December 24, 2023, First Congregational Church UCC, Auburn MA
Luke 2: 1-14 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.
Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”,*
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Down my way, we’ve had a month filled with turmoil, what with the closing of I-195 west, and that truly nasty storm early this past week. Things are going well for us now – the adjustments to 195 east created additional west-bound lanes, we’ve all got our power back, and all the trash blown around town in the storm has been picked up. 195 won’t be fully open until Easter, as repairs commence on the bridge, but except for rush hour, things are really good.
And that seems to be a problem. My community FB group is filled with criticism of the State Road folks, our Mayor, the police department, and what all else…. Because, it seems, things can’t possibly be good.
The bridge was inspected in July and was safe. The damage is representative of a sudden failure = steel bars are snapped, for instance. All the evidence points to an abrupt failure, possibly caused by, say, an overloaded truck. When the signs of failure were seen, they were promptly reported, evaluated, and bridge closed. Most importantly, the bridge didn’t collapse. And yet, people continue to think the whole thing is the result of mismanagement. Likewise, the increase in traffic is the fault of the mayor, or a plot he engineered to raise his popularity.
Now think about the kind of mindset that always wants to pull defeat out of victory, that expects that everything is a deliberate attempt to hurt others, and listen to these words from Jesus:
“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?”
That’s Jesus, the same baby whose birth we’re celebrating. And it is the truth that he teaches that sets us free. That’s why we celebrate – this baby grew up to change our world. And today, this baby continues to offer us a way of life that leads to freedom.
There’s a reason this service is always held after dark, a reason beyond the practical. This service is at night to help us see and make the connection, that Jesus is a light in the darkness, a guiding star in the murk of everyday life. When all else is muffled, Jesus can make things clear.
We all have expectations and understandings that help us make order out of chaos, help us make sense of a world which often isn’t fair, that’s filled with threat, pain, and death. Jesus has brought us a way to live that not only makes sense, it makes joy, it makes happiness; it sets us free.
It’s not necessarily easy, though. Jesus’ way is one of constant standing up to the day-to-day push to put off being good until tomorrow, or until whenever. It means standing up to expectation that we’ll go along to get along. It means standing up to our own tendency to take the easy path.
The first thing most of us do when things go wrong is look for someone to blame, as so many of us did in East Providence. Jesus doesn’t blind us to the bad, but he does teach us to look for the good and build on that.
The next thing that many of us do when things go wrong is to get angry. Anger is our first way of dealing with pain. Jesus doesn’t pretend the pain isn’t there, but he teaches us to respond in ways that name the pain, rather than hiding it with anger.
So much of our world is built on the assumption that since everyone’s out to get us, we might as well get ours first. Jesus teaches us that the only time we should “get ours first” is when we’re putting on an emergency air mask on an airplane, and then it’s because going first allows us to save others.
This Jesus, this baby, born so long ago, on a cold night, in a stable, this son of God, has taught us that we can make our lives worth living. He has taught us that we need not be wealthy, educated, good-looking, leaders of the community, to do good, to be good people. Loving others is within our grasp. Any one of us, and hopefully all of us, can do it.
There are those in the world who would like us to think that we need to be wealthy to matter. Jesus says they are wrong.
There are those in our world who would like us to think that we need to be mean, need to lie, cheat and steal to matter. But Jesus says they are wrong.
Jesus brings good news to all the people:
We are loved.
We matter.
We can make a difference.
Know that truth, and let it make you free.
Amen.
© 2023, Virginia H. Child
To Believe is to Care. . . To Care is to Do 