12.24.07 Christmas Eve Waking Up On Christmas Morning Luke 2:1-20 Douglas Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. What do you think about when you hear the phrase, Waking Up On Christmas Morning? Does it evoke a particular memory from the recent or the distant past? Depending on our age, waking up Christmas morning has probably meant different things as we have gone through the stages of life. When I was a little boy Christmas morning was a time of intense excitement. Invariably I would wake up very early in the morning and the first thing I would do was to go through the stocking that would be on my bed and pull everything out and spread the candy and all around my blanket. After I had examined my stocking I would listen for the sound of anyone else being up. Once we had my parents awake then we would all go downstairs and see the tree and the presents. Then we read aloud the Christmas story from Luke 2 that I just read moments ago. Christmas morning was a family time for us. When I was in college, waking up on Christmas morning meant I had survived another semester, it was quieter at home, I would have some time to see my family and friends, eat home cooked meals, have laundry done and catch up on my sleep. When Jill and were a young married couple, waking up on Christmas morning usually meant we were traveling somewhere to be with one of our families. For the last decade or more now Christmas morning has been a very special time as I have experienced it as a parent and shared it with our sons. As a pastor, waking up on Christmas morning also brings a blessed sense of relief and pleasure after sharing in so many services filled with wonderful music and important stories from the Bible throughout the previous weeks. There is a feeling similar to a runner breaking the tape at the end of a race. And now my family comes to our home for Christmas Day so that is part of our moving into another phase of life as well. I recognize that everyone s experience of waking up on Christmas morning is different than mine. We all have a unique journey. People wake up in all kinds of circumstances, many of them quite sad or difficult. People wake up in homeless shelters, prisons, refugee camps, battlefields, unheated apartments, and orphanages. During World War II an American soldier was on duty on Christmas morning. It had been his custom to go to church every Christmas morning with his family, but now,
in service on the outlying districts of London, this was impossible. So, with some of his soldier buddies, as dawn was breaking, he walked down the road that led to the city. Soon they came upon an old, grey, stone building. Over the main door were carved the words, Queen Ann s Orphanage. They decided to knock and see what kind of celebration was taking place inside. In response to their knock, a matron came and explained that the children were orphans whose parents had been killed in the many bombings that took place in London. The soldiers went inside just as the children were tumbling out of bed. There was no Christmas tree in the corner. There were no presents. The soldiers moved around the room wishing the children Merry Christmas and giving them whatever gifts they had in their pockets: a stick of chewing gum, a Life Saver, a nickel, a dime, a pocket knife, a good luck charm. The soldier who had gotten his buddies together noticed a little fellow alone in the corner; the boy looked an awful lot like his nephew back home. So he approached him and said, And you, little guy, what do you want for Christmas? The boy replied, Will you hold me? The soldier with tears brimming in his eyes scooped up the young boy and held him very close in his strong arms. 1 That boy wanted to be held for many reasons, but one of them, is because as human beings, God made us as relational creatures. God made us to be in community with each other and our Creator. We all long to be loved unconditionally, to be held and comforted; to be part of a circle of caring that lessens our sense of being alone in the world. Christmas is a time for seeing our connection with other people whoever and wherever they are and to God who is the source of us all. John Shea tells this story: It came to pass one Christmas that a family was gathered for dinner. On the table was a turkey and all the trimmings. It was a tradition for each member of the family to say something before the feasting began and so contribute to a group grace. Around the table it went, each member of the family giving thanks for one thing or another until it came around to the youngest, who was a five-year-old boy. He began by thanking the turkey which, although he had not yet tasted it, he was sure would be good. This was a novel piece of gratitude and he followed it with more predictable credits given to his mother for cooking the turkey and his father for buying it. Then he began a chain of thank-yous, surfacing hidden benefactors and linking them together. And the checker at the grocery store, and all the grocery store people, and the farmers who feed the turkeys to get them fat, and the people who make the feed, and 1 William J.Bausch, A World of Stories, page 275-276.
the people who bring the turkeys to the store His little mind was playing detective, tracing the path of the turkey to his plate. This litany went on for some time and ended with, Did I miss anyone? God, said his older brother. I was just getting to him, the child said solemnly, unflustered. The five-year-olds prayer reveals not only a fine grasp of the food chain and the process of moving a raw material to the marketplace, but he also is already awake to the connections we share not only with those who may be gathered around the same table but with everyone else seen and unseen as well as the fact that God is behind it all and is the source of all for which we give thanks. We enjoy seeing all the Christmas lights and the decorations and crèches that people have up as we drive around and it was sad to read a story in the paper last week about folks who had a baby Jesus and Mary stolen from their front yard display. Seeing that reminded me of the story of a little church in a small town like Brewster that had a nativity scene, complete with three wise men, Joseph and Mary, and of course the baby Jesus. The day after Christmas, the pastor decided to go for a walk, as part of his daily exercise. While walking by the church, he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from the nativity scene. Obviously he was extremely upset that someone had taken the baby Jesus from the nativity scene as a prank. As he continued his walk down Main Street, he saw a young boy pulling a brand new red shiny Radio Flyer wagon. "Mighty fine wagon you have there young fellow", the pastor said. "Thank you sir", the young boy replied. "I got it for Christmas." Looking into the wagon, the pastor saw a doll that looked exactly like the baby Jesus that was missing from the nativity scene. Trying to be extremely tactful, he asked the young boy, "Did you get that doll for Christmas too?" "Oh no sir", the young boy replied. "I got the doll from the nativity scene at the church down the street." The pastor really didn't know what to say, but quickly mustered up the courage to ask the young boy why in the world he would want to take the baby Jesus from the nativity scene, and told him that stealing was wrong. The young boy was quick to respond. Sir, let me explain. I wanted this wagon for a long time. I prayed to Jesus everyday for months. I promised him that if he would let me get this wagon for Christmas, then I would take him for a ride, and that is exactly what I have done, and now I m taking him back to the nativity scene. Every year the angel reminds us that the birth of Jesus is good news for all people, not just because we might get a shiny red wagon, a Red Ryder BB gun, a Wii, or
anything else but because we are invited to take with us the rest of our lives the baby who will grow to be our Savior, Leader, Teacher, an unfailing Friend and Guide through all the ups and downs, joys and heartaches of life. Central to Luke s story of Jesus birth are the shepherds - those poor guys who are just minding their own business when they have a transcendent spiritual experience, and then go to Bethlehem and find the holy family, and tell them what they saw and heard. Then they go on their merry way glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen. What have we seen and heard that we can we glorify and praise God for tonight when we leave this place? In a world full of fear the angels still bring a message of peace, promise, and reconciliation that still gives us hope in a broken and suffering world. After hearing the message of the angel and seeing the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, we trust the shepherds were never the same again. I believe they woke up the next morning as new people after what they experienced. Part of what we like so much about characters in classic Christmas stories and movies is how people wake up to what is truly important whether that is Charlie Brown and friends, the Grinch, the Fourth Wise Man, Ebeneezer Scrooge, or George Bayley. When we wake up on Christmas morning God hopes that we will be fully awake to the miracle and blessing of the true light coming into the darkness of the world changing it and our lives forever.