Christmas Eve
Dear friends in Christ. One of the better and most beloved of the Christmas traditions is putting up the nativity scene. In it, like we have in church, is the Baby Jesus together with Mary and Joseph; there is the manger and animals; often they are joined by the shepherds and wise men; and there is the angel with the praise of God: Gloria in Excelsis Deo [Glory to God in the Highest]. Today we will look at some of these figures from the nativity scene and as we do so, we will learn what makes for a blessed Christmas for us: the joy of the angels; the simplicity of the shepherds; the adoration of the wise men; and the peace of the Christ Child.
First, let us see the joy of the angels. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
The angels are the foremost invisible creatures of God. The holy angels are many-- a multitude of the heavenly host—and powerful. They are confirmed in their bliss as Christ tells us of the holy angels [Mt. 18.10]: In heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. They praise God, carry out His commands and serve us. The name angel means messenger. We heard the angel Gabriel announce to Mary that, though a virgin, she would be the mother of the Jesus, the mother of God. We heard the angel announce Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. But then what do we read after the announcement of Jesus’ birth: a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" With the birth of Christ, heaven had come to earth. The Baby that was born was not just any human baby but He was the God-Man. The heavens were opened and the shepherds got a glimpse of heaven in that they saw the angels praising God—in the manger, just as they do in heaven. The same praise that they gave the Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in heaven, they were now giving Him here on earth.
Here is the great joy of the angels. They were marveling at the great mystery—this same great mystery that we remember and marvel at today: God becoming man to be our Savior. The angel announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds; the angel Gabriel announced Jesus’ conception to Mary and even announced the birth of John the Baptizer, the one who would prepare the way of Jesus, to his father Zacharias the priest. The angels heard and announced the greatest and most holy mystery of the incarnation, of God becoming also true man and His work to save people from their sins. But they didn’t understand it. The apostle [1 Peter 1.12] tells us that God’s plan to save us sinners from our sins, that the grace of God that brings salvation to all people [1 Timothy 2.11] that appeared that first Christmas, are things which angels desire to look into. God’s marvelous plan of salvation fulfilled in Christ was something that even the most holy angels—confirmed in their bliss, before the throne of God in heaven—found very fascinating and wanted to keep looking at. They beheld and worshipped Christ in His divine nature—as He, the Son, is one divine essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit—and now what is new and amazing is His human nature.
What great joy they have in the grace of God. Remember, when some of the angels rebelled against God and followed Satan becoming the demons, God consigned them to damnation. But when people, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God and sinned against Him, God in great grace sought to save them, you and me!
God’s grace was the foundation of their joy! Christmas is God’s grace appearing in the person of Jesus, the God-man. We can have a truly blessed Christmas as we look at and ponder God’s grace toward us sinners, toward me personally. Do not let the outward trappings of Christmas distract you from being like the angels—desiring to look at/ ponder the grace of God. As you focus on the grace of God—what Christmas is all about—then your Christmas will be one of nothing but the purest joy—the joy of the angels!
2. Looking at the nativity scene, we see the shepherds. From the shepherds we learn what else makes for a truly blessed Christmas: simplicity. The shepherds heard the announcement of the angels and saw their joy as they sang the praises of the God-man in the manger. We then read: So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. The shepherds didn’t question; instead, in the simplicity of faith they said yea and amen to the promise and message of God.
Did it make any sense that the Savior, who is Christ, that is, the long-promised and awaited Messiah, who is, the Lord, that is, that He is also the true God that He is a Baby, wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger? Hardly! So opposite our way of thinking and how we would do things! But by the angel’s simple announcement of Gospel: For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord— the Holy Spirit created faith in their hearts to believe it and to receive it. That faith showed itself in the good work of the shepherds—they hurried, even leaving their flocks, and went to Bethlehem. The simplicity of faith makes for a truly blessed Christmas.
