YouTube video sermon
Luke 2:8-20
The other day, my wife had a memory pop up on her Facebook account that showed our family at Disney World in December 2014. Jordan was 12, Parker was 10, and we were at Epcot getting ready for the IllumiNations nighttime light and sound show. More than just an ordinary firework show with some music behind it, this display of sound and light involved fireworks, water fountains, lasers, search lights, and a rotating globe with LED screens. How many of you had the opportunity to witness that? Wasn’t it neat?
The first time that Melissa and I saw it was in 2000, the year after it originally premiered. I don’t recall the exact date. All I remember is that the trip was spontaneous. We didn’t have children at the time. It seems that maybe it was coming up to a vacation weekend – perhaps Memorial Day or Labor Day – and we had the benefit of a long weekend, or something like that. And so, we just threw a bag in the car and headed for Orlando.
Besides witnessing this fabulous sound and light show, there are only two other memories that I have of that trip, one is that our AC broke down and we got caught in a traffic jam and almost melted, and the other is that because it was spontaneous, we didn’t have a hotel room. We finally ended up finding a Disney-themed family room with a queen bed, kids bunk beds and a Nintendo gaming system. Not something that a newlywed couple would normally choose. Lesson learned…
But I remember that fabulous light and sound show, and when we took the boys a few years ago we were eager to see their reactions. And ever since then, I’ve thought about that dramatic presentation of sound and light. But, of course, that wasn’t the first sound and light show, nor the greatest sound and light show.
I think the greatest light and sound show that ever took place in human history, took place on a barren field outside the tiny town of Bethlehem. And while many of us are scurrying around trying to take down our Christmas decorations and get things put away, might I encourage us to linger just a little longer?
On the back side of Christmas, is it possible for us to hold onto the wonder of it all just a wee bit more? Can we let the truth of what has happened in the great Christ-event be for us an experience that is burned into our souls? There are, after all, twelve days of Christmas, aren’t there?
As I conclude this Advent/Christmas sermon series Bethlehem’s Light, I’d like for us to see the light of wonder as it shines in the darkness of uncertainty. Bethlehem’s Light doesn’t just shine before Christmas. It shines after Christmas too. Indeed, Jesus still shines today. Even though the times in which we live are uncertain, and even though our own personal lives have times of uncertainty, the light of Christ still shines.
For those people who gathered there in Bethlehem on that night so long ago, there was a sense of wonder at the things they had heard, seen, and experienced. It was a night like no other, one they would never forget. And we’ve not forgotten it, either.
Luke tells us that when the shepherds came to Bethlehem and found baby Jesus, they “made known the saying which had been told them.” They shared what they had heard from the angels, “… and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.”
I have no way of knowing what happened to those shepherds after that night. It’s difficult for me to imagine them ever getting over it. I can’t help but believe that they always remembered it, held onto it, kept it alive in their hearts – the wonder of it all. Perhaps, some of them were still around when Jesus came to Jerusalem, many years later. I can almost see them saying to each other, “Remember that night long ago. We knew then there was something special about Him, and now here He is.”
We know that Mary and Joseph held onto the wonder of that night. Parents always hold on to the wonder of birth. Luke said Mary “… kept all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
Luke also writes that “… the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” This experience turned them toward God. They worshiped God because of what had taken place.
In the experience of these people, caught up in the first Christmas, we see some hints for ourselves. They lived in times more uncertain than our own. They had none of the advantages and safeguards we have today. If a baby lived, great! If a baby (and mother) had complications, well then, maybe they just died. There wasn’t much understanding of medicine in those days.
Add to the uncertainty of birth, the fact that they lived in a predominately agrarian society. No rain meant no crops. No crops meant no food. Fishing wasn’t a recreational activity like it is for me. No catch meant no money. If those little details aren’t enough to remind us of the uncertainty faced by Mary and Joseph and Jesus, then consider the domination of Rome. When Caesar issued decrees people moved, or worse – died. Yet, despite this, those that experienced that first Christmas were filled with wonder.
Do you feel like you’re up against a wall? Do you think your life is filled with uncertainty and the darkness of it has fallen upon you? Let the light of wonder shine upon you. Remember to…
Let The Glory Of God Shine On You
Luke 2:8-9 says, “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.” Notice how many times, in the Scriptures, the presence of God is described using terms of light and fire. We’re told that our God is a consuming fire. He radiates with the splendor of glory that is brighter than the noon-day sun.
Many of you know the real pain and difficulty of seeing in the bright sunlight. Several of you have had cataract surgery, several of you have some sort of macular degeneration where you have to get periodic shots of medication in your eyes. When you have your eyes dilated it’s hard to see due to the brightness of the sun. Yet the Bible describes our God as having a refulgence that even surpasses the sun.
I don’t know about you, but I was kind of expecting something more grandiose on Monday, December 21st when Saturn and Jupiter aligned to create what some call the “Christmas Star” or the “Star of Bethlehem.” I suppose I was a victim of our own Christmas imagination. Nevertheless, if you consider the fact that I was seeing that astrological phenomenon from a part of the world with a large degree of light pollution, then it’s not too hard to understand that it was a pretty big deal.
