A Big Origin Story – Luke 2

A text – Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

2:1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
2:2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
2:3 All went to their own towns to be registered.
2:4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.
2:5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
2:6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
2:8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
2:9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
2:10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see–I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
2:11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
2:12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
2:14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
2:15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”
2:16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
2:17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
2:18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
2:19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

A reflection:

For people who have grown up in the church, this story is very familiar. Some of us could say it by heart. For people who do not have these verses in their long-term memory, this could strike them as an incredible “origin story” of a folk or comic book or even science fiction hero. There is prophesy, a journey, a setting that comes from bureaucracy, and also pain and trouble. There are even two encounters with supernatural beings. And the persons at the center of the story are a common laborer/artisan and his wife. And the side characters who take part, who take this event seriously and see the meaning of it, are country bumpkins. This story has everything.

Kids who have memorized the Star Wars universe of characters have no trouble seeing this story as the tale of the earliest years of an unlikely hero. This Son of God is nestled in a good family in a small city in the back of beyond, yet inside the tribes of Jacob, so that he could bring about the eternal salvation of that kingdom God has chosen, not to mention all the others in the world who would hear about him.

Churched folks take the Christmas story for granted. But folks new to the faith might wonder at the bigness of the story – the bright star guiding the wise men to the Child, the intrigue with a jealous earthly king, the angels singing (and not to the well-born but to the roughest flock-keepers and their sheep). It is a wondrous beginning for a baby who will grow up to recite from the Holy books, to do miracles that brought great joy to people, to reach out to those who lived poor and desolate at the fringes of a society whose church ignored them. And his most amazing gift: to give his life to break the power of death for all mortals like you and me.

Glorifying God, indeed. The shepherds knew this was big. Really big.  We know it, too.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for this amazingly big story, started in a stable among shepherds and sheep. Help us love the gift of this story and not fear to tell it to others.   Amen.