A Christmas eve message based on Luke 2:8-20.

Something new was in the air. That much the herders of sheep were certain of.

Against the backdrop of a normal worknight a figure mysteriously appeared. From where had it come? And what was the light that surrounded it? The warm glow the being emanated was unlike any star or sun or moon or candle or lantern they had ever seen.

Was this thing –
Man or myth?
Demon or divine?

With little else to go on the herder’s lizard brains quickly took over. The stories they told themselves were ominous. They could not help but assume the worst. Their approach to interpreting this new information was, admittedly, a very human thing to do.

The air around them quickly filled with anxiety, dread, terror, an impending sense of doom. They didn’t know what it was that stood before them. But they were sure – quite positive in fact – that, whatever it was, it could not be good.

They braced for impact.
The mysterious figure then spoke.

Encouraging them to fear not.
Proclaiming to them Good News.
A good news that is for all.

With each word shared the winds that surrounded them, ever so slowly, began to shift. No longer did fear reign supreme.

Instead, the air was filled with something else entirely.

Angels they did hear, on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains

Glooooooooooria
In excelsis Deo

Their chorus echoed across the skyline.
Verse, by verse, by verse.

Even better, the angel shared, this Good News could be experienced firsthand. Don’t just take our word for it, the heavenly host suggested. Just follow these directions –

Go to the city,
Find the manger,
Find the child newly born –

Go, see for yourselves.

As the angels departed the sounds of their prophetic song grew faint. The light they embodied grew dim. The shepherds returned to their darker, more silent night.

What now? The herders couldn’t help but wonder.

Should they stay or should they go now?

The conversation between them couldn’t help but clash.

Staying would bring with it normalcy. A continuation of that which they knew. The fields, the herd, the routine. They were at least familiar with these scenes. The good, the bad, the ugly of it, and all.

But going? The siren’s songs still lingered in their ears. Could acting on this heavenly invitation be as great as the angels professed?

The air around the shepherds filled with excitement. Why yes, they concluded.

Yes.
It could.

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They made great haste.
They imagined seeing the promised one with their own two eyes.

They then found Mary, Joseph, the manger.
They then saw the child newly born.

Upon discovering that what the angels proclaimed was true –

The herders couldn’t help but share with all who would listen, their –

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And heav’n and nature sing
And heav’n and nature sing
And heav’n and heav’n and nature sing.

Mary treasured these words, holding them closely in her heart.

Something new was afoot that first Christmas. As Mary, Joseph and the shepherds gathered around the Christ-child the air was filled not with dread, but with –

Joy,
Hope,
Love.

Today something new is also in the air. A series of somethings really.

Virus variants,
Immigration crises,
Economic inflation,
Racial tensions,
Political discord.

With news constantly pouring in about these challenges – and so many more – it is easy for our lizard brains to take over. When they do we opt for fight, or flight, or freezing in fear.

Often this is what fills the air between us.
Often this is what causes our divides.

When that happens –

May we, like the shepherds,
Listen for the celestial songs,
giving glory to God, in the highest

May we, like the shepherds.
Accept the angelic invitation and go,
seeing God’s promise, for all, ourselves.

For when we do we fill the air between us not with fear,
but with joy, hope, love, and song.

Oh holy child of Bethlehem,
descend to us we pray;
cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.

Merry Christmas everyone. Amen.

In the mid-90s, soon after switching undergrad majors from Engineering to Psychology, I found myself taking a class on generational psychology. This particular branch of social science explores how groupings of people are assigned based on their birth year and what makes each group unique. With generations come shared experiences, values, perspectives, ties that bind.

As a twenty-year-old, living at college among my generation I found the course fascinating.

These days generations are a hot topic. It’s easy to learn about which group we’re part of, and what makes them who they are.

If you’re between ages 76 and 93 you are a member of the Silent Generation. Your cohort saw the fall of Naziism, found success by following rules, and even created rock n roll.

