A sermon on Luke 2:1-7 for Christmas Eve. Delivered by Pastor Caleb Strutz.

“It’s not Christmas without ________.” If you’ve been at a family gathering gone wrong, you’ve probably heard that blank filled in with things that seem ridiculous and inconsequential. “It’s not Christmas without the ham! It’s not Christmas without the cookies! It’s not Christmas without matching Christmas jammies!” We can chuckle about these things when such a statement is purely the result of some frayed nerves and the pressure for everything to be perfect. But I think each and every one of us has something more serious that it’s not Christmas without. It’s not Christmas without giving presents. It’s not Christmas without spending time with family. It’s not Christmas without…. you fill in the blank.

There’s lots of things, some silly, some serious, that we can use to define what Christmas is. The challenge is to keep Christmas simple. To focus on the essentials and not become distracted by everything else crowding around it. As we look at the very first Christmas, we see how simple it was and what really defines Christmas.

I. What It’s Not

So I know that focusing on what Christmas is all about is pretty cliché. I don’t even want to know how many cheesy Hallmark movies have been made about Christmas not being about the tinsel, the tree, or the toys. Even the secular world is harping against the commercialization of Christmas. I don’t need to tell you that Christmas isn’t about the physical stuff, although sometimes we still do get distracted by those things. Instead, we are told, Christmas is about family and generosity and love.

But there are still problems with that definition, too. If Christmas is all about family, what happens when you have to celebrate Christmas alone? If Christmas is all about generosity, what happens when you can’t afford anything under the tree? If Christmas is all about love, what happens when the family situation is tense and uneasy? Is Christmas still Christmas even if you don’t have “what it’s all about”? Family and generosity and love are all good things, but we need an even simpler definition.

II. What It Is

When we look at the well-known Christmas account of Luke chapter 2, one of the things it highlights is the simplicity and humility of Jesus. The account sets us up by looking at the glory of the entire Roman empire. This was civilization and culture and prosperity, to the point that anything outside of it might as well not even be part of the world. We see Caesar Augustus, the most powerful Roman emperor, glorifying in his own might, counting his subjects and the revenue they would bring him. We see Cyrenius, the military man, with a string of victories under his belt, given a top government position. This is the best the world has to offer, this is wealth and influence and power.

But the camera keeps zooming in. We go from Augustus in Rome to Cyrenius in Syria to Joseph in Nazareth. Nazareth, about which Nathanael said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Jn 1:46). And Joseph is going to Bethlehem, which the prophet Micah described as “little  among the thousands of Judah” (Mi 5:2). And he’s taking with him Mary. They’re betrothed, pledged to be married, but not married yet, and she’s pregnant anyways. Travel with a pregnant woman is rough and uncomfortable, even more so when it’s 85–90 miles on foot or with a donkey. They make it to Bethlehem and it’s bustling with travelers there for the census, so crowded that there’s no vacancy in the inn and no guest rooms they could stay in. So they end up in a stable, which might not have been super uncommon but it’s certainly nothing special.

Every detail points to simplicity. The circumstances are lowly and humble and ordinary. But don’t let the simplicity deceive you. The stage has been set for the most profound and miraculous thing the world had ever seen.

Mary gives birth to her Son and wraps Him in swaddling clothes, like any mother would. But this Child, born into the simplest of circumstances, is Christ, the Lord. This Child is Emmanuel, God with us, God in the flesh. This Child is the Messiah, the Anointed One, who will save His people from their sins. This child is the fulfillment of God’s promise, the fulfillment of countless prophecies, the fulfillment of every heart longing for redemption.

The simplicity of His circumstances does not betray the profound nature of this event. Rather, it serves to highlight it. If this Child was born in the palace in Jerusalem, if He was wrapped in royal purple, if He was placed in an ornate crib, those things might distract from what matters. Those things might get in the way of us approaching Him.

Jesus did not come with the power of Augustus or the might of Cyrenius. He did not come to establish an earthly kingdom. He did not come to glorify Himself. He came for everyone, starting with some humble shepherds. He came to continue in this humility until He reached the cross. He came to suffer and die to save His people from their sin.

Christ gave up His glory to make you glorious. He set aside His heavenly crown to win one for you. He made Himself nothing to give us everything. Jesus knows how to keep it simple. Jesus doesn’t want us to be distracted by everything else, so He enters this world in humility and dies in lowliness so that we stay focused on Him, on what He freely gives us, on what really matters.

It’s not Christmas without Jesus. He is the reason for the season. We need to keep Christ in Christmas. Although those are pretty tired clichés by now, too. But that’s what Christmas means: Christ’s Mass, mass being another word for the Divine Service with Holy Communion. Christ’s Mass, the service where we celebrate the birth of our Savior. It’s not Christmas without going to church, by definition.

So this Christmas, whether there’s a lot under the tree or you don’t have a tree at all, whether you’re spending it with family or by yourself, I’m glad that you’re here, and that we’re gathered around what really matters. Come again tomorrow and receive the Christ-child wrapped in bread and wine and placed in your mouth. Keep the Mass in Christmas, too. Keep it simple. It’s not Christmas without Jesus. Amen.