Luke 2:1-14
Nativity of Our Lord – 2024 – Luke 2:1-14
Nick E. Silverio is in his 60s.
- White hair…a widower…with spectacles balanced on his nose…a white mustache.
- His features are benign and nonthreatening.
- He is of medium height and wearing trousers that are cinched just a bit high around the waist.
- If we were to pass him on the street…we might not even notice him.
He may not look like someone who is making a difference…but he is.
- Nick is a member of the Order of St. Lazarus…and the founder of A Safe Haven for Newborns…
- A non-profit based out of Miami.
- Nick wants to save children from abandonment.
- Here in America…too many babies are abandoned for heartbreaking reasons.
In Alaska…a mother leaves a newborn in a box on a street corner with a note (the baby survived).
- In New Mexico…a mother is seen on video tossing a bag into a dumpster.
- People looking for food later found the baby in that bag (this baby survived).
- In Illinois…a baby was found in a duffel bag in front of a fire station in freezing temperatures (this baby did not survive).
- In Nebraska…a baby was found on a blanket on the side of a road after the mother gave birth (the mother was found…and the baby survived).
Nick’s organization has saved more than 300 babies who are alive today…
- And have a chance to become the President of the United States…a Supreme Court Justice…a scientist finding a cure for cancer…a great mom or dad to their children.
All 50 states…the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have policies that decriminalize the leaving of an infant on the doorstep of a firehouse or church.
- These Baby Moses laws are meant to offer parents…many of them teenagers…a way out…rather than doing harm to the child.
- Those who find these abandoned babies are amazed and wonder:
- Who is this baby?
- How did this child end up at the door of a church or a firehouse?
- Often there is a note that explains what is going on with the baby.
In ancient Palestine…children were both valued and vulnerable.
- In about 4 BC…following a decree by Emperor Augustus…a particular young couple were nervous.
- The girl was with child…and there was some question about its paternity.
- They were looking at a long journey.
- And Mary…for that was the mother’s name…was very close to her time.
Although there was no thought of giving birth to the infant and then abandoning it…
- The parents must have been concerned about the baby’s safety.
- Soon they would discover that…because of the emperor’s edict…
- Every inn…hotel…motel and Airbnb in Bethlehem had a NO VACANCY sign.
- So…the survival of the baby was becoming an issue.
- The good news? The baby survived.
- It was born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough for cattle…
- Wrapped nice and tight in bands of cloth.
- The shepherds ran into town and found the baby safe and lying in the manger.
- And the shepherds began to talk:
- They made known what had been told them about this child…
- And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said.
One can only imagine the buzz floating about in this sleepy town not far from Jerusalem…
- And King Herod wondering: Who is this baby?
- And Joseph? A normal guy…was wondering…not only Who is this baby? But also Whose is this baby?
The shepherds were informed as to the identity of this child when they heard some lyrical notes spoken by an angel in the nighttime sky:
- Do not be afraid…for see…I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people…
- To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior…who is the Messiah…the LORD.
This is a baby that got its start as the child of questionable legitimacy.
- A baby born of a poor couple with grim prospects and little money.
- But for the mercy of an innkeeper…who knows where the child might have been born?
- Anyone’s guess…not in a barnyard feeding trough…
- But perhaps on the street in a gutter.
- Or in a shepherd’s cave on a cold winter night.
- Maybe in a vineyard hidden away amongst the vines.
- This is the child who is called by the angel…a Savior…Messiah and Lord. How extraordinary!
Together…these three titles convey the profound significance of this Bethlehem baby as the fulfillment of God’s intention of deliverance for humanity.
- Identifying this baby as the Savior…who is the Messiah…the Lord…
- Proclaims his role as the divine Son of God sent into the world to bring redemption…
- Fulfill prophecy and establish God’s kingdom.
And so…for us on this Christmas Eve…we would ask:
- Is this a baby we will abandon?
- Nick Silverio and his organization have saved more than 300 babies.
- Are we willing to save The Baby…the Christ child.
On this Christmas Eve…we reaffirm that the Christ Child is our Savior…our Messiah…our Lord.
- Not only do our lives depend on it.
- But the lives of others…indeed the world.
- Merry Christmas.