Christmas Eve 2006

To You Is Born a Son
 

by Rev. Dr. Jim Carlson

Luke 2:8-20

I have to say, the Christmas Eve sermon is always the toughest one to write every year. Part of the reason is because most of us have heard this story millions of times. Some of you have been hearing preachers talk about this story since before my parents were born.

So what can I tell you that you haven’t already heard? Is there anything left to say about the Christmas story that hasn’t been said? And besides that, what does it matter? So Jesus was born. So there were angels and shepherds. So he was placed in a manger. So what? What impact does that have on people in the 21st century?

Well, the problem with the Christmas story, or at least our hearing of it, is that we often misunderstand the meaning of what Luke is saying here. So I’m going to go through this familiar story with you and try to give some perspective on what Luke’s actually trying to tell us about Jesus.

First, he talks about Jesus being born during the rule of Caesar Augustus. Caesar was the Roman Emperor until 14 A.D. The time during which he ruled was seen as a time of great peace for the Roman Empire. Caesar got a lot of credit for that peace, and some people referred to him as “Savior of the Whole World” and “God”. His birthday was celebrated as “the beginning of the good news through him for the whole world.”

Do any of those phrases sound familiar? They should, because Luke uses that same kind of language to describe Jesus himself. So from the outset we know that Luke is trying to talk about Jesus as having a parallel existence to that of the Roman Emperor. That’s really putting Jesus up on a pedestal.

Luke sets this story during a census. Historically there was no census of the world under Caesar Augustus, but there was a census of the land ruled by Herod Archelaus, who was exiled in 6 B.C. Archelaus’ territory was liquidated, so an inventory needed to be taken. This is probably the event Luke is associating with the birth of Jesus.

This transfer of power included a time when, as Luke says, Quirinius was the Emperor’s envoy in Syria. Quirinius’ territory did not include Galilee, but it did include Bethelehem. The problem Luke has is that Quirinius and Herod the Great did not rule at the same time.

So there is a lot of question about how to reconcile these historical references Luke makes. But for me, the important question is “What was Luke trying to say by mentioning this census?”

I think what he’s trying to do is show how a couple from Galilee ended up having a child in Bethlehem. Luke knew about the stories of Jesus being born in Bethlehem, and he wanted to write his gospel in such a way that he accounted for those stories.

Luke also wants to talk about Jesus as someone who fulfills God’s promise to David. God promised David that one of his descendants would rule on the throne of Israel forever. So again, you have Jesus, from the royal family of Israel, contrasted with Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor.

In contrast to all the luxuries and power Caesar enjoyed, Jesus’ parents were stuck out on the street in Bethlehem. There was no place for them to stay as he was delivered into this world. And his mother had to use a feeding trough as a crib for Jesus.

Wherever Caesar went, his presence was announced by someone important in Roman society. But when Jesus was born, his presence was announced by angel from heaven itself. The highest ranking officials in the Roman Empire considered themselves fortunate to be in the presence of Caesar. In Jesus’ case, a group of unknown shepherds considered themselves fortunate to have seen the baby who would grow up to be the savior of the world.

Caesar has the power to order an inventory of Archelaus’ entire territory and sell it off. Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, cannot be born in his home town because his parents have to submit to this census called by Caesar.

The contrasts Luke makes for us are staggering. Caesar looks like he’s the winner. He as all the glamour and glory and riches and power. But the real savior of the world, in contrast to the person people thought was the savior of the world, was born poor, and no one knew about it except some shepherds, a couple prophets, and his beleaguered parents. And none of these folks could even begin to imagine the implications of what just happened.

But isn’t that the way life works? Something seemingly insignificant happens and we don’t think anything of it. But later on we realize just how important it turned out to be. On the other hand, we spend our lives focusing our attention on things and people and issues which we think are crucial, only to find out that in the end they didn’t turn out to be all that important.

I think one of the questions this story raises is, “Who do you identify more with, Caesar or Jesus?” That’s a central question I think we all have to face as we think about who we are and how we’re going to spend the time we have on this earth.

Are you like Caesar, who, by the way, was not a bad guy? Is your life focused on gaining power over other people, even if you think you would use that power for their benefit? How much of a priority do you put on having people like you? Caesar had no problem allowing himself to be called the savior of the world. Do you see yourself in those terms? I know a lot of people who do.

Is your existence measured in terms of how well you keep the peace? It was for Caesar. Part of the reason why he was so popular was because he maintained peace so well. The methods he used to maintain peace were often brutal and unjust, but they were effective.

What are you willing to do in order to maintain peace? Do you support unprovoked military action in order to maintain peace? Do you support the torture of prisoners in order to maintain peace? Would you sacrifice the wellbeing and economic status of others if it meant peace and stability for you?

On the other hand, are you content with the kind of existence Luke describes in this story for Mary and Joseph and Jesus? Is it OK with you if you don’t enjoy a high status level in society? Can you live with the fact that other forces seem to control the direction of your life at one point or another?

Must you surround yourself with the important or glamorous of powerful people of our community, or is it OK if your life is spent with the poor, the disreputable, the lost, and those who society sees as unimportant?

Are you, like Mary and Joseph, willing to cooperate with those in civil authority over you? Or are you one of those people whose concept of freedom and liberty causes you to be hostile and belligerent toward civil leaders and the idea of government in general?

Are you content with knowing that regardless of what happens here on earth, God knows who you are? Is it enough to know that the angels rejoice when you choose to repent of your sin, or would you really prefer that everyone else know and acknowledge you choices also?

Are you, like Mary, willing to ponder and consider all the things you see and hear about Jesus and consider their meaning? Or have you made up your mind about Jesus is and what it means to be his follower, filtering out ideas that may clash with what you already believe and eliminating the need to consider other perspectives which make you uncomfortable?

There’s a big contrast between these two kinds of lives. It’s a choice between glory and humility, between notoriety and anonymity, between power and obedience, between earthly treasure and heavenly treasure. And Luke is asking us, “Which will you choose?”

Think about this basic question as you unwrap presents and eat goodies and meet with family and watch football games. Where is your life going? Is this who you really want to be? And what changes would you have to make in life so that people would associate you more with Jesus than Caesar?