December 24, 2013
Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Eve
In those days a decree went out from Emperor 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 for them in the inn.
In that 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 Saviour, 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 favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
We learned on Sunday evening, after being convinced all day that our daughter, Eleanor, had a bad cold, that, instead, she would be getting both of her two front teeth for Christmas. As this is was, supposedly, our first time around with a baby with a cold, we were ready. I had gone to the pharmacy and retrieved the vicks vapo-rub, the pedialite, the boogie wipes, and the homeopathic tablets the pharmacist recommended since she’s too young to take the children’s formula of cold medicines. We had the humidifier all set up, the special eucalyptus baby bubble bath that’s supposed to help relieve sinus pressure, the thermometer, the Tylenol, and of course, every baby’s favorite invention of all time, the nasal aspirator. Chris disinfected the house, I washed the sheets, we were a well-oiled germ fighting machine ready to do battle against the dreaded cold and bring our baby back to health.
In the evening, Eleanor perked up significantly after having a nap attack in her high chair, but we attributed it to the Tylenol kicking in and breaking her fever. And that’s when I saw them…two little white lines in the upper gum that can only mean one thing…the teeth that we have been waiting for for months, were finally on their way through.
As first timers, what can you do? We expected a cold and got teeth. That’s the way parenting goes…very little is going to go as expected. When you find out you are pregnant, there are so many things going through a soon to be parents head. Excitement that it’s happened, fear that something could go wrong, worry that something could go wrong again. We set ourselves up for what we think will be the perfect birth, everything going just the way that we plan it to go. Then something goes wrong, or, at the very least, not according to our plans and all we can do is lay there and think, this is absolutely not what I expected would happen. As much as the folks at “what to expect when you’re expecting” would like us to think that all the answers can be found a book…the best way to figure it out is it live it. And when the next child comes, though there’s experience, there’s no guarantee that things are going to go the same way as with the first.
I’m sure that for Mary, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting were not what she expected them to be. She was newly betrothed to Joseph, legally and socially considered married to him except for the fact that they were not living together yet. And the angel Gabriel visits her to inform her that she will conceive and bear a son. And her child will not just be any child. Her child will be the son of God…not the child of her husband. And not only did she consent to becoming the mother of the Son of God, she embraced it, first in her words in response to Gabriel “behold the handmaiden of the Lord, let it be with me according to your word,” then singing a song to her cousin Elizabeth about the blessings that she has received by being chosen to bear the son of God. We have no idea what Joseph thinks about the whole thing other than he agrees to stay with her. He never says a word.
We assume that pregnancy went as one would expect. But then it came time for Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem for the census ordered by Quirinius, governor of Syria. Doctors recommend that women not travel very far after the 34th week of pregnancy…and Mary probably had all the arrangements for the nursery and the midwives all set up. But when Rome says go, you go.
It would have been a good 4 day trip on foot for two healthy, non-pregnant adults, so it probably too Mary and Joseph about a week to make the trek. And then the unexpected happened…again. The time came for Mary to give birth.
Being that, literally everyone and their brother was in Bethlehem for the census, every door that they knocked on turned them away, even after seeing Mary was in labor. So they take what they can get, a stable, probably a cave, which was normally home to livestock. It was better than out in a field, I guess. And that is where Mary gave birth to her first born son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. It was probably the last thing that Mary expected when she pictured the birth of her child. A stable? The son of God born in a stable? Placed in a manger filled with straw instead of a royal bed lined with purple satin? Attended by shepherds and sheep instead of domestic and foreign dignitaries? What kind of royal birth was this?
Yes, the birth of Jesus was probably the last thing the Mary expected it to be. It was not the orderly and romantic vision that many nativity scenes depict. It was probably much more chaotic and real…and exhausting.
But it was the birth of the son of God…a fitting birth of a child who would grow up and totally blow away any perception of what it means for someone to be a king. Who shows up in the midst of the most unexpected times and places, who put together a group of disciples who would have otherwise would have wanted nothing to do with each other. A king who preached love and peace, while other kings were crying out for violence and war. A king who sat on the side of the poor, the outcast, the mourners, the meek, and the downtrodden. Who was himself homeless and who died the death of a criminal so that, in him, God could experience the fullness of human existence, from birth to death…so that he could rescue us from sin and death and bring us to everlasting life.
Christ’s unexpected birth set in motion an unexpected life. And we can be certain that in the midst of the unexpected circumstances in our own lives, Christ is going to show up. Not in the infertility and the miscarriages, the cancer, the heart attack or the gun violence…but in the doctors and nurses, the friends and families, in the communities that surround us and fill us with love and support. In the folks who come to our aid when we are most in need of it. In those people, we see the Christ child. In strangers who bring us a smile or a laugh when we least expect it, we see the Christ child. In light that shatters darkness, we see the Christ child. In a manger, surrounded by exhausted parents, dirty shepherds, and barn animals, we find the Christ child.
But we are also called to be Christ to those around us. To do better than the people in the inns in Bethlehem, who refused to be inconvenienced so that a baby could be born in better place than a cave filled with animals. Christ calls us to be little Christ’s to the world around us…and his calls to do this are not always convenient. Sometimes it means that Christmas dinner isn’t going to go how we expected it to because someone showed up at our door asking for food and shelter. Or someone gets sick and we have to improvise so that they get the care that they need. More often than not, being called to be Christ’s representatives in the world means that Christmas may look more like National Lampoons Christmas Vacation than a precious moments figurine set. The Good news of Great Joy that the angels sing about isn’t always neat and orderly, sometimes it’s messy and exhausting. But it’s real, and it’s for you and for me, whether we’re ready for it or not.
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