“Rebuilding the Nativity: Presence” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – Christmas Eve 2017

First Reading = Isaiah 9:2-7
2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. 3You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. 4For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. 6For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Second Reading = Titus 2:11-14
11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, 13while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
Gospel Reading = Luke 2:1-20
1In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3All went to their own towns to be registered. 4Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.6While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
8In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
A Good Story
If you were going to pick anywhere to be on New Year’s Eve, where would it be? For many here today, you’re probably picturing Times Square in New York City. Millions of people lining the streets, waiting with anticipation. The celebrities with cameras stuffed in their faces as the ball drops. Ten…nine…eight… the confetti gets ready to fly…three…two…one…HAPPY NEW YEAR! People cheer. Couples kiss. Everyone sings Auld Lang Sine, or at least the first few words since they don’t know the rest. It’s the best place to be to ring in the New Year, right?
And that’s where I found myself in 2003. I had just finished college, and my graduation trip was to New York City with one of my best friends. We had connected with one of his friends who lived in the City, so we were with a group of locals. And their place was right in the thick of where the crowds gather for the ball drop. So we decided to go for the classic Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration. When in Rome, right? So we stayed in the apartment and watched the ball drop on TV.
Good story, right?
Let me tell you another one. One of my best. We were in LA, I think for my brother’s graduation trip, and we had tickets to the Leno show – kids ask your parents what that was. And when you’re at a live filming, they have to pause the show when the commercials are going to run. So they have gaps in between the guests, and they have a band that performs, and they do things with the audience to keep them entertained for those few minutes.
And during one of those breaks the house band started playing the opening riff to an Eminem song – parents ask your kids who that is. Suffice it to say that he’s one of the most famous rappers, and it is also salient to note that at this particular time in my life I had memorized a significant percentage of Eminem’s repertoire. And the leader of the house band was looking for someone from the audience to come up on stage and rap this song. It quickly became apparent that there were two people in the audience who were being thrown under the bus.. sorry – nominated by their friends. A guy on the left side of the room…and me.
I started warming up my mind, rehearsing the lyrics, getting ready. And then, given the chance to rap at the Leno show…I pointed to the other guy, and he did it.
Good story, right? As a side note, yes I still have most of that song memorized.
If you want some other good “almost stories” I have several more. They sound good as a teaser – “did you know I’ve been kicked out of a hockey game…as a fan, not a player?” – but really they’re just “almost stories.”
Let’s rewind a little further than my college days. Let’s go back a couple thousand years. Let’s imagine one of the shepherds, we’ll call him Shep – that’s an inside joke from a recent children’s sermon skit. But let’s imagine that Shep tells his grandkids about the time that an angel appeared to him. And he talks about how the angel told him the Messiah was being born right over there in the next town. And a choir of other angels joined in to sing praise to the newborn King. And Shep regales his grandkids with how the angel told him where to find the Messiah – wrapped in swaddling clothes, sleeping in a manger.
And then his grandkids ask old Shep, “What happened next?” “Well, I don’t know?! I had to stay back and keep the sheep!” Good story, right?
I think that’s one of the overlooked parts of the Christmas story. The angels told the shepherds to abandon their fields – as crazy as that sounded. And the shepherds did it! They went to find this newborn king. They went to find this Messiah. They went to be a part of something big. It wasn’t one of my “almost stories,” they were there for the real thing.
And the text says “all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.” Were you amazed by my “almost stories?” Were you amazed to hear I could have been at Times Square for New Year’s Eve? Were you amazed to hear I almost rapped at the Leno show? Probably not. And old Shep’s grandkids wouldn’t have been amazed to hear he stayed in his field instead of going to see the Messiah.
God’s story is the greatest story every told. The creation and redemption of the world is literally the most important story imaginable. And we are invited, like the shepherds, to be a part of that story. We are invited to come and be a part of something big! But like old Shep, we have to decide to get out of the field and go see the Messiah ourselves.
