The Lutheran Hour
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"Something To Ponder"
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Text: Luke 2:16-19
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Christ is born! He is born, indeed! Today, by God’s grace we once again remember how God’s Son came to this earth to be our Replacement, our Redeemer. For a few moment let us put aside Christmas’ trappings and tinsel, and ponder anew this great Gift from God. Lord grant faith in the newborn Christmas Child to us all. Amen.
As you will soon gather, this story takes place some time ago. It begins in a small town where the family had to drive 30 miles to do their Christmas shopping. As driving 30 miles back then took the family about an hour, both parents had told their son to come home right after school. There is no doubt that their warning had been both direct, clear, and concise. Even so, what with one thing and another, the lad was still late getting home. When he walked in the door, it was about an hour-and-a-half after he had been expected. Mother met him without a smile on her face, a twinkle in her eye, or a warm word of welcome on her lips. She had done the calculations. Her son was so late there was no point in making the drive… the stores would close ½ hour after they arrived.
At dinner that night, the youngster looked at his plate. In contrast to his parents whose plates were filled with things mother had quickly put together, his had two slices of buttered bread. Beside his plate was a tall glass of water. Not milk, but water. Now you know this story took place long ago. No parent today would ever administer such a punishment. Of course parents today can go Christmas shopping just about any time they want. Enough said, I’m wandering.
Understandably, the boy felt terrible. No, he didn’t feel terrible about the lack of food; he felt bad that he had disobeyed and let his parents down. Even worse, it seemed his father’s silence was harmonizing with that of his mother. They said the prayer about asking Jesus to be their guest and then the parents started to eat. At least his mother did. Father and son… well, they just sat there in silence. The boy admits that he wasn’t supposed to see the glance which was passed between his mom and dad, but he did. The tilt of his father’s head showed he had asked a silent question and the slightest of nods from his mother showed she agreed. That was when the father reached over and took his son’s plate… and placed his in front of the boy. Father smiled as the boy’s bread and water became his meal, a bland meal which he ate without complaint.
When that boy grew up, when he became old, which was when I knew him, he often said, “All my life I’ve been blessed to know what Christmas is all about. I know because my father, the one who was responsible for my life and all I am, still loved me when I had disobeyed him. Even more, he loved me in a way which allowed me to be forgiven. He loved me by taking my punishment and making it his.
And if you remember nothing else this message says, I pray you will understand Christmas as that man understood. You, my friend, are a sinner who has disobeyed the clear commands of your Father. In spite of what you have done and the punishment you have earned, He still loves you. So you might be forgiven, so the price of your ransom might be paid, He sent His Son to take your place. That is what happened in Bethlehem and that is what concluded on a cross on the crown of a skull-shaped hill called Calvary.
Between those two events, this Child, grown into a Man would be rejected, lied about, laughed at, beaten, whipped, tempted, spit upon, and hated. Your penalty became His; your death became His, and because He took your punishment, His resurrection from the dead, His eternal life becomes yours. All of that was included in the message of the Christmas angel when he said, “Unto you has been born a Savior.” That’s what Jesus said about Himself in John 6. “I am “He Who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” This Christmas Day that’s something to ponder, isn’t it?
Well, it’s Christmas Day and I hope most of the rushing around is over for you. Although I could be wrong, I’m going to work under the assumption that your Christmas cards have been sent, the presents have been bought, your feasting is prepared and you can, just for a few minutes slow down and ponder this Christmas message. No, don’t be so quick to laugh, or cry, and share with me the lengthy list of things you still have to do. This message is already a third over and you can take a few minutes to ponder the birth of your Savior and contemplate how that long ago event impacts your todays and all your tomorrows.
I encourage you to ponder, because that is what the mother of Jesus did. I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it, but after the Blessed Virgin visited her cousin Elizabeth, Scripture records not a single word from her lips. For example we don’t know how she explained her pregnancy to Joseph, or her parents, or all the neighbors in Nazareth. We don’t know what Joseph and Mary talked about as they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, or how she felt while they were looking for a room in Bethlehem or what she said when the birth pangs began.
