Sermon for December 25, 2022 – Christmas

Psalm 96 · Isaiah 9:2-7 · Titus 2:11-14 · Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

The theme for this week is finding ourselves in the hope of the nativity. Our call to worship in Psalm 96 praises God’s righteousness, evident in the created world and our participation in it. Isaiah 9 promises that the Son given to us will free us from oppression and bring endless peace. In Titus 2, Paul writes of Jesus’ willingness to give himself so we might pursue goodness, kindness, and mercy. Our sermon text is Luke 2:1-14, (15-20) where we’ll explore how we can identify with the shepherds who were the first recipients of the good news of Jesus’s birth.

The Divine Touch: The Shepherds and Us

Luke 2:1-20 (NRSVUE)

Let’s test your knowledge of Christmas carol trivia. What was the first Christmas hymn authorized by the Anglican Church that was written by a poet laureate of England? And one random clue…it has the word “shepherds” in the title. [wait for responses]

“While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” was written around 1700 by Nahum Tate, the poet laureate of England between 1692 and 1715. Tate was an Irishman who moved to London to work as a poet and playwright during his 20s. Until Tate wrote “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” the Anglican Church only allowed the Psalms of David to be sung in church. What makes Tate’s hymn different is that it isn’t based on a psalm; it’s a metrically paraphrased version of Luke 2:8-14 which is a portion of our sermon text for today. You’ll notice that Tate managed to work in the connection with King David in the third stanza.  Let’s read the lyrics for a preview of today’s sermon scripture:

While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

‘Fear not!’ said he, for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled mind;
‘Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you and all mankind.

‘To you, in David’s town, this day
Is born of David’s line
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord
And this shall be the sign:

‘The heav’nly Babe you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.’

Thus spake the seraph and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels praising God on high,
Who thus addressed their song:

‘All glory be to God on high,
And to the Earth be peace;
Good will henceforth from heav’n to men
Begin and never cease!’

Our sermon text today focuses on Jesus’s birth and the angelic visitation the shepherds experienced. Let’s read Luke 2:1-20.

In considering this nativity story which we’ve heard countless times, let’s think about why God might have chosen shepherds to play an important role in the story of Jesus’s birth.

• The shepherds were in the dark. These were people who were doing their job, guarding their sheep at night, and suddenly, light was everywhere. The contrast of dark vs. light would get their undivided attention, and the metaphor of light/dark is a common one throughout Scripture.
• The shepherds were on the bottom rung of their socio-economic world. They would have been the last people that anyone would have thought God would interact with, let alone share the special news about Emmanuel – God with us. They had done nothing extraordinary to deserve this divine touch and revelation. This is a recurring motif when God interacts with people. It’s very often somebody who is considered a nobody in the culture.
• Despite their low economic standing, the shepherds modeled the way God looked after God’s chosen people. Examples in the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 40:11, Psalm 23, and Ezekiel 34:11-24, show how God looked after Israel as a good shepherd watched out for his sheep.
• The shepherds simply obeyed the angelic command to go see the baby. They didn’t try to dismiss what they’d seen or explain it away. They went right away, “with haste” (v. 16).
• The shepherds told others about what they had seen. They “made known what had been told them about this child” (v. 17). The divine touch and favor shown by God made the shepherds bold in sharing what they had witnessed.

As Luther Seminary Professor Sarah Henrich says:

Heaven and earth meet in obscure places, not in the halls of power. Shepherds and angels. A birth in the city of King David, but far from the royal residence. And that birth, that joy is for all people, just as the census was said to have been. 

With this strategic choice to tell the good news of Jesus’s birth to shepherds, God reveals the divine grace that cares not at all about class and power and position.

Revealing the birth of the Son of God first to shepherds also foreshadows the way Jesus lived his life. Jesus chose to hang out with tax collectors (Luke 5:27-29) and did not condemn sex workers (John 8:10-11; Luke 7:38-44). He touched and healed those considered unclean by the culture (Matthew 8:1-4). He spoke to women and allowed them to support him and minister to him (Luke 8: 1-3). Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs” (Matthew 19:14, NRSVUE). Jesus lived the way of making those first who thought they should be last based on the culture they were a part of. God’s revelation to the shepherds reminds us that God honors those who are often marginalized by the culture, and so should we.

Application: 

• The Christmas story shows us that God works through ordinary people and purposefully chooses those who might be considered “outsiders” to reveal God’s grace and favor. Just to make it clear that God’s love and commitment to us cannot be earned, the example of the shepherds demonstrates God’s willingness to validate those often dismissed by the culture.
• Christmas reminds us that God has entered our world and our history by taking on our flesh. Because of this, God is a part of our lives through Emmanuel – God with us – and this is what we proclaim at Christmas by singing the Christmas songs like “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” and by participating in other Christmas rituals. Because we are embodied, there is value in participating in rituals to celebrate the incarnation and embodiment of Jesus.
• God came to us at Christmas so that we would possess courage and hope to face the difficulties of living in a world of uncertainty. The promise of Emmanuel – God with us – means we do not navigate life’s struggles without guidance or support. We are not alone.

By considering God’s choice to share the good news of Jesus’s birth with the shepherds, we can understand more about how the Christ child was born to be “good news of great joy for all the people,” not just those who were rich or powerful or esteemed by the culture. Through Christ’s birth and the nativity story, God reveals God’s plans for all humanity and confirms that indeed, God is love.

For Reference:

https://interestingliterature.com/2018/11/a-short-analysis-of-the-christmas-carol-while-shepherds-watched-their-flocks/

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christmas-eve-nativity-of-our-lord/commentary-on-luke-21-14-15-20-20

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