Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Luke 2:1-20
Pastor: Pastor Schlicht
Sermon Date:  December 24th, 2021

There may be no other scene in all of history depicted as many times as the Christmas nativity. Thousands of artists have interpreted Jesus’ birth in unique ways. But tonight I’d like to show you just one: “The Arrival of the Shepherds” by Henry Lerolle. I appreciate this painting because it depicts the nativity scene biblically. There are no halos, crowns, or harps; the birthplace is not changed into a garden or some other beautiful spot. Here, in all its simplicity, is just a cave stable with rough wooden supports for the roof. A donkey is standing by its feeding pail. Pitchforks are lying in the hay. The shepherds with their dogs have just come in. The mother, though exhausted, looks upon her new baby with joy. She and her husband don’t have any fancy clothing; they are just simple peasants. And the baby? Well, he looks like an ordinary baby. What child is this? Only the words of an angel could reveal the truth: “Today in the town of David, a Savior was born for you. What child is this? He is Christ the Lord.” It didn’t look like much, but nothing could have been bigger than what God was up to that first Christmas Eve. 

Interestingly, as Luke introduces his account of Jesus’ birth, we get the sense that something else big was happening too. The most powerful man the world had ever known decided to quantify his power. In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. Caesar Augustus issued a census to find out how many people he ruled, how much money they owed him, and how many of them he could expect to give their lives as part of his army. This was pure and unadulterated power, wealth, and glory on display. What God was up to that night, however, could not have looked more different. In faraway Judea, in a small rural village called Bethlehem, a teenage mother wrapped her newborn in a few strips of linen and placed him in a feeding trough. There was no great commotion. There was no fanfare. While the world’s most powerful man was busy flexing his muscles, the Creator of the universe smuggled his Son into the world.

It’s almost as if God wants to purposely reverse our way of thinking. People usually think that what’s most important is what’s most visibly impressive. The guy who steps out of the Mercedes Benz gets more respect than the one who steps out of an old Toyota. The young athlete who stands the tallest makes the basketball team over the shorter kids even if he or she might not be as talented. The prettier the person, the better chance they have of becoming influential online. This is the way of the world, isn’t it? It happens in our own houses, too, though. The biggest gift under the tree is probably the one that the kids have been eying up. It’s the Caesar’s of the world that we think are most important. But that’s not the way God works.

You see, the surprising circumstances of our Savior’s birth would not be the exception for his life, but the rule. The angel said to the shepherds, “And this will be a sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” The angel referred to these seemingly ordinary things as a “sign”—they signified a greater truth about this child. This would be his way from his first breath to his last. Isaiah prophesied: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Is. 53:2) He didn’t look like much, but no one was more important than this child. As Luther wrote, “This is the first symbol with which Christ puts to shame the world and indicates that all of its doing, knowledge, and being are contemptible to us, that its greatest wisdom is in reality foolishness.” (LW, Vol 52, p.9) If we think that the more outwardly successful we are determines how important we are, God calls us fools. Or if we think that work which is most outwardly impressive is the most valued by God, that is contemptible to him. The truth is, if we believe that what we see or can quantify determines what is important, then we will not only miss the importance of the babe in the manger at Christmas, but we will devalue all the work and blessings of God. 

Sadly, this is commonplace today. There are many people who are devalued because they do not seem important by worldly standards. It’s why, in our modern society, the elderly are often neglected or forgotten. It’s why many people don’t think that taking care of children is that important. We’re told that to be a successful man or woman, you’ll have an impressive career and a list of personal accomplishments. We are taught not to value a private word spoken to God on behalf of another, but rather to spend our money on lavish gifts and self-promotion which others will notice. Our hearts often run after the approval of humans, and we forget that God does not judge by appearances. We are even tempted to devalue our own souls based on how unimportant we are to other people, instead of reveling in the love God has shown us. Why even churches fall into this trap of worldly thinking. Leaders become obsessed with numbers and figures instead of depth of faith and precise, biblical teaching. 

If what we see determines what is important, we will continue to fall into the sins of pride and comparison. And worst of all, we will miss the most important work of God. Remember, the greatest glory was not to be found in a palace but in a stable. The most important person wasn’t the Caesar who moved the world at his decree. It was the infant, helpless and weak, lying in his mother’s arms. That is how God works. He purposely reversed the value system of the world. His greatest gifts often come in the smallest ways. His most important work often looks ordinary to the untrained eye.

When you look back over your life, you know this principle to be true. How some of God’s smallest blessings have brought you the greatest joy. How simply, ordinary acts of love make the biggest impact over time. How God turned a seemingly insignificant step into the path which your life has followed. This is how God works. He chooses something seemingly insignificant to contain the greatest importance. Like the drops of water in baptism,  like the tiny portion of wine and bread in communion. Like the little bit of ink printed on the pages of a Bible. Like the poor child sleeping in a feeding trough. The apostle Paul says it so well: “God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are…” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29). 

As Jesus often said, “The first shall be last and the last shall be first in the kingdom of God.” Case in point, look at the shepherds. While the rest of the world is distracted by other concerns, shepherds get a behind-the-scenes, all-access pass to see what God has done. The same ones who, by any worldly measure, would have been last in line get to go first. The same ones who were terrified at the sight of an angel are able to stare into the face of God completely unafraid. The same ones who belonged to a class of people whose testimony wasn’t even accepted in court, are those who announced the birth of God’s own Son. This is how God chooses to work.

You know, every now and then, people come up to me with a story of how God semi-miraculously answered a prayer or intervened in some difficulty they were going through. They are excited and energized that God came through in such a spectacular fashion. And I am flattered that they share these things with me, I take it not only as proof of a living God but I am also thankful they understand I believe them. But after their story is over and they have moved on, I wonder what those good people would think of God if he hadn’t done those impressive things for them. And I wonder why God hasn’t done something similar for someone else who is in a considerably more desperate situation.

What I‘m getting at is, when you look for evidence of God at work in our world, doing the important things, the things we really need, the big stuff that makes a difference, don’t look for miraculous flashes of power, don’t look for lightning bolts from heaven, don’t test God and plead for a sign, when he’s already given you one. No, simply go to Bethlehem with those shepherds and look for a poor baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, just as the angel said. Stare into the face of that little baby and ask yourself the question, “What Child is This?” If you see God’s only Son lying there in that place, then he will also give you faith to see that he is powerfully at work in the ordinary parts of your life as well as the extraordinary. That he is good to you in times of want and in times plenty. That he is powerful in weakness as well as strength. And, my friends, if you see God’s Son lying there, then you’ll know that the despised man who hangs upon the middle cross is also your Savior. The figure there looked as weak and helpless as the night he was born, and just as bloody, but there again God was at work with all his power to save, forgiving our sins and reconciling the world to himself.  Can you see the shadow of a cross in the humility of the manger? This is all part of the sign of which the Angel spoke: the promise of God’s extraordinary love wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

If you understand the way God works, then you’ll also know the best part: You don’t have to stand in line, wait your turn, or prove yourself worthy first. Instead, you know with certainty that God gave this gift—and all the gifts Jesus brings with him—freely “for you.” Whenever you are tempted to devalue yourself, ask “What child is this?” and take a moment to fathom how the Lord has valued your soul by sending his own Son to such a world as this. Whenever you are distracted by vain pursuits, stop and ask: “What Child is This?” And remember that God does not judge by outward appearance. Whenever you find a moment to pause this Christmas with your loved ones, ask “What Child is This?” and note how the little things are often the most important.  Let us all give thanks this Christmas Eve, for we know the answer to the question: What Child is this? He is our Savior! He is Christ the Lord! 

Amen.