Have you ever wondered: “Just what was Mary thinking?” Did she ponder the way the Lord had spoken to her through the angel’s visit? Only once in the last few hundred years had the Lord directly revealed His will and wishes for His people. Did she switch between thinking that she was blessed and knowing how tongues would wag about her pregnancy? Knowing she would give birth to the world’s Savior was wonderful news, but trying to explain to her fiancée or her father that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit’s power was a most unpleasant prospect. No doubt Mary had breathed a sigh of relief when the Lord visited with Joseph and helped him believe the unbelievable. Truly, it would have been wonderful if Luke had let us eavesdrop on those conversations, but he didn’t. What he did do was tell us that “Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart”.
Luke doesn’t let us know, but I’ve often wondered, “What did Mary ponder?” Would she not have given some consideration to the reason Jesus had been born in a stable with all the sights and smells and sounds that a stable bestows? With Herod’s great palace and citadel, the Herodium, only a few hundred yards away, Mary might be excused if she wondered why there had been no room for them in the inn, let alone a palace.
Did she ponder the visit of the shepherds? Did their arrival help her better understand Jesus’ work of redeeming sinful humankind was for all people and not just the privileged few? Did they help her understand Jesus would always be reaching out to the undesirable, the unwanted, the unappreciated; that He would be extending God’s peace to those who were sick in spirit and the sinner whose soul was troubled? Naturally, Mary would have pondered the story of the shepherds who visited her family the night Jesus was born. By now Mary would not have been shocked to hear an angel had spoken to them. Visits by angels had almost become a commonplace occurrence for the people who surrounded her. But for those shepherds to report they had seen a whole company of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!”, well, that must have been something to see.
In her ponderings did Mary ever reflect on all the work to which the Lord had gone for her to arrive in Bethlehem at the right time, at the exact time when Jesus was to be born? Did she muse about how the story of Jesus’ birth had actually begun in Rome, more than 1400 miles away from that Judean hamlet? It had been in Rome that Caesar Augustus, the most powerful man in the western world, wanted to know some information about his people. Armed with facts, which a census would generate, Caesar believed he would be able to make some intelligent calculations, and plans concerning his government’s future. Caesar’s question put into motion his bureaucracy and that bureaucracy ordered a carpenter from Nazareth, and his very-pregnant betrothed to make the 80-mile journey to Bethlehem so they might be counted.
Some would say that Augustus’ order and the Baby Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem were completely coincidental and entirely accidental. All I can say is this: if Jesus had been born before that trip, or during that trip, or any time after that trip, He would not have been your Savior. The facts are these: Jesus was born in Bethlehem as the prophet Micah (5:2) had said He would be. Micah’s Holy Spirit-inspired prediction was only one of more than 300 such prophecies which Jesus would fulfill during His short 33 years of life.
Does that sound like a stretch on my part? On the contrary, it’s not. The prediction of a Bethlehem birth was only one of many prophecies whose mathematical fulfillment absolutely guarantees that Jesus is the One, the Only Redeemer of the world. Indeed, Peter Stoner, Professor Emeritus of Science at Westmont College, did the calculations concerning the probability of Jesus being able to fulfill the Biblical prophecies made about the Messiah. He had his figures reviewed and verified by a committee of the American Scientific Association. Having considered the statistics, Stoner concluded, “Any man who rejects Christ as the Son of God is rejecting a fact, proved perhaps more absolutely than any other fact in the world.” (Peter Stoner, Science Speaks, Chicago: Moody Press, 1969, p.112) If that information had been available to Mary, I wonder what would she have thought.
Mary pondered these things in her heart. I’m certain Mary, like every Mother, would have looked at her Son and considered His future. When you and I get involved in such mental meanderings about our little ones, we are limited by our vision which cannot penetrate the future. Not so for Mary. The prophet Isaiah had given her a glimpse of the life her Son would lead. That ancient voice had said innocent Jesus would be declared guilty, that He would bear humanity’s grief and sorrow and sin; that He would be beaten for our disobedience, chastised for our iniquities, and, although He didn’t deserve it, He would take the punishment which would bring us peace. Mary could be forgiven if she tried not to ponder these dark prophecies which had to be fulfilled. All too soon the predictions would become reality and she would stand at the foot of Jesus’ cross as His life’s blood was poured out as the necessary ransom price for our forgiveness and salvation.
Yes, Christmas is a time for pondering… for Mary and for us. In the short time which remains in this message will you not set aside the Christmas trappings and wrappings to take a look at Christ, the center of Christmas. Let me tell you why? When I was young, my brother, sister, and I always searched for our Easter baskets. One year, after my basket had been found and I was taking inventory of the sugar overload contained therein, my eyes fell upon a great chocolate Easter egg. It was phenomenal in its size. I couldn’t believe the Bunny, or my parents would entrust me with such a prize.
