God is with us in Word and Sacrament

The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord

The Eve of the Nativity of Our Lord

Luke 2:1–20

+ IN NOMINE IESU +

For fifty years now, Americans have huddled around their television sets in December to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas. “In a world where the latest greatest technology is outdated in a matter of moths, and social media trends come and go in a matter of days, fifty years of anything becomes quite meaningful.”

You remember the plot: When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees among everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the true Christmas spirit with a forlorn and sickly little fir tree fails, Charlie Brown, in desperation yells, “Everything I do turns into a disaster. I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about. ISN’T THERE ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT?!?” Then Linus, that thumb-sucking, security-blanket toting little boy, steps up, “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He then proceeds to recite for everyone the Gospel reading for this night from Luke 2.

“Throughout the story of Peanuts, Lucy, Snoopy, Sally and others, all work to no avail to separate Linus from his blanket. And even though his security blanket remains a major source of ridicule for the otherwise mature and thoughtful Linus, he simply refuses to give it up.”

That is, “until this moment. When he simply drops it.”

“In that climactic scene when Linus shares ‘what Christmas is all about,’ he drops his security blanket. . . . Most telling is the specific moment he drops it: when he utters the words [spoken by the angel to the shepherds], ‘Fear not.’”

This is the history of salvation. This is the history of God’s interaction with mankind. It is the history of God telling us not to be afraid and to let go of our security blankets—our misguided hopes and false security. And they’re are many and varied. When given the choice we choose the unreal for the real. When given the choice we choose the lie for the truth because it is more palatable and seemingly more comfortable because they’re in our control.

But Jesus is the ultimate realist. He knows all our evasions. Jesus did not trust men, says St. John, because He knew what was in their hearts. We say, “We must live together . . . or, We must divorce because . . . and then give a reason that will pass muster with the Scribes. Jesus isn’t buying it. We say “I am self-sufficient, because my granaries are full, and my annuities are making me fifteen percent a year,” but Jesus says that we are fools, and that our lives will be required of us tonight. We say, “I am right with God, because I give so much of my living to the poor,” but Jesus says that our right hands and our left hands are gabbing proudly to one another all the time. We even say that we love Jesus, but we have riddled the Bible with loopholes and extenuating circumstances, so that Jesus himself is not the man who said what he said and did what he did, but a Dream-Jesus, a Jesus of the subjunctive mood, who would say and do this or that, contradicting what he actually did say and do when he walked the earth, if he were alive now. Thus is Jesus demoted from Master, Creator and Lord, to a protagonist in a fiction—a fiction of which  we are the author. And since we are the author, that Jesus lets us do what we want.

And so we go to bed thinking that all is right with the world. We say, “I’ve done my part. I’ve been good, or good enough, or at least better than that guy.”

But it’s a fiction. It’s not real. It’s false security. Nothing more than a security blanket. Not all is right with the world. We lie to ourselves in this way, pretending to be unafraid, but if that were true, we would not need to cling so tightly to all these things to assuage our conscience and quiet our minds. But even if it were true, even if all was right with the world, that is not the point. For it is not enough to be right with the world. You must be right with the creator of the world. Repent.

Repent. But do not be afraid. “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy . . . . For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

“The birth of Jesus separates us from our fears.” “The birth of Jesus frees us from the [sinful] habits we are unable or unwilling to break ourselves.” “The birth of Jesus allows us simply to drop the false security we have been grasping so tightly, [so that we will trust and cling to Him instead],” letting go of the unreal for what is real.

The birth of Jesus is the birth of the Lord, the creator of all things living among His creation in order to save it. The birth of Jesus is the birth of the Christ, God’s own anointed, our Prophet, Priest, and King. He preaches the good news of salvation. He offers himself as a sacrifice and intercedes on our behalf to His Father in heaven. He takes up His power to reign by His gracious visitation. He rules not with an iron fist, but with open hands and outstretched arms, pierced for our transgressions, for our fear and trust in the things of this world more than our fear and trust in him. The birth of Jesus is the birth of the Lord, the creator of all things living among His creation in order to save it. The birth of Jesus is the birth of the Savior, who by his death saves us from the lies of the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. And because of Jesus, God’s wrath because of sin is spent; it has already been poured out upon Him. There is no one left to accuse you, nothing left to fear. You are reconciled to God in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This is what is real. This is what lasts. So “Fear not!” and drop the blankets. “For, behold, I bring you good news of great joy . . . For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And that, Charlie Brown, is what Christmas is all about. Amen.

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