The Nativity of Our Lord
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook
Series III, Cycle A
The church year theological clue
As one of the major festivals of the Christian church - and probably the most popular - Christmas liturgies were shaped by gospel tradition and worship practices in the early church. In Jerusalem, by the fourth century, there were three masses of Christmas: the first was at midnight in the Grotto of the Nativity at Bethlehem, the second took place at dawn, after the faithful had walked back to Jerusalem, in the Church of the Resurrection, and, later in the day, a third and solemn mass was celebrated. The nature of these eucharistic services informs us that "Christmas was never meant to be the object of the festival. Rather, it is the occasion of the feast of thanksgiving, which commemorates Jesus' entrance (incarnation) into the world" That's why the John 1 Gospel was included in the propers for Christmas Day.
The biblical and liturgical content of Christmas insists that the grace of God in Jesus' birth needs to be proclaimed, not simply by a retelling of the story as though the birth of Christ were the saving event in its entirety and, therefore, can be recreated and relived through a kind of "born again in the babe of Bethlehem experience" (as in Phillips Brooks' much loved carol, "Be Born in Us Today"), but in preaching and in the Christmas Eucharist, which proclaim and commemorate the redeeming event in the cross and tomb and anticipate his Second Coming to the world. In the meantime, Christ first comes to each of us in baptism and gives us new birth through water, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; he does, of course, renew that gift in every celebration of the Eucharist, including the Christ Mass (the hymn might better read, "cast out our sin, and enter in. Be reborn in us today"). The initiation of God's reign that will finally bring lasting peace to the earth is highlighted, and/or implied, in the context of the Christmas liturgy. As he said to the disciples after the resurrection, "Peace be with you," repeating the angels' Christmas greeting, "Peace on earth among people of good will," which is God's benediction in Christ for the whole world.
The Prayer of the Day - Most of the liturgical churches provide two or three prayers for Christmas, which are to function as the ancient collects did. For example, the LBW provides two prayers for the three sets of propers (for three different services, not for three different years. The lections for years A, B, C are one and the same in the lectionary.) The first prayer acknowledges that the brightness of Christmas comes from the true Light, Jesus Christ, and takes an incarnational stance, asking God to help his people walk in the "light of Jesus' presence" in addition to an eschatoiogicalposition that they may "in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory." It is truly in harmony with the ancient celebration of Christmas as the Christ Mass with its "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
The second Prayer for the Day in the LBW, which is really provided for the first Christmas worship service, on Christmas Eve at midnight, is more generally used in parts of that church. It complements the Luke 2 Gospel and emphasizes God's revelation of himself in his son, Jesus Christ, petitioning the Lord God to "set us free from the old slavery of our sin" through his incarnation. Birth and incarnation, in this prayer, are presupposed to include the content of Jesus' death and resurrection, because Jesus is called "the redeemer of the world." Redemption from sin and death comes through the cross and the empty tomb experience that Jesus accepted in order to accomplish God's will in the world. The identification of Jesus at his birth as the Son of God and Savior of the world prefigures his death and resurrection.
The Psalm ofthe Day (LBW) - Psalm 96 - It is impossible to determine for what occasion this psalm was composed, but it is obvious why it was selected as the responsory psalm, the Psalm of the Day, for Christmas services; it has an almost transparently eschatological theme to it, anticipating the coming of the Messiah-like King, who will bring salvation to the people. It promises a king unlike any who has reigned up to this time, one whose coming has consequences for the entire world. Thus, at the birth of the King of Kings, it is right and proper that the people should:
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord,
all the whole earth.
Sing to the Lord and bless his name;
proclaim the good news
of his salvation from day to day.
The Psalm Prayer
Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word, when you consented to dwell with us, the heavens were glad and the earth rejoiced. In hope and love we await your return. Help us to proclaim your glory to those who do not know you, until the whole earth sings a new song to you and the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The readings:
Isaiah 9:2-7
This pericope contains one of the loveliest and perhaps most-loved of the prophecies in all of the Old Testament. The reading is most appropriate for Christmas with its declaration, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." It also spells out the reasons for rejoicing at Jesus' advent, announcing, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder." It also describes Jesus Christ perfectly, because he fulfills the description of the prophecy in a manner and degree never seen in the kings of Israel - "his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' " Whether or not the author had any messianic intentions when he wrote this beautiful prophecy does not matter; it fits the Christmas celebration perfectly and prepares the people for hearing the Christmas Gospel as it is read and preached and lived out in the Eucharist.
