A Christmas Eve message based on the birth narrative of Luke 2.

Current Routine
It was a normal day, this past Thursday. With a weekend message to prepare I do what I always do, and headed out to a local eatery. With a pile of reference materials, and laptop in hand, I settled in to write. Being out amongst the hustle and bustle of food and commerce, the essence of life for many of us, well it tends to get my creative juices flowing. This is my routine. This is what I do. It’s how these messages come to be. And like clockwork it works almost flawlessly.

But this time, much to my chagrin, for some reason the magic wasn’t there. I found myself reading the same notes, again and again, making notations, but still landing short of inspiration. Oh dear, I thought to myself, perhaps this day isn’t going to go as planned. Writer’s block is the worst.

As I sit there I realize I’m also feeling rather run-down too. I’ve been getting over a cold the past few days, and in the afternoons it feels like there isn’t enough energy to make it through the day. With this sermon going nowhere and energy levels running low – winter colds are the worst too – I opted to head home and lay down for a nap. Things were not working out as planned. This made me more than a little anxious.

Ancient Routine
It was a normal night, two millennia ago, for those shepherds we hear of in today’s text. They were doing what they always do, living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. I like to think they too have a certain way of doing things. Move the herd at 9pm, meal break at midnight, shift change at 3am, or something like that. When they woke up that day I’d guess they had a pretty good idea of what their day, and their night would look like. This is their routine. This is what they do. It’s how their flock gets cared for. And like clockwork I bet their routine, for the most part, worked pretty well for them.

But then, in the middle of all that normalcy, all that standard routine, something unexpected happens.

An angel appears, and proclaims to them good news of great joy. The angel tells them of the Messiah, now born, lying in a manger. And the angel makes this news pretty specific:

I am bringing *you* good news.
This day the Messiah to *you* is born.
This will be a sign for *you*

In the midst of all this good news, delivered by spoken word, the lone angel is now joined by a multitude of angels, who burst out in song. “Glory to God in the highest,” they proclaim, “and peace on earth.” Peace on earth for who? With all this news being for *you* it must have been, in that moment, for that audience, meant for those shepherds.

We’ve got some great music tonite, Christmas Eve is about as good as it gets, but imagine the heavens filled with an angelic choir praising God, heralding peace on earth. Apologies choir, and apologies musicians, but I think that angelic choir has our number, the splendor that must have been. And the prophetic angel definitely has my number in the preaching department ? But just imagine, try and put yourself there, as a shepherd, having your normal routine suddenly interrupted by such splendor.

Shepherds go, tell
We’re told that when the shepherds had their normal night interrupted so grandly, by angels and heavenly choirs and celestial proclamations, well, it made them more than a little anxious. In fact it terrified them. Picture yourself, sitting at your office desk, or on your couch watching tv and having all this happen right before your eyes. I’d be terrified too.
After the angels departed the shepherds huddled up and decided to go, to see this child in a manger. But there must have been more to it than that. Their normal day was now anything but, and well, it terrified them.

I wonder, what did they do with their flock? Did they bring them, or make other arrangements? Did they bring family, or leave them behind? Scripture doesn’t specify. We do know they went, leaving their routine, leaving their sense of normal, leaving behind their own earthly todo lists, all in search of something more. The angels promised peace.

Peace. Perhaps peace is what they journeyed for.

The shepherds then went, and found what they’d been looking for: the child in the manger, the Prince of Peace. They praised this Prince of Peace, giving glory to God in the highest. And they shared what they’d seen, and what they’d heard, and all who heard it were amazed.

“I bring *you* good news,” the Shepherds would say.
The Messiah to *you* is born.
This is a sign for *you*
Peace on earth, this Christ-child brings.
For who, the people would ask the shepherds? For *you*

Peace
So whatever happened to my failed attempt to write this message the first time? After dropping my writing routine and heading home for a good long nap in front of a warm fire my mood began to shift. My body, still recovering from that winter cold, felt stronger. Kathi and the kids came in and the four of us laughed and played and were generally silly and it just seemed so right.

I found myself asking my wife after dinner to snuggle up on the couch and watch a Christmas movie. As we settled in to watch the 1947 classic Miracle on 34th Street it started to snow outside, and it was wonderful.

The next morning, my daughter, seeing her first Iowan snowfall, excitedly asked dad to go outside for our inaugural snowball fight. We somehow found a way to make tiny balls of snow from the half-inch overnight dusting, and laughed and giggled at targets being hit and missed. After that my toddler son and I took a boys-only road trip, he could use a haircut and we could use a breakfast. Haircut now done I then watched my four-year old order a pancake as big as his head. He made it through half that pancake too; I could only smile.

It was then, after taking some time to heal up from that winter cold and spending time with the family just being present that I realized what this change in routine had yielded. It had brought peace. And it was then the dreaded writers block began to be released.

