God's Little Secret: The Mystery of the Incarnation

A Sermon for Christmas Day

Isaiah 52:7–10 • Psalm 98 • Hebrews 1:1–4, (5–12) • John 1:1-14

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet

   of the messenger who announces peace,

who brings good news, who announces salvation,

who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”

— Isaiah 52:7

God Entered the World Quietly

Well, today’s the day, the day we’ve been waiting for, the day we’ve been preparing for, the day we’ve been anticipating, the day of our Lord and Savior’s birth…. Well, not exactly. Because the birth happened last night; it happened in the middle of the night while we were sleeping. We missed it; the whole world missed it, save for a few shepherds who received an angelic birth announcement.

     You see, God entered the world quietly. God didn’t want the world to know he had arrived. But not even God could keep a secret, not this secret, not when it came to the birth of his only Son. God just had to tell somebody. And look who he chose: some homeless guys who lived out of doors, who worked at a job that nobody wanted, and who nobody was going to believe anyway. And so, God’s little secret is safe, for the time being at least.

     But why would God want to keep his arrival on earth a secret?... Because God didn’t want to frighten us away. You see, something is wrong with us; something inside of us is broken. And that something is something only God can fix. But here’s the dilemma. That something which is broken in us also makes us terrified of God, so terrified that God has a hard time getting close enough to heal us with his gracious and loving presence.

And the Soul Felt It's Worth

A Sermon for Christmas Eve

Isaiah 9:2–7 • Psalm 96 • Titus 2:11–14 • Luke 2:1–14 (15–20)

Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle the fire that is in us.

Take our lips and speak through them.

Take our hearts and see through them.

Take our souls and set them on fire. Amen.

IT IS A HOLY NIGHT

Tonight is a Holy Night. Tonight is the night that we’ve been waiting for; tonight is the night we’ve been anticipating. Tonight is a Holy Night because tonight—this very Eve—we enter the Mystery of Christmas.

     Some of us have been preparing for this Mystery; some of us have not. Some of us have been getting ready for four long weeks, some of us for two weeks, some of us for two days or two hours. And some of us, have made no preparations at all. Maybe we forgot to get ready, or maybe we didn’t know how to get ready. But on this Holy Night, it doesn’t matter because the Mystery of Christmas takes us all by surprise,… ready or not.

For nine months, Mary and Joseph knew what was coming. For nine months, they made preparations as best as they could. But anyone who has prepared for the birth of a child, not least their first child, knows that plans have a way of changing. {For example, your wife might go into labor on the morning of January first. And you might be living in Pasadena, California at the time. And the Rose Bowl parade might be happening. And the parade route, the six-mile-long parade route, just might be standing between you and Hunting Memorial Hospital. Yes, plans have a way of changing.}

     Mary and Joseph could not have predicted that Augustus would issue an edict “that all the world should be registered.” They could not have predicted that they would have to make a long, arduous journey, when Mary was full to bursting. Nevertheless, they had some idea of what was coming because an angel of the Lord had told them.

     The shepherds, however, had no idea what was coming. They were out watching their flocks by night. This is what they did every night. They watched on Monday night, they watched on Tuesday night, they watched on Wednesday night, and they watched on this Holy Night. Of course, it didn’t feel particularly holy or special. It felt like any other Thursday night in the fields... Until suddenly, they were taken by surprise when an angel of the Lord appeared. The angel told them all about the Mystery of Christmas and invited them to come and see it for themselves.

     Mary and Joseph were prepared; the shepherds weren’t. Yet both were invited by God to participate in the Mystery of Christmas. It is indeed a Holy Night for the grace of God abounds for the whole wide world, every single one of us.

What Do You Want Jesus to Take Away from You This Christmas?

Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle the fire that is in us.

Take our lips and speak through them.

Take our hearts and see through them.

Take our souls and set them on fire. Amen.

The Mystery of Christmas

This is the season of Advent. Advent is the time of the color blue. Blue is the color of kings and queens. Blue is a serious color, and something serious is about to happen.

     A King is coming, but this is not the kind of king that people thought was coming. This King had no army, no great house, and no riches. This King was a baby who was born in a barn. This King is still coming. This is the great mystery we call Christmas.

     You know, a mystery is hard to enter sometimes. That is why this time of Advent is so important. Sometimes people can walk right through a mystery and not even know it is there. This time of year we sometimes get so busy and are in such a hurry that we miss the mystery. Maybe we forget to get ready, or maybe we need to know how to get ready.

     The Church learned a long time ago that people need a way to get ready to enter or even come close to a mystery like Christmas. So the Church set aside four weeks to get ready. This is such a great Mystery that it takes that long to get ready…

adapted from Godly Play

The Christmas List

But what exactly can we do to get ready? Well, last week I suggested that we each make a Christmas list. But not of the ordinary kind, not a Christmas list with things on it like:

What Do You Want Jesus to Bring You for Christmas?

Come, Holy Spirit, and kindle the fire that is in us.

Take our lips and speak through them.

Take our hearts and see through them.

Take our souls and set them on fire. Amen.

The Mystery of Christmas

This is the season of Advent. Advent is the time of the color blue. Blue is the color of kings and queens. Blue is a serious color, and something serious is about to happen.

A King is coming, but this is not the kind of king that people thought was coming. This King had no army, no great house, and no riches. This King was a baby who was born in a barn. This King is still coming. This is the great mystery we call Christmas.

     You know, a mystery is hard to enter sometimes. That is why this time of Advent is so important. Sometimes people can walk right through a mystery and not even know it is there. This time of year we sometimes get so busy and are in such a hurry that we miss the mystery. Maybe we forget to get ready, or maybe we need to know how to get ready.

     The Church learned a long time ago that people need a way to get ready to enter or even come close to a mystery like Christmas. So the Church set aside four weeks to get ready. This is such a great Mystery that it takes that long to get ready…

adapted from Godly Play