NYUBF | New York UBF

2008 Christmas Lesson 5

GOD IN A MANGER

Luke 2:1-20
Key Verse: 2:14

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Feliz Navidad! (Spanish) Joyeus Noel! (French) Kala Christougenna! (Greek) Sheng Dan Kuai Le! (Chinese) Idah Saidan Wa Sanah Jadidah! (Arabic) Chook Sung Tan! (Korean) Merry Christmas! What is your best Christmas memory? What images come to mind when you think of Christmas? A beautiful Christmas tree? A smiling Santa with lots of gifts? Three wise men following a star? Or a nativity scene, a baby in a manger with Joseph and Mary and the animals? These are all beautiful and unforgettable images which we carry throughout our lifetimes. Each person may have his or her particular image of Christmas. The word “Christmas” is a combined word of “Christ” and “mas.” One of the original meanings of the word “mas” is “festival.” So Christmas can be called “Jesus’ festival” in which we celebrate the birth of Christ, the Messiah.

There could have been many stories surrounding the birth of Christ. And only two stories survived through the New Testament: one by Saint Matthew and the other by Dr. Luke. How Dr. Luke got the information is unknown, however, as he mentioned earlier in the introduction of his book (1:1-4), before writing the stories, he had collected all possible documents and other sources of information about Christ Jesus. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he sorted them out and now we have Luke’s version of the Christmas story. However, I believe that each of us all should have our own Christmas stories. But before we say anything, let’s hear what Luke the historian and evangelist say about the birth of Christ. Although Luke’s account is a short and simple story, it contains historical settings of the world at the time of Christ’s birth while revealing the profound meaning of his birth on humankind. It may take months of studies and meditations to convey the spiritual teachings behind the story. But today, we will think first about how the world was like when Christ was born. Then we will continue to think about what the birth of Christ mean to the world and to each of us today, mainly through the angel’s messages.

First, God in a manger and busy people in a busy world (1-7)

Many years ago, when I moved to New York City from Chicago, I felt lost wherever I went in the city, not knowing which train I should take, where to change trains and what station to get off. Often I would take the train heading in the complete opposite direction to where I was supposed to go. If I asked someone for directions on the street, I often got wrong directions. Someone once warned me, “Don’t ask anybody in New York City for direction. They will always give you wrong directions.” Well, does that mean that all New Yorkers are bad people? Not necessarily, because I actually found and came to know some of the most genuine people in New York City. New Yorkers are just busy people. Look at verses 1-3. “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.” Life in this world has always been a struggle for survival. The census Caesar Augustus issued, which was for the purpose of creating a database for taxation and draft, added more burden and stress to the people. Everyone had to travel to get to their hometown no matter how far it might have been. You can imagine how busy and stressed these people were, having to make extra travels in the midst of their busy life.

Look at verses 4-5. Joseph and Mary also had to travel to register from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea, the hometown of Joseph, since he was a descendant of David, the legendary king in Israel’s history. Joseph was a busy carpenter who fixed things for a living, like people’s houses and furniture. By that time, his fiancée, Mary, had conceived a child by the Holy Spirit and was expecting soon. Due to lack of transportation means of that time, it was not a short distance for a pregnant woman to travel, a good three days walk. In fact, when she was first informed about her pregnancy by the angel Gabriel, she traveled from Nazareth to meet Elizabeth and Zechariah, who lived in one of the towns in the hill country of Judea. (1:39) So it was at least the second time she traveled a long distance during her pregnancy. Mary probably didn’t want to travel again. But she had no choice because of the decree of Caesar Augustus. Joseph perhaps also didn’t want to leave her alone in Nazareth. He wanted to protect her from people’s gossip or any mental and emotional stress. When they finally arrived at Bethlehem, the town was very crowded and no room was available in the inn. People were so busy and obsessed with their own businesses that they just didn’t have room to care for others, even a pregnant lady.