If you’re between 57 and 75, you’re a Baby Boomer. Your generation was more affluent than your parents, you were there for the rise of hippy culture (love me some tye dye t-shirts), and you witnessed the 1960s civil rights era firsthand.

Those of us aged 41 to 56 are GenXers. Our group is best known for increasing numbers of women in the workplace, and being the first to grow up with home computers, video games, MTV, alternative rock too.

Less I exclude any, there are also Millennials (ages 25-40), Gen Z (ages 9-24), and the newest, Gen Alpha, who are newborns up to 8-year-olds.

Generations tend to include 15 to 20 years of people, with borders often defined by changes in birthrate and cultural milestones.

But on occasion social scientists also coin terms for smaller groupings called micro-generations. For example, if you were born between 1980 and 1985 congratulations, you have a very funky label; you are a Geriatric Millennial.

The label suggests you are at the older end of that particular group.

Pastor Bryan is a Geriatric Millennial. Even though he’s six years younger than me. I can’t help but joke about it. Don’t forget to take your Flintstones vitamins, Pastor, just to be safe ?

One of the downsides of generations is they can, at times, lead to unkind comparisons – like I just did with Pastor Bryan – and with it assumptions that one generation is better than the next. Sometimes these assumptions turn into sayings. Occasionally these sayings get codified into memes, a communication style brought to us courtesy of Millennials.

(thank you Millennials for that)

Many digs on other generations begin with the phrase, “when I was your age…”

Here are a few memes about that for fun:

…I had to walk to school, uphill, in the snow, both ways.

Or this one, from the movie Princess Bride, that features an older Peter Falk telling a story to a young Fred Savage…

One more. This one is from the Simpsons, and has some pandemic flair.

I suppose we all consider toilet paper these days more than we used to ?.

Previous Generations
Our text today also has the potential for some substantial generational drama.

The scene begins with Mary, who had just spoken with an angel, and learned she was miraculously with child. The angel then shared that her cousin Elizabeth, who was quite old, and had been barren, was also with child. For nothing is impossible with God, the angel proclaims.

Fresh off this exciting news Mary, who was around 13 years old, and full of vim and vigor, made haste to greet her older relative, who was nearing 90.

In today’s terms Mary would be part of Gen Z.
With Elizabeth solidly in the Silent Generation.

Generationally speaking the two were worlds away.

The distance between their towns was also not small. Mary trekked more than sixty miles to be with her cousin, likely by mule or by foot. Regardless of how she travelled getting there would have been hard.

Upon arriving at her older cousin’s house Mary greeted her enthusiastically.

Given their age difference – the two were born 75 years apart – we might expect crossing such a large divide might create some conflict.

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Perhaps Elizabeth would offer advice, unsolicited, that might raise Mary’s brow.

Perhaps Elizabeth would express jealousy at the young girl, competing for the spotlight. Elizabeth’s pregnancy after all, as an octogenarian, was a miracle too.

Or perhaps Elizabeth could have gotten sentimental about the good old days, and thrown out a few when I was your age zingers herself. Things like –

When I was your age…
– Girls were older before they had kids.
– Daughters got permission before travelling so far.
– Girls travelled with a man. It’s not safe to go alone!

The much older cousin did none of that. Instead, she did what any of us would have been grateful for in the moment.  Elizabeth offered her young relative her blessing.

She –

Blessed Mary among all women.
Blessed the fruit of Mary’s womb.
Blessed she who believed the child was the promised One.

Mary, upon receiving such a wonderful blessing, couldn’t help but to energetically burst into song.

She sang of the mighty one, who had done great things for her.
She sang of mercy for those who fear God, from generation to generation.

She sang of the –
Proud, being scattered;
Powerful, brought down;
Lowly, lifted up;
Hungry, newly filled;
Rich, sent away empty.

This is Mary’s song.
This is the Magnificat.

