Text: Luke 2:1-20 (RSV)
2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin′i-us was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths 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,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”[a]
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
In the Name of God: The Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
There is magic in the air tonight, and joy, and anticipation. Our children really are wondering “whether reindeer really know how to fly.” Those of us who are young at heart are feeling all the different emotions this night brings – happiness above all, but also perhaps a twinge of nostalgia as we think back to the days when our own children were little, and even further back to when we were little, as we remember the excitement and the wonder of this holy night. Maybe we also feel the pangs of sadness as we remember those we love who aren’t here to share this night with us; but the memory of these dear ones deepens the significance of this night. And all of these memories and emotions fill our hearts to bursting.
For tonight is the night! Tonight is the night when we step outside and look up at the night sky and see all those stars twinkling above us and stand, awestruck, at the majesty of it all; when we think about the angel who gave one of the most important messages to a bunch of peasant shepherds, quaking with fear, that was ever given – and that message was “Fear not.” “Don’t be afraid, for tonight the Savior of the world is born.” And we’re stunned as we realize that the angel was also talking to us.
God Incarnate. That might seem a little abstract, even a little cold. So here’s a story that might help to put into perspective what it means when we say that God came to us and dwelt among us. It’s called “The Filling Station,” by an unknown author; I shared it with you some years ago, I recall, but it’s very much worth repeating. So here goes:
The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn’t been anywhere in years since his wife passed away. He had no decorations, no tree, no lights. It was just another day to him. He didn’t hate Christmas, just couldn’t find a reason to celebrate. There were no children in his life. His wife had gone.
He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour when a homeless man stepped through the door. Instead of throwing the man out, George – “Old George” as he was known by his customers – told the man to come and sit by the space heater and warm up.
“Thank you, but I don’t mean to intrude,” said the stranger. “I see you’re busy. I’ll just go.”
“Not without something hot in your belly!” George turned and opened a wide-mouthed Thermos and handed it to the stranger. “It ain’t much, but it’s hot and tasty. Stew. Made it myself. When you’re done there’s coffee and it’s fresh.”
Just that moment he heard the “ding” of the driveway bell. “Excuse me, be right back,” George said.
There in the driveway was an old ’53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked.
“Mister can you help me?” asked the driver with a deep Spanish accent. “My wife is with child and my car is broken.”
George opened the hood. It was bad. The block had cracked from the cold; the car was dead. “You ain’t going in this thing,” George said as he turned away.
“But Mister, please help…”
The door of the office closed behind George as he went in. George went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building and opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting.
“Here, you can borrow my truck,” he said. “She ain’t the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good.”
George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. George turned and walked back inside the office.
“Glad I loaned ‘em the truck. Their tires were shot, too. That ol’ truck has brand new tires…”
George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it.
“Well, at least he got something in his belly,” George thought. George went outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the block hadn’t cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator.
“Well, I can fix this,” he said to himself. So he put a new one on. “Those tires ain’t gonna get ‘em through the winter either.”
He took the snow treads off of his wife’s old Lincoln. They were like new and he wasn’t going to drive the car. As he was working he heard a shot being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder.
The officer moaned, “Help me.”
George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention.
“Pressure to stop the bleeding,” he thought. The laundry company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound.
“Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin’,” he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. “Something for pain,” George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. “These ought to work.” He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills.
“You hang in there. I’m going to get you an ambulance.” George said, but the phone was dead. “Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your police car.”
He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up.
“Thanks,” said the officer. “You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area.”
George sat down beside him. “I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain’t gonna leave you.” George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. “Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through ‘ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time you’re gonna be right as rain.”
George got up and poured a cup of coffee. “How do you take it?” he asked.
“None for me,” said the officer.
“Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city.” Then George added: “Too bad I ain’t got no donuts.”
The officer laughed and winced at the same time. The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun.
“Give me all your cash! Do it now!” the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before.
“That’s the guy that shot me!” exclaimed the officer.
“Son, why are you doing this?” asked George. “You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt.”
The young man was confused. “Shut up old man, or I’ll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!” The cop was reaching for his gun.
“Put that thing away,” George said to the cop. “We got one too many in here now.” He turned his attention to the young man. “Son, it’s Christmas Eve. If you need the money, well then, here. It ain’t much but it’s all I got. Now put that pee shooter away.”
George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry.
“I’m not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son,” he went on. “I’ve lost my job. My rent is due. My car got repossessed last week…”
George handed the gun to the cop. “Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can.”
He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. “Sometimes we do stupid things.” George handed the young man a cup of coffee. “Being stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin’ in here with a gun ain’t the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we’ll sort this thing out.”
The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. “Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I’m sorry officer.”
“Shut up and drink your coffee.” the cop said.
George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. “Chuck! You ok?” one of the cops asked the wounded officer.
“Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?”
“GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?” the other cop asked as he approached the young man.
Chuck answered him, “I don’t know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran.”
George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. “That guy works here,” the wounded cop continued.
“Yep,” George said. “Just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job.”
The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, “Why?”
Chuck just said, “Merry Christmas, boy. And you too, George, and thanks for everything.”
“Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems.” George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box.
“Here you go. Something for the little woman. I don’t think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day.”
The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. “I can’t take this,” said the young man. “It means something to you.”
“And now it means something to you,” replied George. “I got my memories. That’s all I need.”
George reached into the box again. A toy airplane, a racing car and a little metal truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. “Here’s something for that little man of yours.”
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. “And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that, too. Count it as part of your first week’s pay.” George said. “Now git home to your family.”
The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. “I’ll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good.”
“Nope. I’m closed Christmas day,” George said. “See ya the day after.”
George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. “Where’d you come from? I thought you left?”
“I have been here. I have always been here,” said the stranger. “You say you don’t celebrate Christmas. Why?”
“Well, after my wife passed away I just couldn’t see what all the bother was. Puttin’ up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin’ cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn’t the same by myself and besides I was getting a little chubby.”
The stranger put his hand on George’s shoulder. “But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will become a rich man and share his wealth with many people. That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as anyone.”
George was taken aback by all this the stranger had said. “And how do you know all this?” asked the old man.
“Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again.” The stranger moved toward the door.
“If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned.”
George watched as the man’s old leather jacket and his torn pants turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room.
“You see, George, it’s My birthday. Merry Christmas.”
That’s what we Christians mean by the Incarnation!
“Be not afraid!”
“O Come, O Come, Immanuel!”
And tonight, it is done! Emmanuel is here! And all creation rejoices!
I wish you all a blessed and Merry Christmas!
In the Name of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. AMEN