Keeping Christmas Real

If our reading this morning comes to us from the gospel of Luke, the second chapter beginning at the first verse. In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his betrothed who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a saviour, who is Christ the Lord, and this will be a sign for you.

You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes 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, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased. 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. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.

And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told them. This is the word of the Lord. This morning, we asked the question, is Christmas real?

Did it really happen just like the way the Bible said? Just the way Rob read it to us just a moment ago. What will you believe about this particular day? Today, of all days of the year, we need to be sure of our facts about what we really do believe. A fact check, if you like.

Essentially, Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of a saviour. Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world has come, and today we're celebrating that here and I dare say in your own homes and in other places throughout this day. Churches, Christian churches the world over would use this opportunity to do that today. Fact number one, Christmas really did happen on a real day. The angel announced it to the shepherd.

It was very specific. Today, right now, a saviour has been born to you. It happened on a day in history. Not a day in some fairy tale or in an imaginary story like Once Upon a Time. No.

This was a real day. The sun came up in the morning and set in the evening. It was a day when Caesar Augustus was the emperor of Rome and Quirinius was the governor of Syria. We can even place the day. Scholars will estimate that it occurred around the fourth century BC before Christ.

In terms of a month, scholars are happy to say that it was most likely in September. It was autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The nights were getting cooler, but the shepherds were still out in the fields at night watching over their flocks. This was a day that was planned for even before the creation of the world. It was always there in the very mind and the very heart of God to send His one and only Son into the world.

We can say that because all things were created by Him, that is Jesus, and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together. For Him, by Him, for Jesus, for His appearing, the day of His coming. Certainly, later on in the scriptures, the apostle Paul has a specific day in mind when he says, but when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman. It happened when the time had fully come.

That perfect day, in the fullness of time, the time set by God even before the foundation of this world. Fact number two. Today, in the town of David, it happened in a town in a very real place. Not in Narnia, not in Hogwarts, not in some galaxy far, far away. It happened in a real city.

Google Earth tells me it's about 11,000 kilometres from the Gold Coast. The city still exists today. Today, it's a divided city. It's a city regarded as a holy city. Both Arabs and Jews make their pilgrimages there, and especially at this time of year.

The city is real. The city's name is Bethlehem to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem. Bethlehem is just 10 short kilometres from Jerusalem. Bethlehem is where Jesse lived, the father of David. David who was the great king of Israel.

Bethlehem is the city the prophet Micah had spoken about some six hundred years earlier when he said, but you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. So it happened on a real day, in a real town, in a real city, just like Nerang, Brisbane, or Sydney. Though the population then may barely have been 1,000. Fact number three, a saviour has been born. He is Christ the Lord.

If you've ever done wrong things, you know you are going to want to hear this. As much as the day is real, as much as the town is very real, this also is real. We need a saviour. Because we do bad things, that makes us sinners in need of saving. And the angel spoke to Joseph when he said you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save people from their sins.

But only God can forgive sins. In the first instance, all sin is against God. Only Jesus could say this about himself. The son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins. And there he is, claiming to be God, and he is God.

Therefore, when he was born, the angels identified him as Christ, Christ the Lord. Christ in English is the word for Christo, which means anointed one from which we get the word in Hebrew, Messiah. And the Messiah, of course, is the long predicted one, the awaited one, the one much hoped for, much anticipated. About seven hundred years before his coming, the prophet Isaiah said, for us for unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace, and of the increase of his government and peace, there'll be no end.

So there you have the facts. On a real day, a real event in history, in a city, in a real town, a saviour has been born. Someone who delivers on what was promised. A rescuer from sin. From sin that would otherwise condemn us and lead us into everlasting guilt and death.

We need this saviour, and we have this saviour in and through God's gift to us on Christmas day. We have a great saviour, Jesus Christ the Lord, born on a day in a city to save us from our many sins. Great joy has come. Joy to the world. No one here is going to rejoice unless you know why.

We can all stand and sing about joy, even joy to the world. But having this joy radiate from your own heart, for it to be something real, something that you experience, joy that's going to be here not just for today, but tomorrow, and then forever, well, that's a different kind of a joy. Joy that's going to be way different than unwrapping those presents that you might expect under the Christmas tree or being surrounded by food and family and friends as the day goes on. Let me put it to you. Those joys are going to be temporary.

Those joys are here today, gone tomorrow. But real Christmas joy, the kind of joy we've been singing about in that carol, is way more robust, way more resilient. It is eternal. It's the good news the angel announced to the shepherd when the angel said, I bring you good news of great joy, is what he said, and that will be for all the people. And when the angel had finished speaking, a great company of angels appeared, praising God.

