Remembering the Past...
        Planning the Future

    Park Christian Church
                                                                    (Disciples of Christ)

 December 21, 2008

Scripture:         Luke 2:1-14

Sermon:           “Here of All Places”

            In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.  This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  All went to their own towns to be registered.  Joseph 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.  He went to be registered with  Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.  And 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.

            In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign for you:  you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

            Way off in the big city of Rome.  Seated high upon the throne of the Empire.  Caesar Augustus breathed down power and control over millions of people.  And he had to get a count of just how many there were.  How many people did Augustus keep under his foot?

            That meant it was tax time.  Count the people.  Count the people everywhere.  Let me know who and where they are so I can know how much money they owe me for all that I’m doing for them!

            The high and mighty.  Maybe God is going to deal with that man someday for all he’s done.

            A step below Augustus, over in the sprawling city of Damascus, sat Quirinius.  Caesar’s man to keep “peace” over the land we call holy.  Maybe God’s gonna do something about him.  God’s coming, we say.  Maybe God’ll start in Damascus, seat of kings over Syria.

            Then, again, wouldn’t it make sense to start in Jerusalem?

            Now Caesar had found some folks that were just Jewish enough to serve his needs.  They called these folks Herods.  Now, Jews didn’t think too highly of this.  They knew the Herods were really just Edomites, hitching a ride on the back of the Romans to gain power over their long-time nemesis, the Israelites.  Herod?  King Herod of Judea?  Ah, he’s not really a Jew.

            Maybe God’ll come and we’ll see it happen in Jerusalem.

            Now, underneath all of these important men are just people.  Mostly like you and me, you know.  And there’s a story about a couple of them.  The man is working in construction.  Living in the backwoods of Galilee, his name is Joseph.  Probably making ends meet by building that big Roman city called Sephoris.  But, he lives nearby in Nazareth.

            Making ends meet and now he’s got to go and get in line for the government to count him up.  And they don’t want any confusion, so Joseph’s got to travel all the way down to Bethlehem where his folks are from.  It’s a long way to go.  But, you can’t live in the shadow of the Empire without proper identification.  Lest you be what they call an undocumented worker.  It’s a terrible bind to be in.

            You know what that’s like?  You feel like you’re just working your fingers to the bone.  Working for the man.  Just scraping by enough to live in a place like Nazareth.  And it seems like you’ve got to jump through everybody’s hoops.  Pay taxes.  Why?  So the people who make your life so hard can keep on doing that, getting richer?

            Plus, you know, there’s the matter of his young wife-to-be.  She’s more than just a little pregnant.  Just a kid, really.  And these two are supposed to get married.  Not married, yet.  You heard that right.  She’s pregnant.  They’re not married.  And not too many folks are gonna be convinced that some angel has announced this whole arrangement as God’s handy work.

            Back home we’d call that grounds for a shotgun wedding.

            It’s the kind of thing that people notice.  They ask how old your child is.  You say 3 months old.  They start counting back to the day you got married.  They add in 9 months for the typical pregnancy.  And then they look at you with that all-knowing glance.  You’ve been up to something you shouldn’t have.

            That’s what they’ll say.

            Now, this is the part of the story that has always made me curious.  Joseph’s got to get back to Bethlehem because that’s where his family comes from.  And when they get there nobody’s got a place for them.  I mean he has family there, right?  Cousins?  Parents?  Somebody.

            Maybe it’s got something to do with that pregnant fiancé he’s got with him.  Families can be like that.

            They can’t even get a room at the motel.  It’s filled up.

            Some folks like to say that there was a kind gentleman working the front desk of that motel when they arrived.  And even though he couldn’t put them up for the night, he let them go around back to the stable.  Story doesn’t go like that.

            I kind of get the impression that Mary couldn’t wait another minute and it just happened.  Like in the back seat of a taxicab or something.  Nobody seemed to let them stay anywhere.  No kind innkeeper.  They just up and had a baby when no one else would help out.  So, like a couple of homeless kids, they found their way to the shelter of a barn.  Like a couple of homeless kids?  That’s what they were!

            So, Mary, bless her heart, puts the child under the wraps of some fabric.  But, there’s no place in the barn to let the child sleep.  No place except that feeding trough.

            No, you ever get a good look at a feeding trough?  What they call a manger?  Terrible business that is.  Hay.  Slop.  Ungodly mess, really.  Ungodly.

            Now, Caesar’s sleeping well on his big bed up in Rome.  Quirinius probably has a decent arrangement himself.  Herod’s not sleeping most likely.  Too many people want his head.  But, if he could, his bed would be quite cozy in Jerusalem.

            Where’s God gonna come?  Where are you going to look for God in this world?

            The angels know.  And some of them went out to the shepherds’ fields.  Shepherds.  Now, any one of us could be a shepherd.  Just minimum wage, unskilled stuff there.  Shepherd’s a nobody.  Can’t do nothing right, shepherd.  Shepherd learns to ask, “would you like fries with that?”  Know what I mean?

            It’s no wonder to me that people have to sing this, this is Christ the King.

            Now, you think about that.

            You who are living something of this life that you hear about when you read the Christmas story.  You’re not in Rome.  You’re not in Damascus.  You’re not up in Jerusalem.  No.  You’ve got too much stuff going on for that kind of life.  It hasn’t been perfect.  It hasn’t been easy.  And it sure doesn’t seem like an all-powerful God is interested in getting mixed up in your stuff.

            But, there in a dirty little trough is where they said the Son of God was sleeping.

            Somebody said they should name him Emmanuel.  And that means “God is with us”.  God is with us.

            Must be!  That little baby is in the manger of all places.  God must be with us.

            You might miss it if you’re not careful.  You might miss it.

            This is the one who’d be hangin’ around folks that have some real stuff going on in their lives.  They’d start calling him a drunk and a glutton.  Is that your stuff?  Drinking too much?  Eat too much?  Don’t look so healthy?  You aren’t so healthy?

            This is the one who’d be keeping company with women of ill repute.  And he’s no stranger to thugs and tax collectors.  You have that kind of stuff in your life?

            This is the one we’d find hanging on a cross, right there between a couple of common criminals.  That’s how they’d deal with a man like Jesus.  Crucify him.  And we’ve got the idea that we’ve done some pretty awful stuff.  No way God is going to get involved in our mess.  Maybe we’ve even wound up on the wrong end of the law.

            God is with us.

            You look at that manger, again.  It’s a whisper.  Can you hear it?  It’s a whisper.  No emperor’s decree.  No governor’s dictum.  No king’s demands upon his subjects.  It’s a whisper.  Do you hear it?

            I love you.

Rev. David James Brown

Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)