Luke 2.8-20
This morning's text is one that we've all heard countless times. It's part of the well-known Christmas story. And it's good to renew our acquaintance with it from time to time. But there is, of course, a danger when something becomes familiar. We get so used to it that we fail to see it for what it is. Our text may have become familiar to us in this negative sense. So, this morning we're going to take a another look at this familiar text to see what we might have missed. Let me tell you up front that much of what I'm going to say will be starter thoughts for you to take home and develop. So, you're going to have some homework.
Most of today's sermon, for obvious reasons, will focus on the shepherds. But I thought it would be good to include something about some of the other members of the cast - the angels. Have you stopped to think about angels much? They are created beings who are like us - but not really. Their label helps us to understand them. 'Angel' means messenger in both Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek. Angels are messengers from the Father. But, unlike other divine messengers like John the Baptist or Isaiah, these messengers have no bodies. They are pure spirit which means, among other things, that they are usually invisible to us. Angels are a reminder that there is more to this universe than what we can see. I'm not talking about things that are too small or too far away. I'm talking about spirit beings. So, for example, there are angels here with us, right now, as we worship. We have entered, by invitation, God's special presence, and that is a place where there are angels. They are invisible to us, but they are real - and they do things. They act, like we do. They affect what's going on. They affect history as it unfolds, just like we do. There are angels all around us, wherever we go, and they are busy. Not all angels, however, have continued as messengers of the Father. Some have fallen away. Satan and his demons. They are just as real as the faithful angels. And they also do things. They also affect what goes on. They also affect history as it unfolds. And it may well be that they are here also. But even if they aren't here right now, they're around. They know where you live. And they love to do evil - especially against people like us. There is more to this universe than what we see. There are more actors who affect what's going on than just ourselves. Angels - both good and bad - are real.
Now, to whom did the Father send His faithful angels to declare the awesome news that the Savior had been born? The first public announcement of the birth of Jesus was to shepherds. At this, most of us have a mental picture of some pleasant young men in the foreground holding their shepherd's crooks. The sheep are lying down asleep before them with a very bright star in the distance. It's all very nice and comfy. A Hallmark moment. Now for the facts. Shepherds were outcasts. They had a well-deserved reputation as liars. In fact, they were forbidden to offer testimony in court. Our mental picture needs some adjustment. So, how do I portray the reality to you? What would be an appropriate counterpart today? Homeless people. Imagine a group of homeless people huddled at the underpass to get out of the weather. Outcasts. People to be avoided. That's the shepherds. This is what any 1st century reader of this story would have thought. The Father sent His angels with the great message of the birth of the Savior of the world to some homeless folk. They got the news first.
The obvious question at this point is, 'Why?' This ties in to an important theme especially in Luke, though it's throughout the Scriptures. One clear statement of this theme is in Luke 4 where Jesus reads this prophecy from Isaiah to the people in the synagogue. 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' Jesus has come for the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. That's toward the beginning of Luke's Gospel. Now consider something toward the end. To whom was the first public announcement of the Resurrection made? To whom did the Father send His angels? To women. This was another group of people who were disregarded by that 1st century culture. Jesus has come for the nobodies and the neglected. And so, Paul writes this. 'For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.'
Now it's time for us to consider ourselves. We are not like the shepherds. If anything, we are more like that other group: the wise according to worldly standards, the powerful, the noble. We are the educated, those with resources, the upwardly mobile middle class. Our situation is nothing like the homeless or those shepherds. One consequence of this is that there is a buffer between us and the reality of our great need. The saint who has nothing prays more fervently because he knows that the Father is his only resource. There is no hope apart from Him. But people like us, people with food in the fridge, some money in the bank and a job to go to are not as desperate. We certainly don't feel as desperate. We are not like most of the Christians who have ever lived. We are the exception to the rule. So, what should we do? Some want you to feel guilty because of your situation. Guilt only fits if there's been sin. There is no sin in having food, money and a job. So, don't feel guilty. However, we do need to be aware of the danger of our situation. We are the oddity of the kingdom of God. We have resources, things that we can appeal to instead of appealing to the Father. What we need to do is fight for a sense of utter dependence on Jesus for everything because we actually are utterly dependent on Jesus for everything, even if it doesn't feel like it. We need to fight for this and the key to the battle is prayer and the Word. So, how desperate are you feeling? And then as you ponder that consider this: those who understand their need the best, rejoice in Jesus the most.