Sisters and brothers, you are invited to be a part of something big. You are invited to be a part of the greatest story every told. You are invited to be a part of a story that is still happening, still unfolding right now! Are you willing to leave the field and go see for yourself? Are you willing to be a part of something big?
Near the start of Jesus’ ministry, he found two brothers fishing, and he invited them to be a part of a new story. He told them, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” And these two fishermen dropped their nets and followed him. Because they wanted to be a part of something big. And that’s no fishing story!
Near the middle of Jesus’ ministry, he sent out his followers in pairs, giving them a message of good news and giving them power to do miraculous things. But he told them they couldn’t bring along supplies – they had to trust that God would provide. And they went out with just the clothes on their backs and healed the sick of body and sick of soul. Because they wanted to be a part of something big.
At the very end of Jesus’ ministry, he told his followers that they would be his witnesses in their hometowns, in the cities of their rivals across the way, and indeed to every nation on earth. And we are here today, two thousand years later, because they wanted to be a part of something big.
Those aren’t “almost stories.” They’re part of the greatest story ever told.
And THAT is a story that we are all invited to participate in. We all have a role to play. We all have a mission.
Potential Stories
Sometimes that mission is too big to imagine. I knew a guy who was always talking year and year that he wanted to be a missionary – to just drop everything and go be Christ’s hands and feet in the world. But that’s like my “almost stories” – it’s interesting to hear the first time, but then you just want to jump in and say, “Go do it already!”
On the other hand, there’s a woman who lives in this area. She and her husband had good jobs. Their family was doing well. But they felt that same call to drop everything. But they actually did it! They quit their jobs, took their family to Africa for ten months to serve in the name of Jesus. That’s not an “almost story.” That’s being part of something big. And when they came back she decided she was still called to be a missionary, but one here in our town. Go down to GraceFull Café in downtown Littleton to grab a meal and see how she’s building community and feeding the hungry here in our city. That’s a story!
But not everyone is called to that kind of story. I mean, we’re not all missionaries. At my previous church one of my friends wanted to meet with me because he was feeling like he wasn’t being all he could be as a husband. He was relatively new to faith, whereas his wife was one of those people who had professed faith in Jesus at the age of 3. And he realized he was always waiting for her to tell him what to do in his faith. So I helped him come up with ways that he could take the initiative, to be active, to suggest ways they could both grow in faith together. Jesus was calling him to be a man of faith with his own family – to be in the foreground of faith, not hiding in the background. That’s a story!
But not everyone’s story is at home, even. I know a doctor who works with cancer patients. And let’s be honest – that’s not easy emotionally. I mean, we’ve made a lot of progress but there are still a ton of patients that medicine can’t help. It’s hard to be a nurse or a doctor working with so many patients you can’t actually help.
So this doctor sensed that his mission, his story, was to invest in the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing of his patients AND his staff. He’s an active part of the lives of his nurses – they aren’t just tools to him. They are people every bit as valuable as his patients. Every bit as valuable as his own family. And whenever I would visit church members on that floor of the hospital, I could sometimes feel a lightening of the spirit on the hall. As if a tiny bit of light was starting to shine in the darkness of these people’s pain. And that was usually my clue that this doctor was roaming the halls. The SPIRIT of the place was uplifted because of the way he approached his job. That’s a story!
How is Jesus calling you? Where are the angels directing you, as they did for old Shep? How can you seize that opportunity to be Jesus’ hands and feet, to make a difference? How can you be a part of the greatest story ever told? Maybe that’s an amazing mission. Maybe that’s in your home. Maybe that’s at work or school. How can you be a part of something big?
Summary
Two thousand years ago, the angels proclaimed, “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.”
Did you catch that? You don’t have to be afraid. You don’t have to hold back. You can be a part of God’s story. But it’s not because you’re amazing or strong or brilliant. Your part of the story starts with Christmas Day – the birth of the Messiah, the Lord, the Savior.
If you follow Jesus, he will lead you to the greatest stories of your life. Take a cue from old Shep. Abandon your old field. Go see what Jesus has to offer. You won’t be left with an “almost story.” You’ll be a part of something big. Amen.