It’s Time!
a sermon based on Luke 2:1-20
by Rev. Rick Thompson

      Garrison Keillor, in one of his reports on life in mythical Lake Wobegon, Minnesota, was describing all of the activity that takes place in town at this time of the year.  Keillor admits that many of the pageants and special events are quite silly, some of them even ridiculous.  Why would these ordinary people—strong women, good-looking men, and above-average children—why would they do these things?  They have no training in acting, not much acting or musical ability, and yet they go on stage in Yuletide productions.  Why?

     “Because,” says Keillor, “it’s a great story, and we just want to be a part of it.”

     It’s time.  It’s time, not only in Lake Wobegon, but in Lakewood, to be part of the story!

     No, I’m not going to ask you to come up here and act and sing.  But I do want to invite you to be part of the story.  After all, it is a great story, with an astounding outcome—a tiny baby, born in a stable, who grows up to be the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world, the Lord of the universe.

     So take your part, now, in this great story.  Listen.  Hurry to the manger.  Wonder at what you see there.  And respond in heartfelt praise.

     It’s time!

     God is good—so good—at timing.  God always does things at just the right time; that’s one of the things that makes this such a great story!  Did you notice all the references to “time” in this story?

     “In those days…” the story begins.  In those days, the Emperor ordered that all the people in the empire be registered in their home towns.  He was just doing what powerful leaders do—counting the people so he could collect taxes.  But God used the Emperor’s self-serving decree to accomplish another, deeper purpose—God’s purpose. 

     It looked like the time belonged to the Emperor—but it really belonged to God!

     The census sent people scurrying throughout the Empire to comply with the order.  Among them were a man named Joseph, from Nazareth, in the north of Palestine, and his very pregnant wife, Mary.  They needed to go to Bethlehem, many miles to the south, the home town of Joseph’s ancestors—one of whom was the revered King David. 

     And it was Mary’s time.  “While they were there”—(in Bethlehem)—“the time came for [Mary] to deliver her child.” 

     And we know the story, because it is such a great story!  Full of travelers, tiny Bethlehem was out of lodging.  They had to stay in a stable—perhaps attached to one of the crowded inns.  And there Mary gave birth.  Unnoticed by the world, left like so many refugees to fend for themselves with inadequate resources, the couple brings Mary’s child into the world. 

     But that’s not what makes it a great story.

     The story is great because, not only was it Mary’s time—it was God’s time!

     It was God’s time to intervene in the world and begin setting the world right, after centuries of darkness.  Centuries of violence and oppression for God’s people.  Centuries of longing for God’s presence, God’s vindication, God’s mercy, God’s justice to shine in their lives and brighten the whole world.  Centuries of despair, and cruelty, and sin, and darkness, and death.

     It was time!

     It was time to give birth to a new world—and that’s what God did, almost unnoticed, in that birth long ago in Bethlehem!  The child born—Jesus—was not just the child of Mary and, as people supposed, the child of Joseph; JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD!

     It’s time!  Time for God to set things right, make the creation new!

     So what does God do?

     Does God send a messenger to the Emperor, announcing God’s immediate presence in the world, inviting the Emperor to come and pay homage to the newborn King?

     No—God sends messengers to shepherds!

     Shepherds.  Among the lowest of the low.  Despised, ostracized, humble, stinking shepherds. 

     And did you notice another time reference?  Angels visited the shepherds “at night”.  At night, when fears are heightened, anxieties are more real, and danger is ever-present.  God chose the time—and God chose to come at night, when the world was darkest and most afraid.

     And in this great story, the shepherds hear an angelic message: “Don’t be afraid!  We have good news, of great joy!  A child has been born—born today!  He’s Son of David, Messiah of Israel, Savior of the world, Lord of the universe.  But you won’t find him in a king’s palace.  You’ll find him in a manger, wrapped in bands of cloth—like any other peasant child.  He’s born for you.  Today!  Hurry!  Go!”

     “Today.”  That’s God’s time.  “Today.”   Today, when we do our living and dying.  Today, when we do our sinning and our hurting, our kindnesses and our loving deeds.  Today, when we fear, and today, when we hope.  Today, in our darkness, and today, in the dawning light.  That’s God’s time—TODAY!

     And the shepherds go.  The shepherds go “with haste”—they hurry into town to see what they’ve been told.  And they are amazed.  They share the message they received from the angels.  And, although they go back to their fields, back to their sheep, they now have reason to give God praise and glory.  They’ve been changed, changed profoundly and completely, by God’s entrance into their lives.

     It’s GOD’S time.  TODAY! 

     Not only for shepherds, but for you!  The child is born for you, for me, for all the world—and he comes bringing God’s light and love and joy and peace and forgiveness and justice TODAY!

     And THAT’S what makes it such a great story!

     Jim found that out, although he had resisted for so very long.  

     Finally, reluctantly, after declining his wife’s invitation for years, Jim agreed to attend her church’s Christmas Eve service.  He figured it would probably keep peace in the family, and the kids would appreciate having Daddy there, too.  They arrived for worship, and Jim felt like a fish out of water.  He had no idea what to do.

    But Jim was greeted by a friendly person at the door, and he and his family were graciously ushered to a seat.  Someone nearby introduced herself and said, “It’s so good to see you here with Sandra and your beautiful children!”  The preacher proclaimed the love of God found in the child Jesus, and the congregation sang with joy the glad songs of Christmas.  When they dimmed the lights and lit candles, something tugged at Jim’s heart.  All of it—the friendly people, the festive atmosphere, the warmth, and the simple but powerful message—began to have an effect on Jim.  So, when the invitation came to receive Holy Communion, Jim felt himself moved to join in, for the first time ever.

     Jim, who was only doing his duty to his family, found himself captured by the wonderful message of Christmas, and came to a new awareness of God’s love.  God’s love had been poured out, in Jesus, for Jim—TODAY!  It was time!

     Tonight, the invitation is extended to each of us.  It’s time! 

     It’s God’s time to act, act graciously and lovingly—and God has done just that, in sending Jesus to save and redeem the world, to make all things new, to be our light in the darkness, to rid us of sin and the terror of death.  It’s God’s time to act!

     And it’s our time to respond.

     Respond like the shepherds, and hurry to the manger.  Not the usual hurrying, to get all the tasks and chores and preparations done for the Christmas celebration, so we can plop into bed, exhausted, when it’s all over.  No, hurry to the manger, to see what God is doing, in time—TODAY!  Experience the wonder, marvel at the humble beauty, bask in the love poured out, abundantly, lavishly, for you, for me, for the world.

     And then, respond like Mary.  She took her time, didn’t she.  “Mary treasured all these words”—all these things she’d seen and heard—“and pondered them in her heart.”

     Ponder.  It’s time, now, to ponder.  Don’t be in a hurry to put Christmas behind you.  Or, more accurately, don’t be in a hurry to put Christ away for another year!  Take it in.  Drink in the wonder.  Bathe in the humble beauty of this night, of what God has done today!  Soak it up.  Let it wash over you, refresh you, renew you.  And then offer God the praise God deserves for creating such a wonder.

     Today.

     It’s time.  It’s God’s time to do something beautiful—for you, for me, for the world. 

     And God has done just that!

     It is a great story, after all!

    And it’s time, now, for us to take our part in the story.  Today!

                                                                                                AMEN.