Luke 2:1-14
Like many of you, when our kids were
little, Ann and I found ourselves trying to explain to them, at Christmastime, what
all the hubbub was about. Family gatherings
and candles and presents – it all feels like a giant birthday party,
right? And so it is, we’d say to our
kids: Christmas is our birthday party for Jesus. It’s not a bad explanation for a little kid. Maybe not so bad an explanation for the rest
of us, either, given our perennial need to remember what Christmas is all
about, Charlie Brown.
But, of course, the best answers usually lead
to even better questions. We’re
celebrating the birthday of Jesus the Messiah, which means God’s anointed
king. So, if Jesus is the King, why did
he end up crucified as a traitor? If
Jesus is the King, why’s the world in the state it’s in? If Jesus is the King, where is he now,
when we need him most? The kids don’t
ask that when they’re 4 or 5, but they do eventually. And so do the rest of us, right?
And even before all those good
questions, another one comes first: What the heck was God thinking, making an
entrance into the world the way we just heard in that famous Christmas story? We’ve heard it so many times, from Linus and in
church, that it’s probably lost its punch.
But if you try to hear it with fresh ears, the story’s just crazy. We would claim that the baby in this story is
the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity … so, actually, fully
God. Fully God … that’s whose
screaming in the dirty straw, in the animal’s feedbox, in the middle of the night. And to proclaim the coming of God into the
world, a divine messenger appears in the night to a bunch of guys working in a
field, telling them, of all people, about this “good news of great joy
for all the people” (Luke 2:10).
To the nobodies on the nightshift, God has come as Savior and King.
Of all the ways God might have chosen to
intervene in human life – to restore the broken bond between us and our Creator,
to heal people’s hearts and make us one – to do all that, God chose the path of
most resistance. God chose
salvation from the bottom up. God chose
to get picked on by the bigger kids on the playground. God grew up in a household where the father
struggled to earn a living and feed his family.
God learned a manual trade and went to work whether he liked it or not. God lived under an oppressive foreign empire that
existed to take resources away from regular folks. God came to know, firsthand, just how hard
human life is – the consequences of our choices to turn away from God and from
each other. That’s good news of great
joy for all people? Yes, it is – because
God still walks through it alongside us, leading us into a contrast reality, a
kingdom of love that heals.
So, let’s think about those other great
questions in the hearts of kids of all ages – the questions that seem too tough
to ask out loud on a night like this, for fear of spoiling the holiday
fun.
If Jesus is the King, why did he end up crucified
as a traitor? For me, the short answer
is this: Because, God says, I’m willing to let you do your worst and still
give you life that lasts forever. That’s
how much I love you.
Well, if Jesus is the King, why’s the
world in the state it’s in? For me, the
short answer is this: Because, God says, I’m willing to let you make your own mistakes. For love can’t be demanded; it must be
chosen. And you can’t choose love without
the chance to choose against it.
Well, if Jesus is the King, where the heck
is he now, when we need him most? For me,
the short answer is this: Because, God says, salvation’s only just begun. Jesus will walk with you through everything you
face, if you invite him along. The Holy Spirit
will mend your broken heart, if you open it wide enough to be healed. Eternal life is yours for the asking now, in
this world and in the paradise that follows it.
But, God says, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Hang on for act three, in the fullness of time,
when our current mopping-up campaign is over and Jesus returns, love uniting earth
and heaven forever.
OK, but still: Where’s Jesus right now? As we throw this wonderful birthday party, where’s
the guest of honor?
I want to tell you a story. Like the best stories, it’s one now making
its rounds. I heard it at last week’s meeting
of our Vestry, our church’s governing board.
At the end of our monthly meetings, we take time for something that appears
on the agenda as “Catching Jesus in the Act.”
We tell stories of how we’ve seen God at work in the world and in our own
lives. We don’t call it “examples
of the doctrine of the Incarnation” … but that’s what it is.
So, at the Vestry meeting last week, Deacon
Bruce Bower told a story about something that happened as St. Andrew’s volunteers
served at the pantry at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Westport. St. Paul’s Pantry is one of our outreach
partners. Three times a week, hundreds
of individuals and families come to the pantry to get food and personal items
they can’t afford otherwise; and volunteers are there to serve them. Those volunteers include St. Andrew’s folks
the second Wednesday of the month.
Well, on this night, one of the guys who
came to the pantry was someone most of the volunteers recognized – a regular named
Chuck. He’s disabled, he uses a crutch,
and he never says much of anything. In
fact, he’s kind of withdrawn and doesn’t make much eye contact … and he’s picky
about what he wants in his grocery bag. That’s
because he can’t let his bag get too heavy, given that he’s walking with a
crutch and lives a long way away.
So, Chuck came to the toiletries station,
and dear Priscilla Long tried to engage him: She asked, “Do you need any shampoo
for your beautiful curly hair?” Someone
else asked if he’d like frozen ham, or turkey, or chicken, or pork to take
home. As always, Chuck had little to
say, just mumbling a few things here and there.
But, amid the mumbling, one of the volunteers
heard him say something significant – that he was an orphan and that today was
his birthday. Priscilla picked up on it
and announced the special day to everyone there: “Today is Chuck’s birthday –
let’s sing!” And the pantry erupted in
song. The look on Chuck’s face was priceless
as a shy smile grew. Bruce Long,
Priscilla’s husband, said to the person working with him, “I wish I’d had my camera
ready.” His coworker asked why, and Bruce
said, “Chuck’s been coming here for years, and this is the first time I’ve ever
seen him smile.” And as it turned out,
this was also the first time anyone had ever sung him “Happy Birthday.” And as pantry volunteers left not long after,
they saw the guest of honor waiting for his bus and called out, “Happy
Birthday, Chuck! See you next time,
Chuck! Merry Christmas, Chuck!”
Now, I suppose you could see this
as a random interaction among a bunch of good-hearted church folks trying to
make a dent in hunger in our city. Or, you
could see it as catching Jesus in the act.
But even with that, even recognizing that Jesus
was at the pantry that night, we could see him a couple of ways. We might see the volunteers as Jesus – putting
flesh and bones on his loving heart in our own time and place, respecting the
dignity of people who often become invisible to the culture around them. And that would certainly be right, seeing
Jesus at work in our world through us.
But, of course, it’s also true to see those
roles reversed. Remember Jesus’
instruction to his followers – to us – as he neared the end of his earthly ministry. When the King comes in his glory at the end
of the age, Jesus told his followers, he’ll set some people at his right hand
and some at his left, “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats”
(Matthew 25:32) You probably know the
story. The King will say to those on his
right, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave me food.
I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.… Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one
of the least of these who are members of my family” – just as you did it to
Chuck – “you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:34-36,40)
So tonight, at Jesus’ birthday party,
remember: This is no abstraction we’re celebrating. The guest of honor is here. Jesus is here in the hearts of you lovely
people in this room. He’s here in the struggles
we each face, day after day, week after week.
He’s here in the rancor of our politics.
He’s here in the cries of the poor.
He’s here in the kids who don’t have enough to eat or a safe place to
grow up. He’s here in the young adults
who make a mistake and find there’s no way to come back from it. He’s here in the heads and hands and hearts
of everyone who tries to bridge a gap and make a difference for good. And he’s here in the face of Chuck, the man whose
smile we finally got to see.
As the old carol says, “Ye who now will
bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.”
For Jesus the King is here, now, in “the least” of his brothers and
sisters. And Jesus the King will return,
God’s own Love coming in power and glory to unite heaven and earth
forever. Blessed are we whom the King
will find ready when he comes.
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