Close
So often we find ourselves caught up in the busy-ness of our jobs, our check lists, our routines. Being sick disrupted my routine, those angels, well they certainly were a disruption for the shepherds. But in both cases, when we were open to those disruptions good came from it.

Yet we define ourselves by our successes and failures in very practical, earthly ways. I have my stories, you certainly have yours, it’s part of our human condition. We barely have time to breathe it seems, let alone make room for the divine presence all around us. But that’s what Christmas Eve is, it prepares us for God’s coming into the world, through Christ, right in the middle of daily life.

We may never have the chance, at least in this lifetime, to experience a chorus of angels singing to the heavens as the shepherds did; tho I certainly look forward to that in the life to come. But as the shepherds were, we too are offered, in so many times and so many ways, the chance to break routine, to journey to the manger, to meet Christ in the flesh.

• We journey to the manger though family, cuddling on the couch, throwing snowballs, eating huge pancakes with the kids.
• We journey to the manger when we walk alongside the lonely, doing those same things for those with no family.
• We journey to the manger when we show hospitality to the stranger, regardless of their race, creed, or national origin.
• We journey to the manger when we clothe the poor, heal the sick, feed the hungry, and house those without.

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For when we journey to the manger, we model the angels, and model the shepherds, and proclaim to others, both in word and deed:

“I bring *you* good news.”
The Messiah to *you* is born.
This is a sign, for *you*

We’re really pretty good at making room for the Christ-child on December 25. Preparations have been made, gifts purchased, jobs, schools and stores all closed. We can just be, and celebrate God come to earth, we make room for it, it’s on the calendar, and that’s a beautiful thing.

But the rest of the year, well, that’s a little trickier. Let me encourage you, all year long, to travel to the manger, in word and deed, with every step you take. For it is in the doing, and in the saying, and in the bringing of good news to others, it is *there* where we finally find our peace.   Amen.

A poem for the holidays.

What is Christmas? Christmas is many, many things.

Christmas is toys and joys, cocoa and cider, trees and trimmings.
It is memories, some past, others newly made, still others lofty aspirations yet to come.
Christmas is tradition and family, baking and tasting, churches and carols, decking the halls.
Christmas is full bellies, needs met, gifts given, loved ones snuggled, contented, by a warm glowing fire.

Christmas is stables and mangers, livestock and hay, stars and angels, shepherds and wise-men.

It is unexpected parents, long, arduous travels, and inns with no rooms. It is a recognition that sometimes life, even for the divine, is HARD.

Christmas is hope and love, joy and peace.

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Christmas is a promise made good, of God made flesh, of new starts, second chances. Not for a family or tribe, town or district, region or country, but instead a new start for the entire world.

Christmas is toys and joys, not just for us, but for those without.
It is filling bellies, not just our own, but those still empty.
Christmas is providing shelter, making room at the inn, in the midst of those who cry there is no room.

And Christmas is singing, but not for us. It is singing for those whose voices go unheard. It is singing for those who have no voice. And it is singing, loudly, Joy to the World! The Lord, in the most unexpected of ways, has come.

A message for the second week of Advent based on Mark 1:1-8 featuring renaissance fairs, turkey legs and proclamation too. 

Have you ever been to a renaissance fair? This kind of fair has become more common in the US the past two decades, I’ve got a few friends that absolutely love them.
Renaissance fairs typically aim to recreate a certain era; many are set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth of England or Henry VIII. Still others go for more of a Viking or pirate motif; I definitely see how those themes could be fun.

These events typically have a slew of costumed entertainers and fair-goers, and the outfits can get really creative, perhaps this was the original cosplay. Renaissance fairs often include musical acts, arts and crafts for sale, and festival foods galore. Personally I always go for the turkey leg, love me some of that, I get one just about every time they are available. These fairs are designed, intentionally, to blend right in with the era being replicated; going to one is akin to stepping out of a time machine that’s taken you back a few centuries.

One of my favorite parts of a good renaissance fair is the town crier competition. In these events participants, each decked out in bright, flashy costumed regalia, take turns giving a proclamation to the gathered crowd. “Here ye, here ye!” the proclamations often begin, with language dripping in old English words and phrases, not too dissimilar from what can be found in parts of the King James Bible.

The winner of these competitions is the voice that speaks the loudest, and clearest, with the most emotion, the most energy, the most life. And the winner is often made the official voice of the fair. The town crier, sometimes referred to as a herald, then proclaims the goodness that is to come, giving updates on what renaissance festivities happen next. The herald draws people in, gets them excited, gets them involved, all while giving the good news of the day.

For grins, here’s a video of a town crier, giving an important announcement, just to give you a glimpse of what we’re talking about.

Isn’t that fun? The person in the video is Tony Appleton, he’s the President of the Guild of International Millennium Town Criers, who knew such a group existed? Now Tony has a strong British accent in spots, perhaps for some, so in case you missed parts of that here is what the proclamation says.

Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! On this day, the second of May, in the year of 2015, we welcome, with humble duty, the second born, of the royal highnesses, of the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge. The princess is fourth in line to the throne. May the princess be long lived, happy, and glorious, and one day long to reign over us. God save the Queen!

