Reflection on Luke 2:1-20

The message of Christmas is for those who do not matter. 

You see, the nostalgic and fuzzy feelings that the Christmas spirit bestows is typically felt by those who matter.  Plenty of children, of course, matter on Christmas.  Plenty of children are lovingly given gifts.  Santa, of course, will make sure to make a stop.  But, I sometimes wonder if there are some children who are not seen?  Are there children who do not matter?

Spouses surely matter.  Necklaces and nice clothes are gifted and worn to parties and family gatherings.  I am certain that around these parts more than one guy will get a new gun.  “You’ll shoot your eye out kid!”  But, I wonder if there are couples out there upon whom the spirit of Christmas has not entered?  Are there people who no longer matter?

Certainly, there are aunts, uncles, and grandparents in full Christmas spirit mode with Christmas sweaters on, gifts ready, and arms outstretched for hugs as their family gathers around them…unless the family does not, of course, and they do not actually matter. 

Some people maybe just are not feeling it this year, because there has just been too much to worry about.  And, for some reason, no one is worrying about them. 

Do you see what I mean?  The Christmas spirit is felt mostly by those who matter.  But, the message of Christmas is different from the Christmas spirit.  The message of Christmas is most certainly for those who do not matter.

The shepherds, for example, were some of those who did not matter.  Have you ever noticed that while everyone in the land is traveling so that they may be counted in the Roman census that the shepherds are not traveling?  They are still living in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.  They are literally not important enough to be counted.    

But, those who are not important to governments are important to God.  All of us are important to God.  The angel of the Lord chooses to stand before the shepherds, of all people, so that they might be the first to hear the good news of the birth of the Messiah.  Why them?  Why the shepherds?  Maybe it is because the message is precisely for those who do not matter.

Emmanuel, “God with Us,” could have been born in a palace surrounded by gold trimmings and servants.  Jesus could have been born in the presence of the upper crust, with royalty as family and a crib suited for a king. 

But, God chose a manger.  And rather than silk sheets like some will wrap up and give in order to celebrate Christmas this year, God chose some straw. 

Maybe, Christmas is for those who cannot afford anything more than straw.  Maybe the message is for those who do not matter.

Do not forget the gift those unimportant people receive.  They get the healer of the sick.  They get the forgiver of sins.  They get the one who multiplies the food.  They get the one who is able to overcome death and bring new life.  They get the savior of the world.  They get Jesus.

After-all, we do not need Christmas spirit; we need Jesus.  We do not need the nostalgia of Christmas’ past; we need Jesus.  What we desperately need is for God to be with us, and that is the gift that Christmas promises.

Jesus is the gift given to all those who relate more to straw and feeding troughs than gold encrusted cribs.  Jesus is the gift given to those who have fields to live in rather than palatial homes.  Jesus is the gift given to those who do not matter.  Jesus is God’s gift to especially the lowest of the low, but also you…and me.

A number of Christmases ago I was invited to a Christmas dinner in a family’s apartment.  As I walked in, I immediately saw the tree.  It was taped to the wall, cut out from construction paper with paper ornaments.  There were just a few gifts under the tree, nothing that anyone would call extravagant, or even appropriate.  And, when I was invited to the meal, we sat at a wiggly card table and feasted on bologna sandwiches, chips, and apples. 

But, I was not invited to this feast because they wished to show me their greatness or their wealth, obviously.  No, I was invited because I had something that the family quite literally did not have.  I was asked to please bring my Bible and read the Christmas story to the children. 

So I did. 

Sitting on the floor, because there were only a couple of chairs in the entire home, I read the Christmas story to the children who placed their heads near my knees.  And, I placed the Bible in the children’s hands as I left because this family fully understood that the message was a gift for them…children who matter to God. 

And, it was OK that their Christmas was simple, because the first Christmas was simple.  But, their Christmas had Jesus, and that is all that matters to God.  May your Christmas be full of the gift of Jesus.