Christmas at All Hallows (December 25, 2023)
Welcome to Christmas at All Hallows.
Some will gather with family and friends at Christmas; others will spend Christmas alone. Well, not quite alone. They may not have the company of family or friends, but God is with them. As Psalm 139 tells us, we can never escape from God’s Spirit. We can never get away from God’s presence. We may not be able to sense God’s presence, but God is with us. We may experience loneliness, but we are never alone. God is our companion. This service is for Christmas Eve during the day or in the early or late evening or Christmas Day in the early morning or at such other time as may be convenient.
GATHER IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link to hear E. G. Schneeman’s arrangement of SANS DAY CAROL for bowed psaltery.
Open this link to hear Philomène Irawaddy’s instrumental arrangement of IL EST NE, LE DIVIN ENFANT.
Open this link to hear Judy Nishimura’s arrangement of UN JEUNE PUCELLE for solo flute.
Open this link to hear Michael Perry and Elise Massa’s “O Come, Christians, Wonder.”
1 O come, Christians, wonder
be thankful, and ponder
the birth of our saviour and Lord:
for we who were sighing,
and sinning, and dying,
in Jesus are fully restored.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
2 So lift high your voices,
as heaven rejoices
to tell of the babe in the hay:
this Jesus the holy,
the poor, and the lowly
we praise him and serve him today!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
3 Let sister and brother
speak peace to each other,
and brother and sister agree:
for love is our story
to Jesus the glory
both now and for ever shall be.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
We join together with Christians around the world in the presence of our heavenly Father to rejoice in the gift of Jesus to us as our redeemer, Lord, and friend. In this service we recount the story of the birth of Jesus, and we offer God our thanksgiving in prayer and song.
By his teaching and life Jesus showed us how to live. By his suffering, death, and resurrection he reconciled us to God and opened to us the way of salvation. Trusting in his promises, we pray this night (or day)
For peace on earth and goodwill among all earth’s peoples;
for all Christians, that we may reflections of Jesus in the world;
Open this link to hear E. G. Schneeman’s arrangement of SANS DAY CAROL for bowed psaltery.
Open this link to hear Philomène Irawaddy’s instrumental arrangement of IL EST NE, LE DIVIN ENFANT.
Open this link to hear Judy Nishimura’s arrangement of UN JEUNE PUCELLE for solo flute.
Open this link to hear Michael Perry and Elise Massa’s “O Come, Christians, Wonder.”
1 O come, Christians, wonder
be thankful, and ponder
the birth of our saviour and Lord:
for we who were sighing,
and sinning, and dying,
in Jesus are fully restored.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
2 So lift high your voices,
as heaven rejoices
to tell of the babe in the hay:
this Jesus the holy,
the poor, and the lowly
we praise him and serve him today!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
3 Let sister and brother
speak peace to each other,
and brother and sister agree:
for love is our story
to Jesus the glory
both now and for ever shall be.
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus is born!
Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Glory in the highest! Jesus Christ is born!
We join together with Christians around the world in the presence of our heavenly Father to rejoice in the gift of Jesus to us as our redeemer, Lord, and friend. In this service we recount the story of the birth of Jesus, and we offer God our thanksgiving in prayer and song.
By his teaching and life Jesus showed us how to live. By his suffering, death, and resurrection he reconciled us to God and opened to us the way of salvation. Trusting in his promises, we pray this night (or day)
For peace on earth and goodwill among all earth’s peoples;
for all Christians, that we may reflections of Jesus in the world;
for those who do not know Jesus or who do not love him; or who by sin have grieved his heart of love;
for our pastor and all who serve in the Church
for those who occupy positions of authority in our community, our nation, and the world. ;
for all people who lack the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing;
for our pastor and all who serve in the Church
for those who occupy positions of authority in our community, our nation, and the world. ;
for all people who lack the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing;
for those who are in special need, the sick and anxious, the lonely and fearful, and for those who are bereaved.