Now, I need to be careful here. Pastors are continually faced with the temptation to make more out of something in the text than was intended. And we’re often led to make incorrect interpretations and applications for the sole purpose of sharing something “new” with our congregations. So, I want to be careful here.
Luke’s gospel makes absolutely no mention of the “star.” We read about the “star” in Matthew 2 when we’re introduced to the Magi (wise men). And if you read Luke 2 and Matthew 2 carefully, you’ll discover that these two gatherings – the shepherds and wise men – didn’t happen at the same time. In Luke 2 Jesus is clearly born in a stable of sorts and he was laid in a manger (a feeding trough) because there was no room for them in the inn. However, in Matthew 2:11 we’re told that the Magi entered a “house.”
So why am I saying that we need to be careful? Because I’m getting ready to make a statement that isn’t clearly and explicitly stated anywhere in Luke’s account, but I wonder if the same star that led the wise men in Matthew 2 also helped the shepherds find their way to Jesus?
John began his Gospel by writing, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5) Jesus is the light which shines upon us. He’s the light which shines around us to light up the road we travel, to help us find our way. He’s the light which shines through us, and calls us to be light and share light, even when there’s darkness all around.
During the fourteenth century, the Black Death swept across Europe, taking the lives of thousands of people. In some towns, every person died. Many people locked themselves up in their homes, hoping to avoid the illness (sounds familiar, doesn’t it?). On Christmas Eve, in the year 1353, in the town of Goldberg, Germany, there was a man who thought he must be the last person alive.
He remembered the joy of other Christmas seasons. He decided that with his family and friends gone, he did not want to live any longer. So, he walked out into the street to face death. As he walked along, he sang a Christmas song, and was surprised that soon another voice joined his own. Several people came out and joined him, and when they reached the end of the street, they found they had a group of 25 men, women, and children.
They all sang together. Then, they returned to their homes and began to put their lives back together again. The worst had passed. A tradition was begun there that lasted for centuries. Each Christmas Eve, the people march through the streets and sing these words:
To us this day is born a child.
God with us.
His mother is a virgin mild.
God with us.
Despite the darkness of uncertainty that’s in the world, Bethlehem’s Light – the light of Christ can shine in us, and we can let it shine. Let the glory of God shine on you and in you.
Remember also, to…
Let The Angels’ Song Fill Your Heart
Luke 2:13-14, “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 among those with whom He is pleased!’”
When the shepherds came to Bethlehem, their hearts were full of what they had heard from the angels. It was because of that announcement that they said to each other, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened.” When they got there, they shared what they had been told.
And although Scripture doesn’t explicitly tell us this, you have to believe that from that moment on, whenever they experienced uncertainty and anxiety and stress and worry and disappointment, they heard the song of the angels in their heads. Much like you hear the words and tunes of Amazing Grace or It Is Well or Just As I Am.
Some of us need to catch that. All of us need this song in our hearts, the song of the angels, the great anthem of Christmas – “Glory to God in the highest…” In fact, we sing those very words every Christmas in the hymn Angels We Have Heard on High. The chorus (or refrain) that we sing is “Glo…ria in excelsis Deo.” In case you didn’t know, that’s Latin. And when you translate that phrase what do you get “Glory to God in the highest.”
What if we could take those words to heart? What if we could make it a part of us? What if, like Amazing Grace or How Great Thou Art or Great Is Thy Faithfulness, we had “Glo…ria in excelsis Deo” in our heads and hearts too? Maybe then, we could make Christmas something more than an event or a day that we find our way through only to pack it up in a box and put away until next year, to something we live all year long.
Some of us live like someone has eaten the chocolate off our peanuts, licked the stripe off our candy cane, or popped our little bubble, instead of realizing that we’re joining a host of countless angels in praising the God who become man and lived among us, to be our Savior, our Christ, our Lord. We let the uncertainty of life overwhelm us, but it does not have to be that way. Let the song of the angels continue to fill your heart.
First, the light, then the sound. And finally…
Let The Savior’s Birth Transform Your Life
Luke 2:17 says, “And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.” The shepherds went from tending sheep to talking about the Savior. They left their jobs as shepherds – even if only temporarily – and became broadcasters. Announcers of the greatest event in human history. Journalists proclaiming the Messiah’s birth.
But it wasn’t simply sharing the Good News of great joy in casual conversation or even exuberant exclamation. Verse 20 says, “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” The shepherds went from tending sheep to praising God. They exchanged their shepherd’s robes – at least temporarily – for choir robes. They went from sitting quietly in some pasture to singing joyfully of everything they had seen and heard.
We can let the good news of Christmas, and the joy of Christmas fill our lives with a sense of wonder which we can take away with us. This sense of wonder can transform our lives and our living and give us a new purpose, a new direction, a new destiny. Would we let Bethlehem’s Light lift our lives and our living above the ordinary and the mundane? Could we just let the wonder of Bethlehem’s Light change us? Is it possible that we go from quietly sitting and watching to glorifying and praising?
I know this year has been tough. I know that we still have unanswered questions on the horizon. I know that life is uncertain, but let’s just take a minute and let Bethlehem’s Light and the wonder of it all move us to proclaim “Glory to God in the highest.”