There is saying “Money talks.” In this world, it’s out general understanding that you need some kind of authority or means to make your life a little easier than others . So many people are eager to be rich and famous and get some sort of authority. Once two of our guests from abroad lost their passport in their hotel lobby and could not leave the country. We drove to the Consulate office in Manhattan and asked one of the staff members if they could issue new passports for them immediately since they had to leave the country. I knew it was a difficult request but not impossible. It was also an emergency. Yet, they said, “No way” and we had to come back in a week. So I called one of my friends who happened to be working in Washington and made him talk through my cellular phone. Then in two minutes, the officer called me back to the office and told me to wait, and within 30 minutes, we got two passports. I was surprised how powerful my friend in Washington was. If Joseph was wealthy, had some power or even a connection to a local authority, he could have gotten at least a small room for his wife. But it seems that he was not a man of wealth or power. He was just an ordinary carpenter who tried to make his ends meet through day to day work in a small town. However, I consider that Joseph was very fortunate to be able to get a place in somebody’s barn. I am sure that Joseph and Mary also felt very thankful to God for His timely provision with necessary quietness and warmth at that time. And Mary had her child, the baby Jesus, wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger. (7)

There was a young second lieutenant. He discovered that he had no change when he was about to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He stopped a passing private and asked him, “Do you have change for a dollar?” The private said cheerfully, “Well, I think so. Let me take a look.” The lieutenant didn’t like the private’s attitude. He said, “Soldier, that’s no way to address an officer. We’ll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?” The private came to attention, saluted and said, “No, sir!” People who are in authority tend to exercise their authority, often in negative and self-serving ways. They build huge palaces for themselves at the expense of people’s sacrifices and blood. Some people really don’t like authorities. But authority itself is not evil. God is the supreme authority. So he could have come to this world with supremacy and splendor. Yet He chose to come to this world as a baby in a manger, very ordinary, peaceful, non-threatening, lovely, pure and even wanting to be hugged by us. “Away in a manger, No crib for a bed, The Little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head. The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.” This baby Jesus is God the Messiah, as the Prophet Isaiah proclaimed, who is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) He is Immanuel- God with us. (Isaiah 7:14)

Second, “Good news of great joy for all people.” (9-12)

Look at verses 9-12. The night of this historic moment of the birth of the Messiah was completely silent, and no one in the town of Bethlehem or in Judea was able to recognize what God was doing in their land. Perhaps everyone was too tired to stay awake. Life was too hard for them. Yet, nearby the place of the Messiah’s birth were some unusual people who stayed awake in the middle of night. They were shepherds, who used to keep watch over their flocks at night. They were from the lower class in Jewish society. However, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. This will be sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (11,12) Although these shepherds were terrified by the sudden appearance of an angel, they were really lucky people because God chose to give good news of great of great joy first to them. What can be the good news of great joy in this time of economic downturns? Government bailout for homeowner and auto industry, low interest rate, tax cuts for low-income citizens or creating new jobs are good news. But they are not good news of great joy that will be for all the people. What can be the good news of great joy that will be for all the people, for Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Europeans, Arabs and Africans? What can be good news for people who are getting old, ill and even dying? According to the angel’s announcement, the birth of the Messiah Jesus is good news of great joy for all the people.

Why is the birth of Jesus such good news for all the people? It’s because Jesus is the Savior who will save us from our sins through his grace. In other words, God’s salvation is given as a gift through Jesus’ grace for all fallen humankind. This is an amazing gift. The grace of God’s salvation is far greater than we can imagine. There was a farmer who had experienced several bad years because of severe drought and inflation. One day he went to see the manager of his bank. “I’ve got some good news and some bad news to tell you. Which would you like to hear first?” he asked. The bank manager replied, “Well, why don’t you tell me the bad news first and get it over with?” “Okay. With the bad drought and inflation and all, I won’t be able to pay anything on my mortgage this year, either on the principle or the interest.” “Well, that’s pretty bad.” “It gets worse. I also won’t be able to pay anything on the loan for all that machinery I bought, nor on the principle or interest.” “Wow, is that ever bad!” “It’s worse than that. You remember I also borrowed to buy seeds and fertilizer and other supplies. Well, I can’t pay anything on those items either, principle or interest!” “That’s awful and that’s enough! Tell me what the good news is.” “The good news,” replied the farmer with a smile, “is that I intend to keep doing business with you.” There’s some profound teaching in the story. The good news of the gospel is that, in spite of our total moral and spiritual bankruptcy, God still wants to keep doing business with us. “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) The grace of God’s salvation is not only to be fully accepted by God just as we are, but also to be sanctified and completely transformed in the image of Jesus Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit. God’s grace is abundant.