We commend all whom we love, who are known to us, or who have asked for our prayers, to the unfailing love of God, and say together, as Jesus taught us
Our Father,
which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil;
for thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Christina Georgina Rossetti’s “Love Came Down at Christmas.”
1 Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
star and angels gave the sign.
2 Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith for sacred sign?
3 Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign.
Coda:
Love came down at Christmas.
Love came down at Christmas.
Love came down at Christmas.
Love came down at Christmas.
Open this link to hear Hunter Lynch’s “Glory to God! Hear the angels tell (Emmanuel has come).”
Glory to God! Hear the angels tell,
glory to God for Emmanuel!
Come let us sing,
come let us sing for joy!
1 The Son of God has come at last:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
The prophets’ words have come to pass:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
A voice of hope is heard on high,
a gospel song that fills the sky,
as shepherds hear the angel-cry:
the Saviour, Christ, has come!
Glory to God! Hear the angels tell,
glory to God for Emmanuel!
Come let us sing,
come let us sing for joy!
2 Behold the dawn of heaven’s light:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
He meekly comes, the God of might:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
The Word made flesh, our God appears,
to bring his peace and calm our fears,
to meet the hopes of waiting years:
Emmanuel has come!
Glory to God! Hear the angels tell,
glory to God for Emmanuel!
Come let us sing,
come let us sing for joy!
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Heavenly Father, you made us in your image. You have given us a mind to understand your works, a heart to love you, and a will to serve you. Increase in us that knowledge, that love, and that obedience that we as your beloved children may grow daily more like you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A reading from the New Testament (Luke 2:1-20)
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Silence
How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
One of the ways churches proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ is through the observance of what is called the Church year or the liturgical year. Different events in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ are marked at different times of the year, beginning with his birth at Christmas, and followed by the visit of the magi, or wise men at Epiphany, then his suffering and death on Good Friday, his resurrection at Easter, his return to heaven on Ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the infant church at Pentecost.
On these special occasions and on the Sundays in between them, we read passages from the Gospels that tell us what Jesus said as well as what he did. We may also read other passages from the Bible, which are related to what we are reading from the Gospels.
On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, the passage of Scripture to which we turn is the one we just read—Luke’s account of the nativity, the birth of Jesus. It is the only account of his birth in the Bible. Matthew tells us about the events that preceded his birth, and which followed it, but it is Luke who tells us about the events that surrounded the nativity. If you are curious about what Matthew tells us, read Matthew 1: 18-24; 2: 1-21.
Mary, Jesus’ mother, was a teenage girl when she gave birth to Jesus. She was betrothed to Joseph who apparently was much older than she was. In those days it was not unusually for an older man to get engaged to a woman much younger than himself.
Augustus was the Roman emperor at the time. Indeed, he was the first Roman emperor. What would become the Roman province of Palestine was a Roman ally and the Romans exercised considerable sway over its territory. Augustus would order a census of his empire and Joseph were a part of the population he proposed to have counted. For that purpose, Joesph had to return to the town of Bethlehem which had been home of his ancestor, King David. He took Mary with him.
We don’t know very much about Joseph. From what Matthew tells us, he had first considered quietly ending the engagement after he discovered Mary was pregnant. But he had a dream in which an angel appeared to him and convinced him to change his mind. This gives us a glimpse into his character.
While you may have seen pictures of Joseph leading a donkey on which Mary is riding, we do not know how they got to Bethlehem. What we do know about Joseph does not suggest that he was a wealthy man. He earned his living as a carpenter which in those days mean that he was something of a jack of all trades—a handyman. They may have walked. They may have caught a ride on the ox cart of someone else going to the same destination as them, someone who took pity on the pregnant Mary. Luke does not tell us. While we may be curious about it, how they got there is not an essential detail of the narrative.
What Luke does tell us is that Mary gave birth to Jesus in a room where there was a manger, a feeding trough, because there was no space elsewhere for her, that she wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes, strips of cloth, as was the practice in those days, and laid him in the manager. This detail is important because a baby lying in a manger is the sign that the angels told the shepherds to look for.
