Isaiah 9.1-7 A Son is given to us
Titus 2.11-14 God's grace has been revealed to the whole human race
Luke 2.1-14
‘Come, let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us’.
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The
Christmas story is attractive on so many levels.
I don’t just
mean that it gives us a warm glow of nostalgia remembering Christmases past or
the delight of seeing the faces of children opening presents and performing in
Nativity plays or the aesthetics of candles and carols.
The
Christmas story, the birth of Jesus Christ, is attractive in the sense that it
attracts, entices, intrigues: it says, ‘come’.
It draws
people to gather and, fundamentally, to gather around the mystery at the heart
of the crib of Bethlehem: Jesus Christ.
The tinsel
and sparkle may captivate us.
But our very
presence in this church, at this Mass, means that we have taken the step beyond
the tinsel and are going deeper into the mystery.
This ‘great
and mighty wonder’ attracts us, draws us and whispers to us, ‘come, come and
see, come and see this thing that has taken place’.
The message
of the angel to the shepherds is come, come and see this sign given to you.
We have been
drawn here, to our own Bethlehem tonight, some invited, some perhaps compelled,
yet all welcome to come and to gather, to come, to see, to go deeper and –
whisper it – to be transformed.
We have
responded to what the angel called the shepherds to do, to come and see the One
Who Is: Saviour, Messiah, Lord.
Those titles
speak of power, destiny and purpose – they’re foreshadowed by Isaiah the
prophet - yet they speak of a child lying in an animals’ feeding trough, for
that’s what a manger is.
Here’s the
attractive, attracting mystery: the fullness of God and the fullness of
humanity; the Lord of Hosts and the newborn child.
In the face
of this mystery the heavens are filled with light and the praise of God – that
exultant, exalting, joyful angelic proclamation – ‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those whom he favours’ (Luke 2.14).
Like the
shepherds, we ‘come and see’.
There is an
irony for those of us who have been journeying through the season of Advent
that has as its refrain ‘Come, Lord Jesus’; a time when we sing hymns such as
‘O come, O come, Emmanuel’ and ‘Come, thou long expected, Jesus’.
In Advent we
plead for Jesus to come: come into our world, our nation, our lives.
Tonight we
sing, ‘O Come all ye faithful’: the pleading that Christ will come to us flips
on its head that we will come to Christ.
The
Christian hope:
rejoices in the first coming of
Christ in flesh and blood;
is strengthened in the presence of
Jesus Christ in the flesh and blood of the Bread of Life which we receive at
Holy Communion;
anticipates his Second Coming in
glory.
So, we are
attracted to come to Bethlehem, but we cannot remain there for ever.
The mystery
invites us on - ‘come and see’ - so we ‘await the manifestation of the glory of
our great God and Saviour’ (Titus 2.13).
This is a
lifelong invitation which summons from us a lifelong response.
It is a
response that has seeking Christ at its heart.
And as Jesus
says in the Gospel of John, when he is asked what he is all about, ‘Come and
you will see’ (John 1.39).
May we
remain attracted to the mystery of Christ Jesus: we have come, now may we see.
There is no
better way to begin that journey than with Mary, the Mother of the Lord as,
with her, we treasure all these things and ponder them in our heart (Luke 2.19).
So we come,
we see and Christ conquers, to reign our hearts so that we might glorify him
and be drawn into his Heart of Love.
Gaudete!
Christus est natus, Ex Maria virgine. Rejoice! Christ is born, Sing with joy!
Born is the Saviour from the Virgin Mary.
Come, let us
adore him.
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