The Eve of the Nativity of our Lord – December 24, 2024Psalm 2; Isaiah 9:2-7; Titus 2:11-15aSt. Luke 2:1-20
In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
When Caesar Augustus commanded that a census be taken,
Joseph journeyed with the young, pregnant virgin, to whom he was engaged, to
Bethlehem, the city of David. Joseph was a pious, kindhearted man. He had
sought to quietly annul his engagement to the Blessed Virgin when he found her
with child but the angel Gabriel revealed to him that the Son in her womb was
the very Son of God, the Savior of mankind. Believing the archangel, Joseph set
his mind to be a faithful steward and guardian of the Child. Part of his
faithful guardianship was to ensure his family was counted in this census.
But arriving in the city of David, among Joseph’s many
relatives, no room was found for the Blessed Virgin, great with child. Not a
single man was willing to give up his bed for this young girl, that she might
rest her head in a bed. Consequently, there was no crib for the Child soon to
be born. When it came time for His birth, the Holy Family found themselves
among the animals. The Newborn Babe was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in
a manger, a feeding trough for the animals.
From this, we see a picture of the Church. Mary is a picture
of the Church, the household of God, and the world has little esteem for her.
Even those who are friendly, even those who are related to her are unwilling to
step aside to provide for her. She is left alone to bear the child. Joseph, her
betrothed, could be seen as pastors, those who are given stewardship,
guardianship over the church. The child to be born is not of his blood but is
to be born for Joseph as well. He does what he can to provide for Mary and the
child. He guards and protects her in this dangerous hour.
The relatives of Joseph have also come to be counted for the
census, but they have no mind for the Savior in their midst. The world wants to
hear Christmas songs and participate in the mystical quality of the birth of
Christ, but they have no mind for the Savior who is to be born. Many might feel
compelled to attend a church on Christmas Eve, to hear the words of Luke 2, to
watch children sing and imitate the birth of Christ, but they do not ponder
these things in their hearts. It is a stage show for many, who can’t be
bothered to leave their beds on Christmas morning, leaving the Christ child to
be laid in a manger far away.
It is for this reason the Holy Angels announce the birth of
the Savior to the shepherds. They are watching their flocks by night, doing the
duty given to them by God. They are faithful to the sheep but despised by man.
Shepherding was not a noble task. It was dirty and for the lowly. But the Holy
Messengers of God reveal to these lowly men that a Savior is born this night,
born for them and all people in the city of David. And this birth is the
occasion for great joy.
Joy is much more than happiness. Joy is contentment that a
promise has been fulfilled. Joy is a relief that what is to come is here. Joy
erupts from the bowels of the joyful, leaping forth from the cattle stall of
hearts frozen by fear. The joy attending the message of the Holy Angels is that
Peace has been born in Bethlehem and God’s good will has come to dwell with
man.
Tonight is the beginning of the feast of the Incarnation of
our Lord. The Son of God is without beginning and without end. He was with God
in the beginning at the very creation of the cosmos. The cattle stall in
Bethlehem was not the beginning of His being. It was, however, the beginning of
His Incarnation—His being wrapped in human flesh.
He took on flesh that He might fulfill the Law of God. Since
the sin of Adam, sin has reigned in the flesh of all men, passed on from father
to son. This Original Sin clings to the flesh of all mortals and renders us
incapable of keeping the Law of God. We are incapable of keeping the Law
because by our sinful nature, we are enemies of God. We deserve nothing but
God’s wrath and punishment, both temporal and eternal. If you break even the
least of the commandments, you are guilty of breaking the entire Law of God.
The Law of God is His eternal will and as such, it demands to be fulfilled. We
can’t do it. It required fulfillment and we can’t do it.
Thus, the Son of God was born without the help of man. He
was Incarnate in the womb of the Virgin without the seed of man. He was born
the Seed of the woman, the promised Seed of Genesis 3:15. Having no human
father means that Original Sin was not wrought in the Christ’s flesh. He was
without Original Sin and actively fulfilled the will of God. He kept it
perfectly such that death had no claim on Him.
The Son of God also took on flesh that He might learn of
your suffering. He was born in a manger among the animals. He endured poverty
and scorn. As a man, He would endure physical suffering and torture, even
death. There is no suffering known to man that the Christ did not endure. He
endured these things so that He would take your suffering, pain, and sorrow
onto Himself. He bore your sin and suffering so that they would be nailed to
the cross with Him.
Above all, the Son of God took on mortal flesh so that one
day, He would die on the cross and rise three days later. As God, He is life
and cannot die. As a man, it is His fate to die. It is the fate of all men to
die, that is the end of all flesh. The Son of God became man for this purpose,
that He would die in your flesh, ending the curse of death given to man in the
Garden of Eden.
This is the cause of
Peace, and God’s goodwill toward men. Without Christ, there is only enmity
between God and man. We are God’s enemy outside of Christ. There is no hope;
there is no peace; there is no goodwill among men outside of Christ. The Holy
Angels give glory to God on behalf of the birth of the Christ, the Savior of
mankind. This is our joy this evening. This is our joy tomorrow morning. This
is our joy every day of the year. Ponder these things in your heart and let the
joy of the Incarnate Christ, the Son of God and Son of Mary, erupt from deep
within you. This peace, this joy cannot be taken from you. Nothing in heaven or
earth can snatch you from the Father’s hand so long as you have Christ.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