The same detail has led some readers of this passage to conclude that Jesus was born in a barn or a stable. These were that only places that they could imagine that a manger might be found since barns and stables were where mangers were found in the time and the place in which they lived.
But at the time of Jesus’ birth mangers were also found in houses. With the exception of the homes of the wealthy, most houses had very few rooms—a main room, a storage room, and perhaps a guest room. The human occupants of the house shared the main room with their livestock, so it was not unusual to find a manger in a house.
The Greek word which is translated as “inn” in a number of versions of the Bible also means any kind of temporary place to stay, including a guest room. It is the same word that Luke uses for the upper room where Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper. Luke uses a different Greek word for the inn where the Samaritan traveler lodged the injured man in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Since Bethlehem was the ancestral home of his family. Joseph in all likelihood had relatives in Bethlehem and he and Mary stayed with them. As there was no space for them in the guest room, Mary had to give birth in the main room where livestock were also kept.
As I noted earlier, Joesph was not a wealthy man, and he was most likely not able to afford an inn. When Mary and Joseph went to the Temple at Jerusalem for the rite of purification following Jesus’ birth, they were only able to bring is a offering two doves, what the religious law prescribe as the offering for someone who was poor.
Matthew tells us that Jesus was an infant, not a newborn, when the magi visited him. It does not seem likely that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lhad ived in a barn or a stable in the time between Jesus’ birth and the magi’s visit. They had in all likelihood continued to stay with Joseph’s relatives.
Luke tells us that the shepherds were staying in the nearby fields where they were guarding their flocks. I believe that it is safe to assume that the shepherds had built a temporary corral for the sheep and bedded them down in the corral for the night. They would not have left them to wander about in the dark where they might fall prey to wolves or other predators. This makes sense because sheep easily panic and the bright light and the unearthly voices in the night sky would have startled them. If they had not been corralled, they would have scattered in every direction. The shepherds would not have been able to hurry to the village as they did. They would have spent the rest of the night and the following day looking for their sheep.
As it was, the appearance of the angel and the radiance of God’s glory terrified the shepherds. The angel’s words would calm their fears. Having heard and received the good news of the Messiah’s birth, they felt compelled to go to Betlehem and see the newborn baby for themselves.
The announcement of the Messiah’s birth first to shepherds merits comment. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder in that part of the world at that time. In fact, they were looked down upon, the lowest of the low. But God had chosen them to be the first hear and receive the good news of the Messiah’s birth. Not the wealthy. Not the privileged. Not the powerful.
In their excitement, in their search for a baby lying in a manager, they must have woken up a lot of people before they found Mary and Joseph and the baby. They must have created quite a hubbub.
You may have seen pictures of the shepherds kneeling in silent adoration around a manger in which lies a half-naked baby, blond hair and blue eyes, surrounded by a nimbus of light, his arms outstretched as in a gesture of blessing, while his mother, a nimbus of light surrounding her head., and Joseph gaze adoringly on the baby. I suspect that what happened was quite different from what is depicted in such pictures. What the shepherds most likely found was an exhausted young mother, a rather ordinary looking teenage girl, and an older man, her husband, and several other relatives who had spent the night in the main room with the livestock, perhaps an older woman who had assisted at the birth of Jesus. They may have been allowed a peek at the baby, snuggly wrapped in strips of cloth and lying In the livestock’ feeding trough and then shooed out of the room lest they wake the baby. They then told those attracted by the hubbub what had happened and what the angel had said to them about the baby. Having been the first to hear and receive the good news of the Messiah’s birth, they were the first to share that news.
Did they realize when they saw the baby, that they were gazing on the Shepherd of Israel, God himself in the person of the Son, who had become human like themselves for their sakes? Did they have any inkling of what lay ahead for him? The narrative does not suggest that they did. But it does tell us one thing although not directly. God gave to the shepherds a most precious gift—to recognize in that tiny baby their savior. They went away glorifying and praising God.
