Scripture can be found here and here…
We have waited and waited for this night—one of the most special and beautiful nights of the year. This is the night when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus, and it’s a celebration we have been planning for a long time.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
I can imagine that you might like to have a party. And you might invite all your favorite people to celebrate with you.
On that first Christmas, the night Jesus was born, God invited some very special people to the party—the shepherds!
Now think what it must have been like for the shepherds, out in the fields with their flocks of sheep.
Maybe it was cold. Maybe it was boring!
Whatever it was, once the angels arrived, it was something else.
First there was one angel—remember what they said? Don’t be afraid! That’s what angels always say—have you noticed? Don’t be afraid.
Do you remember what else they said?
They said,
I’m going to tell you something wonderful, something to make everybody happy!
Today is born a savior, Christ the Lord.
God loves us so much,
God came on down to earth in Jesus,
to be with us, and to love us, and to help us, and to guide us.
So Go! the angel said. Go to Bethlehem! See the newborn baby Jesus!
And they went. They were the first guests at Jesus’ birthday party.
And this was pretty amazing, because shepherds were really outcasts. They were grubby from being outside in the elements all the time. They really didn’t clean up for parties. They were a little like the kids no one picks for a game of kickball. They came as they were, and not everybody wanted them there.
But God did. Because Jesus would spend his whole life welcoming people who often weren’t welcomed.
So, what else usually happens at a birthday party? I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking forward to the cake, and I like playing games, too.
When we’re old enough, we might have cake at our birthday party. We might play games. But you know, a brand new baby, a newborn, can’t really eat cake, and they can’t play games either—although soon he will know how to play peek-a-boo, which is usually everyone’s first game.
What else usually happens at a birthday party?
We bring presents.
Now, you have probably heard of the Magi—the Wise Men, or Wise Ones who go to visit Jesus. But they’re not there yet—they have to travel such a long way, they won’t arrive until January 6. But when they do come, they bring presents.
Do you remember what they bring? They bring three things.
They bring Gold, and Frankincense, and Myrrh.
We like to think about what those gifts meant. They remind us of all the remarkable things about Jesus—that he was a King, that he was both God, and human.
But these gifts were also very useful.
Gold is precious, and it’s expensive. Even today people use it as money. Gold would help Jesus’ family to get the things they need.
Frankincense was burned during worship in the Temple, because people believed that God liked how it smelled. But Frankincense could also be used for coughs and upset stomachs, and even to help women who have just had babies, to get stronger again.
Myrrh was an ointment—maybe you have some ointments in a first aid kit at home, things like Neosporin or Bacitracin? Myrrh could be used for healing cuts and scrapes and even diaper rash.
The Magi, the Wise Ones, brought these gifts that will be really helpful to Jesus’ family.
What about us? What gift could we bring? What could the son of God possibly want from us?
There’s a Christmas carol we’re not singing tonight, but which talks about what we can bring to Jesus on his birthday.
It goes,
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.
If I were a Wise Man I would do my part.
But what I can, I give him: Give him my heart.
That’s all Jesus wants from us. He wants our hearts, the part of us that is loving and strong. And if we give Jesus our heart, that means, we’re trying to follow him. We’re trying to be like him, we are always thinking about how we can be helpers. That’s a question you could talk about with your family. How can we be helpers? How can we give Jesus our heart?
But the truth of the matter is, Jesus turns everything upside down. We might think of what we can give Jesus, but it turns out, he is the gift. As we celebrate his birthday, we receive the present of being reminded how much God loves us.
And that’s not only true on Christmas. That’s the truth every day.
Thanks be to God. Amen.