A Sermon for the Feast of the Nativity (Year B)
December 24, 2023
Text: Luke 2:1-20
Now, O Lord, take my lips, and speak through them. Take our minds, and think through them. Take our hearts, and set them on fire. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It’s been a tradition in our home most years to go and pick out a live Christmas tree for the holidays, usually right after Thanksgiving so we can get one that’s been freshly cut. When we lived in Virginia for a short time, we even ventured out to a local, Christmas tree farm and cut down our very own tree that we got to pick out ourselves. In recent years, we’ve had to settle for going to a place like Lowe’s or Home Depot to get a live tree, which is exactly what we did this year.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, we loaded the truck and drove to the Lowe’s in Enterprise, where we searched through piles of wrapped up Frasier firs before we finally found the tree we liked the most. The person who was helping us at the store trimmed off the bottom of the trunk and wrapped it up in plastic netting, and we brought it back home to Andalusia.
When we got back home, we left the tree in the garage and put it in water so that it would stay fresh until it was time to bring it inside and decorate it.
A few days passed, and we finally decided it was time to decorate the Christmas tree. So, we brought it inside, took off the plastic netting, and let the branches fall naturally into place.
And, then disaster struck!
In a scene that could’ve easily been part of some Christmas comedy, what seemed like half of the needles on this tree fell right onto the floor in front of us. It reminded me of that scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas when Charlie Brown and Linus go to the Christmas tree farm and find that tiny little tree with barely any needles left on the branches.
Needless to say, we were all shocked by what happened. All we could do was stand there in disbelief, with our eyes wide open, wondering what to do next.
“Do you think we should we throw this one out and try to find another live tree?” I asked Chelsea. “Or, should we go out and get an artificial tree to replace it? Or, should we just keep the one we’ve got and make the best of it?”
Well, in case your wondering, we decided to keep the half-dead tree. We put lights on it, and decorated it with ornaments the best we could, being as careful as possible not to touch any of the branches to preserve as many needles as possible.
I’d like to say that I handled the situation well, but looking back on it, I know I could’ve handled it better. It was disappointing, to say the least, because in my mind, I wanted it to be this special moment for our family, but instead, decorating the Christmas tree this year turned out to be more of a chore than anything else.
And, I think I know the reason why.
Looking back on the situation, I can recognize it now for what it was—a great example of what happens when we allow our unfulfilled expectations to prevent us from enjoying the present moment.
I don’t know about you, but I tend to have high expectations when it comes to Christmas. I want it to be perfect every year, and in order to do that, I have a checklist of things that have to get done before December 24th—
Pick out the perfect Christmas tree.
Decorate the house, inside and out.
Bake the Christmas cookies and gingerbread houses.
Watch all of the must-see Christmas movies.
Design and mail the Christmas cards.
Pick out and wrap all the presents.
And the list goes on and on.
Why is it that we put so much pressure on ourselves each year to have the perfect, Hallmark-quality Christmas? In a time when we should be focused on the true meaning of the season, why is it that we tend to load ourselves down with so many extra things to do?
There are probably more reasons than we can count.
But, I can tell you why I do it. I do it for my family. I do it because, more than anything, I want my family—especially our children—to have the best Christmas possible and to have memories of this time that they’ll be able to look back on for years to come and share with their own children.
I also want them to know how important it is that we take time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, it’s that last little bit—the Jesus part—that often gets lost in the busyness of the season.
We rush through the four weeks of Advent, struggling to keep up with our growing list of things to do, and when Christmas finally does arrive, we hear the beautiful story of the Nativity that we all love so dear—the same story we heard just a few moments ago from Luke’s Gospel.
Sure, we talk about the birth of Jesus, and we put on cute, Christmas pageants at church. But, that’s about it. We rarely spend much time at all talking about the real significance of why Jesus came to live among us in the first place.
We don’t spend nearly enough time talking about the significance of the Incarnation—our fundamental belief as Christians that God sent his only Son to be born among us, to live and die as one of us, to lead us to the truth of who God is, and to save us from the power of sin and death.
The story of Jesus’ birth is more than just a cute tale about angels singing, “Glory to God,” and shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night. It has real meaning for our lives as Christians and should be seen as a reminder for all of us that our lives are wrapped in the story. It’s not just about a single event that happened in history over two thousand years ago.
We continue to give birth to Jesus in our own lives—to make the love of God in Christ Jesus known to the world through our words and actions.
Jesus came to live among us, not to be served but to serve, and to teach us to do the same. He came not to be loved and worshiped but to love others and to show us how to do the same. Jesus came not to rule with an iron fist like other rulers but to show the world that the Kingdom of God begins with mercy and forgiveness.
In every aspect of his life on earth, Jesus showed us the perfect example of what the self-giving, sacrificial love of God looks like.
And that’s why, dear friends, in the words of St. Paul, “at the name of Jesus, every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Jesus is the reason we’re gathered here tonight in this place of worship.
He’s the reason for all of it—the music, the candles, the flowers, the greenery, the pageantry—all of it. Without Jesus, there would be no reason to celebrate this night.
Christmas isn’t about finding the perfect Christmas tree or having to complete everything on our to-do-list before December 24th or buying the perfect Christmas gifts for our loved ones. It’s about acknowledging the fact that we’ve already received the greatest gift we could ever hope to receive in Christ Jesus. It’s about making room in our lives for Jesus to come among us and remembering that the light of Christ still burns deep in our hearts—a light that we’re called to share with others.
So, tonight, if you’re stressed about the things that still need to get done or the things you haven’t had time to do, find comfort in knowing that you’re exactly where you need to be. Find comfort in knowing that Jesus is here with us tonight. Find comfort in knowing that you don’t have to have everything marked off the check-list in order to have the “perfect” Christmas, because the truth, dear friends, is that every Christmas is perfect. Amen.
The Rev. Eric Mancil 