"WE ARE INVITED TO COME AS WE ARE!"

(Luke 2: 1-14; 15-20)

"And there were in the same country

shepherds abiding in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

And the glory of the Lord shown round about them;

and they were sore afraid.

And lo, the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people."

This portion of the Christmas Story continues as read (recited by Skip

Holmstrom) earlier and ends with this statement:

"And it came to pass,

as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,

the shepherds said to one another,

'Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,

and see this thing which is come to pass,

which the Lord hath made known to us.'

And they came with haste,

And found Mary and Joseph,

and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it,

they (the shepherds) made known abroad

the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it

wondered at these things

which were told them by the shepherds."

A little boy, in a Christmas Pageant, somewhere sometime, was chosen to

memorize the angel's message to the shepherds. He was so frightened by his

assignment, that instead of saying "Do not be afraid. . ." he delivered these

words: "Wow, am I ever afraid!"

In Christmas pageants across the land, children vie for the starring roles.

They yearn to play, afraid or unafraid, the part of Joseph or Mary or one of

the "three wisemen"---the three orient kings. They would even be content to

play the role of the anonymous innkeeper or to stand among the throng of

angels. In fact, most children desire to be handed any part, as long as it's

not the role of shepherd. Because, as any veteran of Christmas pageants can

tell you, the role of shepherd is thought to be the lowest of the lowly.

Even "A Charlie Brown Christmas," the perennial favorite T. V. special,

comments on the lowly status of shepherds. When Lucy hands out the casting

assignments, she informs Shermie that he will be a shepherd. Shermie receives

that announcement with a grimace, as he mutters, I always have to be a

shepherd!

Too bad Shermie feels that way! As the Gospel of Luke tells the story, the

shepherds are not second-rate characters in the Christmas drama. No, the

shepherds are the stars. Most of Luke's Christmas narrative, centers upon

none other than the shepherds. What Shermie and all children need to know is

that, according to Scripture, the shepherds have the best parts.

Last Friday, I preached at the funeral of 94 year old Selma Jacobson, sister

of charter member, Hannah Jacobson. For more than 15 years I have been

visiting these maiden sisters, in their home, on Chicago's northwest

side----enjoying their home baked goodies and delicious Swedish coffee. 

Just three weeks ago, one week before her death, Selma asked me if I knew who

was the first Christian evangelist.  I said, "Was it the Apostle Paul?" "No,"

she said. "Well, was it one of the original "twelve?" "No," she replied. "Was

it Timothy?" "No." I was getting "no"-where so I said, "Alright, Selma, who

was it?"  With a twinkle in her eyes, Selma said, "The first evangelist was a

lowly shepherd, that snowy Christmas night."

Who did God FIRST tell about Jesus' birth? God did not bring the news FIRST

to governors or kings. God did not announce the birth FIRST to the rich or

the famous. There were no celebrities there that night when Jesus was born.

Instead, the news came FIRST to some lowly, lonely shepherds out in the

fields tending their flocks. It was to them that an angel FIRST came. They

heard FIRST, the announcement that a Savior, their Savior, had just been born

in Bethlehem. When the angels invited a rag-a-muffin band of shepherds to

greet the newborn Christ child, those lowly shepherds not only became the

first New Testament evangelists, they became the first New Testament

"outsiders" welcomed as "insiders!"

You might say that, on that first Christmas, God hosted one of the first, if

not the first, "Come As You Are Outsider Party" in history. For, the Bible

tells us that, after the angels returned into heaven, the shepherds ran,

immediately, toward Bethlehem in search of the child. They did not pause

along the way to clean up or to change from their smelly animal skin clothes.

They did not delay themselves with worry about what kind of gift they should

take with them. Chances are they did not even have a change of clothes or

enough money among them to buy a gift. They just went! They went as quickly

as they could---to see Jesus.

That is exactly what all of mankind has been invited to do---down through the

ages. Luke, in his Gospel, tells story after story in which the most unlikely

"outsiders" are invited and welcomed into Jesus presence that they might know

and experience him. These "outsiders" range from an ostracized demoniac, who

lived among the tombs, to little Zacchaeus, the conniving tax collector.

