Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Word of the Lord which engages us this morning comes from our Gospel (Luke 1: 39-50)                 

High school philosophy teachers have puzzled students for years with the adage "If a tree falls in the woods, but nobody is there to hear it, does it make a noise?" Now don't worry, I'm not taking us on an esoteric philosophical discussion. It's truly not of much interest to me whether we want to define noise as sound waves in the air or sound waves that strike human ears. Some philosophical arguments have intrigued me, but whether or not a tree makes a sound when it falls unheard intrigues me NOT.                 

But a similar sounding theological question does intrigue me: If Jesus had come to earth, God as man, but nobody heard about it, would it have been Good News? If Good News is not heard, is it actually Good News? If Jesus had come, incarnate but incognito, would it have made a difference to the world? If Jesus had come in human body, but word about Him had not spread by human voice, would it have made a difference to me? To you? To our neighbors?                 

God's plan of salvation, of rescue for us sinful, dying humans, was to send his only begotten Son into the world in human flesh, to be born of a virgin, to grow and then to die on the cross for us. He would then rise again from the dead, showing the devil and the world the power He has to conquer even this great enemy, death. But it wasn't enough just to do those things, as wonderful as they are. No! God's plan of rescue also included that the message be heard, that Good News be proclaimed, by angels, by Mary and Elizabeth, even in a sense by the fetus John the Baptist that was in Elizabeth's womb at the time. If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a noise? I don't know --and I don't really care. But if the Son of God comes to earth, and not everybody hears about it, that does concern me. The Good News, the Gospel of Jesus, is not good news unless it is heard! I want that Good News to get out to every citizen of Junction City and Ft. Riley and Chapman and Milford and Grandview Plaza. I want everyone to know that Christmas is not about Santa and reindeer and white snow and mistletoe and turkey dinners. I want everyone to know that Christmas is about Jesus, the babe born in Bethlehem who was God visiting from heaven.                 

When a navy ship is in port, the U.S. flag flies from a flagstaff in the fantail, or back, of the ship. It is raised each morning at 0800 hours to the playing of the National Anthem on loudspeakers, and it is lowered precisely at sunset. But when the ship goes to sea, the flag is moved. When the line handlers have unhooked the ship from its connection to the pier, the announcement is made over the loudspeakers, "Underway, shift colors." The ship is barely moving, but it is free from the pier. It is underway. The signalmen haul down the flag from the back of the ship and hoist one from the signal deck to fly proudly on the highest mast. When we Christians assemble in church, it is like being docked at the pier. Here we are renewing our strength and replenishing our supplies. But the flag of the public display of our faith is in the background. The world can see our cars outside and can hear our bell, and that is good. But when we leave our dock, our assembly, we are "underway." It's time to shift the colors, to fly the flag of our faith on the highest mast for all the world to see. It's like letting the Gospel light shine for all those around to see (modified from The Lutheran Witness, Armed Forces edition, January 2002, p. A.). When we leave here it is our opportunity to take the Gospel we've heard, that has blessed us with eternal life, and to share what we've heard with others.                 

The Son of God came and was first growing in the womb of Mary his mother. But in another way, just as miraculous, He will fill our bodies with his presence in the Sacrament, in the Lord's Supper. He will replenish the supply of His Gospel that we need, first with His Word and then with the grace that comes to us in the Lord's Supper. Mary became the first to hear and respond to this Gospel, the first New Testament believer in the Christ when the Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her (Luke 1: 35). Elizabeth and John the Baptist apparently became the 2nd and 3rd, even before Joseph, Mary's betrothed, became convinced. They responded with sharing that Good News with excitement. The baby John leaped in his mother's womb. In a loud voice Elizabeth exclaimed "But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (1: 42, 44)                 

Luther once remarked that three great miracles occurred at Christmas (paraphrased from M. Luther's Christmas book): God became man, a virgin gave birth, and Mary believed these things. The 3rd miracle was not the least. Mary believed, trusted the angel's words and clung to the promise that what the Lord said to her would be accomplished. She was in for a rough road ahead. Running from King Herod (Matthew 2). Trying to understand this baffling son (e.g., Luke 3, John 2, Luke 8). Watching Him give up His life by dying on the cross for the world. Despite all the heartache, Mary continued to believe and, apparently, to tell the story of what had happened to her. If she had not told this story to others like Luke, you and I wouldn't have it here today to cling to.                 

Sometimes we get the misguided notion that God hasn't called us to a life of sharing that Good News like He called Mary or Elizabeth or the prophets or the apostles. We think "Well, the Lord hasn't spoken to us directly like He did them." But there we are wrong. He does speak to us directly, through these wondrous 31,000 verses of his Word. Just as Jesus was and is God incarnate, God in human form, here we have the Word, God's Good News incarnate, His salvation message in human form. If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a noise? I don't know and I don't really care. But I do know that when God's Word falls on human ears, when his message of Jesus comes to us and other humans, it brings noise, it brings change. It is either rejected by those who don't want to hear it, who don't wish to repent of their sin and turn to their Savior. But to those who do hear it is the power of God to save. Paul in Romans 1(16): "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile." It is easy for us to think we're not as specially blessed as Mary and Elizabeth and other Bible characters. But in reality, we are even more blessed by having all 31,000 verses of God's Word, his complete and necessary message of Good News for the world.                 

I, perhaps like you, sometimes feel inadequate at sharing this message with others. I can't always remember just where to find or how to quote one of those 31,000 verses. Our brains just don't memorize things as well as we want them to. But that is why we keep renewing and rereading and rehearing that message of salvation for ourselves, so that it can comfort us and we can share it with others.                 

There will probably be many people here worshiping with us on Wednesday at our Christmas Eve service. If it is like a normal Christmas Eve, there will be about 100 more people here than are normally here on Sunday morning (some out-of-town visitors, but others just infrequent attenders). I know some regularly attending members get frustrated by the folks who tend to come only on "Christmas and Easter." I too, am concerned about their spiritual welfare and their penchant for breaking the 3rd commandment. But I still hope that you will make a special effort to invite them. Tell them that "the Lord has done great things for you." Identify at least 3 people who you know and invite them to our Christmas Eve or Christmas morning service. In a few moments the ushers are going to hand out "Free Admission Tickets" to our Christmas services. Obviously anyone can come without a ticket, but I provide you with these to perhaps open an opportunity for you to invite someone here, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ again. Remind them of the reason for the season is Jesus, and the message of his birth and life and death and resurrection. In that message is life and rescue and for all those who believe it, for all "who fear Him from generation to generation." Share with them how important it is for you to keep hearing the power of God, the message of the Gospel. Unless that message is heard and our lives replenished, we're not able to lead lives of trust in Him and to continue to share that message from generation to generation. If a tree falls in the woods, but nobody hears it, I don't really care. But if the Word of God falls on human ears, it brings the wondrous message of salvation in Jesus. That is something Mary cared about sharing with others, and I pray so do we. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 7)