Christmas Day 2015

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Luke 2:11
Theme: Born For You

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

The “you” in Luke two verse eleven is plural. That means the Saviour has come for the whole human race. But in His book of love, the Holy Scriptures, God intends this news for every individual sinner; great and small. Luther says it in this way, “See to it that you do not find pleasure in the Gospel only as a history, for that is only transient; neither regard it only as an example, for it is of no value without faith; but see to it that you make this birth your own and that Christ be born in you. This will be the case if you believe…”1 The miracle of Christmas is yours even if all others were ignorant of, or dismissive of this marvelous truth.

Dear friends, today we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace into the world. But even on Christmas Day peace and concord are not the order of the day for some. Tensions mount, tempers boil over, some withdraw, others confront. The frantic pace of the season catches up with many. The pressure to spend and the temptations to overindulge are relentless.
Can we admit we are overscheduled? No one ever has enough time. We all have the same number of hours each day and yet we still feel slighted. We try to keep up with the Jones’s. Jealousy and coveting are rife. The influence of sin is undeniable in our lives. The holiness of the season can quickly lose its luster. It’s Christmas but we’re sinners still the same.

Often our expectations of the Prince of Peace are misguided. We cannot have peace by our own human definition. We may pursue tranquility and we may achieve a measure of it. We may successfully structure our lives to avoid the hassles and heartaches that are common to broken relationships, poor health, and financial uncertainty. God may bless us with a measure of success here too. But we dare not confuse these for the peace of which Christ speaks. He speaks of a conscience set at ease by the certainty that the Almighty God no longer looks at us with condemnation but with compassion. He speaks of a heart fully confident that neither Satan, nor hell, nor all earthly adversaries arrayed against us can separate us from the love of God in Christ.

Don’t ever, ever think that because your life seems mired in darkness and difficulty; that because you feel inadequate or unworthy that the peace of the ChristChild does not exist for you. Ask yourself this, “Am I not baptized?” Be certain that God does not lie. “Has the Holy Spirit not had the gospel preached to me?” Rest assured that He does not do it in jest. “Am I not part of the people to whom the good tidings of great joy are proclaimed?” Was His body not broken for you? Was His blood not shed for you? His peace was forged at the cross. It was crafted in the defeat of every satanic power.

His peace is in the midst of the brokenness of our lives. His peace is in the midst of our anxiety and doubt. His peace is in the midst of the frantic pace of the world and the tempestuous activity of Satan. His peace is in the midst of our failures and shattered dreams. His peace is in the midst of our fear of the limitations of our mortality. His peace is in the midst of the tension caused by our sin. In other words, dear friends, we do not yet live in glory, we live under the cross. When you feel this struggle you can be certain your faith is active.

But if you’re cruising along acting as if you have the world by the tail and you have nothing to repent of or pray for, then be warned! You do not possess divine power and authority. You are not the judge of your own sins. You have no power to ingratiate yourself to Him. You have not yet crossed the threshold. You have not yet arrived in the company of those who have been glorified.

Believe that the ChristChild came for you. You are one of His redeemed children. Believe that He paid the price for your transgressions. You are freed from eternal condemnation. Believe that He has conquered death. You are spared from its consequences. Believe that He is preparing for you a place in His everlasting kingdom. You are already numbered among the saints. Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”2

It’s a world that’s in desperate need of the salt, light, and leaven that believers bring. Christmas is not a time to despair of the privileges of our Christian vocations but to embrace them. It’s not a time to be judgmental and self-righteous, but gentle, courageous, and discerning. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men- robbers, evildoers, adulterers- or even like this tax collector.’”3 Christ became the greatest sinner. Let us thank God for the paradoxical truth that Christ was not like other men but was precisely like all of them!

There is no holier vocation than to reflect the compassion of Him who is love incarnate. That is our motivation for stooping down into the stables of peoples’ lives. Luther says, “Love…knows no command, it does everything by virtue of its own impulse, it hastens and delays not, it is enough that its attention is only called to a thing, it needs no taskmaster, neither will it tolerate one.”4

Dear friends, love needs no taskmaster because it flows freely from faith. When our neighbours are in need we come to their aid. When our children are floundering we give them direction. When our spouses are hurting we give them support. We do it because we see Christ in them. We sympathize but we do not patronize. We empathize but we are not condescending. The apostle says it this way, “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.”5

Christ has made righteous the prince as well as the pauper, the priest as well as the peasant. Our Righteousness is born in a manger. There is no other source. Joy to the world! Gladness to sinners! Good tidings to the human race! The Saviour has been born. He has borne our sins. He has reconciled us to the Father. He has restored paradise.
The One who once lived in a manger wills that we live with Him there. Mortals will join angels “and He will be their peace.”6 Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

The Nativity of Our Lord
Christmas Day
25 December 2015
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt


1 Martin Luther
2 John 16:33
3 Luke 18:10-11
4 Martin Luther
5 Romans 12:15-16
6 Micah 5:5