposed to be a Destroyer of evil and a Rescuer of his people Israel. Never mind what the prophets said – tradition and human wisdom would decree that might was far better than weakness, and boldness much better than humility. And to entrust the Lord of all the earth with an unmarried couple from a town so small that few had even heard of the place! God’s Plan made absolutely no sense whatsoever!

Except, that the child would be born in Bethlehem, the childhood home of King David. Except, that both Joseph and Mary’s lineage led back to David. Except, that the prophecy of Isaiah (9:2-7) and Micah (5:2) and others was being fulfilled exactly as God said it would be. Except, that the heavens would proclaim the birth with a Star for the majestic, and hundreds and thousands of angels would sing his praises to the lowest.

What kind of story could this possibly be? What has God set in motion for us? Why would he ever choose this way over a way that could be seen and understood and accepted by all? Who would this Savior really be for, and what would this Precious Life mean for the people of earth?

There’s an old saying that “God’s ways are not our ways!”, and that causes no little amount of torment in human life! We want the Lord to make sense to us; we want him to make salvation easy for us; we want him to function in a way that we would work; all of which, in and of itself, doesn’t make any sense, either!
When was the last time our ways ever worked out for the best? Human thought is imperfect, at best, and our judgment is even worse than that! Look at the sin we struggle with, and our feeble and failure riddled attempts to live a worthy life. Look at the finality of our mortal lives, even as the greatest minds of earth continue to try to improve and lengthen our years here on earth. Look at our inability to live a life that might even come close to reflecting the glory of Almighty God.

The truth is that God’s way is always best and ours never is. And so, this family, which wasn’t even a family yet, was chosen to be the means of the Lord’s entry into our lives. They would humbly accept the Divine intervention that brought them to a place that wasn’t even worthy of them, let alone worthy of God. And yet, it was the right place. This Child of Hope would be born in a cave, surrounded by a bunch of smelly animals, and would begin life among us in just about as ignoble a way as anyone could.
But what would heaven think about all of this? The heavenly host, the angelic attendants of God, must have been going wild with anticipation! You see, the angels who remained faithful and trusting of the Master, knew that his ways would be the perfect solution to human sinfulness, and when they were given the opportunity to announce this great event to the shepherds, they couldn’t hold back their joy any longer. The Shekinah glory of God went before them and lit up the dark countryside as the sun never could; their spokesman would offer words of peace to these terrified, filthy, and religiously unclean humans; and they would be the first to know that the long awaited Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God had, indeed, finally come to them as an Infant. And through him, the glory of God would shine brilliantly on all who would come to his favor.

Heaven had first announced the Birth to the most unworthy of earth, but what would they do about it? We need to understand that shepherds weren’t shy and detached individuals - not in the least! They were crude but self-motivated men who had heard with their ears, and even though they fully believed what the messengers had told them, they wanted to see this miracle with their own eyes. Scripture tells us that they “hurried off” to go to the Christ’s side, but we don’t read anything about someone staying behind to watch the sheep! Earthly interests were taking a back seat to the story of heavenly glory that had been presented to them. And after they had seen and rejoiced at this marvelous Birth, they rushed back home to tell their friends and neighbors about the Christ’s birth. And as soon as the message had been shared with others, they returned to the stable to offer their own praises for God’s incredible plan for humanity.

But the story doesn’t end with these ragged, smelly, sinful men. It continues to tell us of 12 who would be called to learn at the feet of the adult Jesus. It would continue to tell of opposition to the message of hope that he brought. It would continue to tell of attempts to oppress and hate and murder the message, and that these attempts wouldn’t just fail, but that they would play into the eternal Plan of Salvation. It would tell of eternal life that would come out of mortal death, and the promise that death can never win. The story would spread throughout the known world, regardless of continuing oppression and hatred and attempts to murder the carriers of this glorious message.

The Lord’s way would never be denied, would never be broken, would never be taken back, would never be changed. And now, the message has been given to us – to rejoice in, to celebrate in, to believe in, and to share with the world around us. God’s Anointed, the Messiah, the Christ of heaven has been brought to us in the most unusual way and for the most wonderful reason, and all that we have to do is to believe it and claim it for our own lives.

“Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace to all who will believe and accept his way to eternal life.” Not such a difficult set of words to remember – after all, even those ignorant shepherds remembered them. Not such a difficult set of words to share with others – after all, even those ignorant, unworthy shepherds told everyone they met that Jesus Christ, the very Son of the Most High God, had been born into this world.

Do you believe? Do you claim his gift of eternal life for your own? Will you share it with the dark and hurting world that surrounds his glory, that they, too, might live in him?

“Today, in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Praise God for his wonders that have been made real in our lives. Go, and tell others.