It is my prayer for those who do not yet believe that you also will recognize in Jesus your savior and come to have new life in him. that you will join your voice to those of the shepherds, rejoicing in his birth and sharing the good news with others. It is my prayer for those who believe that you will grow in your knowledge and love of the one who saved you and in obedience to his words. Wherever you are in your journey of faith, may this Christmastide be a most blessed one for you and yours.
Silence
Open this link n a new tab to hear William Chatterton Dix’s “What Child Is This.”
1 What child is this, who laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies he in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent word is pleading.
Nails, spears shall pierce him through,
the cross he bore for me, for you.
Hail, hail the word made flesh,
the babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The babe, the Son of Mary.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Almighty God,
you gave your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him,
and be born of the Virgin Mary;
grant that we, who are born again
and made your children by adoption and grace,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever. Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God,
born of Mary,
fill us with his grace to trust his promises
and to obey his will;
and may the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
be among us and remain with us always.
Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Percy Dearmer’s “Jesus.Good Above All Other.”
1 Jesus, good above all other,
gentle child of gentle mother,
in a stable born our brother,
give us grace to persevere.
2 Jesus, cradled in a manger,
for us facing every danger,
living as a homeless stranger,
make we thee our King most dear.
3 Jesus, for thy people dying,
risen Master, death defying,
Lord in heaven, thy grace supplying,
keep us to thy presence near.
4 Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
all our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
thou to us* the truth declarest;
help us all thy truth to hear.
5 Lord, in all our doings guide us;
pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
we'll go on with thee beside us,
and with joy we'll persevere.
*”men” in the video.
Those present may exchange a sign of peace with these words:
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
We commend all whom we love, who are known to us, or who have asked for our prayers, to the unfailing love of God, and say together, as Jesus taught us
Our Father,
which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil;
for thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Christina Georgina Rossetti’s “Love Came Down at Christmas.”
1 Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
star and angels gave the sign.
2 Worship we the Godhead,
Love incarnate, Love divine;
worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith for sacred sign?
3 Love shall be our token;
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and others,
love for plea and gift and sign.
Coda:
Love came down at Christmas.
Love came down at Christmas.
Love came down at Christmas.
Love came down at Christmas.
Open this link to hear Hunter Lynch’s “Glory to God! Hear the angels tell (Emmanuel has come).”
Glory to God! Hear the angels tell,
glory to God for Emmanuel!
Come let us sing,
come let us sing for joy!
1 The Son of God has come at last:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
The prophets’ words have come to pass:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
A voice of hope is heard on high,
a gospel song that fills the sky,
as shepherds hear the angel-cry:
the Saviour, Christ, has come!
Glory to God! Hear the angels tell,
glory to God for Emmanuel!
Come let us sing,
come let us sing for joy!
2 Behold the dawn of heaven’s light:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
He meekly comes, the God of might:
let the nations sing songs of praise!
The Word made flesh, our God appears,
to bring his peace and calm our fears,
to meet the hopes of waiting years:
Emmanuel has come!
Glory to God! Hear the angels tell,
glory to God for Emmanuel!
Come let us sing,
come let us sing for joy!
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
Heavenly Father, you made us in your image. You have given us a mind to understand your works, a heart to love you, and a will to serve you. Increase in us that knowledge, that love, and that obedience that we as your beloved children may grow daily more like you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
A reading from the New Testament (Luke 2:1-20)
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child.
And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.
That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.
Silence
How sweet your words taste to me;
they are sweeter than honey.
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet
and a light for my path.
“To Certain Poor Shepherds…”
One of the ways churches proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ is through the observance of what is called the Church year or the liturgical year. Different events in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ are marked at different times of the year, beginning with his birth at Christmas, and followed by the visit of the magi, or wise men at Epiphany, then his suffering and death on Good Friday, his resurrection at Easter, his return to heaven on Ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the infant church at Pentecost.
On these special occasions and on the Sundays in between them, we read passages from the Gospels that tell us what Jesus said as well as what he did. We may also read other passages from the Bible, which are related to what we are reading from the Gospels.