At the time I was just learning to read, and although I sounded out some words on the box, one which defied my ability was the one spelled h-o-l-l-o-w. HOL-LOW. I didn’t know what HOL-LOW was. The first bite told me. The chocolate masterpiece I held in my hand crumbled. It broke in on itself and I was left with some thin and broken chunks of chocolate. Well, HOL-LOW is the what Christmas is for many. It looks wondrous good on the outside, but inside, it’s hollow. Well, God’s Present of a Savior wasn’t hollow and your remembrance of His coming shouldn’t be either.
Having said that, let me give you a Christmas story to ponder. It centers around a mailman… a mailman who was, at this time of year, serving as the “dead-letter man” at his post office. Now you should know being the “dead-letter man” is not always considered to be a position of honor, but in this man’s case, it was just fine. Earlier in the year, it had been in March, his son had passed away unexpectedly. Carrying a terrible pain the father, our postman, had just dropped out of life. He didn’t want to do or be with anyone… especially in that time after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. There were too many painful, powerful recollections of Christmases past.
Then a letter, one addressed to Santa, fell into his hands. Such letters are common that time of year and our postman didn’t find this one exceptional, until he realized it carried his own home address. The letter was from his daughter and this is what it said: “Dear Santa, Our house is a very sad place this year. We’re all sad because my little brother went to heaven. Santa, I don’t need you to bring me anything, but there is one thing I would like you to do. When you come to our house, won’t you pick up my brother’s toys and give them to him. I’ll put them in the living-room next to the tree. You can tell they’re his, because I won’t wrap them in Christmas paper. I know he misses his toys in heaven… especially his Buzz Lightyear. They were friends and he carried Buzz everywhere.
“Santa, I don’t need anything, but if you could, I’d like you to give Daddy something for Christmas. Could you give him something that would make him be like he used to be? If you could, I’d be very happy. Make him laugh and tell me stories again. I’m sorry I don’t know what he needs, but the other day I heard him tell Mom that he thought only eternity could cure him. Could you bring him some of that? If you do, I promise I’ll be very good.” That was the letter.
Now, here’s the point. Santa can’t help that little girl. Santa can’t take toys to heaven and he can’t bring eternity and peace to a mourning heart. Santa doesn’t have the power… nobody does… except for the One who came down from heaven, Jesus Christ, the One whose birth we celebrate today. It is impossible for me, sitting in a radio studio, to say what kind of pain and hurt you are carrying this Christmas day. I can’t tell if you are worried about matters financial; or if you or someone you love has health problems. Are you, like so many military families separated from the people for whom you care? Are you deeply concerned about what troublesome events your unknown tomorrows might bring? Are these the things you ponder?
If so, I encourage you to look into the Bethlehem manger and see your Savior. Look upon the Baby. Do you see His face in simple repose? His eyes will someday see all of your sins. He will see your transgressions, and He will carry them. He will give His life to take them away. Look at the Christ-child. Do you see His hands opening and closing and stretching? The day will come when those hands will be pierced by nails and those nails will place Him on His cross, the cross which should have been yours. Do you see His chest rising and falling comfortably with each breath? Years later, on that cross His breathing will be labored and, in the end, His heart will be pierced by a Roman spear. The Lord wants you to know: “Jesus really lived and He really died and He really rose, so that you might know He is really with you.”
Like Mary, ponder these things. Ponder the cradle and the cross and Christ’s empty tomb. Ponder them and know, no matter what your worry, your concern, your sin, God loves you enough to have sent His Son to save you, to be with you, to bless you, to restore you. Ponder and treasure these things. Ponder and treasure the truth wherein a cradle, a cross, and an empty tomb can make things, can make you better. Ponder: Jesus Christ is God’s Christmas Present to you.
Has Jesus, God’s Christmas Present, come to your house? If not we would like to make sure He does. If you wish this Present, the best of Presents, we will be glad to help you. Please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for December 25, 2011
Topic: Why December 25? (Revisited)Announcer: Well, it’s Christmas Day and here we are with our Speaker Emeritus, Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer and a blessed Christmas, to you Pastor and also to our listeners.
Klaus: Hello, Mark. A blessed Christmas to you. And do we have a “Christmassy” Question and Answer?