Let's go back over the same territory but this time from a different perspective. The angel appears and proclaims this message: 'Fear not, for behold, 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.' The part I want you to notice is the 'unto you'. Now, remember whom it is that the angel is talking to. Homeless people. Shepherds. He's talking to losers. And the good news of Jesus is for them. Unto you is born a Savior. Who would have guessed? What a way for God to make a point. The Gospel of Jesus is for losers. The Gospel is for people who have nothing to commend them to the Father. What could a shepherd have said to a holy God? 'I only lied twice last week.' They had nothing to present in their favor, and they knew it.
It's very easy for nice people to have a good opinion of themselves. They aren't as bad as others, and on one level that's quite true. But such people too easily conclude that they don't need a savior. All they need is a god who grades on a curve, a god who says, 'As long as you are better than most people then you're good enough for me' - or at least that's what they tell themselves. In many ways, we are 'nice people'. And there is much that is good when it comes to having the habits of working hard, managing your money well, taking care of what you own and training your children in the same. Again, I'm not suggesting that there is any sin in this. But there is danger. There is the danger of downplaying our tremendous need of a Savior. The advantages that we enjoy because of the good training of our parents as well as other things can have a downside that can hide reality. Behind all the good habits and the established disciplines that make our lives work so well, we are losers - just like the homeless and the shepherds and every other person. We are losers. But I have Good News: Jesus has come for losers. And that really is good news for people like us.
Next thought. These shepherds actually believed the message. Now, someone is going to think, 'Well, of course they did. An angel delivered it!' But wait a minute. Remember Zechariah, father to John the Baptist? What did he say when an angel told him that he would have a son? 'How shall I know this?' Angel or no, Zechariah didn't believe. But the shepherds believed - and it showed. First, there were words. 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' There was no, 'Hmm, I wonder.' Their words were clear. '... this thing that has happened ...' And after the words came action. 'And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.' They heard the message of the angel and the implied command to seek the Savior. They believed that message and went - eagerly. Their faith showed. Their responses revealed that it was a true faith. Time and again we see the same theme in Scripture. Real faith shows. If it doesn't show in day to day living, then there ought to be a question raised: 'Is it real faith?' One of the current lies of Satan is that faith is just a matter of words and feelings. It doesn't matter what you place your faith in as long as you have words - any words - to talk about it and certain feelings to go along with it. And that is what today's 'spirituality' is all about. And it's affecting the Church. But that's not faith in Jesus. True faith shows. In the shepherds it showed with the right words and the right actions. And, on top of that, it showed in the emotions. 'And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.' What engages the emotions often points to what a person worships. The shepherds' emotions were engaged because of Jesus, the Savior who had come even for them. Real faith shows. Right Words. Right Actions. Emotions.
Last point. Did you notice that the shepherds became evangelists? 'And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.' They told others about Jesus. Now, why do you suppose they did that? Was it because they took some classes at church on how to share their faith? Obviously not. Listen to something else from Luke. Jesus said, '...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.' We talk about the things that capture our hearts. That's what happened with the shepherds. The events of that night had captured their hearts. And so, they talked about them. And that's what being a real evangelist is all about.
So much for another look at a familiar text. Now, you have work to do. Last week I told you that a sermon won't work unless you make it your own. So, you need to interact with what I've said. You need to think about it and wrestle with it. So, pick something from the sermon. I spoke about angels and demons, shepherds as homeless people in contrast with our situation, the Gospel is for losers, true faith shows, being an evangelist. Pick one of these or even something else that the Spirit may have pointed out to you. Pick something, and deal with it. Think about it and pray over it so that you would be blessed.
