"The Chiastic Gospel" The Nativity of Our Lord Christmas Eve December 24, 2013 Luke 2:1–20
The Christmas story begins in a very non-spiritual, non-holy way. It begins at the top, with Caesar Augustus. There is no one more powerful than him. And so he does what will bring greater glory and wealth to his kingdom, he decrees that all the world should be registered. His kingdom is expansive, and though it doesn’t include every person on the earth, decreeing that all the world should be registered isn’t much of an exaggeration. A wide net is cast and people from all over the known regions of Augustus’ reign come pouring into their home towns. >From this wide net, Luke tightens it a little, specifying that this was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. In telling the story of the birth of Christ Luke begins to narrow his scope. We go from the whole world and the ruler at the top, to a regional official. And in response to the decree Luke tells us that “all went to be registered, each to his own town.” One of those of the all that went to be registered was Joseph. Luke says that “Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.” Were it not for Jesus, for God and His plan of salvation, we would not have known Joseph. He was an ordinary person who got caught up in something extraordinary. Caesar Augustus didn’t know him, nor did he care about him. All he needed was all of these thousands upon thousands of individuals to be registered for his census. But Luke cares. Of all the people in the world being registered Luke tells us about one person, this individual Joseph. The wide net he has casts has now gotten considerably tighter. This one particular person, Joseph, has made his way to a backwater town called Bethlehem. But even this is broader than it can be. We are told of Joseph by Luke because of the one Joseph is betrothed to. This is why we need to know of this census on the part of Caesar Augustus; this why we need to know that Joseph went to a particular town, and though insignificant, was none other than the city of David, the great king of God’s people in the Old Testament and the one through whom the promised Messiah would come. Luke tells us Joseph went to this town “because he was of the house and lineage of David.” We need to know that Joseph and his bride-to-be made their way down to Judea to that little town of Bethlehem. Why she needed to be there is because she was with child. Luke has narrowed down his story to the crux of the matter. Mary is going to give birth, and it won’t be where she lives. It will be in this town Joseph must go to for the census. The city of David is where Mary’s child must be born as He will be the Son of David. This is where Luke has been narrowing things down to. Now that he has done this he can tell us what all this is about. “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” Having begun with extravagance and power in Caesar Augustus, and an event that caused people from all over to travel to their home towns, it is all focused down to this simple stable and a common young girl and her giving birth to her firstborn son. In that manger she laid her baby because, Luke tells us, there was no place for them in the inn. Everything Luke has told us, everything he has been building up to, has come to this: a simple birth in a simple stable in a simple town because there was no place for Mary’s baby like there was for Caesar Augustus. It’s striking the way Luke describes the birth of Jesus. He doesn’t give His name. He doesn’t yet tell us who He is or why this birth is significant. At the point of His birth simple details are related. A birth, swaddling cloths, being laid in a manger. Luke now broadens his scope once again. “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” As Luke goes out from the birth of Jesus he does so by starting off small. Shepherds were ordinary, certainly not in the upper class of society. When telling the birth of Jesus Luke brings us out from there by showing us that in shepherds we see a message from God that Jesus was born not only for those in high places but for the lowly, the simple, the ordinary. As Luke goes out further from there he shows us that those shepherds were visited by a heavenly being. “And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.” The shepherds were certainly prepared for visitors passing through, perhaps wolves, perhaps people traveling. But an angel from heaven was not on their list of visitors to expect. This angel did what angels often do in the Scriptures, he told the shepherds that they didn’t need to be afraid. Being visited by heavenly beings understandably brought fear to people, and these shepherds were wondering what would happen to them. Luke takes us farther and farther out now, in relating to us the message of the angel: “And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” Now we see the significance of the birth of that baby in Bethlehem. Now we see how Caesar Augustus may have thought his census brought glory only to himself and his kingdom, but in fact it served to bring about the birth of the one who is the Lord. I wonder how all the people of the land thought of the decree from Augustus to be registered; I imagine they didn’t receive it as good news. To the shepherds the angel gives news that he calls good news of great joy, and it is news for all the people. The news is that “unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” But Luke is not done. He continues to broaden his scope. “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 among those with whom he is pleased!’” If the shepherds were frightened at the appearance of one angel, I imagine a whole host of them wasn’t exactly comforting. Yet once again in the midst of fear and uncertainty, the message of the angels rings out as they praise God and say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Caesar Augustus is no match for this one, as Luke has now brought us not only way out in his scope but far beyond how he began. If Caesar Augustus is powerful, he’s an ant compared to the God who is in the highest. And this God, the true God, gives peace to all people. He does it in the person of His Son. The glory given to God in the highest is shown in that little baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. The peace of God for all people is given in the firstborn son of Mary. The shepherds went themselves to see this baby. The shepherds spoke of what they had heard and seen of the angels. All who heard it were amazed. It’s still an amazing story. Luke told it because it is the story. It is the very Gospel. It is not just a story but the very message of God to us, to all people. The way the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to write the birth account of Jesus is using a structure called a chiasm. If you diagram the structure it looks like an ‘X’. Beginning with a broad scope, each detail narrows down the scope until it gets to the center point where both lines of the X meet. That point in the story Luke tells is the birth of Jesus. From that point the scope broadens again, going out from there, showing that His birth is for all people. This chiastic structure is not just a literary device. It is a picture of the way God works in history. The entire history of the world can be seen in this chiastic way, showing us that it is in the Gospel that we see the meaning of Christmas. All history in the Old Testament goes from a broad scope and continually narrows down until it reaches Jesus. Then in Jesus the scope broadens again, Jesus’ birth being for all people. Jesus being born wasn’t the end point. His being born was for the purpose of living. He lived on this earth as you and I do. Everything Jesus did in His life continually reduced the scope down to the point where He did what He had come to do, the reason why He was born. Everything He did meets its fulfillment in His suffering and death on the cross. If His birth was of humble means, His suffering and death was something that Caesar Augustus never would have submitted to, let alone most people. Crucifixion was reserved only for the worst criminals, and yet when Jesus suffered He suffered in the place of them and Augustus and you and me and everyone. This is what the angel was referring to when he said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” His suffering and death on the cross is how He is Christ the Lord, the Savior of the world. This is what the angels were talking about when they spoke of peace on earth at the birth of Jesus. In the suffering and dying Lord, peace of God is given to all people. >From there the scope broadens, because Jesus rises from the dead. He lives and reigns eternally. He is Lord of all and yet He is the Lord who doesn’t reign as Caesar Augustus did, but rather in the humility He acted in in being born in a stable and laid in a manger. He reigns and loves us by forgiving us in the chiastic Gospel, the message of God that is centered in His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. SDG -- Pastor Paul L. Willweber Prince of Peace Lutheran Church [LCMS] 6801 Easton Ct., San Diego, California 92120 619.583.1436 princeofpeacesd.net three-taverns.net It is the spirit and genius of Lutheranism to be liberal in everything except where the marks of the Church are concerned. [Henry Hamann, On Being a Christian] _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
