The Call of Christmas

Thanksgiving fell late on the calendar this year. That has made Christmas feel early, but Christmas is always a bit like that. It comes around whether we are ready or not. Surely we all hope to welcome the Christmas season with hearts prepared to receive its message of love and grace, but it's easy to fall short on that count. Distractions abound. Christmas stacks extra obligations on top of schedules already jammed full, and our world is full of harsh and angry voices. They seem, of late, to have grown even more shrill, with words crafted to agitate and divide. But thankfully, the message of Christmas does not require a world at peace. Christmas brings the peace along with it. The clamor of the world outside is not likely to die down soon, but Christmas shines a holy light on a quiet place within us, where Christ may be rightfully exalted as Lord.

Christmas finds us wherever we are, and from long centuries past, it still calls to us. Sometimes, we may answer the call of Christmas with a heart full of fear. But if that is the case, we are hardly the first. On the first Christmas, fear was right there:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not."

A good shepherd protects the sheep from anything that might threaten them, and for a sheep, the dark of night is the most dangerous time of all. When shepherds keep watch by night, they hope the evening will pass without event, because the things a shepherd watches for are dangerous and threatening. This may explain why the shepherds long ago didn't get excited when an angel showed up. In fact, they were filled with great fear. The angel's first words to the shepherds acknowledged their discomfort, and their journey to meet Jesus began with a simple reassurance: Fear not.

Fear can seep in through the cracks of all we ever accomplish, and the darkness of uncertainty and doubt is never far away. Like those shepherds long ago, we spend much of our time watching out for trouble. But when God came near that first Christmas night, he did not come to threaten or to harm us. He sent an angelic messenger to proclaim the good news: God is here, and he has not come to condemn us. He has come to bring us peace.

The news was so good that the angels could not help but sing. And should we find ourselves fearful today, Christmas still calls us to join them in their song. Yes, love can displace the fear in our hearts. But once it does, that is not the end of our Christmas journey. It is only the beginning.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

There, in the dark of night, a handful of shepherds witnessed a sight that few have ever seen: a sky filled with angels giving glory to God. We can only imagine the beauty and the wonder of it. But after delivering their glorious message, the angels departed. How empty and silent the night sky must have seemed after such a grand visitation! The night grew dark again. The sheep began to bleat. But the shepherds had heard a message they could not ignore. They were no longer satisfied to stand on a hillside and watch for danger. Instead, they would lead their flocks on a journey: a search for the light and the truth the angels had proclaimed.

The message of Christmas stirs something deep inside of us. It is a sense that there is more to life than waiting in the darkness, a longing to do more than watch fearfully in the night. Christmas holds out a heaven-sent hope for us: Jesus came to earth on that dark night so that the shepherds could come to him. The angels had proclaimed the news, and had filled the skies with their shouts of glory. But the real story was happening somewhere else. The real wonder was in Bethlehem, lying in a manger.

The shepherds went there to see him, and Christmas calls us to do much the same. It finds each of us at some point along a journey from where we are to where Christ would have us be. He invites us to join him in his work there. He is as worthy of our service today as he was when the shepherds sought him out. And of course, the shepherds were not the only ones.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him..." When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him.

The shepherds were visited by angels on the evening of Jesus' birth. They saw the spectacle of the heavenly hosts, and heard their mighty voices raised in chorus to proclaim the good news. But the wise men saw none of that. They did not hear the angels sing. For them, the good news was heralded only by a star in the east, but that was enough to get them on their feet. The shepherds had journeyed to Bethlehem, and the wise men made that journey too. They never heard the angels, but the promise of Christmas stirred their hearts all the same. They followed the light they were given, to find the one who had sent it.

The wonder of the first Christmas can seem far away. Today, we sing the songs of Christmas. We sing, even, of the angels - and perhaps sometimes they join in. But now, they sing for the One who sent them to the shepherds on that first Christmas night. Our night sky is filled with stars, but there is no one guiding light to lead us to Bethlehem. And this is a good thing. For Jesus is no longer a baby in a manger. He grew to be a man, and lived among us. He died an undeserved death on a Roman cross, and rose from the grave to conquer death forever. Jesus is the joy of Christmas. He is our guiding light. To find him, we need not journey to Bethlehem.

But this Christmas, as always, he still beckons us to come.