Christmas Eve Meditation 2025, Colchester Federated Church (Luke 2:1-20)

As we gather together on this Christmas Eve night we know the timeless story of Jesus’ birth somehow made new in our retelling.  We remember that a decree was issued by Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus calling for the world to be registered.  The emperor ordered a census to establish a head count for taxation and military conscription purposes.  Joseph had to travel from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea to be registered with his fiancé Mary.  After the long journey the time came for Mary to deliver her child.  Luke shares, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.”[1]

In truth, Mary and Joseph would have arrived in Bethlehem and sought out a rented room, a guest room in someone’s home.  We often hear that there “was no place for them in the inn.”  Though it’s not as if there were cute Airbnbs the holy family was seeking to reserve.  When studying in the Holy Land years ago our guide Elias took our group to the Shepherd’s Field in Beit Sahour on the outskirts of Bethlehem.  This spot would have been on the edge of the Judean wilderness in Jesus’ time.  We learned that shepherds kept their sheep in caves for protection and stood guard outside the entrance.  A better translation of the Christmas story (according to Elias) was that there was no place for the holy family in the “upper room.”  So it could be that Mary gave birth to her firstborn son in the deepest part of a cave where animals would have been sheltering alongside them.  It could be that it was inside a sheep cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem that Mary’s act of embodied love took place.  Mary said yes to vulnerability, risk, and a love that upended the world.  Mary’s story shows that incarnation requires human courage.[2]

The fact that Mary probably gave birth to Jesus in a sheep cave and placed her infant child on a borrowed bed of straw should not be lost on us on Christmas Eve.  Because it matters that this is how our Savior came into our world—in the deepest recesses of a cave with friendly beasts nearby.  The circumstances of Jesus’ birth would have entailed a tiresome 80-mile journey on foot.  And then to show up to a crowded town where there were no guest rooms and to seek shelter in a sheep cave where Mary would give birth to Jesus—we would be hard pressed to set a more modest scene. 

From the moment that Jesus is born into this world and placed in that manger we can understand that Jesus is meant to be there.  His life and purpose in being born into our midst is rooted in humility.  As Jesus would go on to teach, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”[3]  Because it matters that God chose to be born not in an ornate palace, but born into poverty and political uncertainty.  The juxtaposition is startling as this baby is also the light of the world.  This is the one Isaiah foretold, “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”[4]

When the scene changes in our Christmas story, we find those shepherds living in their fields keeping watch over their flocks by night.  These shepherds were probably not the landowners who own those flocks and fields.  These shepherds were probably low-paid wage earners or even slaves whose job was protecting the flocks at night.[5]  The angels don’t appear to the rich and powerful any more than Jesus is born in luxurious comfort.  Instead the message of the birth of the Messiah is announced to modest folks who are protecting the sheep entrusted to their care in the darkness of the night.  All of whom make room for a weary family in need of shelter. 

Jesus is born in humble circumstances.  His birth is announced to “lowly” people.  This is indeed “good news of great joy for all the people.”[6]  Part of what makes it so is the humble circumstances of Jesus’ birth and the realization that God chose to be born among us in poverty and displacement.  Everyone is included in our sacred story, from Mary and Joseph to the angels to the shepherds to the animals to the magi who will eventually make their way to meet the Messiah.

It reminds me of a story once shared by UCC Minister Ken Bailey.  Reverend Ken grew up in the Quaker tradition and made his way over to the United Church of Christ.  The church of his childhood did not have Christmas pageants, but the church of his adulthood most certainly did.  Reverend Ken had his first role in a Christmas pageant in his 40s when the child playing Joseph ended up being sick and unable to perform.  He recalled being given a costume and told where to stand.  The director instructed, “Be quiet.  Stay still.  Act adoring.”  Through participating in a Christmas pageant for the first time and observing the effects this participation had on the actors and actresses, Reverend Ken came to this realization that there can be a role for everyone in the Christmas story.  That is part of what makes it so beautiful. 

What sealed the deal for this appreciation and fuller understanding was a beloved kindergartener in that same production who opted to wear a feathery swan costume.  Now this costume obviously stood out in comparison to the mostly gray and brown manger scene.  The director asked the pastor to please discourage this child from such an ornate (historically inaccurate) costume.  So Reverend Ken kneeled down to get eye-level with this child and wondered if she would perhaps consider being another animal like a donkey or a sheep or a cow or a goat or a camel.  The child simply declared, “I’m a swan.”  Her pastor gently explained that swans would not have been present in Bethlehem when Jesus was born.  And this child looked at her pastor and with calm conviction asked, “Don’t you think swans love Jesus too?”  And that was that.  The swan was in![7]

This is the hope of Christmas.  The birth of Jesus Christ, the light of the world, is a story for us too.  Everyone is invited to the manger—Mary and Joseph, cows and sheep, shepherds and magi, angels from the realms of glory, you and me, even the swans.  Everyone is invited to go now to Bethlehem and to see what has taken place.  Merry Christmas!  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

[1] Luke 2:7, NRSVUE.
[2] Character Spotlight of Mary in The Will to Dream Commentary & Preaching Guide from Illustrated Ministry, © 2025 Illustrated Ministry, LLC.
[3] Matthew 5:5, NRSVUE.
[4] Isaiah 9:6, NRSVUE.
[5] O Wesley Allen Jr., Commentary on Luke 2:8-20, Working Preacher, December 25, 2016, https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2996
[6] Luke 2:10, NRSVUE.
[7] Kenneth F. Baily, “A role for everyone,” The Christian Century, November 28, 2012.

Photo by Juan Apolinar on Unsplash