Christmas Day

Holy Communion at 8.30am

Gospel Luke 2.1-14(15-20)

Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we have seen his glory. John 1.14
Alleluia.

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

There were shepherds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

 

Sermon

I wonder if you remember some of the cinema films from the 1960s filmed in soft focus, improving the appearance of Doris Day or Grace Kelly on giant screens filmed in unforgiving 70mm? Still photographs were painstakingly airbrushed to hide the blemishes on models’ faces. More recently, anyone with a computer can make people look slimmer, smooth out teenage spots, or enhance selectively any aspect of an image. There’s one free program called Perfect 365 which with one click will make eyes bigger, touch out lines, and even apply make up automatically. It makes portraits conform to some sort of ideal.

Have we done something like that to Christmas? Our picture of the holy family is softened. Mary in her blue robe gazes lovingly at a rosy cheeked blond baby tucked up nicely in fresh straw. Shepherds gaze on in respectful wonder, their charges all fluffy like balls of cotton wool. The floor of the stable is well swept and Joy to the World plays from an unseen orchestra.

In our heart of hearts we know it wasn’t like that. Imagine the stench and risk of infection. Mary a frightened teenager. Joseph out of his depth. And the shepherds – the undesirables of the 1st century, on the lowest rung of the ladder in the hickest backwater of a remote and fractious part of the Roman empire.

Why do we airbrush the scene? Is there anything wrong if we do? My hunch is that for many of us life is increasingly hard, and we struggle to hold it together amidst the threat of chaos that threatens to overcome us at work or at home. We’ve had enough realism on the daily News, thank you. Can’t we look forward to something good, pure and beautiful, just for once, at Christmas, before we have to return to the grittier stuff in January? After all, we put a lot of effort into managing our turbulent lives and it’s understandable that we want a break to sooth our beleaguered souls. Where’s the harm in that?

The answer’s not so obvious. You might say the census arranged by Quirinius provides the order amongst all that chaos. Yes King David in the OT was punished by God for making a count of his men. The birth of Jesus could have been well ordered and controlled, but God clearly chose the opposite. Luke’s nativity scene is telling us that something beautiful, precious and wonderful can be seen in conditions that are vulnerable, fragile, dirty, chaotic and downright dangerous.

God breaks through into our space in the incarnation at the very margins. Not in bright ethereal light, but a flickering candle. Not well-ordered, hygienic, and tranquil but in the blood, sweat and tears of labour in a filthy environment surrounded by squalor and livestock.

Something in this scene speaks to us of our quest for financial security, a comfortable home, a better job with prospects, or an enjoyable retirement. These aspirations may be good, but they don’t ultimately satisfy. We don’t look back on time spent on the sofa with joy. Our real achievements are bought with greater hardship and sacrifice than that.

God comes to us at Christmas amidst the ups and downs. He speaks to us not in our ordered lives, but in the blood, sweat and tears. His voice is the sound of sheer silence. Easily overwhelmed by the noise of our daily existence. He comes to give us abundant life. That does not mean more of the life we know. Not more of the same, but something more. God speaks to us of his love. He says Unto you this day is born a saviour, Christ the Lord. In the busy time ahead, pause to reflect on this message, and make sure it can be heard. Amen