Pastor Ronald Wesemann Christmas Eve 4:30 pm Service
Merry Christmas! Well, almost. In less than seven hours, it
will be Christmas. But before we reach those seven hours, my guess is that many
of you will be asleep. Some of you will be dreaming of old Saint Nick (or Santa
Claus) and the gifts that he may bring and that you may find under your
Christmas Tree, when you awake. Hopefully all of you will also think about,
maybe even dream about the reason we celebrate Christmas.
You see, 2011 years ago something very special happened in a
place called Bethlehem that we now call Christmas. It was late at night, or you
could say very early in the morning. It was surely a quiet time, not all that
unlike how it will be very early this Christmas morning? If, after midnight
tonight, you were awake and go outside, you would see that it would be a good
bit darker than it is now, and quieter, with a lot less people out on the
roads; the stores (hopefully) will, by then, all be closed and everyone, who is
not at home already, will be going there; those awake will be finishing up
their Christmas Day preparations and getting ready for a good night’s rest.
The first Christmas Eve, or shall I say the very beginning
of Christmas Day, in and around Bethlehem, was also quiet and dark; the roads though,
were not all that empty, they were littered with people bedding down (unable to
find shelter in the inn or among the town’s people); still everyone, the people
camping along the road, the shop keepers and the inn keepers were all settling
down for a good night’s rest. But, all was not quiet everywhere in Bethlehem;
all was not still in the stable where a young couple, Mary and Joseph were
staying. There, in that stable there was much commotion, just as we often find
today in hospitals and homes where women (with their husbands, with midwifes
and doctors) are bringing new life into the world; there in Bethlehem, in that
stable, in the midst of settling in, Mary was feeling the pains of child birth;
Mary and Joseph were struggling with the fears that most couples feel at the
time of child birth and feeling very much alone, but still they trusted God
that all would be well, they were ready to bring one very special new life into
the world.
We are here today to celebrate that event. For you see it
was in Bethlehem, in that stable, with animals and birds as the only witnesses,
that a young woman, named Mary, with her husband (Joseph) at her side, gave
birth to the long awaited Messiah of God, to God’s Son, to a pink and messy
little baby boy Jesus, who they wrapped in clean cloths and laid in a feeding
troth. Except for the few who may have faintly heard the newborn cries of the
infant boy, no one gave the least bit of notice to the birth; no one really cared.
At least that was how it seemed; but in truth much of Israel
did care; they, in fact, prayed daily for the coming of the long awaited
Messiah of God; they just didn’t know that he was coming then; but there were
those who did know; riding along on a roadway not all that far from Bethlehem there
were some foreigners, some say they were Wise Men, others say they were Kings, whatever
they were, they were following a special star, riding towards Bethlehem; their
purpose, to visit the Messiah of God, to visit Mary, Joseph and Jesus and to bring
to them valuable gifts; they were coming to welcome the newborn king, though
they did not know who he was or exactly where they would find him; for as long
as three years they had been traveling, following a most unusual star, looking
for the newborn baby boy.
And there were others who knew; not far from Bethlehem, out
on a hillside, there were angels who were excitedly announcing to the world the
birth of God’s Messiah and Son; but actually there was only a small group of
shepherds who were listening; hearing the angels’ words the shepherds were
themselves excited, but also scared, as they listened to all that the angels
had to say; they learned that in Bethlehem the Messiah of God was born, and on that
very night.
In the wisdom of God, it was to the likes of stable animals,
foreigners and shepherds that God entrusted the responsibility of witnessing to
the most important event in history, the birth of God’s Son, to a woman named
Mary and her husband Joseph, in a stable.
The shepherds inspired by the angel’s announcement quickly
penned in their sheep and hurriedly made their way to Bethlehem; finding their
way quickly to the stable of the inn where the Holy family now rested; they
were the first to arrive and visit. They told Mary and Joseph about the angelic
announcement and they paid their respects to God’s Messiah, bowing before him
in worship. They left, we are told, with joy in their hearts, excited and
spreading the good news to everyone they met. They boldly and happily witnessed
to Jesus’ birth and to the announcement of the angels, without fear of ridicule
or fear of contempt.
The Wise Men, or if you like, the Kings came some time
later, some say later that same night, but others suggest weeks or months
later, but, regardless of when, they came like the shepherds to see the newborn
king, that was foretold to them by the prophets and astrologers of their lands;
they were led to the spot by a star that they had been following for a long
time and were guided to Bethlehem by the advise of the religious of Israel;
upon arriving they bowed down before Jesus and like the shepherds before them
they worshipped Jesus and to the newborn King they presented precious gifts of
gold and frankincense and myrrh. Leaving then, after being warned in a dream
about Herod’s planned treachery, they went home by a different route, but you
can be sure that they went with joy in their hearts having seen what was
foretold them by their prophets and astrologers; we really don’t know who they
told, but I can’t imagine that, after all that they had gone through, that they
would not share, at the very least, word of the success of their quest.
The birth of Jesus, may have happened more than two thousand
years ago, in a far away land, in a little town famous only because of a
shepherd named David, born there hundreds and hundreds of years earlier, who
grew up to be Israel’s greatest king; and while we who are here may not have
been blessed to witness Jesus’ birth along with the animals, the shepherds and
the Wise Men, we are blessed to be able to hear the story told to us and
especially blessed knowing all that Jesus did for us as he ministered to the
world and sacrificed his life for us.
Leave here, this evening, just as did the shepherds and the
Wise Men, with joy in your hearts, sharing the good news of Jesus birth to all
that you meet. Announce to all Merry Christmas! For, the Messiah of God, God’s
very own Son has been born to us. What a glorious night it was! What a glorious
night it is.
