Sermon for Christmas Eve

Sermons Archive - St Paul Lutheran Church

[Machine transcription]

And there was a multitude of angels and the heavenly hosts praising God and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
You may be seated.
In the name of Jesus, amen.
Dear saints, Merry Christmas, and may God’s peace be with you
as we are gathered here on the eve of the 2026th anniversary or birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ,
born in Bethlehem and extolled by the angels.
But what do you think the angels were doing?
I want to start maybe thinking about this.
What do you think the angels were doing just five minutes before?
Sorry, the shepherds were doing.
Sorry, not the angels.
Well, maybe I could change the sermon.
I can’t get there fast enough.
What do you think the shepherds were doing five minutes before the angels appeared to them?
I know some of you are thinking, you just want to shout out, counting sheep.
I think some of them are probably worried that they hadn’t finished their Christmas shopping yet.
But I would like for you to take all of the things that you’re worried about
or all of the things that trouble you,
or all of the things that are on your mind tonight,
and I’d like you to put those into the minds of the shepherds.
Maybe there’s a shepherd there who’s thinking that he’s never going to find a wife,
or a shepherd who’s a husband and he’s wondering how long it’ll be until the Lord gives his family children.
Or maybe there’s a shepherd who’s been waking up with strange dreams,
strange pains in his knees and his back,
and he wonders what this means.
There’s some shepherds who are pretty upset that Herod is still the king,
and they’re thinking about becoming more politically involved.
I mean, who knows what these shepherds were worried about or wondering about on this night?
But I just, I imagine it’s just like us.
With all of the, I think this is what the song means,
all the hopes and fears of all the years are boiling around,
in our own minds and in our own hearts,
as they’re sitting out there in the fields,
watching their flocks at night.
And then all of a sudden, an angel appears before them and starts to preach.
It’s an amazing sermon.
I bring good tidings of great joy that will be for all the people,
for to you this night in the city of David is born a Savior who’s Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you.
You’ll find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
And then all of a sudden, it’s not just one angel,
but the whole sky is full of angels,
and they’re preaching this most glorious song.
There’s one other time in the Bible that we hear the angels singing.
It’s in the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 6 when he’s serving in the temple,
and the veil is torn back, and he sees the throne room of God,
and there the angels are flying around singing,
holy, holy, holy.
But now the angels are outside in that ancient hill of Bethlehem
singing to these shepherds, glory to God in the highest,
and now on earth, peace, because the Savior is here.
It’s an amazing thing.
But I just have to think that the shepherds would wonder
if the angels showed up in the right place.
Why are you here?
Why are you here?
If the Christ child is there,
if you’re in Bethlehem, why aren’t you singing there?
In fact, I don’t wonder if that’s what Mary and Joseph thought
when the shepherds come running in to the manger, the cave there,
and they find them, and they said,
oh, this is the one the angels were singing.
And they say, the what?
The who were singing?
What?
The angels were singing out there in the fields?
Why weren’t the angels in here?
It’s like singing happy birthday to someone who’s not even there.
It’s like going to the kitchen
to sing a lullaby instead of going to the nursery.
Do you see the strangeness of it?
That the angels are there extolling the Lord,
but they’re out in the fields singing their praises
to the Lord who’s lying in a manger.
And here’s part of the profound mystery of Christmas,
is that if you were just walking by the manger that night,
or sorry, by the crib of the Lord Jesus,
and you hadn’t heard the angels singing,
you hadn’t heard the preaching,
you would know nothing about this child,
that this is God in the flesh,
that the greatest miracle,
and the greatest miracle in the history of the world
has happened there,
and you can’t see it.
It has to be preached.
And can we marvel together
that the Lord is pleased to send the preaching
of who the baby is to Mary and Joseph
in the mouths of these shepherds
who are out in the fields.
And there’s something, I think,
for us in this tonight.
It was a long time ago that Jesus was born.
What did we say, 2,026 years?
It was a long ways away in Bethlehem,
outside of Jerusalem.
But the news of that birth comes also to us tonight.
The angels have preached to us,
and we have heard the good news.
The angels have sung to us,
and we have heard their hymn.
And we know who this child is.
Unrecognizable to the eyes,
but to the ears of faith,
the angels have said,
you will see him wrapped in swaddling clothes,
a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
I don’t know what you were thinking about,
about five minutes before you came into church.
I imagine that you and I are probably a lot like the shepherds.
Just a lot of things on our minds.
A lot of bad news that we’re trying to process.
A lot of hopes that we’re not sure
if they’re going to come to pass.
A lot of things going on.
But into the darkness and into the troubles
of this life of yours and mine
comes this good news.
God has sent his Son.
To be your Savior.
To be your brother.
To be your friend.
To be your King.
To be your deliverer.
And to be your peace.
And he is this for us tonight and always.
So may God grant us the joy of Christmas.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
The new year.
news that the Christ has been born, and that good news means our life will never end.
May God grant it for Christ’s sake. Merry Christmas. The peace of God which passes
all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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