The Nativity of our Lord- Christmas Day 2017

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

Text: John 1:4
Theme: The Word of Life

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

“Do not be afraid,” said the angel to the shepherds. It’s common to fear the unknown. People resist change because they fear things they have never experienced. “Better the devil you know,” says the common proverb. Even in a world in which we are trained to relish the newest, and the latest, and the greatest, the wisdom of experience teaches us to be wary. There are dangers. The Bible says, “Test everything. Hold on to the good.”1 Often the biggest changes bring both good and bad. Remember what fears there were when television was invented. Many said it was tool of the devil. Well, they were right. But it’s also been a very helpful technology- a gift from God. The same goes for the internet. Or, think of medical science and its benefits to humanity. But it also makes evils such as abortion and euthanasia much easier to carry out.

And, what about God Himself? What changed when Christ was born? Christmas is a mystery that is right at the heart of the Christian belief. In a manger God exists in the frame of an infant. That’s a lot to take in, like musing on the Trinity or trying to wrap your mind around eternity. Christianity is a monotheistic faith. There is one God, but He exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the creator of time and He dwells outside of it. Heaven won’t be measured by the passing of time.

Now, here in the lap of Mary is the Lord of heaven and earth! Our nativity gospel says it this way, “The Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”2 And Hebrews says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.”3

Christmas brought new life into a world of death. Each of us needs that new life breathed into us. “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”4 Christ is the new Adam. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”5 “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”6 The implication is that apart from Him there is death. Spiritually, all people are conceived dead and separated from God. There’s no life or goodness within us.

The Lutheran confessions say it like this, the “Scripture denies to the intellect, heart, and will of man every capacity, aptitude, skill, and ability to think anything good or right in spiritual matters, to understand them, to begin them, to will them, to undertake them, to do them, to accomplish or to cooperate in them as of himself.”7 It’s a damning assessment.

Now it may at first seem deflating to learn that we are completely spiritually inept, completely at the mercy of God. It certainly is a blow to the ego which always claims some goodness within our natural selves. But once we understand what Christ has done it is the most liberating thing in the world. We are freed from the intolerable burden of being “good enough” for God. It’s a deception of the devil to believe the way to godliness is to be just a little nicer than the next person. Much of the false philosophy of the Christmas season revolves around the assumption that during the “festive season” we are capable of being a little kinder, a little more generous, a little more thoughtful than we are during the rest of the year. Firstly, what does this say about our behavior during the rest of the year? Secondly, the assumption is patently false. Prodding an unwilling participant to be more righteous only makes them a hypocrite. “If we all just try a little harder the holiday season will be more pleasant for everyone,” is NOT the Christmas gospel. Jesus came to forgive sins, not to indulge our inadequacies.

How important is the incarnation? You cannot be saved apart from the flesh of the Son of God. You cannot be rescued from the peril of hell without the bodily sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and His physical resurrection from the dead. Your relationship with the heavenly Father, established by His promise to you in baptism, maintained by the presence of the Holy Spirit, is only possible because the Word became flesh. It is truly a divine activity. Therefore, the church, the worshipping assembly, is more akin to a craftsmen’s workshop or a hospital than a social club. We’re not here for polite social interaction, but as holy subjects of a mysterious, merciful, and magnificent God. We are, as saints and sinners simultaneously, welcomed right into the holy of holies.

In the conception in the womb of Mary, in the person of the baby Jesus, God and man are united. Here we have the basis and the parallel for the mystery of Christ’s presence in Holy Communion. A sacramental union takes place in which the bread and wine are united with the body and blood of Christ. The substances of bread and wine remain after the consecration, but Christ is then truly present in His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. This is truly one of the great mysteries made possible by Jesus’ incarnation. Christmas is most tangible to Christians year-round in Holy Communion. In the Supper, Immanuel, God-with-us meets us and we partake of His divine blessings.

This Child was born for you. He lived for you. He died for you. He rose from death so that you might share in His life. There is absolutely nothing aloof about this Saviour born in Bethlehem. In a shelter for domesticated animals He becomes fully immersed in human vainglory and misery. The humble circumstances of His birth were an indicator of the excruciating manner of His death. At the manger the cross was already in view. He was born with a purpose. Satan tried with all his might to derail the plan. But his schemes were defeated. He rose again from the grave.

The mystery of God in human flesh, the mystery in the manger, the mystery about which the angels sang, the mystery of this Messiah who is, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace,”8 is not a mystery to be feared. At least, not in the common use of the word. Holy, reverential fear is, of course, very appropriate. The Creator of the universe came to redeem the human race.

There may be many things that cause you fear or anxiety. Perhaps it’s hard, even to prioritize them. Christmas may even be a disappointment; an occasion of unrealized hope in regard to a fractured relationship or a long-held burden. Our Immanuel does not overlook these struggles. The angel’s message is for us, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.”9Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

The Nativity of our Lord
Christmas Day
25 December, 2017
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 1 Thessalonians 5:21 2 John 1:14 3 Hebrews 1:3
4 Genesis 2:7 5 2 Corinthians 5:17 6 John 1:4
7 FC SD 522:12 8Isaiah 9:6 9 Luke 2:10-11