On Christmas Eve, we look at all of
the signs of hope that are so richly described. The darkness will be eradicated
and there will be joy. The yoke of their burden will be broken, and all of the
signs of war will be burned and thrown away. A child is born whose authority
will grow. There will be endless peace for David’s throne. Justice and
righteousness will reign forevermore. . . These are wonderful things we should
continue to expect. –– Carrie Lewis
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
Luke places Jesus’ birth in the
midst of imperial edicts that affected occupied Israel and in the context of
political struggle, taxation and the imperial and religious claims of Rome.
While Luke’s point is clearly theological—having Jesus born in the city of
David and born in poor circumstances as the manger becomes the bed for the
Savior—the details of the historical presentation are problematic. If Jesus was
born in the days of Herod, the registration was not until at least ten years
later, the registration was not for the whole world, but for Judea, and it was
not the practice of Rome to have the people go back to their hometown. Ultimately,
however, the historical details are not what is important, but the good news
that comes from the setting.
. . . Jesus’ meager beginning,
wrapped in bands of cloth and laid in a manger because there was no room for
them in the inn, previews Jesus’ own statement in 9:58 that ‘‘the Son of Man
has nowhere to lay his head.’’
In Luke’s version of Jesus’ birth,
it is not kings who come to visit Jesus, but shepherds, a group of people who
were thought to be the lower class in Hellenistic society. This fits with
Luke’s desire to show God’s affirmation of the poor and the despised and
fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1 where the poor have good news proclaimed
to them. . .
For Luke, this is a story that,
while starting in Galilee and Judea, will extend to all the nations of the
world. –– Carrie Lewis
Isaiah 9:2-7
The names of ‘‘Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’’ (v 6) were also used as
coronation names for Egyptian kings at the time of their accession. . . . However,
this royal psalm has been transformed to carry a messianic tone. . . no longer .
. . looking back to a king who is the familiar royal figure. . . Now, this hymn
is being used to provide messianic hope for the period after the exile, the
period of darkness that is described in 8:21–22. –– Carrie Lewis
Titus 2:11-14
For the writer of Titus, it is
important that God’s salvation is for all. . . It is also important for the
people to realize that God’s grace has transforming qualities enabling God’s
people to ‘‘renounce impiety and worldly passions. . . ’’ (v 12). . . . Salvation
has come through Christ giving himself for our redemption, and we still wait
for our Savior. It is this salvation through the life of Christ and the
expectation of Christ’s Second Coming that give this night of Jesus’ birth its
power—otherwise this is just another sentimental birth of a baby. –– Carrie
Lewis
Carrie L.
Lewis La Plante is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Indianola,
Iowa.
Homily Service 39, no. 1 (2005): 51-60.
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