Sermon Index
December 24 AM, 2017 (The Fourth Sunday in Advent)
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Matthew 1:18-25 MT 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. MT 1:20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." MT 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." MT 1:24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. |
Luke 2:1-20 2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register. 4 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. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 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. 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.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” 1 5 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.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. |
Tonight during the Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, we will be reading the Christmas Story from Luke Chapter Two, so I thought it would be good this morning to read the Christmas Story from the Gospel of Matthew Chapter One. As I read the two accounts, I realized that although the details are different, the message is exactly the same. That message is that God was born as a human child. And that is the Christmas Miracle.
If you put Matthew and Luke next to each other and compare them you will find that there are the same people: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Angel, and Visitors—the visitors being either Shepherds or Wisemen. The Shepherds see the glory of the angels, and the Wisemen see a star. The birth place is the same: Bethlehem. The Angel tells the Shepherds to go to Bethlehem, and the Bible Scholars in Jerusalem tell the Wisemen to go to Bethlehem. The Angel tells Mary and Joseph what to name the child. “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Mt.1:21). His name was to be Jesus because in Hebrew the name Jesus means the Lord God Saves. And Jesus is the Lord who Saves, he will be the Savior, not in a political or military way, but he will be the Sacrifice that saves people from their sins. In Matthew, Jesus is given another name, like a title. “23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us."”
And that brings us to one more point that is shouted out in both accounts: Mary is the human mother of Jesus, but his Father is God. Joseph is not the father. He is the fiancé and then husband to Mary and so he is the step-father and guardian of Jesus. But the Father of Jesus is God, he is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why the Creed says that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. And this is extremely important for our salvation. And that is the Christmas Miracle.
We live in the 21st Century. We know about science and biology. We know how babies are made and how it is impossible for a woman to give a virgin birth all by herself. This is one reason why some people think that the Christmas Story is just a myth or a fairy tale or a fraud, less believable than Santa and Rudolph. It does not seem possible, or even probable. And for modern man, it seems silly to believe in the virgin birth. Of course, 2000 years ago also people could not understand this basic truth of the birth of Christ either, and so the Gospel writers had to emphasize it. It is so important because if Jesus were not the Son of God, then he could not take up all the sin of the world upon himself when he died on the cross. He would not have been the perfect sacrifice. He would not have been able to rise from the dead. If Jesus were not God, then he would not be able to hear or to answer our prayers. Christmas is the Incarnation of God, that is, Christmas is that Almighty God became a human being with flesh and blood and heart and soul and mind. And that is the Christmas Miracle.
But another great Christmas Miracle is when the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and we also believe this message of the Angel. Yes, faith is a miracle. Faith is the work of the Holy Spirit. I mean, how else do we explain that we who live in the 21st Century believe the gospel message? Why, or how, can we believe in miracles?
It was also hard to believe for both Mary and Joseph. The Angel had to come to them and reveal this truth. And they had faith and trusted the Word of the Lord. The birth of Christ was revealed to the Shepherds and the Wisemen, and they believed and went to Bethlehem. What will it take to make us believe? An angel? A miracle? The proofs that are in the Bible? The love shown to us by Christians? Candles and a Christmas tree? All those things support our faith, but the source of our faith is the Holy Spirit who works through Word and Sacrament.
Today we celebrate in the Lord’s Supper that Christ comes to us again today. And maybe that is the greatest thing of faith. Christmas is not just a history lesson of what happened about 2017 years ago, Christmas happens again today and everyday when Christ comes into our hearts, our homes, and in our lives. And that is the Christmas Miracle.
Amen.
Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church