December 20, 2015, Advent 4C

Today let’s look at the message of the Angel who announced the Birth of Christ to the Shepherds. Luke 2:8-12.

The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 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. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Since Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of King David, you might expect that his birth be announced in the royal palace in Jerusalem. But it was first announced to Shepherds. And his too is appropriate because King David was a shepherd before he became king. So Jesus is one of them, a shepherd who will take care of the flock of God. And the Christmas message is that Jesus is one of us. Whether we are shepherds or sheep, leaders or followers, old or young: Jesus has come to us and is one of us. That is why the Gospel is Good News: because Salvation has come to us.

But when the Angel appeared, the Shepherds were terrified. They feared for their lives. The glory, the bright light, there was no place to hide. Then the Angel said, “Do not be afraid.” What can take away their fear? What can take away the worry? When we are afraid, we need an escape. We need protection. We need assurance. We need someone to help us and to rescue us. And this is what the Angel gave them. The Savior had come. And this is the “good news of great joy.”

Let’s look carefully at the Angel’s words. The message is “good news,” it is “gospel.” It is the message of victory. It is the message that we no longer have to fear our enemies. For shepherds, the enemies were wolves who tried to kill the sheep, or Roman soldiers and thieves who would steal the sheep. But this is a message for “all the people,” first for the people of Israel and then for all the people of the world, including us. The birth of the Savior is good news for us, too. He will take away the fear of our enemies. Our enemies are different than the enemies of the Shepherds, but they are just as real, and just a fearsome. We all have different enemies, but we all have the same Savior. And that is why this is a message of “great joy.”

In my chorus group, Sera no Kai, we are singing a German motif by J.S. Bach entitled, “Jesu meine Freude, Jesus is my Joy.” We had a discussion about what the meaning of “joy” is. It is different than happiness or luck. The Christmas hymn sings, “Joy to the World.” Joy means we have to rejoice, we have to express our happiness. Joy must be produce song or shouts or dancing or applause or a party or jumping-up-and-down. Joy is different than happiness, so it can be present even in the midst of unhappiness and sorrow and woe. That is because the Christmas joy is not based on our feelings or emotions. It is based on the sure Word of God.

The Angel proclaims that Gospel Word of God. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” The Savior has been born “to you.” If he has been born “to” them, it means that it is “their” child. This child is a shepherd like them, born in their city of Bethlehem. It is like Jesus is their brother, born in their family. This is the message of Christmas. We are all sons and daughters of God our Father. And in Christ, we have a new brother in our family. He is precious to us. God’s Child is born: Congratulations, “Joy to the World!”

And this new little brother is very special. He is “Christ the Lord.” “Christ” is the Greek word for the Hebrew “Messiah,” which can be literally translated into English as “The Anointed One,” but that really does not mean much to us in our society, but we do understand the word “Lord.” “Lord” means “boss” or someone in authority, a leader, and someone who has the power to be our Savior. Therefore we respect and honor this Child and look forward to salvation. There is hope, there is anticipation, and there is joy.

Then the Angel said, “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” A manger is a place to feed sheep and cattle. The Shepherds understand this. It is like Jesus was born in their house, their stable. And so Jesus is also born into our homes and into our hearts. He is right-at-home there, we, too, are right-at-home with Jesus. He is our child: born for us, born “to” us.

This Child, like King David, will be both shepherd and lord. But he is also the Lamb of God. John the Baptist was not a heavenly angel, but he was an earthly angel, a prophet of God with the Gospel message of Good News from God. When Jesus came to be baptized, John proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God,” John 1:36. This is the true work of the Messiah-Christ-Lord-Savior. Jesus was born to take upon himself the sin of the world, and as a sacrificial lamb, to die on the altar of the cross to forgive our sin. This is the work of the Savior. This is the message that truly gives us “great joy.”

At Christmas, the Angel gave a sign to the Shepherd as to where to find Jesus. On Easter Morning, the Angel gave a sign to the Women as to where NOT to find Jesus. “He is not here, he has arisen.” This is also a message that truly gives us “great joy.”

The message of the Angel to the Shepherds is a summary of the whole Gospel.

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The word “gospel” means “good news.” And this surely is a message of “great joy” both to the Shepherds and to us.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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