Christmas Eve - 12-24-09

The Church Season of Christmas,
Christmas Eve,
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (December 24, 2009)
One Year Series

“GOD WITH US”

Readings: Matthew 1:18-21

Sermon Form: Deductive

+INI+

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

The text for today is as recorded in the Gospel Lesson from the 1st chapter of St. Matthew, especially the following verse.

Matthew 1:18-21 (NIV)

18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to [Josephe] in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

The blessed event of our Savior’s birth comes to Joseph in a dream where an angel speaks to him saying his wife will conceive a child and that child was to be “given the Name Jesus.”(v. 21) The birth of that baby boy would be in the small but significant town of Bethlehem. And that child would be called, “Immanuel, which means, ‘God with us.’”(v. 23) Saint Matthews account of Christ’s birth is not quite the long endearing account told by St. Luke which we will hear tomorrow morning. St. Matthew is straight and to the point, Jesus, the baby in the manger is “God with us.” It is hard for the people of this world to imagine, to contemplate, or even to hesitate for a moment to think that the creator of the universe would come to us in such a lowly form. But He did. In fact, from the very moment the “angel went to (Mary) her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” (Luke 1:28) from that very instant God was in Mary’s womb and so Jesus was with her and He was from that very moment Immanuel, He was God with us. A few moments ago, the choir sang these words from the hymn, “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.”:

“Oh that birth forever blessed,
When the virgin full of grace
By the Holy Ghost conceiving
Bore the Savior of our race,
And the babe the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face.”(LSB #384:2)

And this sacred face of God, the tiny baby is the One whom, “seers of old time chanted of with one accord.”(LSB384:3) Christ is the One who was to come, the one who was promised to Eve, the one who would crush the ancient serpents head. This child born of Mary was God of whom the wisest of men, King Solomon spoke, “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us”(1 Kings 8:56)

In fact, Christ was with us from before the time He was born. Christ indeed has never left us nor will He ever forsake us. For Jesus Christ, “He is the alpha and omega, He the source the ending He.” This child who would rest in the wooden manger and who appeared to men to be of such a lowly state, was in fact born of royal lineage. For His earthly father Joseph was 27 generations from King David, yet Joseph is still called the son of David. An even though Jesus is not called Joseph’s son, Christ is indeed the “seed of David”, in fact Christ is the greater David. For King David lived a life of royalty, rich beyond measure, yet King David was not a perfect man. In fact, though David was royalty he was a real person, a sinful man who knew that he needed God. King David knew that he needed God’s forgiveness, e needed God to be with him.

Just like King David, we too lead lives which are in desperate need for God to be with us. So, Christ the greater David, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary, and was made man, in the city of David, and He did so to live a life free of sin, a life which we cannot live.

We have gathered here this blessed evening to celebrate and to recall the birth of that child. We join here together, just like King David, blessed beyond measure. Yet at the same we join here in need of a Savior who frees us from our sins. And the good news is that Immanuel, “God with us,” is here this very evening, just as He was with us as a tiny baby so many, many years ago. Jesus was God with us before then. Jesus was God with us then. Jesus Christ, is God with us tonight. St. John tells us, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”(1 John 4:9-10) And He was given the Name, “Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”(v. 21) So truthfully, the reason for the season, is our sin, and for that reason Jesus came into the world, to free us from that which we could never overcome on our own accord.

In that little Town of Bethlehem, Jesus, “grew in wisdom and stature.”(Luke 2:52) There in the house of Joseph the carpenter Jesus would have learned to toil with the soil, to work with His hands. And one day that tiny baby would be the Christ-man who would allow those same hands to be nailed to a wooden cross, to, “save His people from their sins.”(v.21) to be God with us.

Immanuel, means, “God with us.” Tonight, for a few moments, we step outside the distractions of the season and, the news of holiday sales and we ponder the birth of the very Son of God. We ponder the Son of God who came to us in weakness as that babe in Bethlehem. We ponder the Christ, Immanuel who is God with us still. We know that He is with us because He promised to be with us, “even to the end of the age.”(Mt 28:20) Christ is God with us as we hear His Word proclaimed each time the scriptures are read. Christ is God with us as the Word of God is combined with the water of our baptism. Christ is God with us this very evening as we partake of His true body and blood in Holy communion.

That babe in Bethlehem is God with us in those times when we fall into deep despair. God is with us, when we have that feeling of loneliness or when we long for those loved ones who are no longer with us. Jesus is always with us to gently comfort our souls in the promise of an eternal reunion with all our loved ones, who have died before us in the faith. And if your senses perceive physical illness, or distress in any way, remember Jesus is come to comfort you. For Jesus Christ is still God, and He is always with us.

No matter what you have ever done, no matter what you will ever do, know that everyone who “believes and is baptized will be saved,”(Mk 16:16) and for all who confess their sins, Christ, “is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9) Freedom from sin and the promise of everlasting life, that is indeed the most precious gift to recall on Christmas. For the child of Bethlehem who would be called, Immanuel, gives us the promise of eternal life. Jesus Christ is the incarnate Immanuel “God with us,” who “gives us eternal victory, evermore and evermore.”(LSB 384:5)Amen.

+SDG+