“Christmas Hope for the Faithful Christian” by the Rev. Don Wahlig, December 24, 2023, Year B / Christmas Eve (Proper 28) – Isaiah 9:2-7 • Psalm 96 • Titus 2:11-14 • Luke 2:1-14, (15-20). Using Luke 2:1-14 as the first reading and Luke 2:15-20 as the second reading.

THEME:  Share hope with others through acts of kindness and assurance.
 

A few Sundays back, I began the sermon by asking you to name aloud your favorite Christmas movie.  And you did – lots of them! It’s a Wonderful Life.  Christmas on 34^th Street. The Grinch. Elf. Home Alone. And, of course, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

But then, something funny happened. After the service, several of you came up to me looking a little sheepish. You told me that you were afraid to call out your favorite Christmas movie. Die Hard. Apparently, you do not think Die Hard is appropriate as a Christmas movie. You are not alone. Even Bruce Willis, the star himself, was adamant.  Die Hard is not a Christmas movie.  

But I beg to differ. In fact, compared to all those other Christmas movies, Die Hard may be the most relevant and authentic in light of the circumstances of the very first Christmas in Bethlehem. For those who have not seen the movie, Die Hard is an action flick. It takes place on Christmas Eve. The hero is a New York City detective named John McLane.  John flies to Los Angeles to reconcile with his estranged wife and children. He shows up at his wife’s workplace for the Christmas Party, bringing with him a gift. But that is as warm and fuzzy as this movie gets. After that, there is no shortage of violence.  There is gore galore. There are terrorists, and foreign powers looking to seize others’ wealth. And, in the midst of it all, is a struggling young couple leaning on each other, trying to make it through the toughest night of their lives - together.

Come to think of it, that is a pretty darn good description of the world into which Jesus was born. Luke makes that crystal clear.

Luke starts by naming specific people, places, and events. First and foremost is Caesar Augustus.  Caesar was beloved by most Roman citizens because he turned the Republic into an Empire.  He conquered new lands, built new roads, and established peace and prosperity. But this imperial expansion came at a cost, especially for people like Joseph and Mary. Like all their neighbors in Palestine, they lived under military occupation. When it came to keeping order, Rome was downright brutal.

Luke also names Quirinius. Quirinius was a Roman aristocrat and chief administrator of Roman-occupied Palestine. His job was straight forward. First, keep the local people in line. Second, extract as much revenue from them as possible. Taxes were the way Rome accomplished that. That is why Luke mentions the census.  The purpose of the census was to keep the tax rolls accurate. If your name was on the census, you had better be paying your tax. If not, your land would be confiscated and your family sold into slavery. For people who were already dirt poor like Joseph and Mary, Roman oppression guaranteed a life of grinding poverty and gradual starvation. For them, and all the people like them, life was bleak.  Hope was a luxury, and they had precious little of it. 

Don’t you and I sometimes feel like that, too? In the headlines we get daily reminders in bold-faced type of just how broken this world is. A seemingly perpetual state of war occupies our minds and dampens our spirits.  We feel the need to be constantly on guard against foreign powers abroad and contrary politicians and opinions at home.  The latest strain of viruses making the rounds makes it hard to feel comfortable in this holiday season of merry-making. And even though the economy is strong, employment high, and wages solid, many remain wary of the future. And if we are going to be completely honest, I wager all of us can name at least one lost friend or loved one, whose absence leaves a hole in our life and a hole in our heart. And we feel that loss most keenly right now – at Christmas time. 

Like Mary and Joseph, we are almost afraid to feel hopeful. That is why the good news that the angels bring is so very good. It is confirmation of a coming Kingdom far greater than even Rome. It is the promise of life lived in the eternal presence of the one who will sit on the throne of that kingdom – the Christ child, God’s Messiah, and the people’s savior. The foreign powers of Rome that oppress and exploit the people do not stand a chance. That is why, when the shepherds visit Mary to share their good news, she is as amazed as they are. What the angel Gabriel promised her is coming true. In the tiny newborn infant feeding at her breast, God has already begun to scatter the proud, to lift the lowly, to bring down the powerful from their thrones, and to fill the poor and hungry with good things.

Put yourself in the shoes of those shepherds for a moment. Can you feel the hope they feel? Utterly unexpected and startling. The validation of God’s guarantee of a life richer and fuller and sweeter than any they have ever known. This is no blind, pie-in-sky wish-fulness. It is real – and it is happening. Friends, it is still happening. It is happening right now. And now, in the midst of dark days, is the best time to see it. Charles Spurgeon, the English pastor whom some call the greatest preacher of all time, once said, "Hope itself is like a star - not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, but only to be discovered in the night of adversity." Hope is a powerful thing. It is the flood light that illuminates the path forward. It is the lamp in the darkness that shows us how to proceed.

Further, the light of hope changes the way we see everything and even the way we think. We begin to think in terms of possibilities, trusting that if God can raise up a Savior to lead his people out of darkness, then he can surely lead us out of our darkness. Most important of all, hope begins to shape our expectations.

I was recently reminded of that when we visited our daughter out in California this fall. She has had her fair share of challenges in life, but she is at heart a very hopeful and upbeat person. Now, granted, she lives in Los Angeles where the weather is perfect all year-round. So, I grant you, that may have something to do with her sunny outlook on life. But even in sunny southern California there are those whose disposition is fundamentally negative. They tell themselves “If I always expect the worst, I will never be disappointed.” Our daughter has a name for these people. She calls them Negative Nellies. I am sure you know people like this, too, don’t you? 

But that is not how Christians think. We expect good things to happen because God himself is so very good. That does not mean that bad things will never happen to us. But it does mean that our suffering will not last forever. God hears our suffering, and he is already at work even before we cry out. Even in the midst of our deepest crises, God is working to make us whole and bring us closer to him and one another. That is precisely what God was doing on that very first Christmas in Bethlehem.

Even more, Christian hope is not limited to our mentality. It is more than just a positive attitude. True Christian hope is not passive – it is always active. It is the choice you and I make to live out our God-given purpose each and every day.  We don’t just have hope, we act in hope. Hope and faithful living go hand-in-hand.  That is why the shepherds dropped everything, left their flock, and raced over to see Jesus in the manger.  They had been given the extraordinarily good news of the Messiah’s birth, and they wanted to experience that good news first-hand. And they did – and came back rejoicing.

And that is what you and I are to do as well. Christmas is the reminder that we, too, have been given the greatest good news of all time. Whatever else is going on in our lives, no matter how dark the world may seem, God is at work in the midst of it all. He is calling you and me to share that good news through what we say, and what we do. 

Are there folks in your life who could use some good news? Do you know someone who is at risk of becoming a Negative Nellie? Or maybe someone who is just having a hard time seeing the light of hope in a dark season of life? Why not make it your mission to reach out to them in this Christmas season with a word of comfort and assurance.  You don’t have to be an action hero like Bruce Willis to give them hope. When someone is walking in darkness, even small gestures and little words of kindness can seem like a star shining bright in the sky.

May it be so. Merry Christmas.