This morning's text is one that we've all heard countless times. It's part of the well-known Christmas story. And it's good to renew our acquaintance with it from time to time. But there is, of course, a danger when something becomes familiar. We get so used to it that we fail to see it for what it is. Our text may have become familiar to us in this negative sense. So, this morning we're going to take a another look at this familiar text to see what we might have missed. Let me tell you up front that much of what I'm going to say will be starter thoughts for you to take home and develop. So, you're going to have some homework.
Most of today's sermon, for obvious reasons, will focus on the shepherds. But I thought it would be good to include something about some of the other members of the cast - the angels. Have you stopped to think about angels much? They are created beings who are like us - but not really. Their label helps us to understand them. 'Angel' means messenger in both Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek. Angels are messengers from the Father. But, unlike other divine messengers like John the Baptist or Isaiah, these messengers have no bodies. They are pure spirit which means, among other things, that they are usually invisible to us. Angels are a reminder that there is more to this universe than what we can see. I'm not talking about things that are too small or too far away. I'm talking about spirit beings. So, for example, there are angels here with us, right now, as we worship. We have entered, by invitation, God's special presence, and that is a place where there are angels. They are invisible to us, but they are real - and they do things. They act, like we do. They affect what's going on. They affect history as it unfolds, just like we do. There are angels all around us, wherever we go, and they are busy. Not all angels, however, have continued as messengers of the Father. Some have fallen away. Satan and his demons. They are just as real as the faithful angels. And they also do things. They also affect what goes on. They also affect history as it unfolds. And it may well be that they are here also. But even if they aren't here right now, they're around. They know where you live. And they love to do evil - especially against people like us. There is more to this universe than what we see. There are more actors who affect what's going on than just ourselves. Angels - both good and bad - are real.
Now, to whom did the Father send His faithful angels to declare the awesome news that the Savior had been born? The first public announcement of the birth of Jesus was to shepherds. At this, most of us have a mental picture of some pleasant young men in the foreground holding their shepherd's crooks. The sheep are lying down asleep before them with a very bright star in the distance. It's all very nice and comfy. A Hallmark moment. Now for the facts. Shepherds were outcasts. They had a well-deserved reputation as liars. In fact, they were forbidden to offer testimony in court. Our mental picture needs some adjustment. So, how do I portray the reality to you? What would be an appropriate counterpart today? Homeless people. Imagine a group of homeless people huddled at the underpass to get out of the weather. Outcasts. People to be avoided. That's the shepherds. This is what any 1st century reader of this story would have thought. The Father sent His angels with the great message of the birth of the Savior of the world to some homeless folk. They got the news first.
The obvious question at this point is, 'Why?' This ties in to an important theme especially in Luke, though it's throughout the Scriptures. One clear statement of this theme is in Luke 4 where Jesus reads this prophecy from Isaiah to the people in the synagogue. 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' Jesus has come for the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed. That's toward the beginning of Luke's Gospel. Now consider something toward the end. To whom was the first public announcement of the Resurrection made? To whom did the Father send His angels? To women. This was another group of people who were disregarded by that 1st century culture. Jesus has come for the nobodies and the neglected. And so, Paul writes this. 'For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.'
Now it's time for us to consider ourselves. We are not like the shepherds. If anything, we are more like that other group: the wise according to worldly standards, the powerful, the noble. We are the educated, those with resources, the upwardly mobile middle class. Our situation is nothing like the homeless or those shepherds. One consequence of this is that there is a buffer between us and the reality of our great need. The saint who has nothing prays more fervently because he knows that the Father is his only resource. There is no hope apart from Him. But people like us, people with food in the fridge, some money in the bank and a job to go to are not as desperate. We certainly don't feel as desperate. We are not like most of the Christians who have ever lived. We are the exception to the rule. So, what should we do? Some want you to feel guilty because of your situation. Guilt only fits if there's been sin. There is no sin in having food, money and a job. So, don't feel guilty. However, we do need to be aware of the danger of our situation. We are the oddity of the kingdom of God. We have resources, things that we can appeal to instead of appealing to the Father. What we need to do is fight for a sense of utter dependence on Jesus for everything because we actually are utterly dependent on Jesus for everything, even if it doesn't feel like it. We need to fight for this and the key to the battle is prayer and the Word. So, how desperate are you feeling? And then as you ponder that consider this: those who understand their need the best, rejoice in Jesus the most.
