"Expectations on Christmas Eve"Dr.
James L. Mayfield December 24, 2002
Text: Luke 20:8-20 #1: What tonight is all about, is finally not a message that can be contained in a lecture or explained in an essay. What tonight is all about is an amazing experience. Tonight is about the holy mystery of God's grace entering our lives. #2: We cannot adequately explain or define human love. Little wonder we tell stories and stumble over metaphors when we try to talk about God's love, the love that came down at Christmas. #1: Why are we here tonight? What are we expecting? #2: Some of us are here because this is what we do on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Eve would not be Christmas Eve if we were not here. #1: Some of us are here because there was no alternative, or the price of not coming was too high. We have no expectations or hopes for this service other than the hope it will not be boring or too long. #2: Others of us are here because, we are hoping that somehow, someway being here will make us feel better. Perhaps our being here will help us deal with our worries and fears, our heartaches and disappointments, our regrets and guilt. #1: Not all of us are here hoping for some kind of help with our worries or problems or heartaches. Some of us are here, smiling as we sing, because of some sort of good news, and we are here in gratitude to celebrate the goodness of God and how good our lives are tonight. #2: Whatever has brought us here tonight, our mixed motives and our variety of expectations are probably very similar to the hopes and fears, pains and joys of the people in and around Bethlehem when Jesus was born. #1: Of course, not everyone in the Bethlehem area saw what the shepherds saw or heard what the shepherds heard. From the stories told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke it is clear that most of the people in Bethlehem were unaware of what was happening. Apparently, even those who were aware of Mary giving birth to a baby, were unaware of what the shepherds or the wise men knew. To them, it was just another baby born to a poor couple away from home. #2: This being the case, we should not be surprised if some gathered here this evening, are aware of nothing more than just another Christmas Eve service at church. #1: But it is very possible, some of us may have an experience something like the experience of those shepherds. Let's look at what Luke told us about their experience. #2: The first response of the shepherds was neither curiosity nor joy; it was fear or anxiety. Why? I think they were somewhat anxious and afraid because they realized they were in the presence of God. #1: In such moments, all game playing evaporates, and we discover and see the truth about ourselves. Luke wrote that God's presence was all around the shepherds. They knew they were not God's equal. More than that, they knew they had not lived as God intended. More painful than that, they knew that had not really tried all that hard. In Luke's day shepherds were known for being a tough lot, who were anything but pious. #2: The shepherds saw themselves as the kind of people to whom, if God had anything to say, it would be bad news. So, when they were aware they were in the presence of a messenger from God, Luke tells us they were terrified. #1: "Do not be afraid" the angel said to them. "I have some good news for you -- in fact it is good news for everyone. The Messiah, the Christ is born, and this is how you will recognize him. He will be wrapped in cloth and lying in a feed trough, a manger." #2: Then a choir of angels sang. How better to describe what happens when those who have felt hopeless discover there is hope? A choir of angels sing: "Glory to God in the highest." #1: But even the greatest moments are only moments. The angels sang and then the shepherds were alone once again with only one another and the sheep for company in the night. There was silence. Now what? #2: "Let's go see," they said. So they went to see the baby the messenger had talked about. And sure enough, just as the messenger said, they found the baby in a feed trough. With him were Mary and Joseph. #1: The shepherds told what they had experienced. Mary, Joseph and others who were there, were amazed at what the shepherds said. #2: And so it is, when we have experienced the presence of God in our lives, when we have experienced the good news of God's grace, when we are aware the savior has come among us, and we tell others what we have experienced, they are amazed. #1: Not everyone in the Bethlehem area, experienced what the shepherds experienced. And it may well be that not everyone here tonight will experience the presence of God as did those shepherds in the field. It may well be that not everyone here will experience being in the presence of Christ the way those shepherds did. #2: But for those who do, it will be an awesome experience. And when they try to tell others what they have experienced, those they tell, are likely to be just as amazed as the people who heard what the shepherds had to say. #1: What tonight is all about, is finally not a message that can be contained in a lecture or explained in an essay. It is an experience: an experience of God's grace coming among us, an experience of God's light shining in the darkness of our world. #2: What tonight is finally all about is not a message to inform our brains. It is an experience to change our lives. #1: Why are we here tonight? What are we expecting? #2: Do you think there is any real chance we will experience something like what the shepherds experienced? #1: It can happen. #2: It really can. #1: God, may the shepherds experience be ours. Amen.
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