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CHRISTMAS EVE 12/24/02
WHAT SHALL WE DO WITH THIS JESUS?
LUKE 2: 1-20
REVEREND LARRY GERBER

About this time of the year, we begin to hear comments like: Where did Christmas go? It was over so quickly? We have been preparing for Christmas for months, then all of a sudden it has gone! In just a few days, decorations, lights, and Christmas symbols will be taken down and packed away for another year. Some of us will burn our Christmas lights through January 6, Epiphany, or the Twelfth Night. But even that is only twelve days, and in the mean time life has rushed on its journey leaving the emotional and spiritual faith lift of Christmas far behind.

But that is the way its has been since the first Christmas Eve. Follow the story, in either Matthew or Luke: the only person in those narratives who remained in Bethlehem was the innkeeper. And for him the manger in which Jesus was born was returned once again to its everyday use - the place where animals are fed. Everyone else journeyed with haste: the shepherds to the their sheep, the Magi to their own country, the Holy Family to the temple for Mary's purification and Jesus' dedication (in Luke), or to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod (Matthew). So the question for us, is where do we go, what do we do with Jesus after we have celebrated his birth? We cannot remain at the cradle, unless we want to settle down to feeding the innkeeper as animals, because Jesus is no longer there!

Luke puts together a beautiful reconstruction of the event, as does Matthew. The details and style of the narrative are symbolic and biblical; they communicate the mystery redemption, not a diary of events. In this reconstruction, the gospel writer tells us much more that an eyewitness news report might have done.

What Luke tells us is that: 1 - the birth of Jesus, in Bethlehem, fulfills the ancient prophecy that the Messiah was to come out of Bethlehem, the city of David (Micah 5:6); and 2 - the birth of Jesus was both of the lineage and birth in the succession of David; and 3 - the Messiah was born in a manger (important point here is that he was born among the poor and lowly.) Shepherds were, and even today, still are, almost the least of all people in Israeli's social standings. The shepherds were the first to receive the announcement; and finally, 4 - the birth of the Savior was announced by angels, bringing good will to all with whom God is pleased.

Whether we read Lukes' narrative, or Matthew's narrative, we notice that all the characters in both stories soon move away from Bethlehem. T.S. Elliot's poem Journey of the Magi tells how the Wise Men were uncomfortable when they went home from Bethlehem, no longer at ease....in the old dispensation.

We cannot remain at the cradle, for the cradle without the cross is sentimentality. The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay had to leave Bethlehem, even as millions of refugees before and since that holy night.. His departure from the warmth of the Bethlehem stable is an invitation for us to follow him on the journey to Calvary, which had its beginning in the city of David. So before we put Christmas away, let's develop some plans for where we will go after Bethlehem. What will we need to change? What will we want to do that we don not now do?

We must go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born. He is born anew in our hearts. We must go to the manger, on our knees. We must cradle the new born baby in our arms. We must recognize him as the new born king, and we must pick him up, and allow him to become one with us, enfolding him, cuddling him, comforting him, and allow him to feel safe in our arms. Then, then, we must feel him growing, and becoming one with us, until we feel him lifting us up in his arms and bringing peace and good will, through his ministry, his death, and his resurrection.

If we find the baby Jesus in the manger, we must go with him with haste, leaving the manger; we must go to Egypt, to safety. We must return to Israel, and we must walk the walk that Jesus walked. We must be willing to go with him in his ministry. We must get on our knees again, in the Garden of Gethsemane, and we must finish the journey to his arrest and trial, to Golgotha, to the grave, and through the resurrection of Easter.

What shall we do with this Jesus? We shall lift him up and cradle him in our arms, and hold him safely, until he becomes one with us, and in return, holds us in his arms, lifting us from sin and fear, enfolding us until we feel his comfort and joy.

On Christmas Eve, 2002, let us have room in our hearts for the Christ to enter in and be born in us today. Let us break bread together, in remembrance of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, that we might be lifted from our sinful way. Let us go from darkness into the light, because He has been born in us tonight, in our Bethlehem.

Let me know what you think. The church Email is: slumc@direcway.com, Phone: 480.895.8766