Let's go back over the same territory but this time from a different perspective. The angel appears and proclaims this message: 'Fear not, for behold, 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.' The part I want you to notice is the 'unto you'. Now, remember whom it is that the angel is talking to. Homeless people. Shepherds. He's talking to losers. And the good news of Jesus is for them. Unto you is born a Savior. Who would have guessed? What a way for God to make a point. The Gospel of Jesus is for losers. The Gospel is for people who have nothing to commend them to the Father. What could a shepherd have said to a holy God? 'I only lied twice last week.' They had nothing to present in their favor, and they knew it.
It's very easy for nice people to have a good opinion of themselves. They aren't as bad as others, and on one level that's quite true. But such people too easily conclude that they don't need a savior. All they need is a god who grades on a curve, a god who says, 'As long as you are better than most people then you're good enough for me' - or at least that's what they tell themselves. In many ways, we are 'nice people'. And there is much that is good when it comes to having the habits of working hard, managing your money well, taking care of what you own and training your children in the same. Again, I'm not suggesting that there is any sin in this. But there is danger. There is the danger of downplaying our tremendous need of a Savior. The advantages that we enjoy because of the good training of our parents as well as other things can have a downside that can hide reality. Behind all the good habits and the established disciplines that make our lives work so well, we are losers - just like the homeless and the shepherds and every other person. We are losers. But I have Good News: Jesus has come for losers. And that really is good news for people like us.
Next thought. These shepherds actually believed the message. Now, someone is going to think, 'Well, of course they did. An angel delivered it!' But wait a minute. Remember Zechariah, father to John the Baptist? What did he say when an angel told him that he would have a son? 'How shall I know this?' Angel or no, Zechariah didn't believe. But the shepherds believed - and it showed. First, there were words. 'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.' There was no, 'Hmm, I wonder.' Their words were clear. '... this thing that has happened ...' And after the words came action. 'And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.' They heard the message of the angel and the implied command to seek the Savior. They believed that message and went - eagerly. Their faith showed. Their responses revealed that it was a true faith. Time and again we see the same theme in Scripture. Real faith shows. If it doesn't show in day to day living, then there ought to be a question raised: 'Is it real faith?' One of the current lies of Satan is that faith is just a matter of words and feelings. It doesn't matter what you place your faith in as long as you have words - any words - to talk about it and certain feelings to go along with it. And that is what today's 'spirituality' is all about. And it's affecting the Church. But that's not faith in Jesus. True faith shows. In the shepherds it showed with the right words and the right actions. And, on top of that, it showed in the emotions. 'And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.' What engages the emotions often points to what a person worships. The shepherds' emotions were engaged because of Jesus, the Savior who had come even for them. Real faith shows. Right Words. Right Actions. Emotions.
Last point. Did you notice that the shepherds became evangelists? 'And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.' They told others about Jesus. Now, why do you suppose they did that? Was it because they took some classes at church on how to share their faith? Obviously not. Listen to something else from Luke. Jesus said, '...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.' We talk about the things that capture our hearts. That's what happened with the shepherds. The events of that night had captured their hearts. And so, they talked about them. And that's what being a real evangelist is all about.
So much for another look at a familiar text. Now, you have work to do. Last week I told you that a sermon won't work unless you make it your own. So, you need to interact with what I've said. You need to think about it and wrestle with it. So, pick something from the sermon. I spoke about angels and demons, shepherds as homeless people in contrast with our situation, the Gospel is for losers, true faith shows, being an evangelist. Pick one of these or even something else that the Spirit may have pointed out to you. Pick something, and deal with it. Think about it and pray over it so that you would be blessed.
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