Bethlehem Lutheran Church
The Heart of Bay Ridge
Sunday Service 10:30am
4th & Ovington Avenues
Brooklyn NY 11209
718.748.9502
Dear Members and Friends,
I especially enjoyed my Confirmation class a couple of Sundays ago. When I teach something new that is surprising to my students, it makes me smile. We dedicated the class time to reading and discussing the birth stories of Jesus from the gospels of Matthew, Luke and John. Why not Mark, you ask? Answer: Because Mark doesn’t have one. It seems that Mark didn’t care how Jesus was born.
We began with Luke. We read about the census for tax purposes that prompted Joseph and Mary to travel to Bethlehem to be enrolled. Not exceptionally good timing, as Mary was ready to deliver her baby. Bethlehem was crowded and there were no rooms available. The baby Jesus was born in a shelter for the animals and placed in a manger. There were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks and an angel appeared to them announcing the birth of a savior. There was a heavenly host of angels praising God and when they left, the shepherds went to Bethlehem to see this special baby.
Next, we read from Matthew. It was an entirely different story. Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, so he plans on dismissing her quietly. An angel appears to him and explains that the child is from the Holy Spirit and Joseph should continue with his plans to marry Mary. Joseph is a righteous obedient man of God, so he does what the angel commanded him. We have the evil King Herod who is threatened by this royal birth. We have the magi, the wise men from the East, following the star to find the newborn king. The star stops where the child resides, and the wise men enter the house and present their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
But Pastor Paul, didn’t the wise men go to the manger in Bethlehem? Nope. Didn’t the shepherds and the wise men all gather around the baby together? Nope. Didn’t the star rest over the cattle stall? Nope. But, Pastor Paul, in our Christmas pageant everyone is together in one place. Yes, it makes such an adorable picture, but that’s not how the story goes.
Finally, we read from the Gospel of John. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…full of grace and truth…No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.”
Wonderful pearls of wisdom can be extracted from the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, but quite honestly, I enjoy John the best. John proclaims the Good News. “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Yes, John, in Jesus, we discover God. That’s Christmas!
In the Lord's service,
Rev. Paul H. Knudsen
Pastor Paul's December Message
Bethlehem Lutheran Church ® | 4th & Ovington Avenues, Brooklyn NY 11209 | 718.748.9502
A member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