Third, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men (13-20)

Look at verses 13-14. As soon as the angel finished giving his announcement, a great company of the heavenly host suddenly appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (14) We are not sure how many angels appeared. There could be a thousand angels or even tens of thousands of angels. But they were all praising God in unison, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” This phrase summarizes the meaning of the birth of the Son of God, the Messiah. According to these angels, the birth of Jesus is glory to God and peace to men. But when we think about how these two things are happening in the person of Jesus, we can say that the meaning of the phrase “Glory to God in the highest and peace to men on earth” can be, as St. Irenaeus said, “the glory of God is a man (or a human being) fully alive.” According to John’s gospel, Jesus is full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14) And Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory and exact representation of who God is. (Heb 1:3) So the glory of God is fully revealed in Jesus Christ. But it does not end at this point. When God sent Jesus to this world as the Savior, we can see God’s vision that He wants to reveal His glory by establishing the new humanity in Jesus Christ. Race does not matter, gender does not matter, educational level, cultural difference and nationality do not matter in Jesus Christ.

Peace does not come through negotiations or a balance of power between two parties. True peace does not come through material prosperity. According to the angels’ chorus, we learn that true peace comes through Jesus Christ. This does not mean that peace comes when everyone goes to the same church or belongs to the same denomination or the same religion. If everyone becomes Christian and all nations of the world become Christian countries, will there be no problems? Theoretically, “yes.” But we know that that is unrealistic. We see that that’s too general of a statement. What does it mean to be a Christian? It does not necessarily mean that you go to church on Sunday or have membership to a certain Church or Christian organization. Being a Christian mean to be united with Christ through repentance and faith in Christ and have the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Being a Christian does not mean only to be saved personally. However, you cannot be a Christian without belonging to the body of believers. Since there are so many problems among believers, some people don’t want to belong to any body of believers, or the church. They keep looking for the perfect church, which does not exist.

Then is God’s plan of salvation just an idealistic or utopian concept? No. What unites us together in spite of differences is the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, who groans with us in our weaknesses. We are in the womb of God and someday, by the power of God through the Spirit of God in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will see and experience the glory of God in each of us and altogether.

When we see ugly things we don’t want to have anything to do with them. Sometimes I am disgusted with my ugly thought, word and behavior. We don’t like ugly things. Sin is ugly and poisonous. But Jesus our Savior embraced even ugliness to make it beautiful. He even swallowed the cup of suffering and death in order to give us new life. Jesus our Savior God can love ugly sinners like us because he sees in us something really beautiful coming in spite of our ugliness. There is endless sorrow and sadness in the world because of sin and death. There are many problems. But we have the great and ultimate hope in Jesus because Jesus will make everything new someday. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old older of things has passed away and the new order of things will come. (Revelation 21:4-5)

Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to men on whom God’s favor rests.” God’s grace is open to everyone. Whoever accepts it will experience this amazing grace in his or her life. This is a mystery and an amazing revelation of God through Jesus Christ. At the end of his account, Dr. Luke records the story of a thief on the cross who accepted Christ at the last moment of his life. Jesus told the man who asked him for his mercy, “I tell you the truth, today, you will be with me in paradise.” This is a beautiful story of God’s salvation. Salvation is not far from us. God became a man, a baby in a manger not only to be with us but also to be embraced by any of us who accepts him and promised to dwell in us and eat and live with us forever and ever. Christmas is not about doing many things, even religious things. It’s not about giving and getting gifts from others. It is about embracing the baby born in a manger, God the Messiah. When we embrace this baby, our story of Christmas begins. After seeing the baby Jesus in a manger, the shepherds in today’s passage shared their story of Christmas with others. Let us also share our stories of Christmas with others. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!