The birth of royalty, especially in England, is about as big of news as it gets.

John the Eccentric
The scripture reading also features a herald, proclaiming some good news of a different sort. The herald’s name is John the Baptist.

Similar to a good renaissance fair herald, John could also draw quite the crowd. John attracted people from the whole Judean countryside; all the people of Jerusalem went out to see him. But John didn’t have the advantage of modern marketing and event-based promotions like renaissance heralds do, and he certainly didn’t have the best of venues. John’s proclamations came from a rather unexpected, unheralded location, the wilderness.

And John’s clothes? Like a good renaissance herald his clothes also made quite the impression, albeit in a different kind of way. John was clothed in camel’s hair we’re told, with a leather belt around his waist. While this text was written almost two millennia ago, even then, John’s wardrobe choice was a relic of the past. Theologian Martin Copenhaven observes that John’s camel-hair outfit was several centuries out of fashion, a biblical retro look of sorts, similar to what was worn by the prophet Elijah hundreds of years earlier.

And John’s choice of meals? He dined on locusts and wild honey, euch! While you may like honey – I’m allergic to it personally – imagine watching someone walk up to a beehive, stick their whole hand into it, and then lick the honey off, finger by finger. And then head off to find some live locusts, popping those crunchy insects into their mouth one at a time until they were full. Let that image sit with you for a little bit.

As for me? I’d rather have one of those renaissance fair turkey legs instead, so tasty.
All this is to say that John the Baptist, who could be best summarized as an eccentric, wild-child with a penchant for living off the land – don’t forget those crunchy locusts – well, he must have had some really, really good news to draw people in like that.

John the Proclaimer
So what made this news so good? When this text was written, near Galilee there was war, and rumors of more wars, and people weren’t getting along. It was a diverse population, both by race and religion, and tensions were high. There was governmental instability, leaders had lost the trust of their citizens, and divisive partisan politics drove people further and further from each other.

Again we’re talking ancient history. Or are we? So much of this sounds oddly familiar.
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It is in this context the people went out from the cities, in the hopes of hearing more about a character called Jesus. And they went to the most unlikeliest of places, the wilderness, in search of the most unlikeliest of characters – that’s the camel-hair wearing, locust-eating John – to hear the good news being proclaimed.

And unlike a renaissance herald, whose proclamations involve festivities like the upcoming Jousting match, or the Pub sing, or Fire breathing exhibit, John’s good news is somewhat more lofty.

John calls on those gathered in the wilderness to repent, to be baptized, and to receive forgiveness for their sins. John calls on the people to make an account of the brokenness in their society, the wars, the religious and political infighting, and to repent for it.

It is then, in that state of reflection and repentance where John paves the way for what is to come. I can almost hear John the Baptist, using his best herald voice, quoting, Isaiah, saying “I am a messenger, sent from on high, who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

For it is there, after repentance and reflection, baptism and proclamation, and then finding God’s people in the wilderness, once again, it is there we begin to find our way.

And it is there we can look forward, with joyful anticipation, to the breaking in of God in our world.

While John was not the chosen one – he’s the proclaimer, not the newly minted royalty – he sure did know how to announce the coming of the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. He did it with camel hair, and locusts and baptism, oh my, and he certainly wasn’t one to be shy. When the news is that big, is that good, God come to earth to save the world, in the form of a child, you really do want to proclaim that goodness with everything you’ve got.

CLOSE
On this, the second week of Advent, we light a new candle, to signify the peace we await this season. While we wait, I’d like to ask you to do something.

Most messages you’ll hear from this pulpit ask us to model Christ, and there’s always value in that. But this week, instead, consider modeling John the Baptist.

And while you don’t need to bust out the camel-hair outfits and start munching on locusts, I do ask you to model John with some verve.

First, reflect on where you need forgiveness, where you need peace. Ask for that forgiveness from your Maker, and accept the peace that it brings. As was then is also true now, in the midst of wars and rumors of wars, amongst political and religious divisions that threaten to tear at the very fabric of our society we all need a healthy dose of holy peace.
Then be like John, and proclaim the good news of the Christ child. Meet people in *their* wilderness. Help prepare the way of the Lord, make clear the path. Then help guide them out of that wilderness.

And then be like John once again and proclaim.

With apologies to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and using minor edits from the video we saw earlier, proclaim it with some gusto, with some panache, perhaps something like this:

Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye! On this day, the twenty-fifth of December, in the first year of our Lord, we welcome, with humble duty, the first born of God our Creator, the blessed Christ-child. Jesus will soon take the throne, sitting at the right hand of God. May Christ be with us forever, in glory, and reign over us eternally in truth, and in love. God save us all!

For when we do, we model arguably the best earthly herald of all, John the Baptist, who drew people in, got them excited, and pointed them away from the wilderness of our world, and toward the peace of Christ.  Amen.