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| By Norma Boeckler |
Christmas Readings and Hymns
Holy Communion
December 24, 2011 – 7 PM Central
Bethany Lutheran Church
Bella Vista, Arkansas
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Hymn 77:1-6 All My Heart This Night Rejoices 2.25
The
Invocation, Confession and Absolution p. 15
The First Gospel
Genesis 3:15 And I will put
enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
KJV Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye,
comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and
cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned:
for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice
of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make
straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made
straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD
hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the
flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the
spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The
grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for
ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it
up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
The Place of
Jesus’ Birth
KJV Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem
Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out
of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
#102 O
Come All Ye Faithful 1:7
KJV Isaiah 9:2 The people
that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell
in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Virgin Birth
KJV Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the
LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask
it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not
ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of
David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my
God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and
honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the
land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.
Incarnation
KJV Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government
and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
#109 While
Shepherds Watched Their Flocks 1:35
KJV Matthew 1:18 Now the
birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to
Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make
her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he
thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his
people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which
was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep
did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And
knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his
name JESUS.
Sermon
– No Modesty about the Truth
Luke’s Account – Sermon Text
KJV Luke 2:1 And it came to
pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all
the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his
own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was
of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days
were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her
firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.
No Modesty about
the Truth
One of my classmates
reminded me of a famous quotation when she wished everyone Merry Christmas,
“even though we are not sure exactly when Jesus was born.”
I wrote back, “We know more
about the time and place of Jesus’ birth than we do about Obama’s.” I should
have added – and more about His Father, too.
In the midst of the various
Christmas greetings, one Leftist classmate wrotre, “Merry. Merry.”
I simply added “Christmas”
to the next line, because I am tired of people pretending it is not Christmas
but just happy-time, or winter, even though no one buys winter presents for
anyone. Neither does anyone yell, “Merry Winter” to various strangers and
friends.
Needless to say, both of my
faux-innocent comments led to dustups, with people offended and admonishing me
(not a new experience).
In light of that,
Chesterton’s quotation about modesty is appropriate:
“Modesty has moved from the
organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction where it
was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but
undoubting about the truth: this has been exactly reversed. Nowadays the part
of a man that a man does assert is exactly the part he ought not to
assert-himself. The part he doubts is exactly the part he ought not to doubt -
the Divine Reason... The old humility was a spur that prevented a man from
stopping: not a nail in his boot that prevented him from going on. For the old
humility made a man doubtful about his efforts, which might make him work
harder. But the new humility makes a man doubtful about his aims, which will
make him stop working altogether.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
There is such a thing as
truth, but this basic concept is denied as a foundational assumption. If there
is no truth, there is nothing to argue about, especially religion, so “every
truth is God’s truth,” as someone cheerfully said in a class I took. The
Christian professor said “Amen” with great gusto and fervor.
Christmas has a special
claim upon truth, because God became man, and Jesus was born of a Virgin. This
is revealed as truth in the Scriptures, but people still want a Christian
philosophy of some type that avoids and denies this truth.
All mainline groups
(including the Lutheran franchises) deny and oppose the Confessions –
especially their own. The greatest energy has been devoted to working with all
other denominations and even such heretical churches as the Salvation Army. At
the same time, which is even great proof of unbelief, there is a demonic energy
for persecuting those who do believe in the basic articles of faith. And this
does not matter which denomination, which I have taken great pains to prove.
The Gospel seed is thinly
sown, as Luther remarked. The outward trappings often hide the inner apostasy.
Luke 2:1 And it came to pass
in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the
world should be taxed.
Governments are good at
taxing people and business. They even use taxes to control people, keeping them
too busy to rebel against the oppression.
The Roman Empire’s taxation
was denied in books that I read in the 1970s, but Lenski knew about supporting
evidence decades before. I also read Ramsay in seminary and knew about the
astonishing accuracy and precision of Scriptural trivia. This is trivial
because the census is not doctrine, but nevertheless the trivial fact is true,
showing that God’s Word is accurate in doctrine, history, and geography. Man
argues against one or the other because of his unbelief.
Lenski:
Until a few years ago the critics had things pretty much to
themselves, and all one could do was to trust to the reliability of Luke. But
now a mass of papyri and several inscriptions have reversed the situation. The
evidence is now at hand that Augustus did issue the decree of which Luke
speaks, that it was a new, epoch-making measure, and that it inaugurated a
periodic enrollment in the empire which continued for over two centuries at
intervals of fourteen years. See the writings of W. M. Ramsay.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 116.
Like the Star of Bethlehem, the census was one part of the
picture. Some would like to set aside the Star of Bethlehem too, but that has
worked its way back into the picture, simply because we have the tools to
recreate it and to view it exactly as the Wise Men saw it – in planetariums.
And the skeptics deeply resent that fact.
2 (And this taxing
was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
I remember the chortles from
the Left. “Now we have Luke in the crosshairs. Cyrenius was not governor then.”
He was serving in that capacity. He was governing. When we conquered Japan,
McArthur became the military governor of Japan. He carried himself as an
emperor, which is what the people expected. He was not a governor in the
American sense, far from it, but he governed. That is the point.
