Christmas Eve: Bethlehem Opened Paradise
CONTENT
Intro: Good evening dear friends. Merry Christmas. I’m Fr. Morgan Reed, the Vicar here at Corpus Christi Anglican Church. I am so delighted to have you with us this evening to worship our Lord together.
There is a really neat genre of art called Trompe l’oeil, meaning deceive the eye. One artist named Thomas Deininger has taken it in a new direction by creating objects like a parrot, a bee, a painting, but then if you go around to the side of the object, you realize the whole thing was made from trashed objects. It’s amazing! And I find the whole concept helpful when thinking about the nativity story. There is the image and the pieces that make it. We see details of a story like the famous story about Jesus in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. We are familiar with the animals of the nativity. There are shepherds and angels. All of these make the nativity story recognizable, but when we turn to the side we begin to see the divine details that compose the story we’re familiar with. God has become human to save us from sin and death and to make all things new. Heaven has been opened and God is inviting us from Bethlehem back to paradise. The realities of this earthly life become windows to heaven to see and experience the kingdom of God that we ultimately long for.
As we look at the Christmas story together today, let me pray for us, “In the name of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen. Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be always acceptable O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer, Amen.”
1) Christ has opened paradise in Bethlehem
The story begins with the setting of Christ’s birth in the context of the Roman Empire. It was during the time of Caesar Augustus, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who after winning several strategic victories, he had proclaimed himself a son of god. He had, from his perspective, created global peace through his empire and the proclamation about this peace was sometimes called the gospel.
Caesar and Rome are a foil to God’s kingdom and are the historical context as we move to this couple, Mary and Joseph, in the small town of Bethlehem, because of a census that Caesar had called for. They arrive at Bethlehem, which is the town of Joseph’s ancestral lineage. Mary is quite far along in her pregnancy so she comes with him.
When they arrive, they get to the house of either family or a family friend only to discover that the normal guest room is occupied, so they’re given another room in the house. Mary gives birth to a healthy baby boy and at some point after his birth we are given these details about him being swaddled and placed in a feeding trough because they were functionally able to make a soft bassinet out of it.
This is one view of the Christmas story: the manger, the census, even Caesar himself. These historical realities are true but point us to a deeper reality that is going on. Now we move to the component parts of the trompe l’oeil of the story and we begin to see the heavenly realities. We meet the angels who appear in the darkness to shepherds and the glory of God shows up around them and the shepherds are terrified. Heaven proclaims that in Bethlehem, David’s city, is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This was the hope of Israel and of the nations. A multitude of angels appear and praise God, singing “Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth among those whom he favors!”
The shepherds are given the details about Bethlehem and the feeding trough so that they can find this child. They find Mary, Joseph, and the child. They are struck with wonder and amazement. Mary is taking note of all that’s going on and pondering them in her heart.
Israel was looking for a Davidic ruler to overthrow empirical powers. What they got was heaven on earth where God became man to rescue humanity from sin and death and bring them back to fully restored life with their creator. There is a beautiful quote from someone in the church’s history about this, where it is said “Bethlehem has opened Eden: Come, let us see! We have found joy hidden! Come, let us take possession of paradise within the cave. There the unwatered stem has appeared, from which forgiveness blossoms forth! There the undug well is found from which David longed to drink of old! There the Virgin has borne a child, and at once the thirst of Adam and David is made to cease. Therefore let us hasten to this place where for our sake the eternal God was born as a little child!”[1]
Christ would live in perfect obedience and union with his father, would be mocked and die on a cross to conquer sin for us, would rise from the dead to conquer death for us, and would ascend to reign on high and make all things new. But first, he must be born, Son of God and Son of Man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, fully divine — and born of the virgin Mary, fully human. He took all of what we are as humans to raise it up again into full fellowship and union with the life of God. When we think back to the garden of Eden in the book of Genesis, God’s invitation to humanity was perfect fellowship, a daily walk in the cool of the day, but we were tempted by the voice that called us away from dependence on God and life with our creator to do things our own way in believing that we have the capacity without God’s help to figure it out. This voice tempts us time and time again and as a result creation is broken and we are broken.
The young woman, Eve, mourned because she and Adam were cast out of God’s presence, but she now takes comfort in this young woman, the blessed virgin Mary. Through Mary’s child, paradise is opened again and Eve’s children will stream to it. This child is Emmanuel, God with us, because although we had walked away, God, in his compassion has given us this child to be our savior, who is Christ, the Lord. He is making all things new in the hearts and lives of people by the power of his resurrection and his rule and reign as a promise that he will do it ultimately. And tonight we celebrate the miracle that began it all in wonder with the shepherds who hear the heavens declare the story that God has come to earth in this child and become king of all, that in him all things will be renewed if we simply swear our allegiance to him and trust him as our king and Lord.
Conclusion
As we look at the parts of the story, let’s not get too hung up on a manger or animals. The story that God is telling is the beginning of the end of sin and death. It is the story of God’s plan to make all things new and invite his people into life with him once again. As we consider the Incarnation and Nativity of our Lord, let me close us by praying for us:
“Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.”
[1] Anonymous. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture.