From generation to generation. Her song made clear the mercy of God wasn’t for just one generation or another. With this lyric Mary proclaimed salvation for all generations that were, are, and one day will be.

The order of events in Luke 1 suggests that Mary, she of Generation Alpha in our modern vernacular, needed that blessing from the Silent Generation of Elizabeth, in order for the promise of salvation to be fulfilled.

Without Elizabeth’s blessing it’s fair to wonder if the Holy Spirit would have inspired Mary to song. Perhaps the cousins would have just sat down, caught up as relatives do, and called it a day.

Instead today’s text serves as a passing of the torch. This passing made it possible for God’s promises to be fulfilled across the long arc of human history, once and for all.

Now
The past few days here at Bethesda have been busy. Friday was a funeral service for Elizabeth Sletten. Yesterday we held a memorial service for Elizabeth Schneckloth, one of Florence Bunker’s daughters. The gospel reading for this weekend’s services center on Mary’s visit with Elizabeth. Do you see the pattern?

With these services I found myself preparing three different messages, reflecting on three different Elizabeth’s. Each had lived a faithful life.  Each had cared for others in God honoring ways. Each were wives and mothers who raised children who followed in their paths.  And each, in their own way, blessed future generations by celebrating and encouraging the gifts of the young.

As our journey through Advent concludes –

Let us celebrate the generation where God has planted us. For we are called to a specific time and place and purpose marked by our Creator, from the very beginning.

Let us put aside the generational spats that separate us from each other and cause harm.

Most importantly, let us bless the generations that follow by encouraging them, supporting them, passing the torch to them to lead.

For when we do we take after Elizabeth. A woman that blessed the new life that grew in front of her.  A new life that would soon be born, and forever change the world.  Amen.

Two days ago I headed to a favorite spot downtown in the hopes of preparing this message. With coffee cup in hand I sat down, opened the laptop, created a new Word document, readied my fingers on the keyboard.
Time to get started.

But wait. Not so fast.

There was a problem.
The store’s Wifi was down.
Bah humbug!

A computer with no access to internet searches, or a thesaurus, or my favorite exegetical helps just wouldn’t do.

So I closed the laptop, stood up, walked outside. It was time to find another spot to write.
A new plan quickly formed. The library!

The library was close, I reasoned.
Internet there is always solid.

They even have a vending machine that doles out ice-cold Diet Mountain Dew.

The decision was made.

Even better the library was close enough to walk.

As I stood near the corner of Main Street and Douglas Ave I tried to recall exactly where the library was. It’s north of Main Street, right? Maybe?

But did I need to go east or west? I chose west, and started walking toward Kellogg.

A block later, feeling increasingly unsure of my route, I decided to ask Google Maps. Google, aka the company that perfected search engines and mapping, and has a net worth nearing 2 Trillion dollars, suggested I was heading the wrong way.
And that I should turn around, when possible, to achieve a better path.

So I did what any reasonable person would do with that new information.

I ignored it.

I assumed it was wrong.
I figured my phone had a bad signal.
I kept wandering west.

Eventually, after another block or two, I did turn north. And as soon as the buildings cleared from my view, far off in the distance, there was the Ames Public Library.

I could almost hear the angels singing from the heavens.

And which direction was the library, you might ask?

It was east!
I’d been wandering the wrong way the entire time.
And just hadn’t known it.

What should have been a brief two-minute, and a fairly straight path from here to here:

Ended up taking closer to ten minutes, and looked more like this:

Many are born with a sense of direction.

My wife has one.
It is wonderful.

Your pastor, unfortunately, does not ?.

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Perhaps you find yourself getting lost sometimes too. Fortunately when it comes to walking around in circles we have plenty of company. Human history is filled with examples of it. Many come right out of scripture.

When Adam and Eve first ate of the fruit and had to exit Eden, they couldn’t help but wander for a while. They made the best of a bad situation until they could once again find their way.

