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INJ
St Luke 2:1-14
'God in a Manger'
Evening Service
Christmas Eve | December 24, 2007
Dear Saints,
Merry Christmas!
The name of tonight's sermon originally was 'God is a Diaper', but that seemed too shocking, jarring. Into the midst of our nostalgia and Christmas joy comes this preacher trying to shake things up, and look, I like to have things shaken up just as much as you do, and I have to listen to these sermons too, you know. But perhaps that's just it, there is something in Christmas that is a bit shocking or stunning, that the Lord of Life and King of Kings and the Eternal God is wrapped up in swaddling clothes, that God wears a diaper.
And what we see when we begin to consider these mysteries it that God always seems to be doing this; He is always showing up where we least expect Him. If we were alive 2,007 or so years ago and someone told us, “God's on the earth, where do you think He is?” We could guess: Rome, or Alexandria, or Egypt or somewhere near Babylon in the great empire of Persia, or maybe, if none of these turned out right, we might get to Jerusalem. But never would it come to Bethlehem. “Bethlehem, where's Bethlehem?” That's why the Jewish people needed Micah's promise and the Magi needed the star.
But then we get to Bethlehem and ask, “Okay, we're here in Bethlehem, where to you think God is?” Again we might guess, the fancy hotels, the mayor's house, in the synagogue. No. In the motel? With the Rabbi? No, and we would never guess in a manger, a cave cut into the side of the hill to keep the animals dry. That's why the angels had to tell the shepherds exactly where to go. “And this will be a sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
And it keeps getting more and more stunning: God is in Bethlehem, God is in a manger, and then, God is in our flesh, God is a person, a human being, a baby boy, wrapped in swaddling clothes, held in her mother's arms.
Mary, that's God you have there, the great I AM, the Creator of the Universe, the Judge of All, and you're holding Him in your arms and rocking Him to sleep and singing to Him and nursing Him and changing His diapers. What!? That's why we need the Scriptures to tells us exactly what's going on here, that this Baby is Jesus, God with us, God for us.
“Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man.”
If nothing else, what is shockingly clear about this whole thing is that God's does things differently than we would.
We all know that this world is full of trouble, pain and suffering and death and sin. I know that for many of you this past year was full of this suffering, even this past month or this past week. And this suffering often doesn't make much sense to us.
And so we ask questions like, “If God is all powerful, why doesn't He bring an end to suffering?” You see how it is with our sinful flesh, if we had power we would use it. If we were in charge, everyone would know it. We would wipe out death with a word, with an act of divine power and might and strength.
And this, dear saints, is why God in Bethlehem and God in the manger and God in a diaper, God in our flesh is so shocking to us: rather than taking up arms against sin and suffering and pain and death with might and power He comes in weakness, in humility, in flesh, in a manger. He comes lowly. Not to wipe away sin, but to carry it Himself; not to get rid of suffering, but to know it Himself in its fullness; not to banish death but to taste it Himself.
For God in Bethlehem and in the manger and in the diapers are all precursors to the biggest scandal of all: God on the cross, God in my sin, God under wrath for me, and God in the tomb. If Bethlehem is unexpected, and if the manger is unexpected, and if the diapers are unexpected, imagine how much more unexpected are the sin and wrath and blood and cross and death and the tomb. Such is the height and depth and width and breadth of God's love for you and me and all sinners. While we were still His enemies He gave His Son for us to give us life and salvation and the forgiveness of all of our sins.
And this is the point of it all: God has worked shockingly, unexpectedly, wonderfully, humbly to take care of our sin and our suffering and our pain and our death. By Jesus' birth and life and death and resurrection all of your sins are forgiven, washed away, forgotten. You have been declared righteous and holy and perfect, and you have this by faith, by trusting this promise of God for you.
This is the good news of Christmas, and this is also why in church there is no talk of being naughty or nice, good or bad. There is only one list, and you and I are all on the “bad” list, the “naughty” list, the “sinner” list, but over our names and our sins the Lord has written in blood the name of Jesus. Redeemed. Forgiven. “Peace to is people on earth.”
Dear saints of God, all of this wonderful and unexpected work of Jesus is for you. The Lord of All hates your sin and your death, and so He has taken them on Himself, and given you His righteousness and eternal life. May this Christmas gift, sent from heaven itself, give you comfort in peace in life and death, until the Lord Jesus returns to take us to Himself. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO