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The First Sunday after
Christmas Day.
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin;
Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace,
may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus
Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God,
world without end. Amen.
The Epistle
Galatians iv. 1.
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ow I say,
That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant,
though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time
appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage
under the elements of the world: but when the fullness of the time was come,
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them
that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And
because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son;
and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
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nd 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. 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. 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, 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. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which
was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were
told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all
these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the
things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (Luke 2:1-20)
Today we shall observe three occasions in the Church Calendar –
the continuing Christmastide, the Holy Innocents, and the coming New Year tomorrow.
If we read the Bible as a
strictly edifying historical work, we will miss the entire message of the
Gospel, for the Bible is a Living Text that bears the same application to our
lives today as to those of whom it has given account between its inspired and infallible
covers.
In
brief, Christ is Light and Life to us. Consider the long night of darkness
in which the people of God waited four hundred years for a word from God. From
the utterance of the last Old Testament prophet (Malachi) to the birth of Jesus
(the Gospels) four hundred years past. CURSE (Law) The Old Testament Book of
Law ends with a Curse. What is the opposite of a CURSE of the Law? How about
GRACE!
How
does New Testament end? The grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev
22:21)
Suppose
your father or mother went a great distance away, but called you every day to
let you know that all was well; but, suddenly, they stopped calling completely.
There was not word from father or mother for a great period of time. How would
you feel. You would worry and doubt their ever contacting you again. So was the
dark silence that extended four hundred years between the last utterance of the
prophet Malachi and the Gospel age.
During this Christmastide, we celebrate the coming of Light and
Wonder into a dark world, and we do so both figuratively and formally; however,
it would be wrong to believe that the Coming of Christ ended on Christmas
morning. Christ is forever coming into our hearts if we have hearts that are
open to His knocking. You will not find Him in churches that are not faithful
to the Gospel, for He “stands at the door (without) and
knocks.” If the door to your heart has grown callous with rusty from
years of hard living, and is not open to Christ, you will not even find Him in
a Church strong in its Gospel message. But no thing is beyond the arm of the
Lord to traverse, and He may haply force open the corroded and barred door of
the most egregious sinner in His time, and cause a joyful welcome to be
proclaimed from lips that only spoke vulgarity in times past. If you wake up on
the morning of July 4th with a prayer for Christ to live in
your heart that day, even July 4th becomes Christmas to you. Do
you get it? Is there some cruel irony in singing “O Come all ye Faithful” in
summer? Not at all. We grow too rigid in our hymn-singing at times. Christ
seldom observed a strict formality, but behaved in ways that set the teeth of
the Jewish rulers on edge. Naturally, we must be reverent and orderly in
worship, but not so staid that we condemn even Christ for healing of the
Sabbath Day!
God is all powerful and able to work in the hearts of even evil
men to accomplish His purpose. Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth, yet the
prophecies proclaim that Christ should be born there. (see Micah 5:2) The foreshadowing of Bethlehem as the place of Christ birth is
even alluded to in 1 Samuel 16:1 - And the LORD said unto Samuel,
How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over
Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the
Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. Jesse
is the father of David and, so, Bethlehem is called the City of David.
These opening passages of Luke 2 are magically wonderful to my
ears, for they were first repeated to me by my mother and, even then, they
carried a charm and mystery to my young mind. I wonder how many young children
in America today have been blessed by that experience? How nonchalantly does
Luke refer to the occasion of Christ’s birth: “And so it was, that, while
they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.”
And so it was? Yes, it certainly was so, and could have been no otherwise! God
brought the power of Caesar into play to bring about this Holy
event. To all the world Jesus came as a Stranger and left as Redeemer. He was a
Stranger to the woman at Jacob’s Well at the noonday hour, but that woman left
having found a Friend who loves her beyond all human measure. Have you met that
Stranger of Galilee?
We often place our clergy on a pedestal and believe that they
somehow stand in greater grace than we. A minister is simply a fellow who,
hopefully, by the grace of God has been called and responded to the call of God
to preach. A minister can be, and often is, fallible just as you or I can be
fallible – and often are! You will note that The Holy Angels did not proclaim
the great news of Christ’s birth in the halls of government in Jerusalem, or
even to “men of the cloth.” He proclaimed this wonderful news to men whose ears
were open to hear it – common shepherds of the field. These men had no other
distraction than to gaze upon the endless beauties of God’s star-studded
heavens night after night. They understood, unlike most theologians, that there
can exist mysteries in the Word of God which no competent theologian can
define. They knew nothing of the conflicting teachings of the Pharisees and
Sadducees, or the subjects taught in the rabbinical schools by men such as Gamaliel,
but they did know that God sat upon the heavens and created every bright point
of light visible to them in that purple dawn canopy above them. So God chose
the least among men to honor MOST with His Gospel News!
Perhaps, if you have not met God, it may be because you are too
lifted up in pride and arrogance., If so, God can lower you until you arrive at
a level at which you can be taught of Him. There could be no greater blessing
for such a one.
The coming of Christ into your life does not signal an end to
trial and hardship. Au contraire, it may be just the beginning. It
was the beginning of sorrows for many mothers in Bethlehem. It was the
beginning of sorrows for Mary, the mother of Jesus. She failed, seemingly, to
profit from His teaching until after the resurrection, but a sword pierced her
heart at the foot of that crude cross at Calvary.
So, we see, on the Day of Holy Innocents, the intentional murder
of small children by the sword. At least, their murder was most likely more abrupt
than the burning death of little babies in their mother’s womb by a “process of
murder” we call abortion.
18 And it came to
pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name
Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin. (Gen 35:18) (Son of my
Sorrow) Rachel died that her child should live. 19 And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to
Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. (Gen 35:19) The City of
David where Christ was born also. A sword would also pierce Mary’s heart. 35 (Yea,
a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many
hearts may be revealed. (Luke 2:35) 18 In Rama was there
a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel
weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they
are not. (Matt 2:18) 15 Thus saith the
LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping;
Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children,
because they were not. (Jer 31:15)
Do we not hear those mother’s voices still crying out in the
streets of Newtown. When evil rules the land, even the innocent suffer. As we
embark on a so-called NEW YEAR, let us be mindful that swords, guns, and bombs
have no conscience. They can neither be righteous or wicked. It is the heart of
the man holding the weapon that is guilty of sins committed by any device of
killing. Were we to remove every knife, every sword, every gun from the hands
of man, do you believe we would have seen the end of mass murder? Historically,
how have states behaved who have wielded the only means of force and violence?
How did Hitler’s Germany behave, or Caesar’s Rome?
New Years Day is not a Christian holiday, but a secular one. The
only New Year we can truly enjoy is that New Day, New Year, and New Life in
Christ. Heed, America, the counsel of Isaiah if you wish for the comfort and
peace of a Holy people: When the enemy shall come in like a flood,
the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. 20 And the Redeemer
shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith
the LORD. 21 As for me, this is my covenant with
them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which
I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the
mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD,
from henceforth and for ever. (Isaiah 59:19-21)
Men, called of God: Have you lifted up the Standard? Have you
received the Word of God – not of man – into your mouth to proclaim? Have we
taught our seed to know and follow that Light which came at Christmas 2000
years ago? If not, then Stand To, and do your duty now as a good soldier of the
Cross.
