From the ordinary to the extraordinary. From the humble birth of one at the first Christmas to the rebirth of anyone able to accept God’s forgiving love. (12/23/62)
Scripture: Luke 2:1-20
For December 23, 1962
Let us pray: Almighty God, grant us, we beseech thee, so to speak, so to hear, and so to learn that our fears may be banished, our minds enlightened, our faith confirmed, and our steps directed unto thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
One reason the Christmas story is so universally popular is because it is such an ordinary homey scene. Oh to be sure, a special star, angels speaking, Wise Men journeying from afar, a child born in a stable – these events are far from ordinary. But in a way the central event in this story is ordinary and homey. A baby is born, and persons come in from roundabout to see this new infant, and many who come bear gifts. This has happened millions of times. In fact, it is indeed unusual when a baby is born and such a fuss fails to be made. What person here has not participated in this kind of excitement – the excitement of going to gaze upon a newly born baby?
Have you ever stopped to consider why a new baby brings such fascination to everyone? Why is this so? Why is it that this tiny creature is able to captivate and entrance us? Why is this tiny child able to cast such a spell upon us? Without doubt we could find a number of answers to this question. First of all, the baby represents the miracle of life. New life is indeed a deep and astonishing mystery. And the newborn babe is about as close as we can get to this mystery. And then another answer to this question lies in the fact that all of us deem to be interested in things that are miniature: a tiny puppy, a small and intricate model of a great ocean liner, a doll’s house that is an exact replica of a regular sized home, a model of a village or a city – all of these catch our interest because they are a small edition of a larger object. We seem to be entranced by a model or replica or small copy of something that is regular size. And so perhaps we are drawn to a baby because it is a small edition of a human being. Here is a working model of a real person: all the parts are there, all seem to be in working order, and this catches our fancy.
There is a third answer to the question of why a young infant intrigues us, and this answer is perhaps more basic than the others. In a very real way a baby represents a clean slate to us; a baby signifies a fresh start. A baby is pure, unspoiled, innocent. In certain ways perhaps the baby represents to us what each of us ought to be: Instead of having false pride of being overly self-sufficient, the baby has an obvious dependence on others. Instead of putting on a false mask of sophistication, the baby is simple and direct. Instead of being cut off from other persons, the baby is in close union with the mother and others in the family. Instead of being sullied with wrong acts, the baby is clean and pure. Because of all this the baby interests us and fascinates us. And many of us are drawn to come and see the baby. And as we come to gaze upon this tiny perfectly created creature, perhaps many of us secretly yearn for the fresh start that the baby represents. If only I could start over again like this little baby, we perhaps wish silently to ourselves. If only I could have a clean slate. If only I could be given another chance.
Does this perhaps seem far-fetched to you – this idea that a baby represents a fresh start to us, a second chance? Well, surely we cannot deny that most of us wish to be different from what we are – in other words, wish a fresh start in life. If not, then why are there so many New Year’s Resolutions that will be made during the coming week or so? And what is the symbol of the New Year that is to usher in this new life for us? That’s right: a tiny baby wearing only a banner labeled 1963.
So I think it is not hard to make a case for the fact that many of us are intrigued with a new-born baby because more or less consciously we yearn to be reborn ourselves – we yearn for a fresh start, another chance, a new life. And perhaps the shepherds and wise men who come to view the baby Jesus also yearned for this same kind of rebirth.
If these wise men and shepherds did so yearn, I wonder if they realized that right before their eyes lay the possibility for their yearning to be fulfilled. Right there in that small baby lay the potentiality for rebirth. No, not actual physical rebirth, to be sure – these wise men and shepherds were not to be turned back into babbling infants. Not physical rebirth, but the kind of rebirth they were perhaps deeply yearning for: the new start in life, the second chance, the regained purity and innocence of the tiny baby. In all likelihood these men failed to realize that in this small child there indeed was the promise of their rebirth. But nevertheless, this is what he did signify. For God came into the world in flesh to make this fact clear: we don’t have to be our old selves. We don’t have to go dragging along weighted down by our besmirched selves. We don’t have to listlessly and futilely yearn for a new life. For this new life has been offered us. This is part of the deeper meaning of the Christmas event. Christ came into the world that we might have new life and have it abundantly. We no longer need merely wish that we could have another try. For this wish has been fulfilled.