On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, the passage of Scripture to which we turn is the one we just read—Luke’s account of the nativity, the birth of Jesus. It is the only account of his birth in the Bible. Matthew tells us about the events that preceded his birth, and which followed it, but it is Luke who tells us about the events that surrounded the nativity. If you are curious about what Matthew tells us, read Matthew 1: 18-24; 2: 1-21.
Mary, Jesus’ mother, was a teenage girl when she gave birth to Jesus. She was betrothed to Joseph who apparently was much older than she was. In those days it was not unusually for an older man to get engaged to a woman much younger than himself.
Augustus was the Roman emperor at the time. Indeed, he was the first Roman emperor. What would become the Roman province of Palestine was a Roman ally and the Romans exercised considerable sway over its territory. Augustus would order a census of his empire and Joseph were a part of the population he proposed to have counted. For that purpose, Joesph had to return to the town of Bethlehem which had been home of his ancestor, King David. He took Mary with him.
We don’t know very much about Joseph. From what Matthew tells us, he had first considered quietly ending the engagement after he discovered Mary was pregnant. But he had a dream in which an angel appeared to him and convinced him to change his mind. This gives us a glimpse into his character.
While you may have seen pictures of Joseph leading a donkey on which Mary is riding, we do not know how they got to Bethlehem. What we do know about Joseph does not suggest that he was a wealthy man. He earned his living as a carpenter which in those days mean that he was something of a jack of all trades—a handyman. They may have walked. They may have caught a ride on the ox cart of someone else going to the same destination as them, someone who took pity on the pregnant Mary. Luke does not tell us. While we may be curious about it, how they got there is not an essential detail of the narrative.
What Luke does tell us is that Mary gave birth to Jesus in a room where there was a manger, a feeding trough, because there was no space elsewhere for her, that she wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes, strips of cloth, as was the practice in those days, and laid him in the manager. This detail is important because a baby lying in a manger is the sign that the angels told the shepherds to look for.
The same detail has led some readers of this passage to conclude that Jesus was born in a barn or a stable. These were that only places that they could imagine that a manger might be found since barns and stables were where mangers were found in the time and the place in which they lived.
But at the time of Jesus’ birth mangers were also found in houses. With the exception of the homes of the wealthy, most houses had very few rooms—a main room, a storage room, and perhaps a guest room. The human occupants of the house shared the main room with their livestock, so it was not unusual to find a manger in a house.
The Greek word which is translated as “inn” in a number of versions of the Bible also means any kind of temporary place to stay, including a guest room. It is the same word that Luke uses for the upper room where Jesus and his disciples ate the Last Supper. Luke uses a different Greek word for the inn where the Samaritan traveler lodged the injured man in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Since Bethlehem was the ancestral home of his family. Joseph in all likelihood had relatives in Bethlehem and he and Mary stayed with them. As there was no space for them in the guest room, Mary had to give birth in the main room where livestock were also kept.
As I noted earlier, Joesph was not a wealthy man, and he was most likely not able to afford an inn. When Mary and Joseph went to the Temple at Jerusalem for the rite of purification following Jesus’ birth, they were only able to bring is a offering two doves, what the religious law prescribe as the offering for someone who was poor.
Matthew tells us that Jesus was an infant, not a newborn, when the magi visited him. It does not seem likely that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lhad ived in a barn or a stable in the time between Jesus’ birth and the magi’s visit. They had in all likelihood continued to stay with Joseph’s relatives.
Luke tells us that the shepherds were staying in the nearby fields where they were guarding their flocks. I believe that it is safe to assume that the shepherds had built a temporary corral for the sheep and bedded them down in the corral for the night. They would not have left them to wander about in the dark where they might fall prey to wolves or other predators. This makes sense because sheep easily panic and the bright light and the unearthly voices in the night sky would have startled them. If they had not been corralled, they would have scattered in every direction. The shepherds would not have been able to hurry to the village as they did. They would have spent the rest of the night and the following day looking for their sheep.
