Can It Ever Be Too Early?

The Rev. Whitworth Ferguson III
The First Presbyterian Church
Washingtonville, New York
December 12, 2004

Can It Ever Be Too Early?
Selected Texts

“And it came to pass in those days
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed.
And all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city.
And Joseph also went down from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem,
because he was of the house and lineage of David,
to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, who was great with child.
And so it was that while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered,
and she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes
and laid him in a manger, for there was no room for them in the inn.”

Can it ever be too early for us to hear the stirring words
of the Christmas story yet again?
We eagerly await the story that is so familiar,
yet so thrilling each time we hear it.
The story of the baby born in Bethlehem.
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
born to that faithful young girl in the dark of night.
The story that brought light to a world gone dark.

And yet we hold off on the Christmas story during the weeks of Advent.
We say that Advent is a time of waiting, a time of preparation,
a time for us to remember not only that Christ has come,
but that Christ will come again, come again in glory
and bring a new age with him.

Most worship books and articles I read this time of year tell clergy
to hold off on the Christmas carols,
hold off on the Christmas stories,
avoid doing what I just did, in reading part of the birth narrative.
The concern is that if we get to the story too soon, too early,
we will overlook the promise of Christ’s coming again.
After all, who can resist the story, a baby born in a stable,
asleep in a manger, no crib for a bed.

But I don’t think it is ever too early to think about the Christmas story.
Pat can tell you that I begin to play Christmas carols in early November
and I don’t wait until Thanksgiving before I start
to get out the Christmas decorations.
I’ve been known to shop for Christmas decorations
in the heat and humidity of August.

I don’t think there is a more joyful time of year than Christmas.
Yes, it can be a stressful time, a busy time;
But the emotion we should feel is joy:
Joy that Christ was born,
Joy that God sent us his Son,
Joy that God sent us his Son to give us life,
and that we would have no doubt of his mercy and love.

It is so fitting that the theme of the Third Sunday in Advent is Joy.
For we should set aside stress, worry, anxiety,
any feeling other than joy.
We should take all those other feelings,
especially the negative ones, and pack them in a box
and put them up in the attic, where hopefully
they will be forgotten.
Whatever we might be lacking in this earthly life,
we’ve got the love of God through Jesus Christ,
forgiveness, mercy, and the promise of life everlasting
in God’s kingdom.
There is nothing anyone can put under my Christmas tree that
can equal God’s gift.
Joy to the world, for the Lord is come!

Our house is decorated, like most houses,
with all kinds of Christmas stuff:
we’ve got sleighs and snowman, and caroler, elves, and angels
and yes there are Santas.
But the we also have one decoration in every room of our house,
including the kitchen: Nativities, a crèches,
the scene of the Christ born in the stable.
That is what Christmas is all about.
As we heard Luke write so poetically:
“and the time came for Mary to be delivered,
and she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger,
for there was no room for them in the inn.”

This is the story we celebrate, that reminds us to be of good cheer,
to be filled with joy.
Is it any wonder that so many poets and musicians
have tried to capture that special day in words and melodies?
The beautiful Wexford Carol sings out,
“Good people all, this Christmas time,
Consider well and bear in mind,
What our good God for us has done,
in sending his beloved Son,
With Mary holy we should pray,
to God with love this Christmas Day,
In Bethlehem upon that morn,
there was a blessed Messiah born.”

Close your eyes for a moment and picture it.
Joseph and Mary trekking through the countryside,
heading from Nazareth to the city of Bethlehem,
Mary: a girl really, probably no more than 15 years old,
unmarried, a baby in her womb.
Heading south, a journey that isn’t that far,
it’s only about 75 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem,
but she is 9 months pregnant,
and she is on the back of a donkey.
She was probably filled more with fear than with joy on that journey;
not knowing what lay before her.

Mary, so full of faith, the young girl who was simply going about her own business
on that day 9 months earlier.
Her marriage had been arranged, she knew the life that awaited her.
And then, as he has a tendency to do,
God upended Mary’s plans when he sent his angel Gabriel to her.
“Hail, you who are highly favored,
the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women
Fear not Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a son,
and his name shall be called Jesus.


He will great, and will be called the Son of the Most High
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Now had it been any of us that Gabriel had spoken to,
we would probably have been incredulous, unbelieving.
But not Mary: her response is at first simply quizzical.
And then she says those powerful, faith-filled words:
“Behold the handmaiden of the Lord;
be it unto me according to thy word.”

