St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – Watertown, WI
Pastor Mark Gartner
Sermon for Christmas Day -- December 25^th, 2001

Dear Followers of Christ the Lord,

Today is Christmas Day. We have opened most of our gifts. We have had our trees up for long time already. Our homes have been decorated inside and outside for weeks and maybe even months. The children’s Christmas services are all done. We have celebrated Christmas Eve, and after today Christmas is done. What do we do now?

A better question to ask this morning than What do we do know is What should Christmas do for us? How many children have said, "I wish we could have Christmas all year round." The children many times want Christmas for the gifts, but there is lots of truth in having Christmas all year round, because as Christians we can and do have it all year round. Christmas only ends when we want it to. Yes, the decorations will be taken down, and there will be no more Christmas presents to open until next year. Yet the chief elements of Christmas never are put away or packed away until next Christmas. The baby Jesus was born and the peace he came to bring to people’s hearts was given to us and all people. This eternal peace can never be taken away. Yes, it is true! We can have Christmas all year round.

Jesus was not an ordinary child. On the outside he may have look like a baby and acted like a baby. Yet on the night that Jesus was born, we got a glimpse of the fact that Jesus was very special as all the heavens broke loose with the sound of angels singing to the shepherds. The shepherds were told of their Savior by the great company of angels. The shepherds are going to serve as our model on how to have Christmas all year round.

The shepherds most likely weren’t the most educated or respected men in the town of Bethlehem, but they were led to do things that night that showed that they were strong men in their faith. They believed the message of the angels. The message of a Savior being born had worked in their hearts and they realized that they needed that Savior. Through faith they realized their sinfulness, and they knew that their sin meant eternal death for them. Their faith led them to see that that baby that the angels had announced would be able to save them from their sin

Just think for a minute what the angels had proclaimed to the shepherds. The proclaimed the peace of God that would come to all men, "Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." What kind of peace is this? Earthly peace is always nice, but a peace between God and man is the best. Peace that reminds us that the baby in Bethlehem would grow up and bring us the peace of sins forgiven. The shepherds believed this peace completely.

The faith, which the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, is the first part to having Christmas all year round. As we sit here this morning we begin to realize that the shepherds are not the only ones who have heard about the peace that God brings. How many times have we have heard the same message that the shepherds heard? I know that we haven’t heard it from a great company of angels, but we have heard it from God’s holy Word. We heard it last night and in weeks past from the children of our congregation. We hear it week after week from our pastors. We hear it as we study our Bible and God talks to us. We hear and witness it as we come to Lord’s Supper. There is no difference between the peace the angels spoke to the angels and the peace that the Holy Spirit has placed in our hearts. May we always believe and trust in the peace that the baby Jesus of Bethlehem brought all of us.

What did the shepherd’s do once they were led to believe the message the angels brought them?. They went straight to Jesus, "When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger." They could have made up all kinds of excuses for not going to see Jesus like: It’s too late, we wouldn’t want to wake up the baby or everybody is most likely sleeping or I’m too tired. They could have said it is too dark -- How are we going to find him? They could have said, Who is going to take care of sheep? We don’t want any wild animals to kill our sheep. But they had no excuses. They didn't have to talk each other into going or twist each other’s arms. That said, Let US go to see this baby. They were eager and ready to worship. They went with haste and joy in their hearts to worship their Savior.

What is the first thing that we do when we hear about our Savior? Do we sit and make excuses and find reasons why we can’t come to worship our Savior and King? The list of excuses can almost be endless. You all know what excuse you have made at one time or another. We thank the Lord that there are people here this morning that have not fallen prey to excuses. People who want to come and worship the baby Jesus. What a blessing to see people come and gather around God’s Word in Bible Classes and Sunday School and Day School. We have a gift that never breaks or goes away. It always brings us joy.

Think about all the presents that you received last night or this morning or will open later today. What kind of fun would it be if you never used them or played with them -- you just put them in a closet or in the basement. Just think how many people let Jesus sit in the corner or put him aside. They worship him occasionally or once in a while. But what a blessing we have as we come and worship the baby Jesus every day of every year. We can have Christmas all the time as we worship and enjoy him always

What did the shepherds do once they went and worshipped their Savior and Lord? Did they just go back to their sheep and fall asleep or go back to the same old thing they were doing before. We know the answer is, No! Luke tells us, "When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.... The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told." They didn’t keep it to themselves or take it lightly, but instead they went and told others. It’s like a child who can’t help but telling other people what he got for presents. The shepherds were filled with this type of feeling. They wanted to tell others. They were bubbling over with joy. They were too excited to sleep. They wanted all to know of true peace of Savior, and their feeling of joy and peace didn’t end there. They continued to give glory to God as they returned back to their sheep. How many times do you think they told the story of the angels and finding the baby Jesus? Do you think it ever grew old or boring?

This is God's mission for all of God’s children. There are people brought to faith through preaching and personal witness all the time. But are we afraid of telling others about the joy and peace that is in our hearts? Just think about it for a minute. Were the shepherds trained in telling others about Jesus? I doubt it! They just spoke the simple truth of Jesus. They spoke from their hearts and wanted everyone to feel as they felt. We can do this as we tell a friend or relative or spouse that Jesus came for them and all people. We can let the joy of knowing we are saved bubble over in all we say and do. The Holy Sprit through the power of the Gospel does all the work. God just wants us to share it with others. Every time we share this message of Jesus, we are celebrating Christmas. Every time that we put money in our offering envelopes and offer prayers towards mission work, we are making sure the message of Christmas is being spread. Every time that we do something that leads people to ask about Jesus, we are making sure that the message of Christmas is still being told.

What a gift we have received at Christmas -- the gift of a baby who saved all people from their sins. This gift can never be lost and it never breaks. May we always pass the gift of Jesus on to others. As we think about all these things we realize that we can celebrate Christmas all year round. We believe in the baby that was the Son of God who came to bring us peace. We realize that we have many opportunities to worship our Savior and we know that we can spread this Christmas message to all nations.. There is no greater joy than this. Amen