The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

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 terrified. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people who have His good will!” When the angel had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “The Lord has told us what has happened. Let’s go to Bethlehem and see it.” Then they came in a hurry and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they told others what they had been told about this Child. And everyone was surprised to hear the story that the shepherds had told. But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and kept thinking about them. The shepherds went back glorying the Lord and praising God for everything they had heard.

 

It was December 1991. I was driving Rieve to kindergarten in Mason City, IA. In addition to his school backpack, he was holding a bag in his hands. “What’s in the bag?” I asked. He told me it was stuff for share day. In my day we called it show-and-tell. “What are you going to share?” I asked. He quickly responded, “My new toy jet and mom’s activity scene.” Activity scene? What’s an activity scene? He reached into the bag and as he was pulling out the items, he said, “You know a activity scene with baby Jesus and the manager.”

I tried to correct my son’s pronunciation, after all he was a pastor’s kid and share day would give his classmates an opportunity to hear about Baby Jesus, but try as we might, the word “nativity” was simply too hard to say this 5 year old to say. I discovered soon thereafter that Rieve wasn’t the only one who had trouble with the word “nativity,” River couldn’t say it either.

As Christmas approached that year, we heard a lot about the “activity scene,” the church’s Christmas program and the activity scene, and the live activity scene at the church on Christmas Eve. The more I thought about it, the more the name made sense.

Now I know that when we look at a nativity scene they see a peaceful and quiet scene. And we sing carols and hymns like Silent Night and Away in a Manger and such that reinforce the scene of wonder and peace. But describing it as an activity scene is an apt theological description of what God was doing in the birth of the Babe of Bethlehem.

The word activity is defined as “energetic action or movement.” December is a month filled with energetic action and movement. Just look at all the energetic action or movement we’ve been involved in over the past month. Advent dinners and services. Cleaning and decorating our homes and the church, the children’s Christmas program, shopping, gift wrapping, cooking and baking, dinners out, traveling, performances associated with Christmas, mailing packages, and more.

Even the church service is marked by unusual movement. Just look at the way this Christmas Eve Candlelight Service is constructed. The pastor stands up and reads, the pastor sits down, a candle is lit, a hymn is sung, then repeated. You stand up and sit down more often in this service than in the normal service. You will come to the communion rail to received and receive the body and blood of the One whose birth we are celebrating. Soon the lights will be turned off and I will light my candle off the Christ Candle, then another candle will be lit from my candle, and your candles will in turn be lit as well. All this activity on our part is the result of God’s saving activity in the Word that became flesh.

Just look at all the activity in the Christmas story. Listen to all the action words as I read it again.

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 terrified. And the angel said unto them, Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people who have His good will!”

When the angel had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “The Lord has told us what has happened. Let’s go to Bethlehem and see it.” Then they came in a hurry and found Mary and Joseph, and the Baby lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they told others what they had been told about this Child. And everyone was surprised to hear the story that the shepherds had told. But Mary treasured all these things in her heart and kept thinking about them. The shepherds went back glorying the Lord and praising God for everything they had heard.

This wasn’t the only activity. Don’t forget all the activity of the wise men that followed the birth of the Christ Child. They studied the prophecies of old. Upon seeing the star in the sky then began planning a journey to the West. They came following the star of the King, and they came rejoicing with exceeding great joy. They went to the king’s palace and made an inquiry. They went to Bethlehem and when they came into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him; and they gave Him gifts.

The nativity of Bethlehem created an awful lot of activity. It sent the angels from heaven to earth singing. It caused the shepherds to leave their flocks, and it caused the wise men to travel hundreds of miles to bring the king gifts.

It was to this event, the birth of the Savior to whom all the Old Testament prophets, priests, and kings were to be about. It was Him whom they were to serve. Every thing that happened in the Old Testament and everything that was written, all that activity was about the Messiah who was to come. 1 Peter 1:10-12

The prophets, who wrote before hand concerning what God’s grace would do for you, made a thorough search to learn all the could about this salvation. They tried to find out what Person or what time the Spirit of Christ was pointing out when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.

All of history, even before the foundation of the world was made was leading to the coming Messiah. God promised Adam and Eve that when the fullness of time had come thhe Savior would be born. God promised Abraham that His descendants would be as many as the stars in the sky and that all the nations of the world will be blessed in His seed.

God led the family of Isaac and Jacob into the land of Egypt to keep the Hebrews from starvation so that the seed of Abraham would continue. When the survival of the Hebrew people was threatened in Egypt, God Moses to be their deliverer, at type and foreshadow of Christ. He led them out of Egypt and through the waters of the Red Sea, which the New Testament regards as a type of baptism.

Then God gave sinful humanity the first five books of the Old Testament, so that all the generations would know who this great God is, what He was doing for them, and what He promised to do through the Messiah. God led them to the promised land and protected His children from their enemies and sometimes against their own priests and kings. God sent them faithful prophets to remind them of God’s Law, call them to repentance, and remind them that promised Messiah was on the way.

The activity of the Nativity does not always bring with it, God pleasing activity. Matthew 2:3, “When King Herod heard about it, he became alarmed and all of Jerusalem with him.” At the news of the birth of the Christ Child Herod plotted to carry out his own activity. He planned death of the Christ child. Matthew 2:12,But God warned [the wise men] in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they went to their country by another road.”

Yes there is a lot of activity, but we must not get lost in the moment and forget the reason for all this activity. In Luke 19:10 Jesus told Zaccheus the reason. “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

The Son of God took on flesh, humbled Himself under the law and did not use His divine powers to save Himself to save us from our sinful nature and sinful activity. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord.” In the person and work of Christ, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were and continue to be saving us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. His saving activity, the activity of the nativity and all that followed continues in the Word and sacrament ministry of the church. “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)

In the nativity of our Lord on Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child and the fulfillment of the promise spoken through the prophet Isaiah.“For a Child will be born to us, a Son will be given to us.” (Isaiah 9:6) Unto us the God Child has been born and you now have been born of God as well. (1 John 5:1) “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” You, yourself are a result the nativity’s activity. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all of you who have His good will!

AMEN

May the Peace that surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Christmas Eve, 2021 – The Activity of the Nativity of our Lord

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