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 Christmas only comes once a year and there are many traditions for celebrating it. There are national traditions, cultural traditions, Church traditions, local and family traditions. From the lighting of the National Christmas tree to the lighting of the Christmas trees in our homes; traditions give us a sense of order in our celebration all because of their familiarity. The familiarity of traditions make us feel safe and in our human way - that all is well. When a tradition changes or is broken, we are pulled out of our comfort zone. Sometimes, this change in the pattern of our lives can cause discomfort as we react to the unfamiliar that replaces the old pattern. For others, change can have the opposite effect. Change can mean bringing in new life and new traditions.
This year at our house there has been a change in our family tradition. This year for the first time, our youngest isn’t home for Christmas. Not only does this affect our family tradition, but it also means that she isn’t here to sing for Christmas Eve. Instead, she is singing in another church up north. As you can imagine, my first reaction to this change was not a positive one. Like most folks, I am a creature of habit. Yet, without change in our lives, we can’t grow.
In the Old Testament reading for this evening from Isaiah, the prophet writes, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined.” As Christians, when we hear those words, we immediately believe that this is a very positive statement, because we believe that the prophet is speaking about the birth of Jesus. We assume that the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, would be welcomed by all. We don’t even stop to think that perhaps the people who were walking in darkness before Christ came had become accustomed to their life of darkness. The sudden appearance of Christ into their lives, which we believe is a wonderful gift from God, might not have had the same impact on everyone. After all, the arrival of God’s Son into the world changed everything.
The people to whom darkness was familiar and to whom light was unknown now were confronted with change. They could choose to accept the change or to rebel against it. If they accepted the light into their world of darkness, the light would reveal things to them that needed more change. The old ways of doing things would be abolished and new patterns would emerge. For people who were strict in the following of traditions, this could be a difficult change to make. It would mean leaving the familiar darkness behind to follow the ever revealing Light of God. The people of the Law were given the opportunity to become the people of faith. To do this would mean stepping out in faith and abandoning long held traditions. This was a change that many would choose not to do. The familiarity of keeping all of the rules of the Law were not easy to leave behind for the unknown even when the unknown was sent from God.
The scriptures tell us that Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. From the moment Jesus was born the world was changed. Old traditions would be replaced with new traditions. Old patterns would be replaced with new ones. The first pattern Jesus broke was the place of His birth. Kings are born in palaces surrounded by splendor with servants at their beck and call. The King of Kings was born in a lowly stable surrounded with animals and perhaps not even a mid-wife to assist His entrance into the world. As for Jesus’ first bed, His was a manger filled with straw to feed the animals. No fancy crib with satin sheets for Baby Jesus.
The reason given for Jesus’ humble beginnings we are told is because there was no room in the inn even for a pregnant woman already in labor. There were no hospitals, no homeless shelters, no place for His Mother Mary to give birth. Jesus began His life by being rejected. From the beginning, Jesus was told that there was no room for Him. Sadly, many continue to tell Jesus the same thing today.
The world into which the Savior was born was a hostile place. Jesus came into a world that did not teach unconditional love. Instead, the religious authorities taught the tradition “of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. There was even a standard number of times for forgiving a person. As for each person knowing their place in life, it was determined by their birth.
As far as the world was concerned, Jesus’ birth was a disgrace. His mother, Mary, had conceived out of wedlock. Tradition demanded that Mary be stoned. If not for the more than generous gesture of Joseph, Mary’s fiancé, to accept Mary’s child as his own, death by stoning would have been Mary’s fate. Jesus would not have been born. The world would have remained unchanged in the deep darkness with no light for guidance and salvation.
Many of us here tonight would be pagans or atheists with no hope for having a personal relationship with our Father God. In fact, the mere thought of a personal relationship with our creator if we believed in a god or gods would be blasphemy to our ears. If we were atheists, we would believe the hope for a Savior as foolish and for the weak minded who couldn’t accept the harsh realities of this world of darkness.
Yet, the prophet Isaiah insists that the arrival of the Messiah would bring great joy. Isaiah writes, “You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder. For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.” Isaiah tells us that the arrival of the Messiah is a good thing for the captives will be set free. Is it any wonder that Jesus’ first visitors are shepherds who were on the bottom rung of the society list?
It was the lowliest who came first to see the One that came to change the world. If Jesus had been born in a palace, these shepherds would not have been allowed into the outer court. Instead, these shepherds are given a personal invitation from the Father God’s heavenly messengers to go and be the first to visit the bundle of Joy that would change the world. The shepherds are not afraid to enter a humble stable. Freely they enter to kneel before the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The baby to whom rejection was given by the world now offers acceptance to the least. With the arrival of the shepherds another of many patterns is broken.
The patterns that held humanity captive in the darkness were broken not just for the sake of the shepherds, but for all who walked and continue to walk in darkness. T he shepherds did not even hesitate to obey the biddings of the angels. The scriptures tell us that “they went in haste”. Quickly they left behind the old patterns of their lives of darkness to embrace the new pattern of light.
Today the invitation of the angels still stands. All are invited to enter into the throne room of the King of Kings. Like the shepherds of old, we won’t find Him in a palace. Instead, we must be willing to seek the Christ Child in a spirit of humility. For only then will we find the One who can set us free and lead us out of the darkness into the Light. It will mean leaving behind old patterns to accept new ones. The choice is up to us.
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