Not Politically Correct

Luke 2:8-20

8 That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

For my last credit of my college career I was fortunate to get to go to Europe. Paris was one of the places we got to explore for a couple of days. We were at the Eiffel tower taking pictures and I saw an ice cream truck. I decided I would put my seven years of french classes to the test. I wanted to order a double of scoop of chocolate. I ended up getting a double scoop with peach and strawberry. Obviously, I didn’t do to well. My understanding of this language was …. how do you say it …… “mauvais” (bad).  Je parle mal francais.

To communicate, it’s important to know and understand the countries language. To be able to communicate the message of Christmas we must understand the language of Christmas. We know the Christmas story but do we really understand it’s meaning? Do we really understand that are ability to translate this story to others can change that’s person’s history? Do we really understand that Jesus is the only true king, the only savior of the world, the only Christ?

The Shepherds understood the meaning of the story. By the end of the day, the angel’s announcement to the shepherds flies directly in the face of Ceasar’s claim to power by saying that this baby was the true king. The Shepherds UNDERSTOOD – which means their heart and head connected – that this baby was the true king. They understood how significant this birth was and as we will learn later – they couldn’t keep quiet about it.

In vs 8-10, angels came to some of the most uneducated and incompetent men (shepherds) of the time. Shepherds of Jesus time were considered, by the general populace, generally untrustworthy. Even worse, their work made them ceremonially unclean because they had daily contact with carcasses of animals and came into contact with all sorts of unclean animals. The shepherds were humbled by their low social standing; they had no place (no status) and very little value to their society. Shepherds were also considered “incompetent”. According to Jewish law, no one should ever feel obligated to rescue a shepherd who has fallen into a pit. They were basically treated like slaves who had very little human value. They were basically broken, unclean, people who could not be fixed or restored to humanity.

When the angel appears to them, he makes an announcement, “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” In other words, what I am about to tell you is extremely important.

What exactly did these shepherds understand? They understood vs. 11,

“The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”

All three of these words- savior, Christ, and Lord had been used by Romans to describe Caesar Augustus when he took the throne in Rome. The people put their trust in their king.

By the time this scene was over, the shepherds understood and were convinced that he was THE Savior. Not Ceasar. Not anyone else. Not the other gods that were being worship. They understood this was not just another baby. This was not just another child who will grow into a man and wait for the God’s salvation. He IS God’s salvation – the Savior who had been promised.

It’s important to understand – there is only one Savior. He came as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and was laid in a manger.

What about all these other religions that proclaim they have the way to God?  Well, let me politically incorrect –  they are wrong.

Ed Stetzer, who is a representative of Christianity  during the world religion conference, has a Buddhist friend he sits next to during these conferences. They spend most of the conference trying to convince each other that the other is wrong. Both of them chuckle when the topic comes up on how our religions can work together.  At one particular conference Ed S. spoke up. In essence he said, “there is no way we can work together. I am here to convince the world that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, and trying to convince my Buddhist friend he is the Savior of the world. My Buddhist friend is trying to convince me Jesus is just a savior and that his way to God is the right one.”

In my student ministry days, one of my students left my group to join the Mormon church.  I was furious and said some things that I can never take back.  In my last meeting with her, she explained to me why she did what she did. She was looking for more truth and they offered her more truth.My response to her was, “I sure hope your right and I’m wrong.”

The shepherds understood and were convinced that He was the Christ, “The anointed one”. It is the Greek version of the Hebrew word “Messiah”. This baby is not just someone who will grow up to try to save God’s people – lots of leaders had been trying to do this. This is not just someone who will save on his own power, this baby is God’s solution to the sin problem in our world. No law can change people’s hearts. No religion can change people’s heart. Only Jesus. The Crusades during the 11th and 13th century were an attempt the convince Muslim’s that Christianity is the only way. The Crusades were an attempt to convince the world by force the Christianity should be the world religion. It didn’t work.

The shepherds understood that this baby is not just someone sent by God, He is God. He is the Lord Himself, the King. He is leader and ruler. He is not a ruler who forces himself on anyone.  Jesus was, “God in – the – flesh”. He didn’t become God. He didn’t become Lord. He is …..

Let’s move on …..

17 After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

The shepherds reaction to this good news is to go find the baby. Once they find the baby, they can’t stop talking about Him. When you understand who he is and the significance of his birth is – well, you just can’t keep quiet. Their reaction to the good news reveals to me that they understood they were broken and unclean people who could not be fixed. The world around them told them they were nothing. The Jewish law reminded them daily that they were unclean. The society in which they lived put them below the low end of the social ladder.  They had no grand illusions of their importance to God. They had no grand illusions of how important they were. They had no grand illusions of having it all together. They had no money they could depend on.  They had no power to influence anyone. Society didn’t want them. Nobody really cared about them. All they had was God.

Like the shepherds, we are basically broken and unclean people who cannot be fixed and cannot restore our relationship with God on our own. The only difference is that many of us have these grand illusions we can fix ourselves or have it all together, and worse, we allow pride to be our guide.

The only way we come to the reality that all we have is God  is when we have have been broken, rejected by others, or have done something wrong that can’t be fixed by human hands or thoughts.  If you don’t believe this is true, answer this question, “Who do people cry out to when they have no thing or no one else to turn to?” The answer: God. In those moments, we begin to understand the Christmas story. When God shows up, you experience a joy unspeakable. You experience joy that cannot be explained. In other words, you are beginning to understand the Christmas story. When you understand the significance of this birth,  there is a joy that wells up inside you … you understand, “he is my savior!”, “He is my Messiah!”, “he is the leader and ruler of my life.” “He is God.”

The shepherds show show us how we to can begin to understand the Christmas story.

• You must first realize that you are broken and you need a savior.

I met with a person this week who I hadn’t seen at church  in a while. She explained to me why she hadn’t been at the church. She was working through some tough issues and needed to spend some time at Cornerstone (local counseling center). She recognized that she was broken and she needed help. She admitted she was broken and has started to do something about it. She has begun the process of healing. When faced with similar circumstances we try to do a lot of things to fix ourselves or fill that longing in our heart. The reality is only Jesus can turn her (and our) brokeness into something beautiful.  No one or nothing else can.

• Accept who you are. Accept your faults. Accept your limitations. Accept the fact that you are created in the image of God.

You may not be the prettiest, the most talented, or fit the societal norm, but you are who you are, and God will use you the way he has designed you.

Not making any sports teams growing up was difficult for me. I loved sports. I loved playing sports. I never got  picked first or near the top and it always bothered me. Because of my height and my nerdy appearance, I was always picked last. As my life unfolded, I have realized that God had something much better planned for me but I needed to accept the fact that I would never become a college athlete before His plan could work.

• Admit you never will have it all together – you need help.

We spend more time and money on our image and what we want people to think about us than we do on anything else. If we are honest …. all the stuff we have and all the things we do to ourselves … we really don’t need. We have been convinced we need it by a company who knows how to play on our insecurities or play on our desire to keep up with the Jones’.

When you realize you are broken, when you accept the way God designed you, when you admit you will never have it all together, you begin to understand why Jesus came to earth as a helpless babe. You begin to understand how much grace God has shown you. You begin to understand the phrase, “I once was blind but now I see.” You begin to understand the language Christmas is actually speaking:

Jesus is the savior of the world.
Jesus is the Messiah.
Jesus is Lord.

When the shepherds got this, they couldn’t keep quiet.

Despite the many  who do not understand the story of Christmas,

• God wants our brokeness
• God wants our limitations
• God wants our insecurities

Why? Like the shepherds, people will be astonished at what He has done in your life.