Sermons

Because of the census, Joseph and Mary leave home and go up to Bethlehem, where the child is born and laid not in an inn but in a manger. Shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night are the first to hear the news, brought to them by an angel, while the wise men from the East follow a star to worship the child, offering gold, frankincense and myrrh.

All of this came to pass exactly as it had been ordained long before. The poor and lowly manger does not conceal that this King is the God who was from the beginning; rather, it reveals it. A man named Simeon lived holding fast to the word that he would see the Christ before he died, and only when he met the child in the temple did he confess that he could now depart in peace.

Those bound by the belief that salvation comes by keeping the law are not free. Only those who, like Simeon, believe the word and walk with the Holy Spirit enjoy freedom in the truth, and in due time encounter the Christ. Like those who received Jesus in faith at his first coming, the task left to us today is to wait in faith for the Christ who will come again, living righteous and godly lives.

As Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowds welcome him with palm branches and cries of “Hosanna!” The King riding on a donkey already knows the way of the cross that lies beyond their acclaim, and he walks it without a word.

This suffering was not forced upon him by anyone. Jesus planned it and carried it through himself. Judas Iscariot’s betrayal, Peter’s anger and the disciples’ quarrels over who would be greatest counted for nothing before God’s plan of the cross. Jesus was in anguish as he gave even the one who would betray him a chance to turn back, right to the end.

He cleared the temple and refused the Pharisees’ demand to silence the crowd, because this way is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a sign that proclaims God’s power and love. Without the cross there is no resurrection, and without the resurrection there is neither the Second Coming nor eternal life. The message is that, just as Jesus chose that way of his own accord, we too are to follow it in faith and without fear.

When the angel Gabriel brought Mary the news that she would conceive, she asked how she could have a child when she had not known a man. Her question was a protest: how could a pregnancy before marriage happen to her?

The angel answered that no word of God is without power, and pointed to Elizabeth as proof. She had been unable to bear children, yet she was already in her sixth month. Mary replied that she was the Lord’s servant and longed for it to be done according to his word, but only after meeting Elizabeth did she truly believe it. Until Mary accepted this with all her heart, God waited for her, pouring out the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Seeing that the covenant promise of the Messiah was to be fulfilled through her, Mary confessed, “My soul magnifies the Lord.” An unmarried virgin, she faced the hardship of bearing a child, yet she obeyed willingly, because the accomplishing of God’s will mattered more to her than her own life. That obedience is why all generations call Mary blessed.

Two thieves were crucified alongside Jesus. One jeered that if he really was the Christ, he should come down and save them; the other would not let that mockery stand. Both were men who had risked their lives fighting to free their nation, and both had been caught.

The same circumstances drew two different responses, and what divided them was faith. One never saw his own sin, even as he was dying. The other confessed that Jesus had done nothing wrong and pleaded to be remembered when he came into his Kingdom. However much they had given for their nation, what settled their fate after death was that confession alone.

Going to church is not the same as believing in Jesus Christ. Working hard in the world has its value, but the real dividing line is what that life is for, and whether Christ comes first. Just as Jesus received the thief who confessed his faith at the very last, Christmas is a day that asks once more for that same Christ to become the standard by which we live.

The owner of the vineyard orders the fig tree that has borne no fruit for three years to be cut down. The vinedresser pleads with him to leave it alone for just this year, promising to dig around it and put manure on it.

To be cut down is not a passing punishment but eternal destruction. Even so, Jesus does not give up on his people when they bear no fruit; even now he is pleading with God in his wrath to grant them this one year. We are here today because of that plea, because of God’s patience, and because the Holy Spirit has kept us.

The years gone by cannot be called back, like an arrow once shot into the air, but the time ahead can still be filled with as much good as we choose. Whether or not we have served faithfully until now, we must put it all behind us and, with the gifts we have received, bear the fruit of repentance, prayer, devotion and love. May each of us ask whether we have become a tree thick with leaves yet bare of fruit, and make 2020 the year in which opportunity becomes blessing.