Titus 2:11-14
In the context of instruction to believers of all ages, Titus writes of two advents of the Lord, one in the past - "for the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men" - and the other in the future - "awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." He speaks of the cross-event - "(he) gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity" - the Christ's intention in that act - "to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." Accordingly, this lesson does not fit the sentimental and dominant conceptions that many persons hold toward Christmas, that celebrating the incarnation of Jesus means centering worship and hope on the birth of the Christ child, rather than on his birth as the first part of the drama of reconciliation with God in his death, resurrection, and Parousia. The importance of this lesson, therefore, is that it clarifies our theology in view of the saving events in Jesus' life and the culmination of it all that will take place in his glorious return that is called the Parousia. It means that both the promise of the Messiah in the First Lesson and Luke's beautiful story of Jesus' birth in his Gospel - and the celebration of Christmas - are kept in proper kerygmatic perspective - death/resurrection and Parousia - by this pericope.
Luke 2:1-20
For the first time in Series A, another gospel - Luke, in this instance - is assigned to the worship on a specific day, Christmas. The Christmas Gospel belongs to Luke (and to John, when a separate set of lections is provided for the worship on Christmas Day); Matthew has his chance to tell his version of the story of Jesus' birth on the Epiphany of Our Lord, January 6.
Luke's story is full of exegetical holes, because most of the quasi-historical details - the details about the census, the governorship of Quirinius, Bethlehem as the actual location for Jesus' birth, for example - are possibly, even probably, inaccurate. But the symbolism of the story is valid, using the shepherds to portray how Christ came to minister to and save the lowly and despised of the earth. Shepherds, in that time, were on the same level as prostitutes and tax-collectors; little of the Good Shepherd image was evident in their lives and lifestyles. Some had given their business a bad name, because they were thieves and robbers. It is also fitting that Luke should speak of a whole host of angels announcing the birth of Jesus and giving him the glory due unto his name. Angels, again, play out their appointed role as messengers in the revelation of God to human beings; they announce what is going to happen and proclaim what is taking place through God's graceful and glorious acts in his only son, Jesus. Luke makes it manifestly clear that this is the beginning of the story of Jesus' incarnation, hardly the whole tale. God has moved into the world and human experience in the birth of Jesus Christ; the rest of the story is yet to come.
A sermon on the Gospel, Luke 2:1-20 - "The Reason for Our Rejoicing."
Among all the sermon titles that I have composed for sermons written and/or preached, there is one that I will never forget, "Our Cause for Rejoicing." On the Saturday before our first Palm Sunday, as it was called in those days, and in our first parish, my wife, Doris, was cutting stencils for that service and the services of Holy Week. She went into labor for the birth of our first child, but finished the task before I took her to the hospital. It was a long and arduous delivery, which finally occurred at 2:20 a.m. on Palm Sunday morning. I didn't get to see her and the baby for a couple of more hours, and then I drove the forty miles from Philadelphia to our home in Chester County. There was barely time to make the necessary telephone calls to family and close friends, and to shower, shave, have breakfast, pick up my sermon manuscript, and go to church to make final preparations for Palm Sunday's festive worship service. Not until I checked the bulletin for the day did I recall the title of the sermon my wife had typed; it was, "Our Cause for Rejoicing." It was meant for Palm Sunday's theme, but a son had been born, mother and child were well, and I could announce it to both congregations of the parish in conjunction with Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. The only thing that would have made the title more appropriate to the day were if our son had been born on Christmas Day rather than Palm Sunday.
1. Christ's birth is a cause for rejoicing. God has moved into human history to take a hand in the affairs of humanity here on earth.
2. Jesus' birth caused a celebration in heaven and, on a limited basis at that time, on earth. That celebration has spread from the Middle East to the ends of the earth; it finds expression in the Gloria in Excelsis of the Sunday liturgy and especially in the festival we call Christ Mass, or Christmas.
3. We rejoice because God, out of love, compassion, and grace, sent Jesus into the world to save people from sin and deliver them from death.
