Luke 2:1-20 Common English Bible
In those days Caesar Augustus declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. This first enrollment occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. Everyone went to their own cities to be enrolled. Since Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he went up from the city of Nazareth in Galilee to David’s city, called Bethlehem, in Judea. He went to be enrolled together with Mary, who was promised to him in marriage and who was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.
Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.
The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”
When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to
each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s
confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.” They went quickly and found Mary and
Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported
what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at
what the shepherds told them. Mary committed these things to memory and
considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been
told.
During this Advent Season, we have been inviting you to dream.
We have looked at the dreams of others --- as they longed for the coming of a messiah.
We looked at John the baptizer dreaming of the one greater than him who would usher in the kin-dom of God.
Then the past couple of weeks we have looked at Mary
Mary who
says yes to the dream God gave her --- with great joy
And Mary who needed Elizabeth to encourage her to keep the dream
Tonight --- as we gather around the manger, we are reminded that we are all dreamers.
Every year, we come to this night with awe, wonder, and holy imagination for what is possible.
Like Mary, we treasure God’s dream in our hearts and commit to keeping it alive.
Like the holy family, we believe and trust in a God who comes to us in the vulnerability of a child.
What I love about the Christmas story is that it is a
story of a multiplicity of dreams.
Mary dreams of her child that will bring salvation to the world
The
shepherds dream of a society where they will not be seen as disposable
A
world in which they are no longer marginalized
A world where they are respected and seen as valuable children of God
The angels dream of peace on the earth
The Magi
come dreaming of a new world order ---
one they do not
comprehend, nor do they understand ---
yet they come --- and they dream
And yet, for each of these dreamers ----
Jesus’ birth often challenged,
disrupted,
sometimes
fulfilled
and always seemed to sustain their dreams.
What are the dreams that you bring to the manger this night?
Many children will go to bed tonight with dreams of
X-boxes and I-phones
Of dolls
and baby yodas
Of Bikes and trikes
But others --- others will go to bed this night filled
with uncertainty.
Uncertain how they will feed their family on Christmas day and beyond
Not sure if they will have a job or a business as we continue to be devastated by the pandemic
Sad because they cannot live up to the American consumer ideal when it comes to Christmas
Still others will have an empty chair at the table, representing one of the almost 300,000 who have died in the USA or 1.6 million that have died worldwide
In a few moments, we will celebrate the coming of the
light of Jesus into the world
born in an insignificant town
in an
insignificant nation
to insignificant parents
And yet, the dream that this baby represents continues to transform the world.
How will that dream manifests itself to you?
Claire Smith, a poet from Guyana invites us into this
dream
I dream
Of a loving world
Where we see each other
With God’s eyes:
I dream of a resourceful world
Where we cherish the unique gift
Of each other;
I dream
Of a hopeful world
Where we recognize the power of
God’s grace
To transform and make new;
I dream of peace.
Howard Thurman tells a wonderful story about a chance encounter at a bus stop.
Thurman says that he was waiting to catch a bus when he
noticed a man, sitting in his car across the street
The man seemed to be making notes in some kind of book
After he
finished writing, the man looked toward Thurman with a broad smile
Thurman
smiled in return
Thinking he must know him from someplace
The man opened the door to his car and called out, inviting Thurman to a ride, downtown – if that was where he happened to be going
As he got into the car and they began the journey downtown, Thurman tried to think of where their paths had crossed
Soon it was clear that they were total strangers
But out of the graciousness in his heart this man had offered Thurman a ride
He was a salesman
He spoke
with an accent
But he enjoyed helping people whenever he could
This experience reminded Thurman of a friend of his who loved to stop at a certain corner every day --- offering a ride to any person who happened to be there and wanting to go downtown.
This friend would say that each morning was a exciting adventure in meeting and getting to know a new person.
She said that she gained a rare richness by meeting so many different and unique people.
And what she appreciated most was that she was able to meet an immediate need for someone each day --- just by offering a ride and being friendly company
Thurman writes:
Perhaps there is nothing more exhilarating to the spirit than to be able to minister to the needs of others at the time when a particular need is most acutely felt. This is the essence of the spirit of Christmas....the true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one’s graces in a world in which it is so easy to become calloused, insensitive, and hard. Once this spirit becomes a part of a [person’s] life, every day is Christmas, and every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning of fresh, and perhaps holy, adventure.
What adventure is God planting in your heart this Christmas?
What are the dreams that God is giving you?
But we must, like John, Joseph, Elizabeth, Mary and Jesus do more than just dream.
We must awaken the dream through our actions.
Three years ago the word “woke” was added to the dictionary.
According to Merriam-Webster woke means:
aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)
Being WOKE requires us to keep our eyes open to the
reality around us.
To pay attention to when there is a disparity between how one race or group of people is treated unjustly more than another.
Being WOKE means dreaming of something more.
Something better.
Being WOKE means it’s time to dream some dreams.
To open our eyes and align our reality with God’s reality for justice, kindness, and humility.
When you read the advent and Christmas stories in the bible, it is evident that they are calling us to be woke to the marginalized, the oppressed, the separated.
I want to end tonight sharing two of Howard Thurman’s poems.
Thurman has the uncanny ability to put into words what many of us struggle with.
In his poem Christmas Is Waiting to be Born, Thurman is calling for us to be woke.
Where refugees seek deliverance
that never comes,
and the heart consumes itself, if
it would live,
Where little children age before
their time,
And life wears down the edges of
the mind,
Where the old man sits with mind
grown cold,
While bones and sinew, blood and
cell, go slowly down to death,
Where fear companions each day’s
life,
And Perfect Love seems long delayed.
CHRISTMAS IS WAITING TO BE BORN:
In you, in me, in all humanity mankind.”
Christmas is waiting to be born
Let it be
born in your hearts
Let it be
born in your dreams
Let it be born as you seek to make God’s kin-dom real to ALL
Let us dream God’s dream.
I will light candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year long.
~ Howard Thurman
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