sermon excerpts: "Of Shepherds and Sacraments"

Luke 2: 1-20

We are familiar with the Christmas story, almost desensitized to the fact that the expectant couple was shuffled off to sleep with livestock. I understand that the inn was full, and maybe it’s a cultural difference, but I find it hard to believe that no one offered their room to someone obviously in need of comfort. Or maybe our societies aren’t so different after all – the philosophy of “as long as I’m OK” prevails. The arrival of the Messiah intended to change that.

Throughout his ministry we know how Jesus reached out to the poor, the sick, the disadvantaged and the oppressed. So it is entirely in keeping with this justice-based approach that the shepherds were the first ones to hear the news of Christ’s birth. Angels brought the message to them in the middle of the night, right off the bat. They weren’t the most important people in Bethlehem, surely there were plenty of descendants of David that would have been housed in richly furnished palatial rooms, but these others did not receive word of the Messiah’s coming.

It’s interesting to note that these common shepherds were at the top of the guest list. It was the simple, ordinary shepherds who receive this world-changing news. We don’t know their names, who they are, just that they were shepherds. And isn’t that so much like Christ’s ministry? Bringing goodness and hope to the ordinary, everyday, hardworking, average person.

Now, on a night like tonight, remembering the birth of the Saviour, it seems counterintuitive to celebrate the sacrament of communion, a ritual based on the betrayal, crucifixion and tortured death of Jesus. It helps to remember that communion is a holy celebration of community (there’s a reason why the words sound so much alike). It is a universal invitation to taste of God’s grace. But we also recognize it for the meal that it was, a gathering of friends in a time of holiday.

In recognizing God’s holiness in ordinary everyday things, in simple bread and wine reminding us of Christ’s ministry and commandments, in a baby boy and ordinary citizens of the countryside, we see that great and wonderful things are possible. So as we receive the elements of food and drink, our spirits are nurtured and fed as we remember the fullness of the Christian story: the promise of new life, the agony the world’s unbelief and the still-enduring message of hope, justice, and shalom.

All this from a not-quite ordinary birth in a stable of a too-crowded town, reaching to all of us who are seeking meaning and purpose in life, in struggles and in community. In Christmas and Communion, we celebrate Christ. Blessings of the season to you on this night and always. Amen.