For All

Do you know what a completely bizarre time it was for Jesus to be born into the world? Now you might be reacting to that statement and saying that every generation is probably a strange time to be born, and to a degree I wouldn’t argue with that, but I want us all to understand just how crazy a time it was when God chose to enter the world as a helpless infant. I truly believe it will help us have an even greater appreciation for how incredible a story it is and what it must have been like for someone hearing this story close to the time of Jesus’ life on earth. Which I also believe will then give us an even greater sense of awe for this holy night.

So what was happening at the time Jesus was born? I’m going to try to give you a Reader’s Digest version. As you may know the Roman Empire was in control of a good portion of the known world. However, there was a civil war happening before Jesus was born that had been going on for over two decades. In 27 BCE Augustus ended up winning the civil war and became the sole ruler of the empire. After this he created a golden age for Rome, and because of this, he was given the new name of Augustus which means “revered one”. Other titles that were bestowed upon him were: chief priest, commander in chief, and son of God. The Roman senate deified Augustus hence the title of son of God. He nearly doubled the size of the Roman Empire and started the Pax Romana, a time of internal peace that lasted for 250 years. In honor of his greatness and the new peace that came with it, some would even call him their savior, there were portions of the empire that changed their calendar to begin on Augustus’ birthday. His birthday was also spoken of as the beginning of the good news brought to Rome and through his expansion of the empire it was being brought to the rest of the world.

Do you hear the words and names given to Augustus and how they overlap with the words that we hear Luke give to Jesus at his birth? I would even go so far as to say that Luke intentionally invokes the name of Augustus when talking about the census to draw all of those connections out to the forefront of the person hearing Jesus’ birth story. Luke could have simply said that new tax lists were being made and everyone would have known that they were ordered by the emperor, but by naming him we get that direct tie and even conflict between Jesus and Augustus.

Even though these two share similar names, the reasoning and the ways the names are given I don’t think could be further from one another. Augustus was born in and rose to power in the social and political core of the Roman Empire. Jesus was born to two peasant parents from a small town that had a total population of about 400 people. Augustus was probably known by all the elites when he was born into the world. God chose to send angels to visit shepherds. While shepherds had very important jobs they in no way compared to the status of the senate in Rome. God chose humble but faithful parents and chose to share the news with everyday folk like the shepherds of the field. God did not choose the epicenter of political power, but everyday folk to let people know that God was now entering the world as a vulnerable infant.

It is that interaction between the angels and the shepherds where we get all of those titles and phrases, that in a way, negate all that Rome and Augustus had put into place. The angels declare that the wonderful and joyous news is not or no longer about the end to civil war in the empire, but it is about the birth of a savior who is born not in Rome, but in Bethlehem, the birth of the greatest Israelite king, David. The savior is not Augustus, but is this new infant who is the Christ and the Lord. Augustus was the only lord that Rome had, yet the angels again take that title away from him and place it on this infant. If this infant is the heir to David and the promised messiah, then he is also, potentially, a rival to Augustus and everything he had fought for. Not only have the angels put all these new titles on this heir to David, but they also say that he is the one that will bring peace to all whom God favors. Again, we see that by bringing this good news to the shepherds that God favors the common, everyday person not just the elite who live in the seats of powers.

The shepherds then not only go and confirm that what they were told by the angels were true, but then they spread that same good news they received and everyone who heard it were amazed. What amazing news it was. Can you imagine also what it must have been like for Mary to hear this? Everything had been spoken to her by the angel Gabriel had come true, and now the shepherds tell her that God has also shared with them what had only been shared with her. No wonder she holds those words so closely to her and commits them to memory.

This baby Jesus came into the world to change the world forever, but not through defeating political rivals, nor through providing a military peace within the country. He wasn’t given godly status by a group of people who probably wanted to keep him in power because it was the politically right move to make. He came into the world to be Jesus, God’s salvation and God with us. God with us we see means coming to and being with the most common and ordinary of people. He himself was born to regular parents and announced to shepherds. As we see throughout the gospels we see that Jesus continued that ministry of caring for the most basic human needs and engaging with the most common of people.

This is why it is so important to celebrate his birth every year. We remind ourselves and this world that God cares and loves this world so much that God came in the form of an infant not to rule the world through force and might, but to love this world through peace and sacrifice. This is the good news of Christmas. Today a savior is born who is Christ the Lord. God made flesh, Immanuel. Who came not to be served but to serve this world, and that through him we, and the whole world would live in the light of his salvation, this day and every day. That is the most wonderful and joyous news that any person, in any empire could ever hear. Tonight we hear that good news once again, so live in that good news. Your savior is born today in David’s city and he is Christ the Lord. Amen.

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