Jesus invites US in our day, to come to him in the same way as he invited

those of his day to come to him---just as we are! And, he invites us not

because of who we are or because of what we have or what we have done. He

simply invites us to come to him and, thereby, see and know that we are loved

by God.

God invited the "outsider shepherds" to a "Come as You are First Christmas

Celebration," and they responded. Jesus invited lepers, the lame and every

imaginable kind of outsider of his day, saying, "come as you are" and they

did. Who are the shepherds, the Zacchaeus's and other "outsiders" around us,

waiting to be invited;" waiting to hear the Gospel Good News of Christmas and

to be welcomed, "just as they are?"

Several Sundays ago, my sermon focused on "welcoming the stranger." I

suggested that we "insiders" must be very careful how we go about trying to

include those, in our midst, who may feel like "outsiders." Frankly speaking,

this is especially true (this afternoon) (tonight)!

Church growth researchers tell us that 90% of folks who come to a church for

the first time do so because someone, a friend or family member, invited them

to come. And, the same researchers tell us that Christmas Eve is the number

one opportunity we "insider-church-members" choose to invite  unaffiliated

friends who probably consider themselves "outsiders."

If you are here this (afternoon / evening) because you were invited by a

friend or relative: Welcome!" If you bring with you certain "hopes" and

"fears" remember, in the eyes of Jesus Christ, you are not "outsiders," you

are "come as you are insiders!"

If you do not believe me, go back 2,000 years and imagine a young couple

arriving in Bethlehem town, together with their hopes and fears. Mary is

about to give birth to a child and Joseph is worried about where they're

going to spend the night.

Less we forget, Bethlehem was not a familiar holiday destination for Joseph

and Mary. They came to Bethlehem as strangers---"outsiders." You know the

story well enough. There was a Roman census, the village to which Mary and

Joseph were instructed to go for that census was far away and, when they

finally got there, they found it unfamiliar and way too crowded. Every inn

was filled to overflowing.

What Mary and Joseph needed was human kindness and a "come as you are"

invitation to spend the night in a place of warmth and hospitality. What they

got was a door in their face, and an invitation to join the farm animals in

stable out back.

 

By the way, do you realize that there are also "insiders," who feel just as

much like "outsiders" as did Mary and Joseph? There are actually churched

men, women and children who, because they are disadvantaged in some way, do

not feel welcome and invited to "come as they are"---the physically or

mentally challenged, for instance, and the poor and homeless, and all those

who are "outsiders" in other ways!

The most beautiful singing of a Christmas carol I can recall ever hearing was

during my young adult years at Our Saviour's Lutheran Church, Iron Mountain,

Michigan. I was actually a seminary student home for the holiday's. A

physically challenged little girl who, no doubt, often viewed herself as an

"outsider," was invited to sing the only Christmas Pageant solo. Leaning on

her crutches, she stood and sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" in the most

beautiful, pure, soprano voice one could ever hope to hear.

Let me read again the words as you try to picture in your "minds eye" the

candle lit night, the angels and shepherds, the little girl, and her soft,

slightly wavering voice:

"O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."

"The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."  You can be

sure that all of seven-year-old Margie Slatterly's hopes and fears were met

and "made right" that night in the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ! 

Just imagine what was going through that little girl's mind, knowing that she

was not simply invited to join shepherds and kings, outsiders and insiders,

in welcoming the Christ child, but she was invited to lead them!

If YOU feel welcome, in this place, as you are---WELCOME OTHERS, AS THEY

ARE---not just tonight but whenever you are here present. 

If YOU have not felt welcome in this place, as you are---WELCOME, just the

same, OTHERS, AS THEY ARE---not just tonight but whenever you are here

present.

Welcoming one another as we are, is the only way I know of to help

"outsiders" begin to feel like "insiders."

Welcoming one another as we are, is the only way I know of to help ensure

that everyone, no matter how lowly and lonely they feel, will be lifted up

and will never feel alone in this place.

I happen to believe that St. James is a church filled with the spirit of that

first Christmas! ---a spirit in which "insiders" and "outsiders," alike, feel

welcome as they are.  But then, what do I know, I'm just the pastor! AMEN.