December 24, 2023 Sermon for Morning Service

Sermon title:  "The Annunciation"

Scripture:  Luke 1:26-38

(Other lectionary suggestions include II Samuel 7:1-11, Luke 1:46b-55, and Romans 16:25-27.)

Luke 1:26-38

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

          If you were here on December 3, you heard me read a creation by the retired United Church of Christ pastor named Roger Lynn. It was from his "Tales from the Stable", subtitled "Christmas Stories from those who were there". Here are three more:  "The Innkeeper,” "The Innkeeper's Wife" and The Wise Men

The Innkeeper

          It was a crazy day.  In truth, it had been a crazy month.  Ever since that fool of an emperor announced his foolish edict about undertaking a census, with everyone being required to return to their ancestral home.  I mean really – have you ever heard such an ill-conceived plan in your life?  Oh, don’t get me wrong.  Financially it was certainly good for me.  Running an inn meant that I had a steady stream of customers for weeks.  A flood would perhaps be a more accurate description.  They just kept coming.  The rooms filled up and tempers grew short.  People needed a place to stay, and I could only accommodate so many of them.  I don’t think I’ve ever turned away so many people in my life.  But what was I supposed to do?  I’m not a magician.  I can’t simply conjure rooms out of thin air.  But I’m not a heartless villain either (despite what you may have heard).  I saw the suffering this whole thing caused.  People’s lives turned upside down.  I did what I could do, but there was so much more that was left undone.

          So it was that they came through my doors.  Of course, I remember them.  Even amid the throng of people in that harried time I could never forget those two, and the events they ushered into my life.  He was a rough-around-the-edges working man – you could tell just by looking at his hands.   But there was a gentleness about him as well.  She was young, and so very heavy with child.  I remember thinking how vulnerable they both looked.  It was late in the day, and they had obviously been travelling all day and more.  She looked to be at the edge of exhaustion, and all he could manage to do was to hover close to her in that protective way young husbands do.

          Yes, the stories you’ve heard are accurate.  I told them there was no room for them in the inn.  But I only told them what really was true.  I had already packed as many people as seemed humanly possible into every nook and cranny of my inn.  No one was comfortable.  No one was happy.  And there simply was no more space available.  But I couldn’t just turn them away.  As I said, I’m not a heartless man.  So, I told them they could spend the night in the stable.  It wasn’t much, but at least it was out of the wind.  I made sure the stable boy put out fresh straw.  I sent out a couple of blankets.  And I gave them the few scraps of food that were left in the kitchen.  I did what I could.

          And then I got busy again.  There is always something to do and not nearly enough time to do it all.  I got busy, and, quite frankly, I forgot about the young couple in the stable.  I forgot, that is, until the man came rushing in with fear and panic written all over his face.  His wife’s time had come, and he didn’t know what to do.  Well, I didn’t know what to do either, but I did know who would.  I called my wife, who had helped with many of the births in our village.  I will spare you the words and the withering look she gave me for not telling her earlier about a pregnant woman in our stable.  She rushed out the door with instructions for clean towels and water.

          Later, in spite of the demands of a busy inn that kept me running well into the night, I decided to slow down long enough to check in on our guests in the stable.  What I found changed my life forever.  A calm had fallen over the stable.  The cries of a woman in labor gave way to the cries of new life.  I’m not a sentimental man, but even I could sense that something extraordinary had happened.  It really is a miracle – exhausted beyond all description, and yet glowing with a radiance I will never forget.  And the baby!  To look into that tiny face was to look into the face of God.

          Something holy took place that night, right there in my stable.  And I almost missed it.  It would have been so easy to miss.  The customers, and the never-ending stream of jobs constantly demanding my attention.  And it wasn’t at all what I would have looked for even if I’d gone looking for something holy.  It was just a poor couple having a baby – in my stable no less!  Most people in town didn’t even know they were there.  Most people in my inn didn’t even know they were there.  I almost missed it.  And I thank God every day that I didn’t.  Now I find myself wondering where I will discover something holy today.  What might I miss if I forget to pay attention?  What miracle of God is just waiting to change my life forever?  It can happen.  I know, because ever since that night it happens to me all the time.

The Innkeeper’s Wife

          Of course, I gave him “the look” – you know the look.  He’s a man and so often forgets the important parts.  He’s a good man.  I just give him the look to keep him on his toes.

          Right now, he was about to skip straight from this young woman being pregnant to a newborn appearing, as if it is that easy.  Men!  Well, I’ve something to add.

          When I found out about the woman in labor in the stable, I hurried out, found the stable boy (my grandson, a good, hard-working boy) and sent him to fetch the midwife.  Turns out she was at another birth.  It was up to me to attend to this young mother.  Luckily, I’ve helped with many a birth, so I knew what to do.

          I sent back to the kitchen for some of the meaty broth that was on the stove, and some bread.  Labor is hard work, and this young woman was already tired from her journey.

          I got to help Mary, that was her name, through the long hours of labor – feeding her, wiping her brow, helping her move around to help the birth come faster.

          Now as I’ve said, I’ve been at many a birth helping the midwife, and I’ve always sensed that birth is a miracle, that birth is holy.  I know you don’t hear about that at the synagogue, but it’s true none-the-less.  How could it not be with a fresh new person appearing in the world after emerging from a woman’s body?

          And somehow this birth confirmed that, which made it extra special.  I don’t quite know why.  Maybe it was because Mary prayed to the Holy Spirit in between her contractions – I’d never heard a woman do that!

          Maybe it was because her husband, Joseph was his name, had nowhere else to go and so did an unheard-of thing – he held her hand the whole time.  Such a look of love passed between those two.  If ever there had been any trouble between them, that was a thing of the past.

          Maybe it was the hush that fell over the animals in the stable, as if they were paying attention.

          Maybe it was because this birth was in a stable and not in some fancy house, and I could still sense the holiness.

          Or maybe it was the look that the baby gave its mother – something I’ve never seen before.  After we had dried him off (it was a boy) and were handing him to Mary, he seemed to look right at her with a look that said, “Thank you Mother for bringing me into this world.”

          Then there were the shepherds.  Where did they come from?  They were so quiet standing at the stable door, only seemed to want to see the babe.  So, with Mary’s permission I held the tiny bundle up for them to see.  The next time I looked up they were gone.  I’ve often wondered why in heaven’s name they came, and how did they know about the birth?

          Well, I just want you to know two things:  that Mary did have help – I stayed with her the whole time, and the Midwife got there just when needed.  The second thing I want to say is that I know for sure every birth is holy.  The birth of Mary’s son confirmed that for me.

          Oh – of course we moved out of our room that day and let the young couple and their new baby stay there – and my husband didn’t even grumble.

Amen.

Pastor Skip