Christmas Homily for December 25, 2022. Gospel of Luke 2:1-20. Theme: They Need to Know and We Need to Remember
In celebrating Christmas, we Christians bow down in adoration before a manger- an animal’s feedbox - which God chose as his crib when he first came to live among us. The humility of God in coming to earth overwhelms us and the condescension of God in becoming human humbles us every time we look at that Baby in the manger. However, many people don’t experience this sense of religious awe and spiritual wonder. Instead, they try to find some meaning in the trappings of Christmas: the gifts and parties, the sights and sounds of the season. Perhaps they were never told - or maybe they’ve just forgotten - what that Baby in the manger means and the three main reasons why we celebrate Christmas?
The first reason is because Christmas is the celebration of God sending us a Savior. The very first thing that the Christmas angels revealed to the shepherds of Bethlehem was that the Newborn Child was their Long-Awaited Savior! This was the very first clue given to the world as to who that Baby in a manger really was. The word Savior means Healer. Jesus heals the spiritual wound of sin that resides deep within us and he bestows upon those who trust in him the precious gift of reconciliation with God and one another. The word Savior also means Rescuer. We need him to liberate us from our destructive behaviors and selfish tendencies, to transform us day by day, bit by bit, from the inside out. Everytime we celebrate Christmas we are reminded that the Baby in the manger is our Savior and Deliverer, whose healing touch and rescuing grace brings wholeness and healing into our lives.
Secondly, we celebrate Christmas because it holds out the hope of peace to the world. When the angels announced the Savior's birth to the shepherds, they also proclaimed a promise of peace, something that the world desperately needed then and needs even more so today. They spoke of peace for those upon whom God’s favor rests, which means upon those who open their hearts to God and accept the Gift of his Messiah, his only Son. This Son taught us that the way to world peace is to first of all begin with peace in our own hearts by being reconciled with God because we cannot give what we do not have. Then, by God’s grace we can radiate peace by intentionally living as instruments of love, forgiveness, faith, hope, light and joy. By doing this we can start a ripple effect of peace in our surroundings that will eventually reach out to encompass the whole world. The message of Christmas, then, teaches us that peace on earth begins with our personal decision to open our hearts to the Baby in the manger and to follow him who is called the Prince of Peace.
Third and finally, we celebrate Christmas because Jesus is Emmanuel, which in Hebrew means “God-with-us.” We rejoice over Christ’s birth because he is a God who did not want to remain far apart from us in Heaven, but was not afraid to roll up his sleeves, so to speak, and get dirty in the messiness and busy-ness of being human. He desired to live like us and be like us in every way except for sin. And so he came into this world as we all do, from a woman, a mother, born into a family. Whether people realize it or not, this is precisely why Christmas has always held such an honored place among all of our holidays. We magnify its celebration precisely because the human heart cannot ignore an almighty God who has chosen to give up power and glory to become a newborn baby lying helpless and vulnerable in a manger. Who among us, no matter how far we might be from God, could refuse to reach out to such an inviting non-threatening Savior? Every year, Christmas calls us to draw near to the Baby in the manger to see flesh and bone proof of how much God loves us. This is why Jesus became Emmanuel, God-with-us.
So, you see, we just have to share the Good News of why we celebrate Christmas and who that Baby in the manger really was with those who do not know or who may have forgotten. The need to hear that the Baby in the manger is the Savior who wants to heal their wounds and rescue them from living in hopelessness. That the Baby in the manger is the Prince of Peace who wants to bring serenity to their hearts and families and through them to the whole world. That the Baby in the manger is God come in the flesh who understands what it's like to be human and who wants to walk with them through the ups and downs of daily life. They need to know - and we need to remember - that the Baby in the manger is God’s Christmas Gift to each one of us, the gift of his only Son, sent into the world so that those who trust in him may not perish but have eternal life.
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