Isaiah 9: 2–7 / Psalm 96 / Titus 2: 11–14 / Luke 2: 1–20
This
is the homily prepared for St. John’s, Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, by Fr. Gene
Tucker for Christmas Eve, December 24, 2020, and for Christmas I, December 27, 2020.
“FROM A THEOLOGICAL
PERSPECTIVE”
(Homily text: Luke 2: 1-20)
Preparing a sermon or homily on the major festivals
of the Church Year can be a challenging task to undertake. Part of the
challenge lies in the fact that so many of the listeners or readers of the homily
or sermon will already know the key ingredients of the text that’s been chosen.
Since we are celebrating Christmas, let’s consider
the appointed Gospel text for this festival, the second chapter of Luke’s
Gospel account, which tells us about Mary and Joseph’s trip to Bethlehem, where
Jesus is born. Many, if not most, of us can list the key ingredients of this
very familiar passage. (Perhaps many of us could recite the text,
word-for-word, and some of a “certain age” might be able to do so in the King
James (Authorized) Version.) My own list of the key ingredients of the account
would include: Mary and Joseph make their way to Bethlehem from Nazareth; they
do so at a point when Mary is pregnant (nearly full term) and is about to give
birth; there is no room in the inn, so Jesus is born elsewhere and is laid in a
manger; shepherds are keeping their sheep out in a field; an angel appears to
the shepherds and announces great, good news to them about Jesus’ birth; a
large, heavenly host joins in celebrating the news; and the shepherds go to
Bethlehem, where they confirm what the angel had told them.
Now, let’s take an alternative way to understand
the importance of these ingredients. Let’s look at each of them to see what
they tell us about God’s activity in these things. In other words, let’s look
at them from a theological perspective, for theology has to do with
understanding God’s nature and God’s activity in human affairs in the world.
An admission is in order before we begin: These
interpretations are strictly my own. I invite you to consider each one. Perhaps
you’ll gain an additional or wider understanding of them.
The
trip to Bethlehem: It’s a long way from Nazareth, in Galilee in
the northern part of the Holy Land, to Bethlehem, which is located a few miles
south of Jerusalem. It’s an even longer trip if it’s taken on the back of a
donkey, which seems to be the likely mode of travel available to Mary and
Joseph.
Mary
is nearly full term in her pregnancy: Such a trip is difficult enough under normal
circumstances, but it’s even more difficult when one is about to give birth.
· Theological
interpretation: God protects
Mary and the baby, since the possibility of miscarriage is probably high, given
the circumstances of travel and the point at which Jesus is about to be born.
No room in the inn, so Jesus is lain in a manger: Luke tells us that there was a census going on, one that would have caused many people to travel. Perhaps that was the reason there was no room in the inn. Jesus is then born elsewhere and is lain in a feeding trough for animals.
Theological interpretation: Jesus comes into the world in humble, lowly circumstances. Perhaps that sort of a beginning to His earthly journey will foretell His concern for the lowly, the downtrodden, and the outcasts of the world into which He came. We could also say that such circumstances confirm God’s concern for the least of those in the world. Some also see in the reality that there was no room for Jesus to enter the world because the inn was full, foretells a rejection (by many) of His message once His ministry begins.
Shepherds
in the fields: The great, good news of Jesus’ birth is
announced to ordinary people. In fact, shepherds were, in that society, not
highly regarded. They fell among the lower echelons of society. But it was to
just such people that the good news was given. And, in the fullness of time, it
was the ordinary people of the world who responded best to Jesus’ work and
message. Kings, highly placed persons, priests, Pharisees and scribes largely
rejected Jesus and His message.
· Theological
interpretation: Perhaps God’s will and work is best received
by those who have the least to lose. Perhaps having a lot to lose is an
impediment to being able and ready to receive God’s message. After all, knowing
God and having a relationship with Him is a “zero-sum” game, in which we admit
we are helpless to be able to help ourselves. Only then can God begin to work
with us, really.
The
angel’s message and the heavenly host: Angels are God’s messengers
(that’s the root meaning of the word “angel”, coming to us from the Greek).
·
Theological
interpretation: The difference between God’s emissary (the
angel) and the heavenly host of angels and the shepherds probably couldn’t be
greater. Godly things and activity meet ordinary people doing ordinary things. Here,
God is at work. God’s agency and God’s hand at work in the birth of the Savior
are visible in the angel’s message, which is confirmed by the opening of heaven
and the large number of angels, who sing praises to God.
“To you is born in the
city of David, a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord”: This is the
essence of the angel’s message.
·
Theological
interpretation: God is informing humankind that a new era, a
new epoch is dawning. How is this so? By
identifying the newborn child as the “Christ”, the “Messiah”, the angel is
saying that the person that so many of God’s people were anxiously awaiting for
had come. This child would prove to be the saving agent, by God’s appointment,
for people. What is a surprise is, that the expectations of many of God’s
people in those days were fulfilled in a radically different way than they
expected, for the Christ, the Messiah, didn’t come riding into Jerusalem on a
white horse, but instead, came in riding on a donkey. The Christ, the Messiah, didn’t come to
restore Israel and God’s people to the earthly glory that had been theirs a
thousand years before when David was king. Instead, a new sort of kingdom was
about to unfold before their eyes.
Confirmation
of the angel’s message: The shepherds go to Bethlehem, were they find
the child, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger, just as the angel
had told them.
· Theological
interpretation: It isn’t the fact that Jesus was wrapped in
swaddling cloths that is significant here, for that was the standard practice
for a newborn baby in that time and place. More significant, I think, is the
fact that Jesus was lying in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Perhaps
that practice was commonplace, if the circumstances of the household were such
that animals were housed in a part of the structure, nearby to the living
quarters of the family. We don’t know for sure. Perhaps we can take from this
aspect of the account the idea that what God indicates, will come to pass, and
will be confirmed in due time. But sometimes we have to look beyond the
immediate, even commonplace aspects of a situation, to see God’s hand at work.
In conclusion, the events we recall at
Christmastime changed the course of world history forever. I submit to you that
they continue to do so, one heart at a time. Individual lives are forever
changed, forever brightened, when the Lord Jesus Christ takes up residence in
the human heart, for there is the place where God seeks to dwell, within.
AMEN.
