Luke 2:1-14 [15-20]
Creation is messy business.
And that’s what Christmas is all about:
- God’s supreme act of creation bursting forth into the midst of our messy lives.
- Because the birth of Christ…and the circumstances in which it happened, was a messy affair.
Our nativity scenes are sterilized portrayals of Christ’s birth.
- A beautiful manger with not a trace of dung on the ground.
- A star hovering above…perfectly mid-frame.
- In the center…a pristine baby…perfectly groomed and smiling.
- To the child’s left…on her knees…is Mary with her hair perfectly done…looking like she’s ready to go to the prom.
- Kneeling with her is Joseph…with a look of wonder on his face.
- And all around them are barn animals…obediently standing in silence in a perfect semi-circle.
Well… this is what actually happened.
- As they settle into the manger…Mary swears under her breath as she steps in cow dung.
- She’s cranky and in pain as the contractions come harder and faster.
- Joseph is still furious that the innkeeper could actually be so callous as to turn away him and his pregnant wife.
- They shoo away the barn cats to make room for Mary to recline.
- Mary begins to sob because she is scared.
- She’s 14 years old and has never done this before.
- Joseph looks at her and says he’s scared…too.
- He was taught how to read Hebrew but never instructed in how to birth a baby.
- They allow themselves a moment of laughter.
Oh…the laughter doesn’t last long.
- Mary begins to groan in pain with each contraction.
- Her head rolls back in pain.
- Her skin becomes all sweaty.
- Her hair begins to stick to her skin.
- Her face contorts with each push.
Joseph does his best to maintain his self-control…but he’s never seen anything like this before!
- The pain hits a new level as Mary grabs Joseph’s robe and yells at him:
- “You did this to me!”
- Joseph barks back at her:
- “Actually…no…I didn’t!”
- Mary screams in pain as the baby begins to crown.
The escalating screams cause the animals to spook.
- A cow accidentally steps on a chicken which then begins to squawk and run around frantically.
- There are feathers flying all over the place.
With one final push and a desperate scream…the baby is born.
- He looks like a mess!
- He doesn’t look human.
- Jesus is covered in blood and amnionic fluid.
- Next…the placenta comes.
- Joseph looks at it and says: “What is that!?”
At that moment…the shepherds knock on the door of the manger and Joseph yells to whoever is at the door:
- “Now is not a good time!”
- Mary catches her breath…and the animals calm down.
- Joseph hands the child to his mother.
- Mother and son hold one another.
- Covered in blood…sweat…and tears of both pain and joy.
The incarnation of God is messy business.
- Why is that so important?
- Well…because God makes himself at home in the messiness of our lives.
- If God only showed up when we were perfect and polished and in our Sunday best…we would wonder about God.
- You see…what God did was he slipped into the vulnerability of human skin and entered our dark disturbing world.
It was important to God to birth his son into a messy reality.
- God used a humble…modest couple from the Middle East…
- During the regime of a cruel ruler named Herod.
- It was important to God that his son not be born at the downtown Hilton in St. Pete.
- But in a humble stable in Pinellas Park.
- It was important to God to introduce Jesus to us in the same birthing process as you and I entered this world.
Because God just could not wait.
- Hope could not wait.
- Peace could not wait.
- Joy could not wait.
- Love could not wait.
And I hope that brings us all comfort.
- Because we all have tangled lives.
- Well…we expend lots of energy trying to hide that fact.
- But we know better.
- We have our struggles…our anxieties…our fears…our sorrows…our shortcomings.
- But…you know what?
- God will not wait for all those circumstances to resolve themselves to make an appearance.
And that’s the good news of Christmas!
- That in the middle of a world that is so broken…so bloodied…so divided…so dark…
- God cannot wait to walk with us through the mess!
God loves us too much that he did not wait for us to get our ducks in a row.
- He shows up before we can get our house in order…
- And showers us with love and grace.
- He just couldn’t wait.
- Happy Birthday…Jesus!