+ The Nativity of our Lord –
December 25th, 2015 +
Redeemer
Lutheran, HB
Series C:
Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-12; John 1:1-18
In the Name of
the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
What’re you
doing for Christmas? Getting together with family? Going anywhere? And of
course, the question we all want answered: what’s for Christmas dinner? And…when’re
you eating?
These are the
polite questions that fill our casual conversations this time of the year. But
I think there’s something more than well-mannered chit-chat going on in these
little exchanges. Whatever food you enjoy at Christmas – be it surf and turf, a
secret family recipe, or even tofurkey - these earthly feasts are glimpses of a
far greater feast. After all, it’s just not Christmas without a feast.
The same is
true in Christ’s Church. In the home, matters of taste and tradition rule the
day; and you can have a blessed, joyous Christmas with or without them. But in
the Church, the feast of the Lord’s Supper is the one Christmas feast we can’t
live without, not on Christmas or any other day.
St. John, rings
the bell for the Christmas feast:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John declares a great mystery.
The infinite resides in the finite. The eternal has broken into chronological
time. The Creator became a creature. God is Man and Man is God in this tiny
Child of Bethlehem. The world scoffs: How can this be? The world underestimates
God, if it has any estimation of God at all. And it greatly overestimates Man.
To become Man is nothing for God, for with God all things are possible. Jesus’
incarnation is one small step for God, one giant leap for mankind.
And Christ’s incarnation leads us to another
joyous mystery.
Jesus, the
Word who became flesh for us gives his flesh to us in the Lord’s Supper, the
greatest Christmas feast of all.
For the real Christmas feast isn’t at our dining room tables,
but at the Lord’s Table, where the incarnation of the Son of God comes to us in
the Holy Supper. Here’s your Christmas feast. We’re the guests. Jesus is the
host, waiter, and food. And every time we receive Holy Communion it’s Christmas
all over again.
For in the Lord’s Supper, the same Jesus who took on human
flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary and dwells with us in his flesh and blood
for our forgiveness again and again, as often as we eat this bread and drink
this cup, we proclaim his death and his birth for us. After all, his name is
Emmanuel, God with us. Nowhere is this truer than in the Lord’s Supper.
We confess this great mystery to be true, even though the
world – as it did in Jesus’ day –little understands nor tolerates Jesus’ words.
No matter. Jesus’ Word remains regardless of our opinions.
For while
the world has been partying all December, we’ve been preparing in Advent. John the
Baptist cries out: cast aside your works of darkness; prepare the way of the
Lord; repent, for the kingdom is near. John also beckons us to rejoice; Christ
our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed for us. And with John, we look forward to
and long for the Christmas feast, no more locusts and wild honey.
And while the
world rushes to clean up Christmas, inside the Church, the party is just
beginning. Christmas is a joyous feast that simply cannot be contained in one
day. Our joy at Christ’s birth spills over into a twelve day celebration.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Jesus comes to
dwell with us because that is what we need.
We do not need
to be fed an endless buffet of do-it-yourself, man-made religion pointing us to
ourselves as our comfort and salvation. We need to be fed Jesus’ body and
blood, our true Christmas feast.
We do not need
the Turkish delight of man’s opinions about what is right and wrong, about what
makes Christmas truly merry, or how to find true contentment and peace which always
leave us wanting more yet never satisfies. We need the solid food of Christ’s
body and the cup of salvation in Christ’s blood.
We do not need
the decadent desires or empty promises that our sinful flesh and the devil waft
before our noses, beckoning us into hell’s kitchen.
No. We need Jesus,
the Word made flesh for us to feed us heavenly food. And this is exactly what
this Child is born to do.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
In Bethlehem,
in a stable, in this baby boy, Isaiah’s words are fulfilled right before Mary
and Joseph’s eyes. How beautiful in the manger are the wiggling feet of him who
bears Good News for you. The Lord comforts us by the crib and cross of this
little Child born for you. God has laid bare his arms for you, in the Child
cradled in Mary’s arms, and stretched out upon the cross for you.
And what happened in Bethlehem continues today. God who was
made flesh and born of the Virgin Mary for us, remains flesh for us and gives
his flesh to us.
And so, for us, there’s no need
for to go to Bethlehem, except perhaps as curious tourists. After all, Jesus no
longer dwells in that manger. But do not despair! The true
pilgrimage or journey home to Bethlehem is made to the altar where we receive
Christ our Living Bread. Bethlehem means house
of bread. And that’s exactly what our altar is: the house of bread. The
place where Christ dwells with us and feeds us in the Christmas feast of forgiveness
and joy. And wherever Jesus is present with His body and blood for you, there
you have the greatest Christmas feast of all. The Word made flesh still dwells
among us.
For unto us a child is born; and unto us His body and blood
are given. Christmas and the Lord’s Supper are wrapped together in the flesh of
Jesus. By this holy food Jesus brings
his flesh and blood, born for us in Bethlehem to us today in the bread
and wine. Jesus is the gracious
host, and we’re his joyful guests, gathered to feast in abundance – no need to
count calories or carbs here. There’s no such thing as too much forgiveness, or
receiving the Lord’s Supper too often. God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness abound.
Like the feeding of the five thousand, we eat, are satisfied, and there’s
always more than we need.
You see, it’s simply not Christmas without the feast of the Lord’s Supper.
It’s also hard to have a Christmas feast without guests. And
in Lord’s Supper God unites us with Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, wise men, and
all the saints in unending joy before the Word made flesh for us.
And as we come before the altar, we kneel and sing with angels
and archangels and all the company of heaven. The altar is our heaven. Jesus is
the Bread of Life, swaddled in the host and the wine for you, just as he said. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!
And when the Holy Communion liturgy begins it’s Christmas all
over again.
The Word
became flesh and dwelt among us.
Here in this sacred Christmas feast we also have an exchange. Jesus
takes all that we have – our sin, punishment, and death and gives us all that
He has – righteousness, peace, and life. The one whom the heavens and earth
cannot contain is contained for us in bread and wine that is his body and blood.
The One who gives us daily bread becomes the bread of life for us. The Word
made flesh gives us flesh and blood for our forgiveness.
Jesus is mangered for you in his
Holy Word and Supper, swaddled for you in water and Word, bread and wine. Oh
come, let us adore him. Christ our Lord. Christ our brother. Christ our Savior.
Christ born for you. Christ who dwells with you, for you, and in you.
At last the
Christmas feast is here! Come to Bethlehem and see and eat and drink. The table
is set. The meal is prepared. Come, for all is ready. The Word is made flesh
for you.
A blessed and
merry Christmas to each of you…
In the Name of
the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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