Lenski:
Acting in a governing capacity in Syria, and having broader
powers than those of the regular governor, Quirinius managed the enrollment
also in Herod’s domain.
Lenski, R. C. H.: The
Interpretation of St. Luke's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing
House, 1961, S. 118.
3 And all went to be taxed,
every one into his own city.
The fact of the census
caused the pathos of the Nativity. With everyone crowding the roads, inns, and
homes, there was no room for Joseph and Mary. Homes were tiny then, something
we can hardly imagine. If you see photos of crowded busses, ferries, or markets
in the Third World, that gives a better impression than imposing our need for
space upon the Roman Empire. The ultra-rich had palaces, but everyone else was
crowded together.
Here we see that God enters
history contrary to man’s expectations. Instead of great pomp and glory –
humility and poverty and yieldingness. Joseph and Mary could not even claim a
spare room at a relative’s home. Sure there was something available. The
problem at the inn is a good indication, because it should have been an
alternative.
4 And Joseph also went up
from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
As we all know from
Christmas pageants, these verses from Luke flow elegantly as phrases in a poem.
The best passages to memorize are those which are poetic in form, with simple
descriptive phrases. I can imagine this being memorized by children in the
earliest congregations, adults reciting it as the narrative of their Savior’s
birth.
Not to be missed in the
long, uphill climb from the low-lying territory of Galilee to the mountainous
Jerusalem. Similar would be the journey from the desert valley of Phoenix to
the high country of Flagstaff and beyond. Only we went by auto, not by foot. I
keep seeing graphics of Mary on a donkey. There is no beast of burden mentioned
in the Scriptures. Even with one, the trip was arduous.
Joseph’s lineage caused him
to report to Bethlehem for the census. Therefore, when we read about that
shepherd boy, David, in Bethlehem, we already have an inkling of the story of
the Savior. Saul was an unfit king, so the reign passed over to David, and
David became the example, the ideal of the Messiah – the king anointed with
oil.
The prophecies said the
Savior would be born in Bethlehem, and the Roman Empire made this happen. This
alone shows us how God works in history. The clever philosophers want to
divorce a charming story from the facts of history, but believers see how God
declared and then fulfilled every promise from the Old Testament.
These Messianic promises are
woven into the Scriptures, so that anyone reading them before or after the
event could see those details, not as a platform, but as a thread running
through the Old Testament books. Where one detail might be overlooked, many
more cannot be. The Old Testament is certainly a cradle that holds the baby
Jesus. Once the Holy Spirit has opened the eyes of faith, that cannot be
missed.
When obstinate rejection
closes the eyes of faith, nothing can be seen at all. My apostate Roman
Catholic friends came back from a famous lecturer’s talk, happy that all the
Old Testament miracles were set aside as “symbolic.” Someone asked, “What about
the New Testament miracles?” The man responded, “Oh, those are all true.” This
made the two theology students (now professors) furious.
I contacted them as alumni,
by email. They found communicating with me difficult, even though I only said
hello after all these years – 29 in all.
The Bible is not a cafeteria
line where we pick out what we like.
6 And so it was, that, while
they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And
she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and
laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
These verses indicate that Joseph
and Mary arrived in Bethlehem and were there a period of time before Jesus was
born. The Bible is very strict with details, because we do not need to know
everything. Compare this to an essay I graded, where a woman took six typed
paged to describe her dog’s illness. In fact the story the sinking of a famous
ocean liner (Normandie) took up more space in the New York Times than
the entire account of the Flood in Genesis.
This concise narrative is
good, because we reflect upon the essentials rather than all the other details
that intrigue us without edifying us.
Many like to dwell on morbid
descriptions of how terrible this was, to give birth in such a way. If anyone
suggested it advance to a couple, they would be astonished at the lack rather
than the abundance – except for one thing. God would surely take care of His
Son’s birth and provide all needed assistance. His angels announced it, so they
did not leave the family without help or comfort.
The message here is that
they trusted in God to provide what was needed. A German Gerhardt hymn makes
that point about all believers. God provides special care, comfort, and
protection at all times.
So, as humans, we look at
the birth in the animal shelter as the opposite of our wishes for anyone, but
God presents it as a scene of peace and joy.
The Gospel comes to the
humble and poor, those who hunger for the righteousness of God. The people who
consider themselves great intellects are too proud to read the Word of God as a
direct revelation. They place themselves above it.
But here we see the Savior
born in the midst of the decaying Roman Empire, turmoil everywhere. Hundreds of
Old Testament prophecies begin to be revealed in scene after scene, as the true
drama of salvation unfolds.
For those who believe the Word
of God and trust in its promises, the Bible is a constant source of wonder and
wisdom. If someone asks, How can my own sins be forgiven?, he only need to look
at the census bringing the Holy Family to Bethlehem, the Wise Men following the
Star of Bethlehem, the shepherds told in the fields by angels while King Herod faced
the end of his power and life.
#646 Silent
Night 4:38
Heavenly Host
Luke 2: 8 And there were in
the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock
by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the
Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said
unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 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, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as
the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to
another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to
pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and
found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Holy Communion p. 24
The Prayers and Benediction
#87 Joy to the
World 1:20
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