Sermon for Holy Christmas Day
The Infant's Hand Upon the Lips
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord
Jesus Christ! AMEN. Today is the Holy Day of Christmas, the day on which we
rejoice that Mary "gave birth to her firstborn Son and wrapped in Him
swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger."
Dear Christian friends,
Some people are drawn to young children because children remind
them of everything they used to be: unencumbered, unconcerned,
unquestioning. When I hold an infant or small child in my arms, I usually
feel the urge to press his hands against my cheeks and to kiss his tiny
fingers. A couple of days ago, I asked a friend what people might wish to
receive from such closeness to a child, it took my friend about two seconds
to think of his answer: Innocence, he said.
The problem with the aura of innocence around a newborn child is
that the aura does not remain for terribly long. Acorns never fall very far
from oak trees and, for the most part, children eventually turn to be just
like their parents. Like mom and dad, the children end up seeing things they
wish they had not seen, saying things they feel sorry for saying, and doing
things they regret ever doing. Like their parents, a growing child collects
with each passing year another layer of memories that long to be forgotten,
additional wounds of sorrow, and new wrinkles of worry. Sometimes the image
of a child's innocence breaks to pieces like dropped glass. Other times, the
image of innocence gradually erodes like sandstone in a riverbed. Either
way, innocence always disappears.
Maybe that is what makes Christmas such an important time for
going to Church, whether you are a regular member or an occasional guest.
Christmas is not about the innocence of children. Christmas is about the
innocence of one Child in particular. Mary "gave birth to her firstborn Son
and wrapped in Him swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger." Nestled in
the dusty hay is the Infant who outshines all infants, like us in every way
"yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). Here is the Child born of His mother and
yet the spitting image of God His Father, "merciful and gracious, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Psalm 86:15).
The shepherds "went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the
baby lying in a manger." We need not feel jealous of these men who get to
see their newborn King face to face, pressing His tiny hands to their
weathered lips. Jesus came to these men by means of a miracle, and the same
Jesus likewise comes also to you, also by means of a miracle. Your Lord's
presence for you in a manger is no greater and no more significant and no
more real than His presence for you here in His Word and in His Holy
Communion. The innocence of this Child is for you, no less than it was for
those who gathered at His improvised cradle. His innocence will not diminish
with time or with His experience of grief. In the innocence of your Christ
there is no remorse for words spoken or actions taken, because every Word
spoken and every action taken in this Child's life is for you.
When I hold an infant or small child in my arms, I usually feel
the urge to press his hands against my cheeks and to kiss his tiny fingers.
That little, perceived aura of innocence in a newborn baby gives me a faint
wisp of something I am no longer am-but then the image dissipates when I
hand the child back to his mother.
Not so with the innocence of your Christ, which has been given to you and is
yours now and forever! His is not a perceived innocence, but a true
innocence that gets laid upon you like a blanket, covering the wrinkles and
scars of your lost innocence. His is not an aura or image of innocence, but
it is innocence in its purest form, spoken into your ears and poured into
your throat. His is not an innocence that disappears like winter breath,
either when the shepherds leave His manger or when you depart from your
Christmas worship. The Christ Child's innocence lives and dwells within you
because He Himself lives and dwells within you, despite all the things about
you that make you feel empty of innocence.
Merry Christmas, Christians! The peace of God which passes all understanding
guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
___________________________________________________________________________
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