As it was, the appearance of the angel and the radiance of God’s glory terrified the shepherds. The angel’s words would calm their fears. Having heard and received the good news of the Messiah’s birth, they felt compelled to go to Betlehem and see the newborn baby for themselves.
The announcement of the Messiah’s birth first to shepherds merits comment. Shepherds were not high on the social ladder in that part of the world at that time. In fact, they were looked down upon, the lowest of the low. But God had chosen them to be the first hear and receive the good news of the Messiah’s birth. Not the wealthy. Not the privileged. Not the powerful.
In their excitement, in their search for a baby lying in a manager, they must have woken up a lot of people before they found Mary and Joseph and the baby. They must have created quite a hubbub.
You may have seen pictures of the shepherds kneeling in silent adoration around a manger in which lies a half-naked baby, blond hair and blue eyes, surrounded by a nimbus of light, his arms outstretched as in a gesture of blessing, while his mother, a nimbus of light surrounding her head., and Joseph gaze adoringly on the baby. I suspect that what happened was quite different from what is depicted in such pictures. What the shepherds most likely found was an exhausted young mother, a rather ordinary looking teenage girl, and an older man, her husband, and several other relatives who had spent the night in the main room with the livestock, perhaps an older woman who had assisted at the birth of Jesus. They may have been allowed a peek at the baby, snuggly wrapped in strips of cloth and lying In the livestock’ feeding trough and then shooed out of the room lest they wake the baby. They then told those attracted by the hubbub what had happened and what the angel had said to them about the baby. Having been the first to hear and receive the good news of the Messiah’s birth, they were the first to share that news.
Did they realize when they saw the baby, that they were gazing on the Shepherd of Israel, God himself in the person of the Son, who had become human like themselves for their sakes? Did they have any inkling of what lay ahead for him? The narrative does not suggest that they did. But it does tell us one thing although not directly. God gave to the shepherds a most precious gift—to recognize in that tiny baby their savior. They went away glorifying and praising God.
It is my prayer for those who do not yet believe that you also will recognize in Jesus your savior and come to have new life in him. that you will join your voice to those of the shepherds, rejoicing in his birth and sharing the good news with others. It is my prayer for those who believe that you will grow in your knowledge and love of the one who saved you and in obedience to his words. Wherever you are in your journey of faith, may this Christmastide be a most blessed one for you and yours.
Silence
Open this link n a new tab to hear William Chatterton Dix’s “What Child Is This.”
1 What child is this, who laid to rest,
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing:
Haste, haste to bring him laud,
The babe, the Son of Mary.
Why lies he in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent word is pleading.
Nails, spears shall pierce him through,
the cross he bore for me, for you.
Hail, hail the word made flesh,
the babe, the Son of Mary.
So bring him incense, gold, and myrrh,
Come, peasant, king, to own him.
The King of kings salvation brings,
Let loving hearts enthrone him.
Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The babe, the Son of Mary.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Almighty God,
you gave your only-begotten Son
to take our nature upon him,
and be born of the Virgin Mary;
grant that we, who are born again
and made your children by adoption and grace,
may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever. Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
May Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God,
born of Mary,
fill us with his grace to trust his promises
and to obey his will;
and may the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
be among us and remain with us always.
Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Percy Dearmer’s “Jesus.Good Above All Other.”
1 Jesus, good above all other,
gentle child of gentle mother,
in a stable born our brother,
give us grace to persevere.
2 Jesus, cradled in a manger,
for us facing every danger,
living as a homeless stranger,
make we thee our King most dear.
3 Jesus, for thy people dying,
risen Master, death defying,
Lord in heaven, thy grace supplying,
keep us to thy presence near.
4 Jesus, who our sorrows bearest,
all our thoughts and hopes thou sharest,
thou to us* the truth declarest;
help us all thy truth to hear.
5 Lord, in all our doings guide us;
pride and hate shall ne'er divide us;
we'll go on with thee beside us,
and with joy we'll persevere.
*”men” in the video.
Those present may exchange a sign of peace with these words:
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.
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