Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Church Episcopal
December 24, 2016
Christmas Eve
In 1986, Robert Fulghum wrote the book “All I Really Need
to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” The
book is actually a series of essays on all kinds of topics, but the first essay
lists the life lessons learned in Kindergarten.
The list includes learnings like “Share everything.” “Play fair.” “Don’t
hit people.” “Clean up your own mess,” which is all in caps! And my personal favorite: “Take a nap every
afternoon.” Fulghum’s premise, with
which I happen to agree, is that if we all lived by the lessons we learned in
kindergarten, the world would be a better place.
A friend of mine has a sweatshirt that says “All I need to
know about following Jesus, I learned from Christmas.” Obviously, this is a take off on Fulghum’s
book, but the slogan on the shirt got me thinking. Is it accurate to say that all we need to
know about following Jesus we learn in the story we hear tonight? What do we learn about Jesus in the story of
a simple birth to humble parents that lights up the night sky with angels and
song?
The story begins with Mary and Joseph traveling to
Bethlehem to be counted for the census. They
have been summoned by Emperor Augustus for the first century equivalent of April
15th. They have come to
Bethlehem from Nazareth to be registered in order to be taxed. Governments don’t count people unless they
are needing to count money as well. When
the young couple finally arrived in Bethlehem, I imagine there were long, dirty
lines at the census office, the first century version of paperwork to fill out,
too many customers and too few people working at the desk, and more weary,
grumpy travelers than the local inns could accommodate. And of course, that’s when Jesus decides to be
born and the only bed available is a feeding trough.
Then, an angel shows up and scares the living daylights out
of some shepherds. The angel says “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.” The shepherds, who were out
tending their flocks, leave the sheep to their own devices, pick up and go with
haste to find Mary and Joseph and the child. There is no star to guide them in this
story-that is in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth. All they knew was to look for a child in
Bethlehem, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. That sounds like
looking for a needle in a haystack to me.
But apparently the angel’s directions worked.
Lastly,
once they found Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, the shepherds made known all that had
been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds told them. The story implies
that the shepherds told more people than just Mary and Joseph. “All who heard it” implies that anyone within
earshot heard. But Mary and Joseph were
certainly among those who were amazed at the shepherd’s words, and Mary had
been told from the beginning that the child she carried was no ordinary
child. Remember the words of the angel:
“‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you
will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He
will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God
will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the
house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’” So, nothing the shepherds told Mary should
surprise her. Perhaps Mary and Joseph
wondered how the shepherds, of all people, knew about their child.
So, what have we learned about following Jesus from the
Christmas story? First, we learned that the
arrival of Jesus is not necessarily convenient.
Jesus often arrives in the midst of the chaos of our lives. Jesus doesn’t wait until everyone is
perfectly healthy, an exquisite dinner has been prepared, the gifts are
beautifully wrapped, and the tree is expertly trimmed. That is good news, for if Jesus could only be
born in our midst when everything is perfect, and you are like me, then Jesus
would never arrive. The good news is
that Jesus arrives in our lives, like he arrived in Mary and Joseph’s lives,
when he is ready not when we are.
Following Jesus means making room for him whether he fits into our plan
or not.
Secondly, we hear the promise of the angel to the shepherds
that they will find the child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a
manger. A feeding trough is an unlikely
place to find the messiah, the Lord. The
good news is that we will find the child if we look. The challenge is that we are to look in
unlikely places. We find Jesus in the
manger tonight, with all the glory of our Christmas worship, so that we can
practice finding Jesus in the world around us.
Lastly, once the shepherds have found Jesus, they tell
everyone around them. We find and
experience Jesus here tonight, which leads us to find and experience Jesus in
all sorts of unexpected places, which fills us with joy that cannot be
contained within ourselves. Good news
is meant to be shared. Following Jesus
means expressing our joy and sharing our story.
But just as Mary listened to the shepherds, following Jesus also means
being willing to learn about Jesus from unexpected people.
Do we learn all we need to know about following Jesus from
the Christmas story? While there is more
to the story of Jesus than simply his birth, I believe that if we make room for
Jesus even when it’s not convenient, look for Jesus in unexpected places and
are willing to learn about Jesus from unexpected people, and share our joy with
the world, we will live the Christmas story and that story will change the
world.
Amen.
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