After escaping Egypt the Israelites miraculously found themselves on the cusp of the Promised Land. But they were filled with doubt, afraid to enter. The people then complained endlessly. The people then instead wandered in the wilderness 40 years more.

The Prodigal Son took half of Dad’s inheritance and wandered off into the world to spend it. He later coming home penniless, without friends. It took that trip for the son to realize all he needed could be found right where the journey began.

John
This wilderness wandering is also the focus of today’s text. Luke 3 begins with a very specific setting. The emperor, governor, high priest are all specifically named. By doing so the author gives us a sense of time, place, context. The details tell us where the people of Israel are, right then, right there. They make sure we know the moment is religiously significant. Politically significant. And culturally significant too.

Against this backdrop enters the wily character of John – the sackcloth wearing, burly beard sporting, honeycomb eating prophet that he is. John had heard the word of God, and been asked to carry out a very specific plan.

Baptize the people.
Call them to repent.
Forgive their sins.

So John did. And he did so not from Main Street, but the wilderness. The people came from their cities, towns and places of employment. They went out of their way to find him.

In doing so the troubled, winding paths the people had been taking were made straight. For baptism had reconciled them with their God, with their neighbor. The rough ways of their days were made smooth. They now knew a savior, who would help them along their way, would be with them soon.

Now
Sometimes it’s difficult to find the good news of scripture when the characters, location and time are so far removed from our vantage point today. To help bridge that gap I ask you to consider a slightly different version of Luke 3:1-6, the Ames, Iowa 2021 edition:

“In the first year of the first term of President Joseph Biden, when Kim Reynolds was governor of Iowa, and John Haila was mayor of Ames, and the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton was presiding bishop of the ELCA, and the Rev. Amy Current was bishop of the Southeastern Iowa Synod, the word of God came to us – right here – at Bethesda Lutheran.

God’s word asks us to repent, to forgive and be forgiven, to be made new. God’s word then goes out, from the mouths of all who embrace it, into our towns, schools, homes, offices, stadiums. God’s word goes over our rolling hills, across our rivers, along our winding highways. In each destination the good news of Jesus Christ was proclaimed to all.

For as it is written, God’s word cries out in the wilderness:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make your paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
Every hill made low,
The crooked made straight,
Rough ways made smooth;
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’

Here ends this reading. With the slightly updated version perhaps we can better hear the political, religious and cultural implications the text has for us in the here and now.

Politically we watch as leaders debate gun violence, inflation, and how much we should care for the people in our land. What they do, or don’t do with these societal considerations reflects on who we, the people, truly are.

Religiously we note that, according to a recent study, for the first time in decades, white mainline Protestants outnumber white evangelicals in the U.S. That’s quite a change. The religious landscape we find ourselves in is shifting in some important, meaningful ways.

And culturally? We can’t help but keep a wary eye on our long, lingering pandemic, what with its waves, variants, hospitalizations and death tolls that continue to climb. To which we can only wonder how long, oh Lord, how long?

It is against this current political, religious and cultural backdrop where we find good news.

It is the good news of Christ that…
– Comes amid our messes, offering hope, peace, joy, love.
– Uses wilderness times to bring renewal, rebirth, clarity, purpose.
– Finds us when we are lost, and gently redirects us to a better Way.
– Offers to turn us around, when possible, to achieve a better Path.
– Promises new life. Even as we feel the pull to wander ever farther from the beliefs and behaviors that bring us closer to our God.
– Calls us to proclaim this good news to others, so that all may experience the salvation of God.

Let us pray.

Dear Lord,
Come into our world as it is, in all its beauty, all its mess. Flatten the mountains of inequality that divide us, for they are many. Make straight the crooked paths we find ourselves wandering toward. Help us smooth out the patches of roughness between us that needlessly separate your people. Amidst the wilderness we find ourselves in, embolden us proclaim to all your beloved Children that salvation is coming, and soon. And never let us forget that your salvation has been with us all the while. Amen.