A CHRISTMAS REFLECTION
Luke 2:1-20
We've heard the story hundreds of times. From Dr. Hardy on "General Hospital" to Linus in "It's a Charlie Brown Christmas." And of course, at church amid flickering candles and holiday greens. So many times that we can probably recite it with Linus:
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed ... (Luke 2:1, KJV)
And it came to pass that the world Christ was born into was not so different than our own. Yes, new players have taken center stage and the technology and advances in medicine would seem like magic to those living in Bethlehem. But the human condition of our broken creation has not changed over the millennium. There are still taxes and the poor, the lame, the imprisoned and the oppressed remain among us. We still hope for something better in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
Maybe that's why the ones to first receive the news were the shepherds, folks just as ordinary and as common as dirt. If fact, the Pharisees call shepherds "sons of the soil." It's meant as an insult meaning that the shepherds are no better than dirt and beneath their attention. Yet the angels did not make this announcement to the religious or political leaders of the time. They made it to people like you and me. You know, folks who pay their taxes, work hard for a living, sometimes with little reward and hope for something better for themselves and their children.
God continues to send us that same message of good news that God so loves us that He took on human flesh and human life that we experience a different, a better way of living where peace and hope replace fear and uncertainty, and joy overcomes anxiety and suffering. He reminds us us that the ultimate gift of His love expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus cannot be overcome by division, hate or injustice.
What they found there was a baby, real and soft and warm, not some mystic symbol or a plastic lawn decoration. This was the living God born in human flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. Isaiah called this little one, this Jesus, "The prince of peace, counselor, almighty God." God's gift to us and all creation.
Not just on Christmas, but 365 days a year, 24/7, Jesus continues to come into the lives of the lost and the seeking, the forgotten and the lonely, and the unwanted and the overlooked. He shows up in the lives of you and me offering us the unconditional love of God and bearing gifts of joy, peace, hope and strength. In the darkest and the brightest of times, Jesus is and always will be for us Emanuel, God with us.
No matter how many times or how many ways we have heard the Christmas story, the message is as as real and relevant today as it was over two thousand years ago. God is with us. We are not alone.
We've heard the story hundreds of times. From Dr. Hardy on "General Hospital" to Linus in "It's a Charlie Brown Christmas." And of course, at church amid flickering candles and holiday greens. So many times that we can probably recite it with Linus:
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed ... (Luke 2:1, KJV)
And it came to pass that the world Christ was born into was not so different than our own. Yes, new players have taken center stage and the technology and advances in medicine would seem like magic to those living in Bethlehem. But the human condition of our broken creation has not changed over the millennium. There are still taxes and the poor, the lame, the imprisoned and the oppressed remain among us. We still hope for something better in the midst of fear and uncertainty.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:8-10 KJV)
Maybe that's why the ones to first receive the news were the shepherds, folks just as ordinary and as common as dirt. If fact, the Pharisees call shepherds "sons of the soil." It's meant as an insult meaning that the shepherds are no better than dirt and beneath their attention. Yet the angels did not make this announcement to the religious or political leaders of the time. They made it to people like you and me. You know, folks who pay their taxes, work hard for a living, sometimes with little reward and hope for something better for themselves and their children.
God continues to send us that same message of good news that God so loves us that He took on human flesh and human life that we experience a different, a better way of living where peace and hope replace fear and uncertainty, and joy overcomes anxiety and suffering. He reminds us us that the ultimate gift of His love expressed in the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus cannot be overcome by division, hate or injustice.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. (Luke 15-18 KJV)
What they found there was a baby, real and soft and warm, not some mystic symbol or a plastic lawn decoration. This was the living God born in human flesh. Emmanuel, God with us. Isaiah called this little one, this Jesus, "The prince of peace, counselor, almighty God." God's gift to us and all creation.
Not just on Christmas, but 365 days a year, 24/7, Jesus continues to come into the lives of the lost and the seeking, the forgotten and the lonely, and the unwanted and the overlooked. He shows up in the lives of you and me offering us the unconditional love of God and bearing gifts of joy, peace, hope and strength. In the darkest and the brightest of times, Jesus is and always will be for us Emanuel, God with us.
No matter how many times or how many ways we have heard the Christmas story, the message is as as real and relevant today as it was over two thousand years ago. God is with us. We are not alone.
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