St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

Christmas Eve December 24, 2006 Luke 2:9f

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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:

A hundred and fifty years ago—people made fruit salad. Apricots, oranges, peaches, pears, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, currants and like berries. You take a bowl—sprinkle white sugar—then you put the fruits in the bowl in layers—a layer of each kind of berries—then dust more sugar on—then more layers of berries. When the bowl is full—you sprinkle on some nutmeg—then pour on French brandy or rum. What do you think—fruit salad 150 years ago? Christmas is because of fruit. Some kind of fruit—the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One literal piece of fruit—that looked sweet and juicy—one literal piece of fruit—that a serpent promised—would make you as smart as God—knowing from experience the difference between being good and doing evil! Would you take a bite? Would you take the smallest taste? A little skin—a little fruit—the smallest amount of juice on your tongue—and then down your throat? How would that feel? Kind of sweet—kind of exciting? And then it would hit you—you had sinned! It would stick in your throat! It would be hard to swallow. It would sit like a lump in your stomach! You could spit—and wipe your lips and scrape your tongue with your teeth—and you couldn’t get the taste out of your mouth. Your cheeks would burn with a red hot shame! You would be ashamed of your whole being—your stupid hand for even touching that spiritually poisoned fruit. There would sink into your mind the realization that there was nothing you could possible do—to undo that sin. That’s just part of the trouble with guilt. You can’t make it go away—no matter what you do. Only Jesus could take your guilt away—and he did!

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid. Sore afraid! There is a lady who has been taking care of a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo—taking care of a tiger named Tatiana—a three year old Siberian tiger. The zoo lady is so comfortable—so confident—taking care of Tatiana—that the other day she was feeding the tiger—with some 50 people watching! The worker is on one side of the bars—the tiger on the other side—what could possibly go wrong? The tiger reached through the bars with both paws—and grabbed the zoo worker’s arms—both of them. Fifty people were sore afraid! If you were there—would you help? Could you help? Would you risk your life to save somebody you didn’t even know? The Christ child was born to give up his life to save you from the devil—the lion from the pit of hell! People are afraid because of sin. The shepherds were afraid of the angel! Imagine how scared you would be. The angel immediately said—stop being scared. I have good news for you! Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. We need a Savior because of sin. I was waiting in line to buy a Christmas present the other day—in a big store that sells lots of different stuff. I got in line to check out—behind just one lady. I thought—see—this is going to work out just fine. The lady in front of me bought a bunch of things. They went beep—beep—beep. Total cost? The customer said—wait just a minute—these candy bars are supposed to be like 3 for $5. That’s not what they rang up for. Are you sure—the check out lady asks the customer. Yes, I’m very sure she said. There’s a big sign that says that! The check out lady says to me—you might as well go to another check out lane—this is going to take a while! What? The check out lady is going to have to find a worker who is going to have to look at the candy—then find it in the store—then check the price—then report back. Think about it! What’s at stake here? Pennies—nickels or dimes? Is this customer lying—trying to cheat the store—trying to steal pennies—nickels or dimes? Should you believe her—or is that against store policy? Price check… Sure enough the sign says—money off. The problem is—the sale was supposed to be over. The sign should have been taken down. Human error! Somebody didn’t do what they were supposed to do. It happens all time! Oh, it seems like such a small thing—but it isn’t. All sin is serious—each mistake—each misstep. I’m not saying—we need to get after everyone around us who is making mistakes. God’s Word says—I need to repent. I need to be aware of my mistakes—then work harder and harder at doing better. I need to work harder at forgiving people who make mistakes around me. I need to be more forgiving of the people who go to the movies when I do. And there are literally 30 rows of 30 seats in every row. And somehow—people who don’t believe in the concept of personal space—come and sit by me—when there’s all that space—they come and sit by me—then talk out loud—during the movie! I need to be patient—when they ask each other—“now—whose that guy?” The same way I would like them to be patient with me—when I lean over and ask—“now—whose that guy?” I need to be more patient with professional football players from a different state—who try and jump up into the stands when they make a touch down—so I don’t think it’s good when people throw beer at them! I need to work on my heart—my attitude—my thoughts—my words. I need to work on my sins.

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger… Swaddling clothes—are baby clothes. Little newborn babies—born in much of the world today—are still wrapped up tight. It’s hard to remember what it felt like when you are born. For the better part of 9 months you have been safe and warm and protected in the watery space shuttle that is your mommy’s tummy. Then—at just the right time—you are born into this world that is so bright and cold and hard and loud! It would have to be really scary! Then—very quickly—little babies are washed clean with warm water and rubbed with salt—and then wrapped up—safe and warm in swaddling clothes. With just your little face peeking out. It’s not the same—but it’s kind of like back in your mother’s tummy. It makes you feel a little bit safe again! That’s what they did to little baby Jesus. Then they laid him in a manger—a feed box—with warm dry hay. Jesus was safe. The eternal Son of God—made flesh—was safe with angels watching over him. Baby Jesus was safe—born in lowliness and poverty and humility—born into this sin darkened—sin spoiled world to save you and me! In this tiny package—weighing only a few pounds—was the King of kings and Lord of lords. Heaven and earth were made by him. Angels bowed in awe and glorious worship. In this small package was forgiveness and rescue from the very flames of hell. In this little package was the only hope for all people everywhere! Tonight—again these young people will do the work of angels. They will announce to you from hearts of saving faith the priceless good news—unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior—which is Christ the Lord. Be reminded again tonight—this little Jewish baby boy is your Savior and your tiny King. Amen!

To God alone all glory! Rev. Anthony E. Schultz