"Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us" (Lk. 2:15).

Home, journey, gift, miracle: all words which describe Christmas, both the Church’s festival and our experience of it.

First, home: the place from which we come, the place we inhabit. Each of us has the place we begin, the start of our story. For some us, that home is here; for others, it is distant in either time or place. We have experiences that make us who we are. All of that is our "home", the territory from which we spring. Mary and Joseph have such a home, sets of experiences that God has given them so that they might do his will. God has carefully prepared them, over a course of centuries stretching out years before their own births. So God has carefully prepared you for responding to him. He has given you your home, who you are, what you will become.

Then there is the journey. Some of us have come a distance to be here tonight; some, perhaps, not as far. But there is a journey for us in either case. Mary and Joseph have a journey, a progression, to accomplish their call from God. They came a distance; the shepherds traveled; the wise men followed a star. We too have our journey, a progression to travel, and God is taking us from where we began to our true home. When we arrive, we will recognize him as our king.

Gift: the very season of gift, a time when we’re conscious of gifts that have been showered upon us. We cannot account for all we have by attributing them to our own power. "Gift" is about relationship, both between human beings and with God. Human life is built upon gift, and if you think your account book is even, square with the universe, you’re wrong. You have received much more than you’ve given, and everyone is in the same situation. Creation is a gift, salvation is a gift, being here is a gift. The child born in Bethlehem is a gift, a sign of relationship, a gift we are meant to receive.

Finally, miracle. God works in this birth a miracle, a suspension of the ordinary ways of the world. The child is born without a human father, an unaccountable thing in our human experience. These things are done so that we may become this child’s brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of God. There are miracles all around us if we have eyes to see them and the ears to hear them. Pause tonight to look around and see them; take a moment to listen as you head home. For tonight we journey and we come home; we discover again our relationship with God and with each other; we give gifts and receive the gift of divine life.

The Rev’d John Bauerschmidt is Rector of Christ Church, Covington.

Return to Recent Sermons