Sermon on Luke 2:1-20

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

“Sleep in heavenly peace / sleep in heavenly peace.”

When many people think of Christmas Eve, they think of singing “Silent Night” in a darkened sanctuary surrounded by twinkling candles. It’s a still, peaceful image—there’s a hush over everything.

And yet, the Christmas story involves noise and mess and chaos.

Mary and Joseph had to travel, which is chaotic whether in the first century or today, as anyone who traveled to be here tonight knows.

Also, an important part of the Christmas story revolves around childbirth. I’m not a parent, but I know that many people in this room know firsthand that there is very little peace and quiet involved in that process. And newborns, despite the lovely photoshoots where they’re sleeping with adorable little hats on, are…let’s just say: good at exercising their lungs.

And then, there are some shepherds working the graveyard shift, maybe settling in for a long night of protecting their sheep from nighttime predators—hoping there will be little to report in the morning. But no: they were scared out of their minds when a messenger of God materialized in front of them. They were in for not only a divine message and a heavenly concert—they then had to travel through the night into Bethlehem to find the baby the angels told them about.

Side note: if it weren’t for the strong culture of hospitality, I’m sure Mary and Joseph would have been very happy not to have nocturnal visitors to their newborn baby.

And then, the shepherds returned, praising God for everything they had seen. They didn’t just drag their weary bodies back to the fields—they were so excited by what had happened that they shared their story—maybe disturbing their neighbors on the way.

We haven’t even touched the Gospel of Matthew’s account ofthe wise ones who traveled much farther than Mary and Joseph and the jealous, bloodthirsty King Herod.

There is a lot of noise and mess and chaos in this story. Not a lot of rest for anyone involved.

And still, the Gospel of Luke notes that “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

Somehow in the middle of the noise and mess and chaos, Mary still found wonder.

Somehowshe found it in the midst of unexpected guests in the middle of the night while staying in someone else’s home. She found it even when her weary eyes and aching body cried out for sleep. She found it in the face of an uncertain future and many questions.

Somehow, God decided to break into the noise and mess and chaos of our lives in that moment. God chose Mary and Joseph to raise Godself in occupied Roman territory with no riches or luxuries or political influence. God shared the good news with shepherds, not kings or priests or emperors.

God became human despite the noise and mess and chaos.In the least likely parts of our human story, the little Lord Jesus lay asleep on the hay (or maybe was not so quiet after being woken up by cattle lowing). Jesus lay in the manger right in the middle of our noise and mess and chaos. God doesn’t shy away from it.

And still we strive for perfection in this season (or at least a family Christmas dinner where no one cries or yells at anyone).

Even tonight, there might still be some presents that need wrapping, tomorrow a breakfast to be made. More travel, more traffic, more lines to wait in. More notifications of not-to-be-missed deals online and in store windows.

Or perhaps the turmoil is within—loneliness, grief, resentment, worry, hopelessness. This season stirs up all kinds of emotions—not all of them welcomed or accepted in the general ethos of holly and jolly.

The noise and mess and chaoscan’t be avoided no matter how many matching pajamas we have or what emotions we compartmentalize until after New Year’s.

Real life can’t be tied up in a neat bow. Real life happy endings don’t appear at the end of 90 minutes like a Hallmark movie.

The noise and the mess and the chaos are real.

And still, God chose to enter our noise and mess and chaos. God didn’t wait until things were perfect and shiny and neat.

God embraces every part of our noise and mess and chaos even today.

We can lay aside our expectations of perfection and shine and neatness, because life doesn’t work that way.

If Mary treasured in her heart what was happening amid the noise and mess and chaos in her life, then we can too.

God invites us every moment to notice God’s presence.

Even in our busiest times, God is here, embracing us in our noise and mess and chaos.

With every inhale, we breathe in God’s Spirit, and with every exhale, we breathe God’s love into the world.

Even at our most frantic, we still breathe.

And, as anyone who has ever meditated knows, breathing can calm the chaos, even just a little. In our breath, we return to ourselves and to God.

Who couldn’t use more of that?

That’s why at First Lutheran, we’re going to be spending the entire year of 2024 exploring the idea of Sabbath.

Sabbath is time to rest, enjoy, and turn our focus to God in the midst of the noise, mess, and chaos.

Our society doesn’t want us to rest. It wants us to grind, to be more efficient, to turn our hobbies into side hustles, and if, God forbid, we must rest, it’s only so we can work harder when we return to work.

That’s not how Sabbath works. Sabbath is a holy time.

It was a holy time when Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.

It was a holy time whenthe angels sang “Glory to God” in the middle of a random field in front of some ordinary shepherds.

It was a holy time whenGod took on a tiny, helpless body that needed rest and sleep and became part of our noise, mess, and chaos.

And however noisy, messy, and chaotic your life is, this is a holy time too. May you find rest and joy in it and sleep in heavenly peace.