Praise and Pondering (Luke 2:1-20)

Sermon as preached 12/24/13 at Lambs UMC

Image courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library

There is something so special about Christmas Eve. There’s a chill in the air, the sun has gone down, and there is that intense excitement, for Christmas is almost here. While Christmas day was always a wonderful day of joy and celebration with family, the excitement of opening up your presents early in the morning as a child, now a little less early, and yet even in childhood there was always something special about Christmas Eve. Whereas Christmas day encompassed the joy and love of the season, Christmas Eve seemed to be a time of great hope and peace, a time of mystery, and a time of expectation. It almost feels as if you are there, centuries ago on that very night in which Christ was born.

            And that got me thinking, what would it have felt like to be one of the members of that party present on Christmas night?  When we start to put ourselves in the shoes of those present at the birth we find that there are two very different perspectives on that holy scene, That of the shepherds, and that of Mary and Joseph. No disrespect to the donkeys and sheep in the manger, I just find it hard to place myself in their shoes. If we look at the shepherds story in contrast with the story of Mary and Joseph, (but primarily Mary) we see in our scripture that they had very different experiences of Christmas, and also very different reactions.

            Let us begin with the shepherds. The story starts something like this. It was an ordinary night, while some shepherds watched over their flock. It is the same thing they have been doing every night, the only real excitement coming when sheep veer from the group or when a predator is spotted. While standing on guard watching the flock suddenly the sky lit up and an angel appeared upon them. We must remember from our stories of angels in other books of the Bible, that typically these weren’t your pretty little girls dressed in white dresses, these angels were usually horrifying with multiple wings sometimes even with animal like heads. What a terrifying experience, it makes sense now why scripture tells us the shepherds were terrified. But the angel spoke to them and said, “Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”  The shepherds were stunned by this revelation, and said to each other, we must go find this baby. And so they went off to Bethlehem and what did they find, a baby in a manger just as the angel had told them. It’s true, this child is the Messiah, they began to tell those gathered at the manger. We saw the angel, they told us that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem and that we would find him in a manger, and here he is! What great joy! The savior is born. After paying their respects to Jesus and the family the shepherds returned to their flocks glorifying and  praising the Lord. The shepherds experience the joy and love of Christmas and responded through praise.

            Mary’s experience of that evening seems to be drastically different.    While the events of this evening were a complete surprise to the shepherds, the birth of this baby was no surprise to Mary, at least not anymore.  A little over nine months earlier an angel had already appeared to Mary telling her that she would bear the Son of God.  Her  relative Elizabeth and the unborn John the Baptist in her womb even jumped for joy when Mary visited them, because they knew what good news she had to tell.  Think about that though, that was nine months ago, for nine months  Mary has not only carried a child in her womb but also this knowledge, which brings joy for sure, but must also be difficult to bear emotionally. With every kick, every sleepless night of tossing and turning, every morning waking up sick, Mary is reminded that in her womb is rests the Son of God. It must have been difficult, I can imagine Mary questions what does it all mean? As they were in Bethlehem I’m sure Mary knew the day was approaching when she would give birth, so imagine the shock when there was no room in the inn, imagine the shock of having to give birth to the King of Kings in a manger. That’s not how it’s supposed to happen, is it? But then some shepherds show up, here at this manger. They tell the story of how they saw angels, how they were told to come here and find the Messiah in a manger in Bethlehem. Mary saw how these strangers, could be filled with such joy at the birth of her son; the same excitement and joy she felt when the angel came and told her the news. What does it all mean? You see, Mary’s reaction was very different than the shepherds who went home celebrating and praising the Lord; we are told, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

                Praise and pondering, These are two reactions that we see on that beautiful Christmas night. The joyful praise and celebration of the shepherds as the held back to their flocks, and the deep and peaceful contemplation of Mary as she takes it all in. It is only fitting that we tonight as we celebrate to coming of Christ respond in similar manner.  Like the shepherds we come to pay respect to the King of Kings and leave celebrating the good news. While we are here tonight we have sung together, prayed together, and soon with will celebrate holy communion together, and tomorrow morning the celebration continues, as we glorify the Lord through whatever Christmas traditions we have. While we sing the good news of Christ coming to all the world, let us also like Mary take time to treasure it in our hearts and ponder what it really means. The savior has come, born in a lowly manger, born to save the world, born for you and for me. Take time to ponder what this means for your life and treasure this feeling you get from that good news. Praise and Pondering, what a wonderful way to celebrate the coming of Christ. Celebrating Emmanuel, that God is with us.  May this night be for us as meaningful and powerful, as joyful and as moving as that silent night long ago.