Welcome to the Nativity

“Welcome to the Nativity” was preached at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church on December 24. 2017 at the 11:00pm Candlelight Communion Christmas Eve service. Inspirations for this sermon included Scripture, interactive worship services, Rodger Nishioka, nativity sets, communion as God’s table, discussions from our Young Adult Bible Study, and Sunnyside’s intergeneration community.

-----------------------------------

Luke 2:8-20

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And 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!”

15 When 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.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

-----------------------------------

We would make room for you this night of all nights, dear Lord: room in our minds and hearts; room also in our life together. Let your word be born in us anew so that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, your splendor shines in us and through us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

-----------------------------------

The past two years at our winter youth lock-in, both junior high and senior high, we hold a worship service called, “I am not BLANK enough.” It is directly inspired by this passage found in Luke: God’s revelation of the birth of Christ the Messiah to the shepherds. During that service, the youth are invited to fill in the blanks on slips of paper that read exactly as the title of that service suggests, “I am not BLANK enough.”

It is an activity that surprisingly connects the youth; bonds them together as one community of faith because it’s something they all have in common. It’s something that they have all experienced. And adults, we have too. We have all heard that phrase at least at one point in our lives; probably more but definitely at least once. That phrase “I am not BLANK enough.” 

Maybe it comes from an external source: from jobs you didn’t get, bullies who bring you down, or maybe just friends or family who for some reason just didn’t believe in you at that moment. Or maybe—and this is probably more common—it comes from the internal source; your own voice.

You look in the mirror: I am not pretty enough. You feel out shape: I am not athletic enough. You didn’t get the promotion you wanted: I am not smart enough. Something bad happens: I am not good enough. You feel alone: I am not loved enough.

During that service, the youth acknowledge every single “I am not BLANK enough” phrase they have ever heard in their lives. They write them down, they take a moment to see what they wrote, and then they rip that slip of paper into the tiniest pieces and throw them away straight into the trash. Gone. Garbage. Because when God revealed the birth of Christ to the shepherds, we learned that those phrases of “I am not BLANK enough” are trash. They’re not true. They don’t accurately reflect who we are or what we are called to do.

When Christ the Messiah, our Savior, was born; God told the great good news to the shepherds. People who were probably at the lowest of the low on the social hierarchy. They were probably uneducated. They were probably poor. They possibly had the absolute worst hygiene because they spent their days and nights with (as our children’s program put it a few week ago) stinky, smelly sheep. And they were common. There wasn’t anything seemingly special about the shepherds. The shepherds had every right to say they were not BLANK enough when God came to them. But they didn’t. They recognized the glory that was before them and went with haste to Bethlehem to see in person what God had told them. And when they arrived, they saw Joseph, and they saw Mary, and they saw a baby wrapped in clothes lying in a manger. Before them was the birth of Christ, and in that moment, the shepherds found their place in the nativity.

I’ve been reflecting a lot of what that first nativity scene means for us today. This is because I was recently given my first nativity set made out of wooden twigs, branches, and bark from an anonymous “Secret Santa”. I admit I got a little emotional as I unwrapped each fragile piece in the set.

First I unwrapped the stable, Christ’s first home here on earth. And then came the three wise men, each ordained with a small crown representing age, wisdom, and wealth. Next came the family of shepherds—grandparents, parents, and kids—a multigenerational family profession. Then I unwrapped Joseph. A young man who trusted God and his unwed, virgin bride-to-be. A young man who took his pregnant girlfriend to his hometown. The young man that would be the one to raise Jesus.  Mary came next, I unwrapped her slowly. In my hands I held a figurine of an even younger woman than Joseph. And I remembered that God chose her to bring Christ into the world. Young. Unwed. Virgin. And I remembered that she listened when the angel of the Lord came to her. And I remembered that she rode a donkey for miles while pregnant. And I remembered that she gave birth in a stable, surrounded by animals, because there was no room in the inns. And then at last, I unwrapped the smallest figurine in the set. A tiny baby in a tiny manger. The Word made Flesh, the incarnate God, the Savior the Messiah. Jesus Christ the king. The center of the nativity scene; the reason for the nativity.

Now being the person that I am, I wanted to complete my nativity set; I wanted to be able to see the full scene. I wanted the star in the sky, the angels from heaven, the cattle and sheep that filled the stable; I felt they all needed to be there for the birth of Christ. But I didn’t have a star or the angels or any of the animals from the biblical narrative. So I got a little creative. The star was the easiest. I just used a large candle with the flame to represent the light from the sky. I also didn’t have sheep or cattle… but I did have a little wooden elephant… so my nativity scene features an elephant. And then this morning one of our church members said I absolutely needed angels to be a part of the scene and since I didn’t have any angels, they volunteered a pink flamingo I had elsewhere in my office to represent the angels as flamingos and angels “both fly”.

I look at my nativity scene—the shepherds and the wise men, Joseph and Mary, the baby in the manger, the elephant and the flamingo—and I realize, this is what the church of today looks like.

Because at the very first nativity—at the birth of Christ—everyone had a place. And whether they came right at the birth or days or years later, they were welcomed. They were called to be there. The old, wealthy, senior wise men from the east. The poor, stinky, family of shepherds from the fields. A young, unwed couple becoming parents for the first time, and a baby wrapped in bands of cloth lying in a manger.  Together as one they celebrated that baby; together as one they celebrated the birth of our Savior.

Nothing prevented all who were there from being a part of the nativity. Not their timing. Not their age. Not their ethnicity. Not their profession. Not their socio-economic class. Not their relationship status. Not their gender. Not even their past or where they have been. Nothing prevented them from being a part of the nativity. Rather God came to them, went to them, called out to them and said, “Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.”

Is that not who we are as a church today? Is that not what we celebrate here on Christmas? The good news of great joy! The Messiah born in the manger!

Today’s church is the nativity. Today’s church—the body of Christ—will have a place for everyone. We will have our wise men… and our wise women… our wise people. And we will have our family of shepherds and our family of doctors and our family of teachers… and just families of all kinds. We will have our young people; maybe married; maybe divorced; maybe single—they are welcome here. And today’s nativity will have children; oh yes, we will have children of all ages. Babies to teenagers; they will all be invited to celebrate Christ Jesus.  

In just a few moments, you all will be invited forth to the table to taste the good news before you. The body and blood of Christ. In just a few moments, you will be brought before God and Christ in the heavenly kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. And in that moment we will celebrate the birth. We will celebrate the life. We will celebrate the resurrection. We will celebrate that Christ WILL come again. You have a place at this table.

And just like nothing prevented those at the first nativity from having their place, nothing prevents you from having your place. Not your timing. Not your age. Not your ethnicity. Not your profession. Not your socio-economic class. Not your relationship status. Not your gender identity. Not your sexual orientation. Not your Christian denomination. Not your immigration status. Not your past; not your present; not your future. Not anything that makes you feel like you are not enough because this is God’s table, and you are made in the image of God, and therefore you are more than enough.

You are invited to be a part of this celebration. You are invited to be a part of this glory. You are a part of God’s story; you are part of God’s church. Welcome to the nativity; welcome to the table.

God said to us, “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” And friends, that good news is before us tonight. Thanks be to God.

-----------------------------------

Photo Credit to Amy Sheets