Calvary Lutheran Church

The Lesson of Christmas Anonymity

 1 Corinthians 1:27-30

“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

My dear Christmas Day worshippers:

            We came here today to celebrate the birth of a baby, but we are not the only ones to do so. Two billion people around the world are gathering today in churches and hamlets big and small, all adorned in beautiful decorations, all singing familiar Christmas hymns, all filled with Christmas joy.

            But isn’t that a bit odd? Isn’t it peculiar that such a simple, ordinary event as the birth of a baby, that happens perhaps millions of times every day, would receive such intense, worldwide attention? And we are not even talking about a baby that was born today or recently. We are talking about a baby born some 2,000 year ago. It didn’t cause much attention back then, why should it now?

            There certainly was nothing special about the parents of that baby. Joseph was a carpenter who looked for odd jobs to put food on the table. Mary was probably around 13 or 14 years old. That’s when most were betrothed and married in those days. She had no source of income. Between the two of them they probably didn’t own much more than the cloths on their backs.

            And usually when a baby is born at least the relatives are around to “uuuh” and “aah” and make a fuss over the precious little one. But that was not the case either. It just so happened that Mary and Joseph were far away from home in some hick town called Bethlehem. It was a rural town that didn’t attract many tourists, so it didn’t have many hotels. And because of the whole census thing, there wasn’t a room to be had. So what happened, as you know, they ended up in a barn.

            But it was while they were there that the moment arrived for her to deliver. So Joseph cleared a corner just large enough for Mary to lie down. And there, just the two of them except for a few animals, in the dark, unaided by friends or a hospital staff, she gave birth to her firstborn. It was a boy.

            And Joseph took some strips of cloth that he had ripped up and wrapped them around the baby. Then he swept away the dust and dirt from a small space in the manger, and he laid him there where Mary could see him from where she was lying. And she looked at him—you know how mothers look at their newborns—but in this case, she was looking at God. And that was the first Christmas. And now we have learned

THE LESSON OF CHRISTMAS ANONYMITY

By that I mean that God takes something as supernatural and as colossal as an incarnation—God becoming man—and surrounds it with unassuming, inconspicuous, ordinary circumstances.

          Oh yes, we read of events in Bible history where God displayed his power and glory and judgement for everyone to see like the flood, the exodus, the fall of Jericho, the raising of Lazarus, the feeding of the 5,000, the resurrection, the ascension. But those are the exceptions. Usually God works in the unspectacular, the common, the simple, the uneducated, the children, the little babies. Usually God works even in despised things like poverty, servitude, suffering, crucifixion, death.

            When Elijah was depressed and wanted to give up the ministry, God came to him personally to encourage him but not in a strong wind, not in an earthquake, not in a blazing fire, but in a soft, gentle whisper. How unspectacular! When Naaman wanted to be cured of leprosy, Elisha did not come out and wave his hand over Naaman to heal him. Elisha didn’t come out of his house at all. He simply told Naaman to wash himself in the muddy waters of the Jordon. How despicable! Jesus chose his first miracle of turning water into wine at an ordinary wedding reception where no one even seemed to know where the excellent wine came from. Phillip was called away from his hugely successful ministry in Jerusalem to a desert in Gaza to minister to one confused Ethiopian eunuch. I tell you, it is so easy to miss God and deny ourselves his blessings, because we are always looking for him in the spectacular and not in the ordinary.

            Why does God do that? Why did he come in such Christmas anonymity? Paul tells us in this text, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

            It isn’t that God despises human wisdom. No, you learn all you possibly can about this world and what is going on in it. It isn’t that God looks down on human accomplishments. No. You accomplish all you can in this life for the good of others. But what he does despise is unbelief, unbelief that does not give all credit and honor and glory to him, and that instead leads to boasting.

          Unbelief says, “God, if you are really out there, you haven’t impressed me enough for me to believe in you. And you certainly are going to have to do better than a baby in Bethlehem. That does not appeal to my reasoning powers. And if you think you are going to send me a Savior, that is, if I really need one, he is going to have to be a savior on my terms—a Savior who will recognize all my good deeds and reward me with heaven. And then maybe I will favor you with my worship and praise.”

