[Sermon Archive]

This Week's Sermon THE NATIVITY of OUR LORD 24 December 2010 "The Greatest Christmas Hymn" Luke 2:1-20 LSB Series A, B, C Pastor Philip G. Meyer Soli Deo Gloria!

It is amazing how many Christmas hymns and carols there are! I would guess that there is no other event in human history that has as many musical pieces attached to it as the Nativity of Our Lord. Poets and composers throughout the centuries have brought forth wonderful music celebrating our Lord's birth. All of us have our favorites, those hymns that must accompany our celebration of Christ's birth. As grand and glorious as they may be, as plain and simple in elegance as they may be, none of them can compare with "The Greatest Christmas Hymn" which was the first ever sung. It was sung by the holy angels after the birth of Jesus was announced to the shepherds. Luke records it for us.

Luke 2:14 (ESV)
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

Luther said that a good sermon should be followed by a joyful hymn [Luther's House Postils, vol. 1, p. 141], and that certainly happens here. First, the angel announces the new to the shepherds:

Luke 2:10-12 (ESV)
10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

The Christ is born in David's city, Bethlehem. He is the Savior. He is true God. He is also true man. He will be found wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. The angel tells them who to look for and then gives them directions as to where they will find him.

All of it happened so quietly, so unobtrusively. We would say that his birth was inconspicuous, so much so, that virtually no other human being noticed, other than Joseph and Mary. Perhaps our culture could use an extra-strength dose of this humility. There was no fanfare, no heavenly trumpets, no camera crews, no cell phone cameras. It just happened when no one was looking. God came into the world, as I said earlier this evening, through the back door. There was no Facebook announcement, no Twitter, no texting from the angels to man. Just this quiet, unnoticed birth in a stable.

That's the way God usually does things. To Elijah he did not appear in the strong wind or in the earthquake or in the consuming fire, but in a low whisper [1 Kings 19.12]. Elijah found his strength not in God's power shown in the created order, but in God's Word, a softly whispered word. The birth of Jesus happens simply by a word placed by God the Holy Spirit in the Virgin's ear:

Luke 1:31-33 (ESV)
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He 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 father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

The angels' hymn has three declarations:

God
earth
and mankind.

To each of these the appropriate prayer is attached. So it becomes this:

To God be the glory;
to the earth peace is given;
to all mankind there is great joy [Luther, Ibid, p. 141].

What must come out of our mouths first and foremost is praise and thanks to God for his gift. It seems so simple yet it has become so hard that many this evening will not get around to praising and thanking God for his indescribable gift. Many are so busy talking about themselves that they don't talk about God except in ways that are less than praiseworthy. There is not always praise for this Son whom God has sent to be the Savior. Rather, our songs should praise God for sending us the Gift that never stops giving. Christ our Lord is the Gift for which there is no comparison. From his fullness we continue to receive in unending supply forgiveness, life, and salvation. When all of the world's gifts are given, used up, broken, forgotten, even when they are all heaped into one enormous pile, this one Gift in Bethlehem's manger continues to give for all eternity. Hymnwriter Stephen Starke has captured it well in his hymn, O Sing of Christ [LSB 362]:

362 O Sing of Christ

1 O sing of Christ, whose birth made known
The kindness of the Lord,
Eternal Word made flesh and bone
So we could be restored.
Upon our frail humanity
God's finger chose to trace
The fullness of His deity,
The icon of His grace.

Text: © 1996 Stephen P. Starke Used by permission: LSB Hymn License .NET, number 100010193. Created by Lutheran Service Builder © 2006 Concordia Publishing House.

The fullness of his deity! The icon of his grace! God has given himself to the world! All of God is given in Christ! He gives it so that our frail humanity would be revived and redeemed. Jesus has come to save lost and condemned humanity. Can the earth do anything more than to burst into song, praising God for his mercy?! Indeed, our songs of praise and thanks to God are more beautiful tonight than at any other time in the year. Here is the Gift of his saving grace, the very icon of the Father in human flesh and blood, our brother forever!

The second intercession of the angels is that the kingdom of Christ, a kingdom of peace, will grow and expand on the earth. How fervently many continue to pray for peace even if they do not recognize the cause of strife, discord, and war. Our world is in the grip of just the opposite as human beings steal, rob, and murder their fellowman, not only individually, but as nations which go to war with other nations over material things. Luther said it this way:

"Each person harms the next person, no one practices faithfulness toward his neighbor, each one beats the next person over the head. That is the essence of life on the earth!" [Ibid, p. 141].

The way to put an end to all such hatred, violence, and discord is to have the peace which Christ has made with God. Christ has made peace with God by the shedding of his blood. He is the Propitiation for our sins, that means that he satisfies God's wrath because we sinned. God is no longer angry with man for his sin. Christ is the One whom the Father sent to earn this peace, to satisfy his justice because we have been in sin. If God is at peace with you, then why are you still angry with your brother? How can you justify your hatred and animosity toward him? How can you still hold on to your grievances when Christ has atoned for them? Christ has brought peace to earth in his person.

What our world must learn is that true peace can be had only in Christ. Apart from him there is no peace. There is only the hatred of our old evil foe who continues to sow discord and strife among the people of this world. "Peace among those who have his good will" is really what the angels pray. They pray that Christ's kingdom of peace may grow more and more as his Gospel is proclaimed. As long as men, under the influence of Satan, continue to fight against this Gospel of peace in and through Christ, the world will not be a peaceful place. Yet, at the end that peace will prevail because Christ has already won the victory in his death and resurrection. The time has come and will come in its fullness when all this will come to pass.

God's favor rests upon you in Christ. Because of Jesus God is pleased with you. He is not angry with you. He wants to draw you to himself so that he can bestow his gifts upon you, his grace, forgiveness, and life. He has come as your brother, a brother who will never leave you nor forsake you, a brother who will always stand by your side.

How can one not be filled with joy at these gifts that are in Christ? Every year we hear of those whose lives are filled with sadness. It is pretty much what our world has to offer us. Into everyone's life there comes sadness of some sort. God does not allow the same sadness into everyone's life, but as long as we live in this world of sin, all of us will confront it. Yet, that sadness cannot undo the joy that is ours tonight. Christ has been born for us! Our Savior has come and remains with us! He is Immanuel, God-with-us always. He does not leave our side but stands by us in our sorrows and difficulties. He strengthens us by giving us himself in the Holy Supper. He forgives. He renews. He brings anew his peace as we receive him, especially on this night, this Christ-Mass.

The only way to reverse this, Luther said, is to sing the devil's hymn, that is, to deny it and to be dissatisfied with these blessings that God gives, to give in to one's desire to prolong hatred and violence against others. The devil's song must not be sung! We must sing the hymn of the angels! We must praise God for his marvelous Gift of our Savior. We must live in the peace which is ours in Christ. We must continually rejoice because God has been please with us in Christ. Indeed, it is the best gift of all and it is the only one which lasts forever.

Tonight all heaven and earth rejoice and sing. Countless hymns and Christmas carols are sung, praising God. So many are filled with the beauty of poets' words and musicians tunes, but none can compare with "The Greatest Christmas Hymn" which the angels sang above the plains of Bethlehem:

Luke 2:14 (ESV)
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.