Announcer: I don’t know about Christmas per se, but we do have a December 25th question.
Klaus: Ah, let me guess? Is it something like, “Recently I found out that Jesus might not have been born on December 25th. Indeed, I found out the church was responsible for picking that date and they probably stole it from the Romans. Now I wonder–if the Church made up that date, what other things have they made up?”
Announcer: All right. Well, I think you’ve almost hit that word-for-word. I know we’ve discussed this question before, but it was news to this particular listener-and they’re upset about it.
Klaus: As if the church had been pulling a fast one on everybody.
Announcer: Right, and now that they can’t trust what the Church claimed was the date of Jesus’ birthday, what else has the church been making up?
Klaus: It would indeed be a shame if they feel that way; so unnecessary, too.
Announcer: So, do you think we can do anything to help alleviate that feeling?
Klaus: We can certainly try. Mark, if you read through the four Gospels, what date is given for Jesus’ birth?
Announcer: There isn’t one.
Klaus: Correct! Now, why isn’t there one?
Announcer: You would think somebody ought to have kept track of that and written it down somewhere.
Klaus: One might think. But there is a reason why the early church didn’t do so. And that reason is because they didn’t think it was necessary.
Announcer: Why would that be?
Klaus: … because the early church was operating in the belief that Jesus was going to return at any time. That meant their first priority was to get the Word out to the people that Jesus is the promised Savior who lived, died, and rose again to reconcile sinners with God. Something they did very well.
Announcer: And then with Jesus’ imminent return right around the corner, they were focused on getting ready to celebrate His return in the not-so-very-distant future.
Klaus: Absolutely. Along with that, there was another reason in the early church that they didn’t pay special attention to Jesus’ birthday in Bethlehem.
Announcer: Okay. What would that be?
Klaus: Mark, if you and I were living in the early church and you asked me my birthday, what date do you think I would give?
Announcer: Well, if I recall, your birthday is sometime around the middle of October, right; 16th?
Klaus: It is the 20th. But that’s not the day I would have given you. I would have given you the day I was baptized, when the Holy Spirit, through water and word made me born again with faith in the Savior. My spiritual birthday, was the important thing.
Announcer: Okay, so that was a different way of looking at things, a different focus.
Klaus: Absolutely. But then, somewhere around the year 100, the last of the Apostles–that would have been John–the last of them died and Jesus still hadn’t shown up. The passing of each generation changed that focus a little bit. Persecution changed it some more.
Announcer: Now, what did persecution have to do with it?
Klaus: As people were persecuted and died for the faith, unbelievers became more and more interested.
Announcer: Okay. Like that old saying: “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Klaus: Indeed, and those inquiring minds wanted to know some facts about this Jesus who was even worth dying for.
Announcer: But by then nobody was alive who knew for sure the day Jesus had been born.
Klaus: Exactly. If you asked me the birthday of my grandparents, I could only give you one. We forget such things. At any rate, various days were suggested as being right, but nobody knew.
Announcer: Did they just guess?
Klaus: Not quite. Since there was persecution going on, the church leaders thought, “How can we let people celebrate Jesus’ birth in a way that might go relatively unnoticed and minimize persecution but still make the point about Jesus Christ being the Son of God, the Savior of the world?”
Announcer: So it sounds like they, kind of, decided to more or less “disguise” Christmas?
Klaus: Right again. There were a number of ancient pagan festivals already happening around December 25th. Not the least of which was the return of the sun… celebrated after the winter solstice, the day with the least amount of sunlight. Early church leaders said, “We’re celebrating the coming of God’s Son, so why not tie that in with the pagan festival celebration of the sun? And that’s what they did.
Announcer: Has it only been in recent years, then, that some people have thought December 25th was, more or less, written in stone as the actual birthday of Jesus.
Klaus: They have, and it wasn’t. It was a convenient day to remember one of the most important events of history… and it’s the event which is more important than the date.
Announcer: Very good. Thank you, Pastor Klaus, and once again a blessed Christmas to all our listeners. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth” by Martin Luther, arr. Jan Bender. From Heirs of the Reformation (© 2008 Concordia Publishing House)
“On December Five and Twenty” by John Leavitt. From On Christmas Night by John Leavitt (© 2006 John Leavitt)
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” arr. Arthur Harris. From What Child Is This? by the Concordia University Wind Symphony (© 1999 Concordia University-Chicago) Masters Music Publications, Inc.