St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church of Watertown-WELS

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2004 Luke 2:12

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

People of God, rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

We were driving through Madison the other day—when on the sidewalk we saw what must have been a homeless man. He was wearing a coat that was all frayed around the edges. It was kind of dark brown—with stains all over—from grease and sweat and soil. His face was covered with little black and white and grey stubble. His hair was like a greasy matted fringe sticking out from his stocking hat. Hanging from his shoulder was a bag—all his earthly goods in that bag—his arm wrapped around it. The lines on his face were dark with oil and soil. What teeth he still had were badly stained. His whole body was wrapped forward. His legs thin inside the thin fabric of his trousers. There were holes on the tops of his shoes. The saddest part had to be his eyes—not so much sad as hopeless—dull, lifeless, hopeless! In just a moment we were past this pitiful man. What a helpless feeling! How could we help him? What could we do for him? What was his name? Would he find a safe warm place to sleep tonight—or would he curl up some place—and freeze in his sleep? We are spiritual street people—spiritually homeless and hopeless. Only Jesus could save us—and only Jesus did! That first Christmas night—baby Jesus was born to save us from all our sins.

That first Christmas night angels said to lowly shepherds: “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” There are few things in this world—more helpless than a little newborn baby. There was a set of twins born not long ago—months premature. Doctors said one of these little babies was about the size of a cell phone. Can you imagine a little baby—a little person—that small? Their tiny fingers with very fine finger prints. Their little eyes—behind little eye lids with tiny little eye lashes. Their little bow legs with little feet that make foot prints on the birth certificate! Their little tummy made for mommy’s milk and nothing more! It is a miracle every time a little baby is conceived—smaller than a grain of sand—then grows to be born into this cold hard painful world. What a greater miracle by far—that the Son of God should be born a little baby—wrapped in swaddling clothes—strips of soft cloth—to hug and hold him tight—like he was back in his birth mother’s tummy! This baby born in Bethlehem was a baby on a mission. This little one would save his people from their sins. He would fulfill all that was spoken about him in Moses and the law and the Psalms and the Prophets. This little one would flee to Egypt—then grow up in Nazareth. He would preach law and gospel on grassy hillsides to thousands at a time. He would still storms and walk on water. He would heal the sick and raise the dead. He would turn water into wine and turn people back from forever destruction to eternal life! Baby Jesus is our Savior—to be worshipped with our children—tonight to be sure! And Good Friday when he died and Easter when he rose from the dead. He is our Savior to be worshipped with our children during Epiphany—with the Wiseman and twenty Sundays after Pentecost—as the Holy Spirit makes us strong to bear sweet and juicy fruits of faith!

Angels said to humble shepherds, “You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” There is something special about a barn. Step inside—and you are out of the wind and the cold. Inside the barn there is the smell of the hay and the straw—musty, dusty and sweet. There is the soft warm breath of the animals. Stables by Bethlehem were not huge red wooden buildings with hay lofts and cow stanchions. They were most likely caves of stone—cold and hard. They were places of sanctuary. Not the place where you would expect a King to be born! But this is exactly where a very young virgin gave birth to a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit. The Christmas miracle is not—the twinkle in a child’s eye because they got an X-box and a fist full of video games to play on a flat screen plasma TV. The Christmas miracle is not some one who was deathly ill—who gets better. It’s not people who had lost track of each other finally reconciled. The Christmas miracle is—baby Jesus—born in lowliness and humility—to save us from our sins! The tiny King—born into this sin infected world—was born to save us from the forever destruction of hell! The tiny King wrapped in strips of cloth—first worshiped by shepherd who smelled of sweat and sheep—is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the rescuer of all!

“You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.” There is more talk, I think, than usual this Christmas time—about an organized effort to try and bump Jesus out of Christmas! More and more you hear people say—you’re supposed to say—happy holidays—not blessed Christmas! There are stores in the United States and in England—where you would be hard pressed to even find the word Christmas—because it contains the word Christ! Apparently it happens every Christmas—people go around and vandalize nativity scenes. Stables are pushed over—baby Jesus figurines snatched—whole sets of carved Wiseman and shepherds stolen from churches. The radio is clogged with people—singing—so this is Christmas—and what have you done—another year older—a new one just begun—a merry merry Christmas and a happy new year—lets hope it’s a good one—without any tears. Children in the background singing again and again—war is over—war is over. The peace that baby Jesus came to bring is far more profound than peace in Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan or peace between Israelis and Palestinians—or the people killing each other in Darfur in Sudan! Or people shooting busloads of women and children in Honduras! Christmas is peace in consciences plagued by the guilt of abortion and adultery and alcohol and drug abuse and child abuse and neglect and thievery and unfaithfulness and selfishness and all the unspeakable evil we are capable of and guilty of. Baby Jesus was born to take away all our sins. This night and every night we praise Christ the Lord. The birth of baby Jesus changes hearts and souls. The birth of baby Jesus changes eternity. The birth of baby Jesus changes everything! Amen!

Let us worship Christ, the King!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz