Who Stands at the Manger? Luke 2:8-11 12-16-2007

Who Stands at the Manger 12-16-07 Luke 2:8-11
Fear not, bot behold I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be for all people

Nativity sets....various players present
I used to more them around...

Who is at the manger?
We are, but not how we think How do we get there?
Americans like to think, this is our faith, our religion, its ours.
But no one takes the manger.
Everyone who is there is either lowly or poor or both.

We think somehow that we have the power.
Economic, social, military power. Americans are in charge.
We are a Christian nation, we are God's chosen nation.
Hmmmm....
At the manger, Americans are powerless, as powerless as anyone else
Everyone at the manger is broken, lowly or both.

Do Amerian Christians value humility?
Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up. James 4

There are no Causcasioans at the manger
Nothing worse than the arrogant rich, nother better than the humbled rich.
We are at the manger, its just not how we usually think.

Who is at the manger?
This is a messy story
Flight into Egypt...Matthew recors the massacre of the innocents in his Christmas account.

But really advent is not about God coming to those who are together. Its about his coming to and including the broken.

the rich...sure it's in the wise me
But they are on bended knee

Ti's a story of a taxed people....

Joseph is unknown or unwelcome in his hometown
This is his town, he is supposed to have kin here
No room in the inn
Wouldn't you let a pregnant lady in to stay with you
Hey don't you remember my Dad, he ran the wine press years ago
Sorry, no room
But come on, it's Christmas

Now is that family problems or what?

What town are you from? Kirkwood UMC
Visited my aunt......

To the poorest shepherds...... 1 John 3:17
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brotherinneedbut has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
There is something about the message of God's grace that just rushes out to the poor.

I love the commercial of the salvation army bell ringers in the gutter

Mary is pregnant....don't excuse this....
It's a holy think, no not really

Not a pretty story
Do you see yourself somewhate?
since everyone is broken, you are welcome. You don't have to pretend
At the manger, god is speaking to the bottom of society and to every humbled person

What if it rained inhere this morning and all of our masks were washed off?
If we see brokenness and sin, then there is a place for us at the manger

Grafted
The gift of the child was to the Jews first. To us later.
We are grated into the tree of God's family
But that is the news....We are grafter in

Romans11
Only place in the Bible where the word is used. Grafted....
We were a wild olive shoot, but we have been grafted into the tree
The root supports us.
What we could not take has been freely given by God.

Who is at the manger?

Jesus is

Ten shoppings days left. Hurry, go get the right think, don't disappoint anyone. Spend a bit more on them each year. Spend more on them than they spend on you.

Weeks to shop, days to wrap, minutes to open. It's all over so fast. Is there anything else in life that has so much preparation for such a few short minutes? We used to try and stretch out the present opening time by making people take turns. One year we had a scavenger hunt. we hid presents all over the house. The kids woke up and found nothing under the tree but a clue. they had to figure out where to go and look. when they found the first batch of gifts, there was another clue. That was alot of fun, but is was also lots of work.

What if there were no gifts at Christmas? No money for anything. No presents, no tree, no stocking, no chimney. No candy, no fruitcake, no feasting. No football.

What if all there was for Christmas was the story of the baby. God sent a baby. A Savior. Is that enough. Would that be enough for you>

When you think about it, that's really all we have. The gifts break, the food is consumed, it is all transient and perishing. Except the story of the baby. He is still here. He is enough for you. receive him, that's what Christmas is about. that's the only think that Christmas is about.

What we cannot take for ourselves, he gives us freely

Conclusion
Is this story for you?
Anyone who has ever been poor or rich
Anyone who ever had to pay taxes
Anyone who had family problems
Anyone who ever was pregnant in uncomfortable circumstances
If you were ever an outcast, or rejected.....it's for you

What is the worst part of your story
The message of love and forgiveness is for you

Every time you see a nativity....those people are just like me. By God's grace, I do have a place.

I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be for all people. that includes you. Don't get lost in the stuff, Jesus is still the reason for the season.