The holy gospel according to Luke (2:1-20)
1In
those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus
that
all the world should be registered.
2This
was the first registration
and
was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3All
went to their own towns to be registered.
4Joseph
also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea,
to
the city of David called Bethlehem,
because
he was descended from the house and family of David.
5He
went to be registered with Mary,
to
whom he was engaged
and
who was expecting a child.
6While
they were there,
the
time came for her to deliver her child.
7And
she gave birth to her firstborn son
and
wrapped him in bands of cloth,
and
laid him in a manger,
because
there was no place for them in the inn.
8In
that region there were shepherds living in the fields,
keeping
watch over their flock by night.
9Then
an angel of the Lord stood before
them,
and
the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and
they were terrified.
10But
the angel said to them,
“Do not be afraid;
for
see—
I am bringing you good news of great
joy for all the people:
11to
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who
is the Messiah,
the
Lord.
12This
will be a sign for you:
you
will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth
and
lying in a manger.”
13And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of the heavenly host,
praising
God and saying,
14“Glory
to God in the highest heaven,
and
on earth peace among those whom God favors!”
15When
the angels had left them and gone into heaven,
the
shepherds said to one another,
“Let us go now to Bethlehem
and
see this thing that has taken place,
which
the Lord has made known to us.”
16So
they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and
the child lying in the manger.
17When
they saw this,
they made known what had been told them
about this child;
18and
all who heard it were amazed
at
what the shepherds told them.
19But
Mary treasured all these words
and
pondered them in her heart.
20The
shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all
they had heard and seen,
as
it had been told them.
The gospel of the lord.
-----
Luke’s account of the nativity is FULL of angels. In fact, there might be more angelic
visits in Luke’s first two chapters than anywhere else in the Bible! The angel Gabriel first visits
Zechariah to announce the gift of a child to this couple who was said to be
barren. Then a few months later
Gabriel heads over to Mary, inviting her into participation with what God is up
to in the world. With her yes to
participating with God, the stage is set for tonight’s visit from an angel to
some shepherds living with the sheep in the fields, all of whom are then joined by a whole multitude!
In each visit, the reactions and angelic responses are
pretty similar: the person or people are terrified, or in Mary’s case
“perplexed” a deep confusion or troubling, and so the angel says, “do not be
afraid.” After that, responses
tend to vary, but as I look into other angelic appearances in the bible, the
angels always seem to lead off with “do not be afraid.” Fear, apparently, is a very common
reaction to God’s presence and to God’s work.
Really though, it reminds me of a StoryPeople quote that “Most
people don't know there are angels whose only job is to make sure you don't get
too comfortable & fall asleep & miss your life.” A lot of the time we think of angels as
friends or relatives who have died,
or magical beings that keep us safe from harm. Biblically, however, angels seem to be the ones who open us
up to risks and opportunities.
Each visit in Luke comes with a risk. Zechariah and Elizabeth face the risk
and challenge of pregnancy and raising a child after their childrearing years
have passed, not to mention a child filled with the Holy Spirit, who will turn
the people of Israel back to their God—a risky task in the face of the Roman
government demanding their complete allegiance.
Mary faces the potential shame and rejection of being
pregnant outside of marriage—Joseph could legally leave her—then she would be
without resources as an unwed and pregnant child. As it is, the family ends up homeless for the baby’s birth,
fleeing to Egypt as refugees soon after.
And the shepherds’ livelihood depends on the well-being of
the sheep in their care.
Journeying to Bethlehem will certainly add risk to the sheep, and
therefore to them. Not to mention
the risk of going to meet an other, whom you don’t know, who could do you harm.
And yet,
in each case—maybe after a bit of prodding for Zechariah—those who have
received angelic visits move out of comfort and into risk—choosing to follow
God. Choosing trust and hope over
their initial fear and potential hate.
They choose the vulnerability of trusting God and opening themselves up
to the unknown.
Maybe that is the true miracle of Christmas—that God comes
to us
with opportunities for risk and vulnerability. Like the opportunity to sing the angels’ “Gloria” in Spanish
and English or Silent Night in any
language you choose, risk and vulnerability can be scary. They are spaces where we are honest
with ourselves and others even with our struggles, so they are scary
indeed.
But they are also
opportunities for growth—opportunities to love more deeply or welcome another
more fully. Whether the risk is
being honest with loved ones, forgiving others who have hurt you, learning
about others who are not like you, or visiting a baby, wrapped in scraps of
cloth, lying in a feeding trough.
Following God into and through these opportunities for risk
just might lead to Jesus, who tends to show up in surprising places anyway. So in this season of Christmas, we
remember the birth of a child who calls us to risk, who calls us to deeper love
and wider welcome, who calls us to new life in Christ.
Thanks be to God.
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