A Shepherd's Pie-ty (Christmas Eve Sermon)

A certain pastor and his family were in the car heading towards the church for Christmas Eve services. As they traveled, they ooo’ed and ahhhh’d over the Christmas decorations that made the houses they passed sparkle in the cold night air. Cheery music made them all feel festive, and an on-the-road snack of Christmas cookies hit just the right spot. “Isn’t Christmas wonderful?” exclaimed the pastor’s wife, bubbling over with Christmas spirit. There were exclamations of agreement all around, and then the ten year old spoke up, innocently inquiring of his father, “Are you going to let Christmas be wonderful this year, Dad? Or are you going to explain it again?”

There’s two ways to celebrate Christmas. One is to stand in silent wonder of the incarnation of God, made manifest by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit in a tiny baby on a starlit night long ago. This way includes a lot of dimmed lights, candles, quiet music, hushed expressions of awe, and a spate of highly nuanced and lofty theological interpretations of the virgin birth and its implications by the preacher. If we were to name this pensive Christmas piety after one of the characters in the nativity story, this would have to be a “Mary Christmas.” For Mary soaked up all that was happening around her, and then pondered it in her heart—quietly, demurely, with trembling heart, and with soul tuned to the frequency of the cosmic mystery of it all. This way of celebrating Christmas is prevalent in most churches on Christmas Eve, and—don’t get me wrong—it is a beautiful, inspiring way to reflect upon the coming of Emmanuel, or “God with Us.” So lovely. So peaceful.

But, yeah, we’re not going to do it that way this year! Because there’s another way to celebrate Christmas. A way that involves hearty shouts of “Merry Christmas!” and the loud singing of carols. There’s a way that boasts bear hugs, back slaps, and mistletoe. A way with dancing, feasting, and making merry in general. If we had to choose from the cast of characters present at the nativity of our Lord, for one to name this style of Christmas spirituality after, it would have to be the shepherds. It is a Shepherds’ Pi—ety. The shepherds really know how to party! Check these guys out:

The shepherds begin the night quietly enough. But before you can say “Feliz Navidad!” they are visited by an angel of the Lord, who gives them GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY. Next they’re treated to an amazing concert by the hosts of heaven who sing “Glory to God in the highest!” loud enough to wake up the sheep!

Now what do the shepherds do after this mind-altering experience? They don’t hang out after this, deeply contemplating the existential meaning of it all. No, they react to this news immediately. ROAD TRIP! They hastily gather themselves together and hot foot it on over to Bethlehem, where they find the child just as the angel had said. There they congratulate Mary vociferously, they each take a turn holding the baby, and of course, step outside the stable to smoke some cigars with Joseph. The neighbors peek out their windows to see what the commotion is about, and the innkeeper turns over in bed, thanking God he didn’t let that couple stay inside, if that’s the type they run with. Finally, as the dawn drapes a vermillion curtain on the eastern horizon, the shepherds, full of the First Christmas spirit, take their leave, praising God loudly all the way out of town! That’s revelry!

And that’s the way we’re going to celebrate Christmas here tonight. We’re going to praise God--loudly. We’re going to sing some more carols, with gusto! We’re going to shout felicitations. We’re going to be noisy and happy and rowdy. When we share the peace maybe we’ll even hug. And yes, we’ll even share a festive meal here at God’s table. So, repeat after me—and use your outdoor voices: “Merry Christmas!” “Jesus Christ is born!” “God bless us, everyone!”

Because the Mary way to celebrate is great, but the shepherd way rocks! And why shouldn’t we be loud? This is GOOD NEWS! Why shouldn’t we act a little silly and dance a little jig? CHRIST IS BORN! Is there any better reason to kick up our heels and par-ty? Yes there is—Easter, but we can shout ‘alleluia’ and ‘He is risen’ later! Right now we’re celebrating a birth—an arrival, a new beginning. The honoring of our sinful flesh with the en-flesh-ment of God. Right now we are reveling in the fact that God loved us so much that he stooped down, shed his god-ness, and took on humanity, so that he could reverse the slow downward spiral we had entered in Eden, and, in so doing, re-create the relationship we shared with him in our innocence. We are celebrating the commencement of God’s mission to break down the walls between us and draw all things to himself. We’re celebrating the birth of Jesus! That deserves a WOOOT, don’tcha think?

Now, maybe some of you quiet people—you “Mary Christmas-ers” think all this merriment and carrying on is not dignified, kind of coarse, other-side-of-the-tracks-like. You are correct, sir! Look at the model—the shepherds. When you think of shepherds you might think of some sweet, bucolic, amiable, gentle folk. Many years of cute as a button little children playing shepherds in the Christmas pageant, wearing bathrobes and towels on their heads, has undoubtedly contributed to this.

Well, in reality, though shepherding was an important job, requiring diligent watchfulness, it was dirty, boring and menial job, and hence shepherds tended to be not quite at the top of the social ladder. In fact they were near the bottom. Shepherds slept out in the fields, tended smelly animals, and didn’t exactly have the opportunity to practice personal hygiene. They were a coarse bunch—if you had to compare them to a modern day occupation, perhaps longshoreman would convey the same general feeling.

But regardless of their image, God chose them to be the first witnesses to his Christ. The first to see Jesus. The first to know his mission. The first to wrestle with the surprising paradox of God incarnate as a human child. Them. Shepherds. It’s ironic because it encapsulates the very essence of the gospel—the marginalized are lifted up by the sheer grace of God—not by anything they say or do.

So when we approach the Lord, just as the shepherds did the manger, we know we can do so boldly—we don’t have to worry about how we’re dressed, what our job is, how much money is in our bank account, or what we’ve done wrong in our lives. We can come to Jesus laughing, smiling, and shouting praises because God in Christ is here for us, here to restore us, here to give our lives endless meaning—all despite our acting more like sheep than shepherd!

Uh oh! I’ve gone and explained Christmas again. We better make merry post haste! Quick! Turn to the person on your right and wish them a Merry Christmas! Do the same with the person on your left. Now shout it out—CHRIST THE SAVIOR IS BORN! Here’s something I always wanted to do in church—we’re going to do a “wave.” We’ll start here with these people in the end chairs and proceed across the room next chair to next chair, etc, etc all the way to the other end, and then we’ll do it a second time. Now each one of ya, when you stand up, shout HALLELUJAH! Ready? 1 -2 -3 – go!

That was rocking. I’ll never forget this Christmas Eve! Now let’s really, really sing out on this next carol, which I think sums it up quite well—Good Christian Friends, REJOICE! AND LET THE PEOPLE SAY AMEN!