Status Quo? Status No!
(Luke 2: 1-20)
You’ve probably heard it said that “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” It was something I heard repeatedly during my time with the Houston Police Department. The police culture of doing it the way it was always done was pretty ingrained within the department and with each new mayor we’d get a new police chief who was committed to implementing the changes promised by the new mayor to the citizens. In the twelve years I was there I saw several mayors and even more police chiefs who, after failing in their efforts to implement change, were replaced with a new face with fresh ideas who promised to do what their predecessor could not. What they didn’t understand was how resistant the status quo was to change and that in spite of any changes made, they would be temporary and things would eventually go back to the way they were and all would be right in the world of policing. It really takes someone very special and gifted to implement changes that will stand the test of time and not fall victim to the passive-aggressive maneuvering of the status quo. And, if you think about it, that’s really what the birth story of Jesus Christ is about. The coming of one who was sent to change the status quo into an entity where there was only one status, the status of being an adopted brother or sister of Jesus Christ, a savior for all people who call him Lord ruling with love, justice, mercy, righteousness, and most of all, transparency, no hidden agendas, no secret clubs or handshakes.
And that’s the back story of Luke’s Gospel for this evening. It wasn’t just the children of Israel who were looking for a savior, someone who would bring lasting change to a corrupt world. It was also others who weren’t Jews who were also looking for relief, a change in the status quo that would make their lives more bearable. Unlike the other three gospels that were authored by Jews, the Gospel of Luke was written by a Gentile Christian, a physician, a Greek, who wanted to write a gospel that would resonate with and make sense to a non-Jewish reader like you and me. My study Bible says that Luke was a close friend and companion of Paul who was chosen by Christ to be the apostle to the Gentiles. Additionally, Luke’s gospel was written around 60 A.D. so it is safe to say that Luke spent a lot of time researching and talking to people who had stories to share about Jesus of Nazareth that he could compile for future generations to read and relate to.
Unlike Matthew’s Jewish readers who would have been interested in Jesus’ lineage beginning with Abraham and the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies, Luke’s Greek audience would have been more interested in the historical and political aspects of the birth, life, death, and teachings of this Jewish Messiah who came to save a world that might also include them. So, Luke established a timeline by telling us that this all began in the days of Caesar Augustus when it was declared that everyone throughout the empire should be enrolled in the tax lists. This first enrollment, we’re told, occurred when Quirinius governed Syria. It was decided that the easiest way for this to occur was for everyone to go to their own cities to be enrolled. And by easy I think they meant what would be the easiest for the Romans. Because Joseph belonged to David’s house and family line, he had to travel from Capernaum to David’s city, which was Bethlehem, roughly 85 miles by my calculations. A difficult trip made it even more challenging when you are traveling on foot with your very pregnant fiancé. Fortunately, they made it there in one piece where Mary gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom of the house where they were staying.
Having established the time and the place Luke turns to the birth and those who were blessed to cast their eyes upon the one who would disrupt the status quo. I believe that Luke may have gotten this information from an interview he did with Mary as it appears that you had to have been there to recall this kind of detail. Luke tells us that just outside of Bethlehem there were shepherds living in the fields keeping watch over the sheep that were entrusted to their care when the Lord’s angel stood before them in all his glory and that they were terrified. And the angel said: Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you-wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. I have no doubt that they were stunned and couldn’t believe what they were hearing or why they were even hearing it in the first place. But then the angel said: This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger. And suddenly a great assembly of heavenly forces was with the angel praising God proclaiming Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors. And just like that the angels were gone.
Without giving it a second thought the shepherds left their sheep and went as quickly as their feet could carry them to Bethlehem to see if what the angel of the Lord told them was true. Luke tells us that they did find where Mary and Joseph were staying and saw a newly born baby resting in a manger, just as the angel described. I’m sure Mary and Joseph were a little concerned by this uninvited and unannounced middle-of-the-night visit but when the shepherds reported their encounter with the angels their minds were put at ease and Luke records that Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully, which is why I believe she and Luke met and she gave him her account of what happened that night. Luke tells us that the shepherds returned to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen and that everything happened just as they had been told.
Like any good writer Luke has set the stage for the rest of his gospel, capturing the attention of his readers who now want to hear the rest of the story, what happens next, how does the story end, how does this impact me and my family? Tell us more about this Jesus and how did he become a savior? To the Greeks, this is a foreign concept as they had gods for just about anything and they prided themselves on being great thinkers, philosophers, and debaters. It just didn’t make any sense to them. Jesus’ birth occurs right in the middle of the Roman Empire, the center of the known civilized world and here we are being told that a messiah has come in the form of an infant born to a working-class couple from an out-of-the-way village of little consequence to disrupt the status quo and save the world. To the Roman and Greek way of thinking leaders, emperors, and kings are born into royal families or families of great wealth, status, and influence, highly educated and of good breeding. Seems a little presumptuous. Definitely not what conventional wisdom would dictate, a ruler rising to power backed up by a modern military, ruling with an iron fist and dictating how the subjects should live their lives for the benefit of their kingdom.
Luke wants his readers to know that Jesus is the opposite of all that and that his rule is not what they were used to or ever expected to see in their lifetimes. Luke’s birth story begins with a birth announcement made to lowly shepherds, basically a homeless class of citizens living in the fields with nothing to their names and only the clothing on their backs. It was an example of who was important and who mattered in the coming kingdom. God chose to favor the disfavored. This child would bring to the world a peace that was in stark contrast to the pax Romana, Roman Peace, that rewarded those who supported the status quo, those in power. By referring to Jesus as the Lord, Luke clarifies his divine status and at the same time insists that this baby, not Caesar Augustus or any other emperor, is the real savior of the world.
Jesus is a savior of the people and from the people. Someone relatable, someone who has taken the time to get to know us, someone who will stand with us through the darkest times of our lives, feeling our pain, and celebrating those times of great joy and happiness just like a member of our family. The good news about Jesus is that he comes to all, including the plain and ordinary, especially the plain and ordinary. He comes to anyone with a heart humble enough to accept him. He offers us more than temporary political or physical changes. He offers a status that cannot be given by earthly powers, the status of a child of God and an assured place in eternity.
Let us pray.
Eternal God, by the birth of Jesus Christ you gave yourself to the world. Grant that, being born in our hearts, he may save us from all our sins, and restore within us the image and likeness of our Creator, to whom be everlasting praise and glory, world without end. Amen.