And so off to Bethlehem she went, Joseph walking, leading the donkey.
She may not have been filled with joy on that journey,
but composer John Rutter is quite sure the donkey carrying her
knew the special journey they were on.
In his delightful Donkey Carol, Rutter writes,
“Donkey skip for joy as you go on your way.
Alleluia, Jesus is born today.
Hark, the bells ring out with their message clear.
Rejoice and sing that Christ our Savior is here.”
We can almost picture the donkey with a twinkle in his eye,
probably not skipping, however
as he tried not to jostle his precious cargo.

And just as they arrive in that strange town in the dead of night,
Mary tells Joseph that that time has come.
And there she gives birth to her child: Jesus, the Son of God.
And our image of that birth is the distillation of nativity scenes
that we have in our homes, or that we have seen at churches
and there in the middle, the center of our attention,
is Jesus, the baby lying in the manger.
A manger, a bin, a box for hay for the animals;
that’s where Mary laid the Son of God, the one born to save the world,
the heir to the throne of the mighty King David,
the one about whom the prophet Isaiah wrote:
“he will be called the Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace:
his authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace.
He will establish and uphold his kingdom with justice
and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore.”

But to Mary, he is just her son, her newborn, an infant,
who looks to her for warmth, and food and love.
The baby asleep on the hay.
Some of the most beautiful words to be found outside the Bible
are lyrics written as lullabys, gentle songs of love and comfort
as Mary lulls her newborn son to sleep.
“Mary rocks her son so dear, holds him near,
sweetly sings with voice so clear,
bright angels tend you,
Heav’nly blessings God shall send you,
Sleep now Jesus, do not cry, lullaby, lullaby”

But even as the scene is serene and peaceful in the stable,
Luke tells us that there are veritable fireworks
going off on a hillside not far from there.
For “in the same country there were shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And the angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,
and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, ‘Be not afraid, for behold
I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people,
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior
who is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you: you will find the babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace and goodwill to all men’.”
And the shepherds hurried into the city,
their hearts filled with joy, and they found
Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.
And they marveled, even as they worshiped the little child.

And amazingly, that’s the end of Luke’s story
We have to turn to Matthew to find the story of the wise men.
Luke tells us of shepherds, but no wise men;
Matthew tells us of wise men, but no shepherds.
Matthew says nothing about taxes, censuses, journeys to Bethlehem
inns, or mangers. He simply tells us that Jesus was born
and then he goes right into the story of the wise men:
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in the days of King Herod,
behold there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.
saying, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews?
For we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.”

And the wise men followed the star as it guided them to Bethlehem
And when the star stopped, and “stood over where the young child was,
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
There is no mention of a manger or a stable, or cattle softly lowing.
No, Matthew tells us that the wise men entered a house
and they saw Mary with her young child,
and they immediately fell to their knees
and the worshiped the child and presented him with gifts:
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And as quickly as they came to the house, they departed
back to their own country, foreign lands off to the east.

Can it ever be too early to hear the story,
Can it ever be too early to sing the songs?
Can it ever be too early to celebrate Christmas?
It is never too early to tell the story of the one who was born for us.
The one who gives us life.
This is a story we should retell every day!

As you focus on the story of the Christ child born in the manger,
you might be surprised by how quickly the commercialism, the crowds,
the cacophony, the confusion all fall by the wayside
You might be surprised by the overwhelming feelings of peace,
contentment, and, yes even joy that fills you.
The poet Christina Rosetti, who wrote the words of the hymn
“In the Bleak Mid-Winter”,
wrote a poem about Christmas that sums up the season.
“Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely love divine;
Love was born at Christmas,
star and angels gave a sign.
Worship we the Godhead,
love incarnate, love divine.
Worship we our Jesus,
but wherewith for sacred sign.
Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine.
Love to God and all men,
Love for plea, and gift, and sign.”

When the angel came to the shepherds on the chilly hillside
his words were simple, universal, and timeless:
“I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people,
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior
who is Christ the Lord.
Tidings of great joy,
for all people
for unto you – unto you and me,
is born this day in the City of David a Savior
who is Christ the Lord.
How can it ever be too early to tell this story.
Glory to God in the highest!
AMEN