Our modern, “advanced” world wants nothing to do with faith—at least when it comes to the Christian faith. But what did the angel say to the shepherds: And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger; and the shepherds went and saw. For a blessed Christmas let us do the same thing—go in faith to Bethlehem and see the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths. Our faith is not some blind leap in the dark; instead, it is created in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. You, today, have heard with the shepherds: For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord; so now go to Bethlehem and find the Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths. Luther once rightly remarked: Word and Sacrament are the manger and swaddling clothes into which it has pleased Christ to lay Himself. So what do we do for a truly blessed Christmas? We go to God’s holy Word and Sacrament and there see Christ. We study and examine Scripture and indeed see that Jesus is indeed the One God foretold in the OT; we see it confirmed in His preaching and miracles. By the word, the Holy Spirit brings us to faith in this Jesus, the God-man, and keeps us in the faith. We go to the Holy Supper and there we receive with the bread and wine Jesus’ very body and blood—there we see and experience and receive that God did indeed become man and was born of Mary in Bethlehem. In the simplicity of faith we don’t try to understand what cannot be understood with our frail, feeble human minds. Instead, we simply receive it in faith, saying yea and amen to the word and promise of God. That is a solid foundation and makes for a blessed Christmas.
That blessed Christmas lasts throughout the year: Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child…. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them. The simplicity of faith is not an emotionalism but a solid Spirit worked faith. The shepherds returned to their flock—returned to their normal everyday lives—but they were changed by that simple faith.
May it be the same for us this Christmas. Like the shepherds, we have heard the Christmas Gospel! As we receive it in simple Spirit worked faith, our lives will be the same but yet completely different. Our faith will show itself in good works, in telling others that good news about Jesus, in glorifying and praising God.
3. As we continue to look at the nativity scene, we also see the wise men. Although they came some time later, they are still depicted here. From the wise men we learn what else makes for a blessed Christmas celebration—adoring the Christ Child. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. Christmas would be completely worthless, secular even, if we would not come into the house of the Lord—His church—and worship and adore Him. That’s why we’re here tonight.
But let’s not pat ourselves on the back that we’re here tonight; instead, let us give thanks to our gracious God that He led us to the Christ Child and His house here tonight. Behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. The wise men looked for Christ Child-- wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him"—but it was the Lord who in grace led them by the star and by the holy Scriptures that had the prophecy of where He was to be born: And when [Herod] had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet." By the work of the Holy Spirit in the word God brought us in the simplicity of faith to recognize that Jesus is our Savior so we can adore Jesus. A blessed Christmas!
In that simple faith the wise men knew who Jesus was and that’s why they could adore Him! By bringing Him the gift of gold they were confessing Him as their King; by bringing Him the gift of frankincense, incense used by priests, they were confessing Him to be that Great High Priest who would offer that one perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world; by bringing Him the burial spice, myrrh, they were confessing that He, as the one perfect sacrifice, would He would die for the sins of the world. They adored Jesus because in simple, Spirit-worked faith they knew who He was and what He would do.
It was that faith that made their gifts pleasing and acceptable to Him. We adore Christ as we, in simple Spirit-worked faith, know precisely who He is—the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and give Him our gifts of time, treasures and talents; our prayers, praise, our confession of faith and thanksgiving—not only at Christmas but every day. We have a truly blessed Christmas when, like the wise men, we in simple Spirit-worked faith know rightly who Jesus is and adore Him.
4. Of course, no nativity scene is complete without the Christ Child, for He is the whole reason for Christmas. We have a truly blessed Christmas—no matter what our outward circumstances may be—when we in faith receive the peace of the Christ Child. He is our peace. That’s what Christmas is all about: in His very person God and man are united. God became man so that He might reconcile us sinners to Himself. That’s what He brought about by His holy, sinless life and by taking our sins upon Himself to the cross. That He achieved that peace and reconciliation—Easter shows us. But now at Christmas God does not come in all His divine majesty and holiness but as a simple Baby so that we might not be scared away but that we may be drawn all the more to Him and in faith receive Him and His saving work, His peace and reconciliation He brought about for us and now gives us in His holy word and sacrament. For a blessed Christmas come adore Him in His lowly manger and receive the blessings of peace that the Christ Child brings you.
Wishing you the joy of the angels, the simplicity of the shepherds, the adoration of the wise men and the peace of the Christ Child—merry Christmas! INJ