Scripture reading: Isaiah 9:2-7.

Sermon text: Luke 2:1-20.

Devotional

“Darkness was upon the face of the deep.... And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” From the beginning of time, God sought to bring light to His creation. Light would show His people how to live; light would bring them hope, confidence, and joy.

Unfortunately, darkness didn’t surrender easily. Just as light ruled the Garden, darkness — spiritual darkness — pervaded the land that lay outside, the land cursed by the Fall. Darkness ruled, only occasionally punctuated by the Light.

Darkness ruled through the Flood; darkness ruled through the Exodus. The worst plague fell on a darkened Egypt, in the dead of night. God’s light awed the Hebrews at Sinai, but darkness quickly regained control in the form of a golden calf.

Then, darkness managed to maintain control even in the Promised Land. Light filled the Tabernacle and the Temple, but spiritual darkness led to the Exile.

The Light never returned to the Temple. For nearly 600 years, the people waited for the Light. Then, the Light came, unnoticed, born of the Virgin in Bethlehem.

Today, we celebrate the coming of the Light of the World, Jesus Christ. The Light shone in the wilderness of Judea, on the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee, and into a grave in Jerusalem. He shines in heaven today as our Intercessor and Advocate.

We come here today bringing the darkness in our lives, those dank corners we try to hide, hoping no one will look. However, the Light has come, and He has overcome the darkness. He shines in the unlovely places, exposing the filth and purging us. For those who believe, He transforms us and enlightens us. Today, bring your darkened soul to the One whose Light overcame death. Come believing — and live in the light.

Sermon

Do you enjoy waiting for good things? What about waiting for good news? Christmas is only 4 days away, but for some of us, those 4 days will seem like a month. Few people appreciate the proverb, “good things come to those who wait.”

If anyone knew about waiting, the Jews certainly did. More than 700 years elapsed between Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 9 and Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem as told by St. Luke in chapter 2 of his Gospel. Those 700 years held the despair and horror of the Exile, the jubilation of the Return, and the immense disappointment as Isaiah’s prophecies regarding a restoration of the nation failed to materialize. Only the prophecy of Daniel pinpointing the arrival of the Anointed One — the Messiah — fueled the dim hopes of God’s people as they awaited the coming of the One to restore their place in the nations.

Over the course of those 7 centuries, the people’s expectations seemed to increase. Everyone seemed to forget the prophecies regarding a Virgin to conceive, a Child to be born, a Son to be given. Everyone seemed to forget the prophecies about a suffering Servant, and no one dared recall the end of Daniel’s prophecy that the Messiah would be “cut off.”

Instead, the expectations for the Messiah grew with each passing century. Surely the Messiah would restore the nation and overthrow the pagan oppressors who had tormented His people! Any Messiah worth His salt would bring an army with Him to crush the might of imperial Rome and drive the shattered legions from God’s chosen city. Perhaps the Messiah’s armies would then take the fight to Rome herself, leveling the pagan temples and humiliating the patricians of the world’s mightiest city. Even Caesar Augustus himself would find himself cowering in fear at the feet of the Jews’ deliverer.

Crushing the Romans in the first century A.D. would prove a tall order for anyone, however, much less a Baby born in a backwater town in a miniscule province of the Roman Empire to parents who couldn’t even afford to bribe their way into a hotel room. How could anyone expect a Baby to fulfill anything prophesied by the greatest seer known to humanity?

Yet, God chose to come to earth as a Baby, not as a conquering hero at the head of a mighty military force. “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” On the night of Jesus’ birth, Caesar slept in Rome, confident of the power of his legions. Herod slept soundly in his palace in Jerusalem, confident that Rome’s soldiers and the corrupt priests in Jerusalem would keep him in control another night.

Expectations. No one expected God to appear in Bethlehem on that night. The priests and Pharisees slept through His arrival. When God the Father chose to announce the birth of His Son in Bethlehem, He didn’t send the angels to Jerusalem to awaken priests, Pharisees, or Romans. The Father sent His heavenly choir to poor shepherds in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. No one would have expected shepherds to see angels or become the first visitors to their King.

Hear again what the angels proclaimed: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

“Don’t fear.” Every angel who appeared in Scripture had to utter these words. “Good news.” After 450 years, God appeared again to His people, and in human form! “For all people.” The Jews of Jesus’ day needed good news, but few of them realized that so did the Romans, their oppressors. Tribes totally unknown to the shepherds needed the good news of Jesus’ birth. “Unto you is born a Savior.” The Jews knew they needed saving from the Romans, but they didn’t realize how much they needed saving from sin and death. “Christ the Lord.” This Baby would save His people, but the Jews didn’t realize that their true King would claim all peoples as His people; He would save people from every tribe and nation.

Strangely, this Child would fulfill the angels’ words without resorting to the typical methods expected by the Jews. He would never lead even a Roman maniple, much less a legion. He would never write a book, much less establish an empire. He would never see any part of the Roman Empire but His Jewish homeland once His family returned from Egypt in His childhood.

The angels’ song resounded over the hills of Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” The Child born in Bethlehem, Jesus the Christ, would bring glory to God in His life and peace to His people. Peace with God would come from a relationship with the Father made possible by the death, burial, and resurrection of the Son.

The shepherds’ response serves as a great example. “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” When the shepherds heard of the good news, they went to Jesus. They went to the only One who could fulfill the angels’ proclamation of good news.

What about today?

Expectations. Every time a child is born into our family, we begin building our expectations of what the child will accomplish. We hope the child will excel at everything: academics, athletics, music, or whatever skills we hold as the definition of success. We pray that God will bless our children with the ability to accomplish anything (everything?) life may throw at them. What expectations did your family have for you?

What expectations did you have for your life? Do you find yourself where you planned to be at this time, or have you seen your expectations wrecked on the rocks of cold reality as your dreams evaporated around you?

I think we need to remember that God didn’t come to His people until 700 years of oppression and 450 years of silence had broken them, nationally and spiritually. Once broken, God began to remake His people in the most unusual way. God used a crucifixion and a tomb; He used a broken Body to redeem His creation and His people. Then, after 3 days in the tomb, God raised His Son, Jesus Christ, to defeat sin and death and bring salvation (remember the “Savior” part?) to the world.

Even better, when Jesus returned to heaven, He didn’t leave behind a disheartened people with crushed expectations. Jesus left a band of followers with a greater expectation than even Isaiah’s original listeners would have dared to hope. Jesus promised that God the Holy Spirit would come to dwell with His people, fulfilling the prophecy of “Immanuel” in a way never experienced by God’s people in all history. Today, when we confess Jesus as Lord, believing in His resurrection, we experience Immanuel in a way completely unexpected. The Holy Spirit lives within us, guiding us and comforting us in the times when life threatens to break us.

Will you follow the shepherds to Jesus? You don’t have to travel to Bethlehem. Today, New Hope will celebrate Holy Communion. Today, as we celebrate Communion, I invite anyone desiring a new relationship with Jesus to come to the Table. Today, I invite anyone desiring a renewal of their relationship with Jesus to come to the Table.

Regardless of your location, come to the Body broken for you, the Blood shed for you, expecting salvation. Expect God to dwell with you, giving you peace, comfort, and guidance. Then, join God’s people in worship and fellowship.

The events of that night in Bethlehem still give us expectations of God’s grace when we confess Jesus as Lord. The Baby born to the Virgin Mary now reigns as Lord of all Creation. His rule will bring peace to your heart as you give Him your life and your allegiance.