The Advent of JOY – Luke 2:1-20
/Lectionary Readings for December 13, 2020 Third Sunday of Advent, Year B
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 v1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
Psalm 126 v3 Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 v16-18 Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
John 1:6-8, 19-28 v8 John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light.
But today we’ll focus on Luke 2:1-20, “The Birth of Jesus.”
Peace Quotes
“The thing about Christmas is that it almost doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what kind of a year you’ve had – it’s a fresh start.” ~ Kelly Clarkson
“Expectancy is the atmosphere for miracles.” ~ Edwin Louis Cole
When we’re able to leave the burdens of our past behind and make our hearts and minds, hands and mouths available to God and expect God to guide us in our work to create peace, we can live with the expectancy of miraculous new beginnings.
Any time I preach or lead a group, regardless of age, I start the same way. I’m going to say three short sentences. Please repeat each sentence, with enthusiasm.
God made me. God loves me. God has plans for me.
Preface to Today’s Scripture Reading
Last week we read the end of Luke’s chapter 1. This week we pick up with the beginning of chapter 2. One aspect of Luke’s stories is the prominent role women play. In just these first two chapters, the main characters are Elizabeth and her niece Mary – both of whom are presented as devout Jews who completely trust God no matter how unusual or challenging the situation might be.
Today’s stories are staffed by a series of insignificant and even ostracized people. Nothing about Mary and Joseph made them special to society; they were neither wealthy nor influential. Nobody wanted to spend any time standing next to a smelly shepherd. Yet, these are the people God chose as the first people to welcome and celebrate Jesus’ arrival.
Despite the unlikely and uncomfortable circumstances, “immediately the angels sing the birth announcement of the peasant baby in the manger as Savior, Messiah or Anointed One, Lord – all names that were also attributed to the emperor in the first century. Luke presents this child as a rival power to [the Emperor] Augustus.” (Jarvis, Cynthia A., and Johnson, E. Elizabeth, eds. Feasting on the Gospels, Volume 1 : Luke. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014. p35)
Let’s open our ears, minds, and hearts as Anne shares today’s readings.
Read Luke 2:1-20.
During the past several months, a few of you have come to me and said something to the effect of, “We like your sermons, but don’t feel like you always have to be super warm and positive. It’s OK to challenge us.” Well… Advent might seem like an odd season to take you up on that.
Remember two weeks ago when I said this Advent sermon series may sound like I co-wrote it with Ebenezer Scrooge and the Grinch? Yeah… That’s because – ever since my early childhood – I have harbored all sorts of complaints about how the Christmas season is celebrated, both in our societies and in our churches. Consequently, writing sermons during the Advent season naturally lures me toward what I would generously describe as timely prophetic calls to right thinking and right living (orthodoxy and orthopraxis). But any normal person would say that I’ve gone off on a depressing rant.
This past week I was unleashing on God how I felt jammed between a rock and a hard place – between feeling an invisible social pressure to support the traditional expectations for Christmassy sermons versus a reality check of the Euro-American Christmas fairy tale we’ve developed over the past 2,000 years.
Here’s an image that matches what many of us have been trained to imagine about the “birth of Jesus” scene. The only problem is that, based on both common sense and nearly a century of solid investigation and research, very little of this idealized image remotely matches the story we just read in Scripture. Last year I read an article (The not-so-virgin birth of the Christmas Story) that nicely summarized everything we have misinterpreted, ignored, or just made up.
Here are a few highlights of what I’m talking about.
Jesus and His family were not Caucasian. They were Palestinians.
Nobody glowed; Jesus was not radioactive and did not have a halo.
None of the Gospel stories mention animals being on scene; see v20.
And that’s just for starters.
I’ve been ranting to God about my various life-long issue with Christmas and asking God to give me some direction for this sermon, which He did with the following message for all of us.
“Forget all of your personal issues with Christmas. Push the distractions aside – whatever they may be. What’s important is this: I have always loved humanity so much that 2,000 years ago I filled a human body with My presence so that we could interact with each other. I wanted to walk among you in a way that wouldn’t scare or intimidate people. I wanted humanity to come to Me without hesitation bringing Me their hopes and fears, their questions and doubts, their praises and challenges, their problems to be solved as well as their ideas and enthusiasm to share My love with others.
2,000 years ago, I chose to enter the world in a new way through the least – the least prominent people and places and in the most human way possible, full of blood, sweat, and tears. There are no people and no experiences unworthy of My presence.
2,000 years later I am still entering the world through unexpected people and places for the same reasons: I want to be with you in every moment good and bad. I want to be present through you in your homes, offices, schools, and communities so that I don’t have to send angels… which humans often find terrifying.
I want to be in your conversations with each other – in your hands and in your eyes when you see and touch each other. I know that’s not always easy for you which is why I am always present with you – to guide and help you.
The truth of Christmas has never changed. The truth of Christmas is Faith, Hope, Love, and Joy present among you. This is the path to Peace.
The joy of Advent is us – you and Me – finding each other in unexpected places and in unexpected ways and sharing that joy with others.”
I hope you find these words from God as encouraging as I do.
Amen? Amen!