            Do people actually think that way? Oh, yes. Remember when some Pharisees said to Jesus and demanded “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you if you want us to believe in you.” Remember the Pharisee in the temple who boasted, “I thank you, Lord, that I am not like other people. I do this and I do that, how pleased you must be with me” Remember the rich young ruler who told Jesus, “What is left for me to do to inherit eternal life? I’ve kept the law of God perfectly.” Pride is the devil’s oldest trick in the book to destroy faith. He said to Eve, “If you eat that fruit you will be like God knowing good and evil.” She ate it and lost her perfection.

            God is not going to let man take credit for what God himself does alone. Paul goes on in verse 30, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus. Who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.”

            God is saying, “I am the source of your relationship with me. I am the one who loved you first. I am the one who brought you to faith. I am the one who declares you righteous and holy and redeemed for Jesus’ sake. I am the one who will save you for all eternity in heaven. It is all by my grace.”

          “And in order to prove that it is all me, I’m going to send my Son into this world as a simple infant born to simple parents in a barn. And he is going to live, for the most part, a simple life. And he is not going to attract attention to himself by being handsome—he will be rather plain looking. He is not going to accumulate any wealth. He is not going to travel extensively. He will not hold any high secular office. When he does receive recognition and praise for who he is, it will be riding on a donkey.

          And then I am going to have him crucified on a cross so that he dies a horrible death in a most unlikely way for one who calls himself the King of the Jews. But under these absurd, humiliating circumstances he will become the Savior of the world, and I will gather my followers around him. And they will know that it is “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6), that anyone will believe it.

            Tell me, have you learned the lesson of Christmas anonymity? Do you turn to the simple Christ-child today and see God your Savior? Do you know that baptism, that simple act of applying water in the name of the Triune God, is God’s power of bringing you to faith and forgiving all your sins? Do you see God working in the Lord’s Supper, that simple act of eating bread and drinking wine, but in it you receive the very body and blood of Christ? Do you view this Word as the power of God and the foolishness of preaching as God’s way of nurturing and sustaining faith? Do you believe that simply talking to God in prayer is heard by him, and more importantly, answered by him? Do you know that acts of kindness shown to others are acts of kindness shown to Jesus himself? Do you hear God’s voice in the words of encouragement from your fellow Christians? Do you view death as the gateway to eternal life? And if this Christmas is not a particularly joyful time for you, for whatever reason, do you know that God can work his blessings in you anyway? Do you know that when you are weak, that is when you are strong? These are just some of the lessons we learn from Christmas anonymity.

            Several years ago a man by the name of Dr. Vinton was a pediatrician who was very skeptical concerning the Christian faith. One day he was at the bedside of a patient he had grown very fond of. She was a little girl who was dying of cancer, but always displayed and witnessed a strong faith in the Lord Jesus. She was going to spend the Christmas holidays in the hospital, but that didn’t discourage her. On Christmas Eve when Dr. Vinton visited her, she wanted to whisper something in his ear. She said that it was about his being at peace with God. But she was too weak to raise herself up from bed. So, she said, “Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, when I am stronger, I promise I will tell you.” Dr. Vinton wasn’t planning to come in on Christmas Day, but for her sake he would. And when he walked into her room, he was devastated to discover that the cancer had just taken her life a few moments earlier.

            As he stood there beside her lifeless body, he thought about her life and her pure, simple, but powerful faith, and especially her words, “Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, when I am stronger, I will tell you.” Could it be that she was keeping her promise? Could it be that she was stronger now in death than she had ever been in life, because she was with the Lord in heaven? Could it be that in her weak, despicable condition of death she was telling him about a peace with God that he could have too? That thought so penetrated the heart of Dr. Vinton, that Christmas took on a whole new meaning for him that day. He left his medical practice and spent the rest of his life in the grand calling of the public ministry.

            Tell me, do you believe that this little baby in Bethlehem’s manger is your Lord, your Savior? Are you certain of the forgiveness of all your sins and the gift of eternal life in that Savior, as certain as if you were in heaven right now? Are you willing to put all the worries and cares of this world aside and enjoy peace on earth to those on whom his favor rests? My friends, this is it, Christmas is here, the Savior has come. He is Christ, the Lord, all wrapped up in one little baby in a manger in Bethlehem. Because that’s how the Lord works in this world, in simple anonymity, but the results are a generous outpouring of his grace and blessing. Amen. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS