Scripture reading: Isaiah 9:2-7.

Sermon text: Luke 2:1-20.

It seems we approach the Christmas season with a tinge of wistfulness this year. Events of the past weeks remain too fresh for many of us; we struggle with our own celebrations while we remember those who have suffered loss.

Perhaps it will help for us to remember a key lesson of this month. Evil has revealed itself yet again. Many who managed to ignore the evil in their lives received a brutal reminder that a materially wealthy society can still suffer pain. Healthy accounts rarely translate into healthy souls. Only those poor in spirit will see God, the true source of joy.

This lesson held true in the first century B.C. as well. The aristocrats in the Roman world lacked for little in their lives, while the poor often suffered in grinding poverty. The empire maintained order only because of the legions, and paying the soldiers required money. The Roman government, anxious about the flow of tax revenue, commanded all residents to return to their home cities for a census. When Rome commanded, everyone obeyed, regardless of any hardships they might endure.

The first century Jews had to pay their share as well. The Jews knew plenty about evil; they had suffered under the Greeks and then under their own rulers. Massacres dotted Jewish history over the previous 200 years, massacres inflicted both by the Greeks and Jews. Memories of previous Roman actions motivated the Jews to comply with the census registration, even if it meant that taking a heavily pregnant wife on a week-long trip from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea.

This trip actually began months earlier when an angel had appeared to Mary, a young Jewish woman in Nazareth. The angel Gabriel told Mary strange but wonderful news: She would bring the Messiah, the Savior of humanity, into the world. Gabriel had told Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.”

“And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.”

Many firstborn sons have come into the world; I am one of them. Many firstborn sons came into poor families; I did. Every child born represents unimaginable potential. Yet, none of the other firstborn sons brought with them what this One did.

Let’s go back to the Scripture reading for a moment. Notice the prophecy of Isaiah: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). We don’t think of children as “given,” but God gave this Child to us. This Child, the divine Son of God, came into humanity as a gift from the Father Himself. This Child, named Jesus, represented God’s greatest gift to humanity because He demonstrated that God has not given up on the human race. In spite of our depravity, God still seeks to redeem us.

Lest you wonder, notice the words of the angel to the shepherds: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Did you catch the phrase “unto you”? Jesus was born to Mary in Bethlehem, but the angel told the shepherds that he came “unto you” as well.

In the midst of the despair many of us have felt this month, we need to hear these words. We need to hear that God has given us a Child, one who can redeem us, one who can transform the world.

However, we celebrate the Given Child not because of His birth, but because of His life, His death, and His resurrection. Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary, completely fulfilled the covenant between God and the Jews. Then, this Man, innocent of all sin, died the cruelest of deaths: betrayed by His friend, railroaded into a Roman crucifixion by the cynical political maneuverings of the leaders of His people and the cowardice of the Roman procurator.

We celebrate the Given Child, Jesus, because He didn’t stay in the grave; the Given Child became the Conquering Lord, Victor over sin and death and the grave. We serve a God who can take the cruelest of deaths and transform it into our salvation.

We have hope today because Jesus’ death served as the ultimate atoning sacrifice for our sins. We have hope today because Jesus’ resurrection promises victory over death to all who believe in Him. We have hope today because we know that Jesus will return one day, bringing back all who have died believing in Him and also destroying the sin and depravity which afflict creation today.

To all in mourning today, I bring you “good tidings of great joy”: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” To all in despair over the sins of their lives and those around them, I have great news: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Through Jesus, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). The Given Child now gives salvation freely to all who believe in Him. Because of His victory, we have hope that triumphs death itself. You’ll find no greater peace than the peace you’ll find when you believe in Jesus, the Given Child. You’ll find no greater victory than the victory you’ll receive through the resurrection of Jesus, the Given Child and Our God.