Highs and lows… Terror and joy… Heaven and earth… Advent asks us to open our hearts to all of it.

The nativity story itself holds this tension: a birth surrounded by angels and shepherds, yet set within a world marked by empire, fear, and displacement. (Rev. Janice MacLean)

Let’s listen to the words we are going to focus on today. They are written in Luke 2, which is after Jesus’ birth:

8 Nearby shepherds were living in the fields, guarding their sheep at night. 9 The Lord’s angel stood before them, the Lord’s glory shone around them, and they were terrified.10 The angel said, “Don’t be afraid! Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. 11 Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord. 12 This is a sign for you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped snugly and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great assembly of the heavenly forces was with the angel praising God. They said, 14 “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”

15 When the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go right now to Bethlehem and see what’s happened. Let’s confirm what the Lord has revealed to us.”

16 They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. 18 Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully.

20 The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.

My colleague and friend, the Rev. Anne Hoganson has been on three pilgrimages to Bethlehem.

On her first journey to Bethlehem with a United Church pilgrimage group, Anne was transformed by encounters with the people of the land and their faithful striving toward a just peace rooted in love. She has gone back twice and hopes to return again soon.

The following are her words:

Bethlehem surprised me. I knew something of the current reality before my first journey, but still subconsciously expected the sleepy little town of Christmas carol fame. That vision was dispelled abruptly by the sight of the militarized checkpoint in a 25ft high wall that stretches for miles, cutting Bethlehem off from Jerusalem and surrounding villages, even separating farmers from their land.

Most visitors come as part of a packaged Holy Land tour. They arrive by bus, visit the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square, maybe buy a souvenir, then move on to the next stop of their carefully curated tour. But the beauty of Bethlehem is more than simply revisiting ancient sites mentioned in the Bible. Spending time here is an invitation to sink deeply into the meaning of our faith, carried on through the centuries by the Palestinian Christian community. The nativity story is one of joy and wonder, to be sure, yet also a story of a people oppressed under military occupation. To skip that connection is to skip a vital part of the story.

Advent feels different here in Bethlehem, in part because of walking daily in biblical footsteps. Star Street marks the route of Mary and Joseph. The Nativity Church is built over a grotto that marks the traditional place of Jesus’ birth. (On the other side of Manger Square is the Mosque of Omar, a visible sign of the religious plurality of this community.) Down the hillside are the shepherds’ field, where angels appeared, saying “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those on who God’s favour rests!” (Luke 2:14)

God’s presence feels impossibly close, visceral, here in the “little town” where Jesus was born. Because of the people who have called this place home for generations, whose lives and history are entwined with the stories of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection.

‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace (Jer 6:14) echoes in every corner. Yet paradoxically so too does divine peace that passes all understanding (Phil 4:7). The spiritual peace that comes through being grounded in love.

The people I have come to know and call friends intentionally engage in the deep soul work of loving their oppressor, and desire for both peoples to be free from the harm of oppression.

They speak of love as the path of justice, even when love is difficult as when Jesus calls us to love even our enemy.

They rise to the call to be a prophetic voice. Courageously condemning injustice and steadfastly standing with marginalized and oppressed peoples around the world, cultivating the sacred work of a just peace, life in abundance for all people.

After each of my three visits to Bethlehem, I have had a sense of returning home by a different road, transformed by my encounters and experiences.

During Advent, I get out my small olive wood nativity with the holy family on side end and the Magi on the other, and a wall in between. A visual reminder that the Christmas story cannot leave out the harsh reality that Bethlehem – then and now – is a city under military occupation. Peace on earth will only come to pass when all peoples are free to live in their land with dignity as equals.

Highs and lows… Terror and joy… Heaven and earth… Advent asks us to open our hearts to all of it.

Over my years of ministry, I’ve heard a lot of ambivalence around the Christmas season, the leadup to it… for some the ambivalence is around family not around.

For some it is illness… For some it’s an absence due to death or disagreement. For some it is the disconnect between the scarcity that some experience and the abundance which others have.

But the good news of great joy isn’t just a story for long ago, it’s a story for today! Whatever layers of tradition we have laid upon the story of Christmas, the essential message is the same! There is good news! There is great joy! For this baby… this man will change the world! And it wasn’t good news for those in power… it was good news for ALL of us. In fact, his message was bad news for those in power. The good news was present then, is present now and will be present in the future. That is what we proclaim in communion when we say, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!”

It’s good news! It’s great joy! And every day we get a chance to choose joy, even in the midst of difficult and challenging circumstances. .

Henri Nouwen was a Roman Catholic priest, who despite his vocation struggled with depression, found deep meaning and purpose living in a L’Arche community. He also struggled with the conflict between his vows of celibacy and his longing for intimacy.
But despite his struggles… he chose joy… he chose Jesus. Not just the baby… it’s easy to love that Jesus… but the man… the man that demands more of us that perhaps we think we have to offer. And all of us get to do that too!

He wrote this:

Joy does not simply happen to us,
We have to choose joy.
And keep on choosing it every day.

This story, so familiar to many of us, continues to unfold in fresh and unexpected ways. This story, so ancient, continues to be ever new. This story, so astounding, continues to compel us. Compels us to look for a glimpse joy… no matter the circumstances.

Highs and lows… Terror and joy… Heaven and earth…
Advent asks us to open our hearts to all of it.

Thanks be to God for the challenge and the opportunity, amen.

Luke 2: 8-20
December 14, 2025
Advent 3 – SJ

Photos – Anne Hoganson