Merry Christmas - Building Closed

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:8-20

Fear not:
for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy…

I evangelize to you great joy…

“I announce to you,” but it’s built right into the word, that what is being announced is good news. (How sad that we’ve so often turned that word evangelize into anything but good news!)

And to whom are these glad tidings addressed: “I bring you,” says the angel, “good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people.”

Not a few, not some, but all.

And what is the content of the angel’s proclamation?

“…that unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

Now if you cut through the culturally rooted theological jargon of Savior, Messiah, Christ and Lord, the good news in a nutshell is that God comes to us as a friend, seeking to embrace us, not an enemy from whom to hide.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news…” said the prophet Isaiah, and so in this wonderful story more angels appear, (that word angel means simply messenger; did you ever think that you might be an angel of good news?)

And what is their message?

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace…”

And what exactly brings to God the greatest glory?

Peace on earth.

Peace brought about by God’s work, not ours. Peace that begins with God’s favor toward us. But peace in which we are privileged to play a part:

KJV…good will toward men. (but note that the text says anthropois – humanity, humankind, not androis –men as in male, not female, persons; a distinction in Greek which many translators have not sought to make in English versions) and thus the rendering in tonight’s reading

“…on earth peace, among humankind, good will…”

Now that begs the question of whose good will, and deliberately so, for there are some texts that would read, “…toward people of good will…” while there are others that give us the sense the NRSV prefers, “…among those whom [God] favors!”

Now I would suggest that ambiguity is a good thing, for to my mind it takes both.

It requires people of good will to receive the message of God’s favor and good will and together bring about the peace for which we long.

Indeed it was this child, whose birth we celebrate tonight, who grew up to say to his followers, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”

From some at this time of year, we hear a clamoring to put the Christ back in Christmas, but one of my favorite blogs some years ago posted a picture of Jesus healing the sick and embracing the children, with the caption, “Let’s put the behavior of Christ back in Christmas.”

So in our service here, may you receive this message of peace, of God’s favor and good will toward you, but may you also go forth bearing that message of God’s good will to all whose lives you touch.

By your deeds of loving-kindness, may you, too, spread the light of Christ.

In the name of God,
our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.
Amen.