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 Epistle (Titus 3: 4-8a)
A miracle happened on this day, on what we call Christmas, the day of Christ's birth. Granted, we don't know exactly what day Christ was born. It may not have been December 25th. It may not have even been in December. We do know more about when Good Friday and Easter and Pentecost occurred, in April and May. But with Jesus Christ's birth, we really don't know. Centuries ago the Western Church decided that this was as good a day as any to celebrate Christ's birth. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates it two weeks from now, on January 6.
While we don't know conclusively what day Jesus' was born, we do know all we need to know about what happened, and why He appeared, and Who He is. We do know a miracle occurred. (Titus 3: 4-5a) "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us" God visibly entered into His creation in human form. The Word of God, who was in the beginning, Who was with God, Who was God Himself, came and became flesh and dwelt among us. Humans saw his glory, a glory that did not emphasize his power yet, but a glory that was full of grace and truth. The kindness and love of God our Savior appeared and saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.
A psychiatrist, Dr. John Rosen, was known for his work with schizophrenics. Instead of staying an aloof professional distance from his patients, Dr. Rosen moved into the ward with them. His bed was by their beds. He lived the life they must live. He loved them. If they didn't talk, he didn't talk either. It was as if his being there communicated something that they hadn't experienced in years � somebody who loved them, understood them. But he did something else. He put his arms around them and hugged them. He held these unattractive, unlovable people and loved them back to life. Often the first words they spoke were simply "Thank you." This is what Jesus did at Christmas. He moved into the ward with us. His bed is among our beds. He hugs us, loves us, feeds us, and saves us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of his great mercy (Titus 3: 5 � Dr. Rosen story modified from Mark Berg, Seasonal Illustrations, edited by Don Deffner, San Jose, CA: Resources Publications, 1992, p. 21). He gave his life, not just as an experiment to see if God could become human. He gave his life on the cross to show us the ultimate in Love.
Resurrected and ascended, He continues to come among us, feeding and saving us through Word and Sacrament.
We don't know for sure what day the miracle of Christmas actually occurred. But for each of us personally, another miracle occurred that we nearly all know the date. "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior" (Titus 3: 5-6). For many of us, our Lord came before we were even consciously aware of our need for Him, and He saved us through the washing of rebirth which is baptism. At that point, the mercy and grace of Christ Jesus was poured out on us through God's Word connected with water, and through that grace we became heirs of eternal life. We were miraculously and mysteriously connected to the miraculous mystery of Christmas through our baptism. Luther asked the Catechism question: "How can water do such great things? Certainly not just water, but the Word of God in and with the water does these things� with the word of God (the water) is a Baptism, that is a life-giving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit. Then Luther quotes our text from Titus 3. For others who weren't baptized as young children, they heard this Word of grace in Christ Jesus and were renewed by the Holy Spirit, then faithfully confirmed that Word of grace in the waters of Holy Baptism. Now we continue to trust in this saving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, devoting ourselves to doing what is good so everyone may be profited and learn of Christ Jesus.
When Otto and Jill Hintze served among the first missionaries in Papua New Guinea, the religion of the Enga people emphasized a dreadful fear of the semongo, spirits of their ancestors. When a relative died, the Enga would show the spirit of that relative how sad they were by cutting off a joint of a finger. Some people had severed most of their fingers from one hand, right down to the palm.
The mission station at Yaramanda had 40 acres of land that the missionaries cultivated. Whenever Jill went out to work in her garden, the New Guinea women would help. Two helpers, Satai and Kewa End, thought of Jill as their daughter. One day Satai stopped working and looked at Jill's hands. Then she looked at her own. She held up her hand said in the Enga language, "Missis, if you would have come a long time ago to teach us about God, I would still have all my fingers like you do." Satai was baptized with the first class of catechumens at Yaramanda in 1957. Two years later, the Hintzes' 5th child was born very ill. They baptized him immediately -- and he died about 10 minutes later. Satai comforted Otto and Jill with the promise that their baby was in heaven and that they would see him again. "How thrilling it was for us to have this assurance from someone we had helped lead to Jesus!" said Jill. (Hintze story from Concordia Pulpit Resources, December 2000, p. 10). The good the Hintzes' had done came back to benefit them. The miracle of Christmas had saved them all.
A miracle occurred on this Christmas day. God our Savior appeared. A miracle occurred on another day. He saved each of us through the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Holy Spirit in our lives, connecting us to the miracle of Christmas. Those two miracles go together, now and forever, for each of us. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.