Not just one angel, but the night sky was filled with angels. And I wanna suggest this morning that while one angel could deliver the news about a saviour being born, it takes a whole army of angels to respond to the magnitude of the consequences of that simple announcement, a saviour has been born. This great army of angels was saying it out aloud, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests. Two great outcomes as a result of the good news. The good news of great joy.

Two great outcomes that will affect your joy and my joy. Two great outcomes that are about God's glory and our peace. First of all, God's glory. God is most glorified because this child is born. The birth of Jesus, we can say, is the greatest revelation of God's glory the world has ever seen.

We all have our own versions of glory, don't we? For some of us, it's photos of the grandchildren, spread throughout the lounge room or on the walls in the hallways of our homes. They're our glory. Or for others, it's a shiny new car out in the car park. You know, the one with the spoiler and the air scoop on the bonnet.

They're our glory. They're things we take much pride in. They're things we like to talk about. We know full well, don't we, that when it comes to God's glory, all creation speaks of His glory. The beach, sunset, a quiet walk in the bush, a quiet moment beside a brook or a waterfall.

These things too can speak of God's glory even though marred by sin, even though part of this broken world. But what about this? How much more does this? The perfect Son of God who was without sin, born into the world in Bethlehem's manger. There you have it.

God's glory shining bright throughout the ages. No wonder the presence of so many angels in the night sky. They simply couldn't contain their praise. They filled the night sky because the glory of God revealed in Christ Jesus. So boldly, the angels went on to proclaim not just God's glory, but also peace.

They said, and on earth, peace to those on whom His favour rests. This is the second great outcome of Christmas, our peace. The apostle Paul in the New Testament identifies the nature of this peace when he writes, therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There it is, the link between the baby and our peace, the message that the angels delivered to the shepherds. This is a strong peace.

This is a peace for all eternity. This is a peace that establishes men and women, young people, girls and boys in a relationship with God that no person or no event or no circumstance can threaten or take away or even destroy because it is absolutely about God's great love for this world. It is His everlasting peace, and it overflows into relationships with others. And it's starting in your heart and in my heart. And one day we pray when Jesus comes again, peace will be restored as we have known and understand it without any sin.

But for today, and this is the tricky part, Paul reminds us, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Tricky, isn't it? You know, family gatherings can be tough. And if you're privileged to have a family gathering today, I wanna suggest that it's an occasion for much joy and much thanksgiving, but potentially, it's also an occasion that could bring much strife. Old wounds could begin to resurface.

And you know what it's like when uncle Bob has a few wines under his belt. Maybe it's going to come out again. Maybe you're there last Christmas, and you're still living with that experience still fresh in your mind. And you know full well that roast chicken or roast ham is not the only thing that's getting carved up around the dinner table. But here's the key, and this is what the message of Christmas is about.

Remember, a saviour has been born. Remember how much you have been forgiven. This saviour has been born to you and to me. And when you marvel at that, when you take time out to wonder about how much you have been forgiven, begins to soften your heart. And that quality of peace begins to loom large, larger in your life.

And you find yourself extending forgiveness to others even when it's so hard. There are some lessons we can learn from these angels, you know. This is Christmas. Let's follow the angel's lead by giving glory to God and extending peace to others. When God's glory reigns, His peace remains.

When God's glory reigns, His peace remains. And let God's glory reign in your heart today so that you may be men and women, young people, girls and boys of peace. Make Jesus your glory and your peace today. Let's pray. Lord God, it's a miracle that You came, that You loved us so much that You're prepared to send Your one and only Son into this world.

He's the son that we identify this morning as the Saviour of the world, the one who shed His blood on the cross of Calvary at Easter time. Help us to remember how the coming of Your one and only Son gives You glory and gives us peace. Please, Lord, help us to give glory to You in every area of our lives, to want to praise You always in the good times and the bad, in the times when we feel like it, in the times when we don't feel like it. Help us to remember Your glory in the coming of the Lord Jesus. And then bless us with peace, we pray, because it is what You have promised to each one of us who believe that Jesus came, that He died for us on the cross.

Help us to see others in a new way and open every eye to the inner beauty of what You are working in our lives and our hearts through Jesus. We pray specifically for this day. We know that in many households right throughout our country, there'll be tensions. Help us to find that peace, the peace that the angels were singing about. Help us to rejoice in You even as the angels gave glory to You.

We thank You for Your great witness to us through Your word. And in Jesus' name, we thank You when we say together, amen.