Rev. George Miller
Dec 25, 2025
Luke 2:8-20
One of the best sermons I ever heard was
based on John 1:43-51. Jesus is calling
the 1st disciples, one of them is Nathanael, who has been sitting
under a fig tree, alone.
The preacher spoke about how Jesus is
there for us those moments when we think no one else is; those times of
solitude, reflection.
This message heard 20 years ago is so
powerful that it shapes and speaks to the reading for today.
Here we have this beloved scene told so often
about the shepherds in the field who have angels appear and go on a journey to
Bethlehem to see the Holy Family, sharing what they have been told.
How it ties into Nathaniel under the fig
tree is manyfold. First, the shepherds
are in a countryside location, about 2 miles away from where the miracle of
Baby Jesus has taken place.
Like Nathaniel, all alone under the fig
tree, they are not surrounded by buildings or highways, St. Louis Bread
Companies or Schnucks, but by rolling limestone hills, shallow valleys, and clumps
of hardy grass.
The fact that the angel of the Lord stands
before them and angels appear is amazing.
It means that among the footpaths worn out by their walking, the caves used
for shelter, and the few trees spread out amongst the scrub, that God saw them,
God knew they were there, and God felt they were worthy of receiving such Good
News.
Second, the shepherds are not in the
middle of mainstream activities. They’re not shopping with the masses or
enjoying a movie or a musical at the MUNY.
Like Nathaniel under the fig tree, the
shepherds are relatively alone. They are
spread out. They are, in some ways…invisible.
The shepherds are among the class of
people that go unseen, the way we may not pay attention to the people who take
our garbage or collect the chopping carts.
Yet God sees them, God does not allow
their unappreciated social status or solitude to get in the way from bringing
them great joy, opening the heavens to them, and making them visible to the
Blessed Child.
Third, just like Nathaniel, we do not know
why God chooses them.
The angels could have first come to Ceasar
Augustus or to Governor Quirinius. But
they don’t. Instead of appearing to head
politicians, they appear to the people.
The angels could have come to Zechariah
the Priest and his wife Elizabeth. But
they don’t. Instead of appearing in the
Temple or to the Levites, they appear to everyday workers in the field.
The angels could have appeared to those
who owned the fields, owned the herds.
But they don’t. Instead of
appearing to the captains of industry, the angels appear to the overworked,
underpaid employees hoping to earn their daily bread.
Today’s story is one for any of us who has
ever had that moment in which we are by ourself, we’re experiencing a dark night,
we’re not amongst the crowds and cool kids, and we wonder “Do we matter?” “Does anyone care?” “Does God know about me?’
“Do I make a difference.”
In other words, today’s story is for
anyone who knows what it is like to sit under a fig tree, alone.
And the answer is “Yes.”
Yes we matter. Yes,
God cares. Yes, God knows about you.
We journey back to Bethlehem, reminded how
magnificent the Christmas message is.
God loved the world so much that even
after the Commandments, the prophets, the miracles, God did not stop. God chooses
to come to us in flesh, wrapped with the same skin we have, to dwell amongst
us.
One miracle of Christmas is that God could
have arrived to us in numerous ways, from a mansion to a King’s quarters, as
the son of a prominent star to the child of the world’s richest person.
Instead God chose to come to us humble,
mild, vulnerable, with parents that could have easily been overlooked, born in
a place where city officials could have kicked them out.
And that when God did appear in the fragile
body of a child who had to be nursed, swaddled and given rest, it was to those
who were alone, on the outskirts of town, simply trying to make it another day
who the angels appeared to.
It was to those solitary individuals of
the night in which the choir of heaven appeared and sung “Glory to God in the
Highest and peace among those he favors.”
That night that Christ was born, peace was
given to those who had experienced the least amount of peace.
Glory was shown to those who were looking
out at scrubs and thorny bushes.
The miracle of Christmas is how even those
that the world may have forgotten were among the first to see and be told.
And how this miracle continues today, for
anyone here, for anyone who may feel like they are sitting under that fig tree,
alone, who has faced that long night, or was feeling far from the crowd.
Today’s tale is a celebration of the ways
that God acts and reaches out to each and everyone one of us, all of us, even
when we feel like we may be forgotten or are by ourselves.
We gives thanks for the birth of Baby
Jesus, and how this glorious news is made known to all, no matter who we are and
no matter what we are facing.
Amen.
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