4. God will make our joy complete, ushering in his promised "peace plan" that will surpass the efforts of nations to establish "peace on earth" and bring in the age of peace that all sensible and caring people hope for.
5. At Christmas, Jesus was born and we really have a cause for rejoicing.
A three-text sermon - "God Makes and Keeps His Promises."
1. God's promise of a Messiah-deliverer gave hope to his people. A promise always gives hope to those who receive it. When it is made by God, it makes present life bearable and the future positive, as Isaiah points out in his prophecy.
2. A promise - God's - became reality when Jesus was born, as Luke tells us, in Bethlehem of Judea. Christmas becomes, from the perspective of Isaiah and Matthew, a day of thanksgiving (a Eucharist) and praises to Father, as well as to the Son whose birth we celebrate.
3. God's promise has afuture dimension, as Titus affirms, because the resurrected and ascended Lord will return at the end of time to finish the work that he began during his earthly life and ministry.
4. Hope in the Lord God, who keeps all of his promises to his people.
An Old Testament homily - "A Light for the Darkest Night."
1. The Light, of which Isaiah spoke, surely shines upon the earth, penetrating the darkness in people's hearts and giving them light to live by. The birth of the Promised One, Jesus Christ, brings that light into the world.
2. Jesus illuminates the world as the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He lights up the earth by who he is, as well as by what he does as the Son of God.
3. The light will continue to shine on the earth, through the Word and Holy Spirit, until God brings in the fullness of the kingdom in Jesus' Second Coming, which will completely eradicate the darkness.
4. Be assured that "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."
A homily on the Second Lesson for Christmas, Titus 2:11-14 - "A Way to Celebrate Christmas."
1. Our Christmas celebration is a thanksgiving to God because the Christ, the Son of God, who was born so long ago, came as Lord and Savior of all people.
2. He came in human form tofree usfrom sin and death, and also to "purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." He came to make servants of God of us all.
3. Christmas is really andfully celebrated when those who have blessed the Lord at his birth continue to live thankfully and obediently, serving God by serving his people in the manner he prescribes for believers.
4. At the table-feast, at which he is the ever-present host, Jesus blesses and renews people and assures them that he will be with them in the Holy Spirit until he comes at the last day.
As one of the major festivals of the Christian church - and probably the most popular - Christmas liturgies were shaped by gospel tradition and worship practices in the early church. In Jerusalem, by the fourth century, there were three masses of Christmas: the first was at midnight in the Grotto of the Nativity at Bethlehem, the second took place at dawn, after the faithful had walked back to Jerusalem, in the Church of the Resurrection, and, later in the day, a third and solemn mass was celebrated. The nature of these eucharistic services informs us that "Christmas was never meant to be the object of the festival. Rather, it is the occasion of the feast of thanksgiving, which commemorates Jesus' entrance (incarnation) into the world" That's why the John 1 Gospel was included in the propers for Christmas Day.
The biblical and liturgical content of Christmas insists that the grace of God in Jesus' birth needs to be proclaimed, not simply by a retelling of the story as though the birth of Christ were the saving event in its entirety and, therefore, can be recreated and relived through a kind of "born again in the babe of Bethlehem experience" (as in Phillips Brooks' much loved carol, "Be Born in Us Today"), but in preaching and in the Christmas Eucharist, which proclaim and commemorate the redeeming event in the cross and tomb and anticipate his Second Coming to the world. In the meantime, Christ first comes to each of us in baptism and gives us new birth through water, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; he does, of course, renew that gift in every celebration of the Eucharist, including the Christ Mass (the hymn might better read, "cast out our sin, and enter in. Be reborn in us today"). The initiation of God's reign that will finally bring lasting peace to the earth is highlighted, and/or implied, in the context of the Christmas liturgy. As he said to the disciples after the resurrection, "Peace be with you," repeating the angels' Christmas greeting, "Peace on earth among people of good will," which is God's benediction in Christ for the whole world.
