Unto Us 
A Child is Born

By the Rev. Lee Woofenden
Christmas Sunday
Bridgewater, Massachusetts, December 19, 1999

Readings

Isaiah 9:2-7 Unto Us a Child is Born

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, and will be fuel for the fire.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Luke 2:1-20 The birth of Jesus

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. This was the first enrollment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he belonged to the house and lineage of David. He went to be enrolled with Mary, his espoused wife, who was expecting a child.

While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were very afraid.

But the angel said to them, "Do not fear; for behold, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child 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 heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests!"

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." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Sermon

"For unto us a Child is born." This beautiful phrase, and the entire verse that goes with it, has been indelibly etched into the world's consciousness at Christmas time by the powerful chorus devoted to it in Handel's Messiah: "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

However, in Handel's libretto for The Messiah, the verse that came just before this now famous one did not make the cut. Perhaps it was too graphic. Yet in its own way, it is just as beautiful, for it gives us a promise of what this Child will bring to us: the end of war and conflict. "Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, and will be fuel for the fire." In the reign of the Prince of Peace, there will be no need for the warrior's boot, and garments stained with the blood of battle will be a thing of the past.

Thankfully, this year at Christmas time our country is not at war as it was a year ago. At the moment, we are not engaged in armed conflict, and our country is enjoying a time of relative peace. Other countries are not so fortunate. This year, instead of the U.S. and Great Britain pounding Iraq, it is Russia pounding Chechnya. There always seems to be a war going on somewhere in the world. The Prince of Darkness still contends with the Prince of Peace for control of our world and its people.

"Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, and will be fuel for the fire." This is the promise we are given for the Christ child's birth. But wasn't Jesus born two thousand years ago? Then why haven't the prophecies come true? Why are the soldiers in their boots still marching off to battle? Why do we still see the footage on television of garments rolled in the blood of war? Perhaps the skeptics and atheists are right when they say that this Son of God thing is all an illusion, an opiate for the masses, the irrational product of wishful thinking.

"Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, and will be fuel for the fire." In fact, it does not say that war will immediately be a thing of the past when the Child is born unto us. It says that the trappings of war will be destined for burning. We know from Jesus' own words that his coming would not bring an immediate end to conflict. He said:

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; one's enemies will be the members of one's own household. (Matthew 10:34-36)

Now that's hitting close to home. Most of us are not directly involved in the military conflicts of nation against nation. But how many of us can say we have had no conflict in our homes and in our extended families over the past year? The past month? Even the past week? We may not be fighting on distant battlefields, but we engage in battles and skirmishes right in our own homes and in our own communities.

Sometimes those battles are with one another, as when Patty and I struggle to keep three young children, each with minds of their own, from squabbling with one another--and meanwhile try to work out our different viewpoints with one another on how to raise our children. Each of us faces various struggles in our families, many of them much more difficult and painful than this particular example. All too often, we stomp on one another's feelings with the warrior's boot of our thoughtless desires, creating a battle scene in which our lifeblood flows out through the emotional wounds that we inflict upon each other.

Sometimes our battles are not with one another, but with various life circumstances, such as sudden or ongoing health problems, financial difficulties, or tough work situations. And sometimes our battles are entirely within ourselves, as we struggle with pride or depression or apathy or anxiety or anger or any of the multitude of inner enemies that plague us.

The Lord's birth does not automatically end all of these battles. We will still have to struggle against our own ego, pride, materialism, and thoughtlessness. And as imperfect beings, we will still find ourselves in conflict with one another more often than we would like. But when the Lord is born within us and among us, we receive the beautiful promise that these conflicts and battles are destined for destruction--that their days are numbered.

When the Lord is born and grows in us, our battles will not last forever, because the battlefield itself changes. Less and less do we fight with those around us, because we have a new enemy to engage: our own thoughtlessness; our own self-centeredness; our own lack of commitment to God's way of unconditional love and joyful service to our neighbor.

As the Lord helps us to overcome these inner enemies, the Lord is also helping us to overcome the very roots of war and conflict. Because the root of every war and every conflict, both in the larger world and in our own homes, is our own lack of spiritual maturity. When we yield to our lower desires and motives, we create conflict and war around ourselves. But when we struggle with these enemies with the Lord's help, we will gradually, over the course of our lifetimes, gain the victory over them.

"Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, and will be fuel for the fire. For unto us a Child is born; unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders."

Yes, when the divine Child is born within us, we continue to have our conflicts and struggles. But instead of dragging us down, these conflicts turn into spiritual victories that make us stronger, better, and more loving people. As we gain victory over our inner enemies through our faith in the Lord, we gradually turn over the government of our lives to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ--who is the divine Child that is born to us.

And as the Lord Jesus becomes the ruler of our lives, we find that the attitudes and desires that used to bring us into conflict with those around us are replaced with more thoughtful, loving, and peaceful feelings. Instead of creating conflict around ourselves, we feel the Lord's love reaching out from us to bring a little more harmony and peace to our corner of the world. And we know the divine Child of Christmas as our Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

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