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December 25, 2009
The Nativity of Our
Lord Jesus Christ
also called
Christmas Day
Year C
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Click here for sermons from previous
weeks
The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
The reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah is much loved. It is not only
a prophecy of the coming of the Messiah, but a prophecy about how he will
correct all the wrongs of the earth, all the hurtful and sinful things that have
happened on this old globe, and make them right again. And that, of course,
includes the wrongs connected with each of us: our secret sins, our faults and
impatiences and corner-cutting, and the ways we have neglected to love God and
our fellow humans. In short, the ministry and mission of the Messiah will be to
restore humanity to the perfection with which God made it, bring us back to
being the image of God, spotless and sinless and full of the love that is God
himself...before we messed it all up, corroded it, and scratched it, and ruined
its perfection. That's what Isaiah says.
How can this be? The Psalm and the Epistle give us the answer. The Psalm
extols the glory and mighty power of God...power that can do anything God wills.
Paul's letter to Titus reminds us that the coming of the Messiah, whom we know
as Jesus of Nazareth, is the beginning of our salvation. And our salvation means
restoring our sinful nature to the imago Dei, the image of God
himself, that was imprinted on us when God made us. It really is as simple as
that.
In fact, it's as simple as the birth of a baby, out of wedlock, to a peasant
girl of about 14...a girl far from home and mother, having a baby in a cave,
among the animals bunched close for warmth, and laying him on a bed of straw,
because that's all she has for a crib. It is that simple, and that complicated.
How we get from a newborn baby to the salvation and restoration of all humanity
is a giant step, of course, and it is not one that we humans can fully
understand. That doesn't matter. GOD understands, and that's all
that is necessary...the same God who came down from heaven in the shape and form
of that newborn baby, lying on the straw among the animals, long ago. What IS
important is for us to believe, not for us to understand but only
to believe. Contrary to our human way of thinking, it is not necessary for us to
understand in order to believe. All we need to do is to simply accept the truth
of this event, the fact that it did indeed happen, and that through God's love
and gracious forgiveness, this event, the birth of God in the form of a human
infant, does indeed bring about our salvation, the restoration in us of God's
own image. We are once again made pure and holy and filled with God's own love,
if only we will take the simple step of accepting the truth of this miracle. No
need to understand, no need to debate theology, just accept, and be thankful.
And so...what now?
Well, if we do choose to believe, we will then go forth from this place of
remembering and believing and accepting, filled with God's own holiness, love,
and forgiveness. We will let these things rule our lives from now on. We will
keep remembering what Christmas is all about. We will try to live holy lives. We
will fail, of course, again and again, but we will keep trying. We will do our
best to show God's love to others and to God himself. We'll treat everyone as we
think God would treat these people who are his beloved children, just as we are.
We will not hold grudges, we will not demonize people who disagree with us, we
will forgive those who hurt or injure us, just as God has forgiven us. We will
become imago Dei, the image of God in this sinful world. And we
will rejoice and be thankful, as our very lives and actions give glory to God,
the same glory those angels sang about to the shepherds so long ago.
We will, in fact, bring to the world and to everyone we meet, the spirit and
blessing of Christmas, of Immanuel, which means: God among
us.
Let us, therefore, go forth in the name of Jesus, our Lord Immanuel, to help
him bring God's love and peace into this old, battered, bruised world.
Amen.....and, a blessed Christ-Mass to you and yours.
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