The Prayer of the Day - Most of the liturgical churches provide two or three prayers for Christmas, which are to function as the ancient collects did. For example, the LBW provides two prayers for the three sets of propers (for three different services, not for three different years. The lections for years A, B, C are one and the same in the lectionary.) The first prayer acknowledges that the brightness of Christmas comes from the true Light, Jesus Christ, and takes an incarnational stance, asking God to help his people walk in the "light of Jesus' presence" in addition to an eschatoiogicalposition that they may "in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory." It is truly in harmony with the ancient celebration of Christmas as the Christ Mass with its "as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
The second Prayer for the Day in the LBW, which is really provided for the first Christmas worship service, on Christmas Eve at midnight, is more generally used in parts of that church. It complements the Luke 2 Gospel and emphasizes God's revelation of himself in his son, Jesus Christ, petitioning the Lord God to "set us free from the old slavery of our sin" through his incarnation. Birth and incarnation, in this prayer, are presupposed to include the content of Jesus' death and resurrection, because Jesus is called "the redeemer of the world." Redemption from sin and death comes through the cross and the empty tomb experience that Jesus accepted in order to accomplish God's will in the world. The identification of Jesus at his birth as the Son of God and Savior of the world prefigures his death and resurrection.
The Psalm ofthe Day (LBW) - Psalm 96 - It is impossible to determine for what occasion this psalm was composed, but it is obvious why it was selected as the responsory psalm, the Psalm of the Day, for Christmas services; it has an almost transparently eschatological theme to it, anticipating the coming of the Messiah-like King, who will bring salvation to the people. It promises a king unlike any who has reigned up to this time, one whose coming has consequences for the entire world. Thus, at the birth of the King of Kings, it is right and proper that the people should:
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord,
all the whole earth.
Sing to the Lord and bless his name;
proclaim the good news
of his salvation from day to day.
The Psalm Prayer
Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word, when you consented to dwell with us, the heavens were glad and the earth rejoiced. In hope and love we await your return. Help us to proclaim your glory to those who do not know you, until the whole earth sings a new song to you and the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The readings:
Isaiah 9:2-7
This pericope contains one of the loveliest and perhaps most-loved of the prophecies in all of the Old Testament. The reading is most appropriate for Christmas with its declaration, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." It also spells out the reasons for rejoicing at Jesus' advent, announcing, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder." It also describes Jesus Christ perfectly, because he fulfills the description of the prophecy in a manner and degree never seen in the kings of Israel - "his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' " Whether or not the author had any messianic intentions when he wrote this beautiful prophecy does not matter; it fits the Christmas celebration perfectly and prepares the people for hearing the Christmas Gospel as it is read and preached and lived out in the Eucharist.
Titus 2:11-14
In the context of instruction to believers of all ages, Titus writes of two advents of the Lord, one in the past - "for the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men" - and the other in the future - "awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." He speaks of the cross-event - "(he) gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity" - the Christ's intention in that act - "to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." Accordingly, this lesson does not fit the sentimental and dominant conceptions that many persons hold toward Christmas, that celebrating the incarnation of Jesus means centering worship and hope on the birth of the Christ child, rather than on his birth as the first part of the drama of reconciliation with God in his death, resurrection, and Parousia. The importance of this lesson, therefore, is that it clarifies our theology in view of the saving events in Jesus' life and the culmination of it all that will take place in his glorious return that is called the Parousia. It means that both the promise of the Messiah in the First Lesson and Luke's beautiful story of Jesus' birth in his Gospel - and the celebration of Christmas - are kept in proper kerygmatic perspective - death/resurrection and Parousia - by this pericope.
Luke 2:1-20
For the first time in Series A, another gospel - Luke, in this instance - is assigned to the worship on a specific day, Christmas. The Christmas Gospel belongs to Luke (and to John, when a separate set of lections is provided for the worship on Christmas Day); Matthew has his chance to tell his version of the story of Jesus' birth on the Epiphany of Our Lord, January 6.
Luke's story is full of exegetical holes, because most of the quasi-historical details - the details about the census, the governorship of Quirinius, Bethlehem as the actual location for Jesus' birth, for example - are possibly, even probably, inaccurate. But the symbolism of the story is valid, using the shepherds to portray how Christ came to minister to and save the lowly and despised of the earth. Shepherds, in that time, were on the same level as prostitutes and tax-collectors; little of the Good Shepherd image was evident in their lives and lifestyles. Some had given their business a bad name, because they were thieves and robbers. It is also fitting that Luke should speak of a whole host of angels announcing the birth of Jesus and giving him the glory due unto his name. Angels, again, play out their appointed role as messengers in the revelation of God to human beings; they announce what is going to happen and proclaim what is taking place through God's graceful and glorious acts in his only son, Jesus. Luke makes it manifestly clear that this is the beginning of the story of Jesus' incarnation, hardly the whole tale. God has moved into the world and human experience in the birth of Jesus Christ; the rest of the story is yet to come.
