Christmas Day 2007
Nijmegen & Twente Luke 2:1-20
Middachten John 1:1-14 (Isaiah 9:6)
Unto us a child is born
Before I begin, I want wish all a Merry Christmas and … a Happy Birthday! Or, as I have learned to say, Geféliciteerd!We native English-speakers have something to learn from that Dutch practice, especially at Christmas. I’ll admit it has seemed a bit odd to me, when someone has a birthday, to then congratulate the other members of the family. But on this day, when we celebrate the birthday of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, we all have something to learn from the Dutch.For this is a birthday, not just to give thanks for the birth of the baby Jesus. It is a day when we congratulate each other on the most significant birth of all time. And we share the joy of that birth with each other, as members of the Christian family, but also with anyone who does not yet know the joy of that birth.The birth of the Christ-child is a public birthday like no other.‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’These are the words of the angel to the shepherds, according to the King James version of Luke 2. (It still cannot be conclusively determined whether angels or God speaks in King James’ English, but some believe so.)What that version brings out, more than just ‘a Saviour has been born to you’, is the emphasis on to whom and for whom the Christ-child was born. Unto you! Not just unto his human mother and father, Mary and Joseph. But unto you the lowly shepherds! Unto you the wealthy wise men! And unto all walks of life in between. Unto me, and unto you, and all your friends and family.Unto us, is born, the Saviour of us all. Geféliciteerd met de verjaardag van Jezus. His birthday is very much our birthday, if we choose to receive him. St John points out that the Christ confronts us with a choice: He came so that you and I, and ‘12all who receive him, who believe in his name, will be given power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.’Being a fellow child of God, part of Christ’s family, is a choice we make, but it is not something we can earn. It is a gift, a priceless gift.So in the stangest turn of events possible, the Maker of the universe became a vulnerable, defenceless baby: so that you and I may become God’s children.This is a baby who creates a family by his coming, unto us.And this is a baby, around whom we gather, enchanted by the hope, and joy and peace that he brings.Parents and family who gather around a newborn often examine each curl and curve of the face in hopes of spotting a family resemblance. But we look to the Christ-child to see who we must be like.The prophet Isaiah foretold ‘9:6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’As we look to Christ for family resemblances, we learn that we must be responsible for each other and his world. We must be wise with what we have been given. We must be people of peace. And we must be children of our loving and everlasting Father.Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, so that we, too, maybe be children of his Father in all that we think and do and say. O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray; cast out our sin and enter, be born unto us and in us, today.Merry Christmas to you, and may you know the new life and light of the Christ-child now and for ever more!
Any questions? Contact:
The Chaplain, Revd Sam Van Leer, 026 495 0620