How is this so? How can rebirth take place? How are we to receive this new life, this second chance, this fresh start? We can receive this new rebirth through God’s promise of forgiveness. Each one of us God loves and considers a person of worth. He does not want us to be weighted by the burden of our old selves, with all the heavy effects of our accumulated sin. He wants us instead to take a new tack, to have a fresh start, freed from the heavy chains of what we have been. God realizes that forgiveness – if we can only accept it as freely as it is given – can provide us with the means for receiving this new life. For forgiveness has a way of erasing what is past, of cleaning the slate, of providing a fresh start. One of our church school students defines forgiveness as “lifting the blame”. This is an excellent way of talking about it. For forgiveness does lift, it does lighten, it does release us from the heavy burden of blame. When we can believe that God forgives us, then we feel heaviness leave our shoulders, and we know that the blame has been lifted. And when we know that God no longer blames us, then we can find the courage to longer blame ourselves either. This provides us with the new lease on life for which we yearn. In this we feel reborn – we have been given another chance; we can face life anew with a clean slate.
God’s forgiving love can (and often does) operate any time anywhere, but we believe that this forgiveness can especially be found through the instrument that Jesus set up for this purpose: that is, through the church. Forgiveness can be found through a number of means in the church: through the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, through the fellowship of persons in the church, and through the Scriptures.
The forgiveness that brings the rebirth for which we yearn can be mediated to us through baptism. With the cleansing of the water our spirits are cleansed. In this way the sin which weighs each one of us down is washed away or lifted. (The blame is lifted). And through this sacrament we are reminded that God’s forgiveness is always available to us to cleanse away the stain of our old lives. And thereby we are given a new birth, a new life. Thereby we are given a fresh start, a clean slate.
The forgiveness that brings the rebirth that we seek can likewise be mediated through the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. With the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine we are reminded of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. This in turn reminds us of his sacrifice on the cross for our sakes. Christ’s death and resurrection is the other side of Christmas. In fact, were it not for these events we would not even be celebrating Christmas. For the baby whose birth we celebrate this week was to grow up, and he was to prove his divine love for each of us by going to die for us. He did this not because any of us had earned such love, but merely because of his own free-flowing concern for us. It was in order that we might have new life that Jesus suffered and died. And this suffering love we remember in Holy Communion. And as we remember this, we feel blame being lifted, and we are transformed into more the kind of persons we ought to be. We are given new life. We are reborn.
The forgiveness that brings us the rebirth that we desperately need can also be mediated through the loving community within the church. In fact often it is within this community that we get a concrete feeling of what it is like to be forgiven. This feeling of being forgiven by another human being, and through trusting that other human beings will forgive, gives us some conception of what divine forgiveness can be like. In other words, when the church is the church – when it functions as a loving community where all persons are accepted just as they are and in spite of what they are – then we know that the Holy Spirit is at work, then our faith is deepened. And when our faith is increased, then we are able to accept God’s love. We are given a clean slate, a fresh start. We are given a new birth: we are reborn.
The forgiveness that brings us the rebirth that we crave can be mediated also by the Bible. The Bible is the record of God’s dealing with man. It is here that we are told of his judgment and mercy and love and forgiveness. We are told in the Old Testament how he made a covenant based on the law with his chosen people. And then we are told in the New Testament how he made a new covenant based on love. And we find in the New Testament that this covenant was not just with a chosen few, but it was for all people. Anyone of us who would trust in his undying love as shown in the action of Jesus Christ, we would be transformed. We would be given a fresh start, a clean slate. We would be given new life: we would be reborn.
There are a number of symbols of hope connected with Christmas. Christmas comes at the very beginning of winter, and yet the festive spirit symbolized by Christmas points to something far different than winter’s bleak cold. Christmas comes at a time when the nights are longest, and yet the Christmas star symbolizes a light that can pierce any darkness. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a child, and yet much more in symbolized in this event; for the birth symbolizes also the possible rebirth that is offered to all of us.
At our pageant this evening all of us will have the opportunity to relive the manger scene. As each of us looks on and sees the newborn babe, what will happen? Will our yearning to be born again ourselves be just an empty craving? Or will this yearning be fully satisfied as we trust in God’s forgiving love – the kind of love that brought the Christ Child into the world, the kind of love that can bring each of us into a new world of peace and hope and joy.
Let us pray: Most merciful God, who hast so loved the world as to give Thine only-begotten Son. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life: Grant unto us, we humbly pray Thee the precious gift of faith, whereby we may know that the Son of God is come; and, being always rooted and grounded in the mystery of the Word made flesh, may have power to overcome the world, and gain the blessing of New Life: through the merits of the same incarnate Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Sermon copyright © 1962 by Marjorie D. Palmer and
the direct descendants of William E. Palmer
Leave a Reply