A sermon on the Gospel, Luke 2:1-20 - "The Reason for Our Rejoicing."
Among all the sermon titles that I have composed for sermons written and/or preached, there is one that I will never forget, "Our Cause for Rejoicing." On the Saturday before our first Palm Sunday, as it was called in those days, and in our first parish, my wife, Doris, was cutting stencils for that service and the services of Holy Week. She went into labor for the birth of our first child, but finished the task before I took her to the hospital. It was a long and arduous delivery, which finally occurred at 2:20 a.m. on Palm Sunday morning. I didn't get to see her and the baby for a couple of more hours, and then I drove the forty miles from Philadelphia to our home in Chester County. There was barely time to make the necessary telephone calls to family and close friends, and to shower, shave, have breakfast, pick up my sermon manuscript, and go to church to make final preparations for Palm Sunday's festive worship service. Not until I checked the bulletin for the day did I recall the title of the sermon my wife had typed; it was, "Our Cause for Rejoicing." It was meant for Palm Sunday's theme, but a son had been born, mother and child were well, and I could announce it to both congregations of the parish in conjunction with Christ's entrance into Jerusalem. The only thing that would have made the title more appropriate to the day were if our son had been born on Christmas Day rather than Palm Sunday.
1. Christ's birth is a cause for rejoicing. God has moved into human history to take a hand in the affairs of humanity here on earth.
2. Jesus' birth caused a celebration in heaven and, on a limited basis at that time, on earth. That celebration has spread from the Middle East to the ends of the earth; it finds expression in the Gloria in Excelsis of the Sunday liturgy and especially in the festival we call Christ Mass, or Christmas.
3. We rejoice because God, out of love, compassion, and grace, sent Jesus into the world to save people from sin and deliver them from death.
4. God will make our joy complete, ushering in his promised "peace plan" that will surpass the efforts of nations to establish "peace on earth" and bring in the age of peace that all sensible and caring people hope for.
5. At Christmas, Jesus was born and we really have a cause for rejoicing.
A three-text sermon - "God Makes and Keeps His Promises."
1. God's promise of a Messiah-deliverer gave hope to his people. A promise always gives hope to those who receive it. When it is made by God, it makes present life bearable and the future positive, as Isaiah points out in his prophecy.
2. A promise - God's - became reality when Jesus was born, as Luke tells us, in Bethlehem of Judea. Christmas becomes, from the perspective of Isaiah and Matthew, a day of thanksgiving (a Eucharist) and praises to Father, as well as to the Son whose birth we celebrate.
3. God's promise has afuture dimension, as Titus affirms, because the resurrected and ascended Lord will return at the end of time to finish the work that he began during his earthly life and ministry.
4. Hope in the Lord God, who keeps all of his promises to his people.
An Old Testament homily - "A Light for the Darkest Night."
1. The Light, of which Isaiah spoke, surely shines upon the earth, penetrating the darkness in people's hearts and giving them light to live by. The birth of the Promised One, Jesus Christ, brings that light into the world.
2. Jesus illuminates the world as the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He lights up the earth by who he is, as well as by what he does as the Son of God.
3. The light will continue to shine on the earth, through the Word and Holy Spirit, until God brings in the fullness of the kingdom in Jesus' Second Coming, which will completely eradicate the darkness.
4. Be assured that "the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."
A homily on the Second Lesson for Christmas, Titus 2:11-14 - "A Way to Celebrate Christmas."
1. Our Christmas celebration is a thanksgiving to God because the Christ, the Son of God, who was born so long ago, came as Lord and Savior of all people.
2. He came in human form tofree usfrom sin and death, and also to "purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." He came to make servants of God of us all.
3. Christmas is really andfully celebrated when those who have blessed the Lord at his birth continue to live thankfully and obediently, serving God by serving his people in the manner he prescribes for believers.
4. At the table-feast, at which he is the ever-present host, Jesus blesses and renews people and assures them that he will be with them in the Holy Spirit until he comes at the last day.
