Christ the Babe Was Born For You!
25th December 2024
Luke 2:10-14
Today we celebrate the birth that brings God close to us.
Because of Christmas, God meets us in the gritty reality of a world full of trouble.
Wars rage, disaster strikes, relationships fracture,
hearts are anxious, and peace often feels elusive.
It’s easy to ask:
Does this baby in a manger really make a difference?
Is Jesus more than a symbol,
more than a sentimental story to stir our hearts in December?
The answer is a resounding YES.
Jesus’ birth changes everything.
He didn’t just enter history; He entered our lives.
He came to bring light to a dark world,
peace to troubled hearts,
and hope to weary souls.
The angel’s message to the shepherds carries the weight of eternity:
“11to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
Notice the three titles given to Jesus here:
· Saviour: He comes close, to rescue and redeem us.
· Messiah: The long-awaited Anointed One, who fulfils God’s promises.
· Lord: The sovereign ruler over all creation.
These aren’t empty titles.
Jesus’ birth means God is not a distant observer,
but comes close as an active Saviour.
When the angels sing,
“14Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace,”
it’s not just poetic language.
It’s a declaration of God’s plan to restore the world to Himself.
Think of the brokenness we see today:
division, destruction, tragedy, sickness, poverty.
These are not hidden from God.
Through Jesus, He has initiated the redemption of all things.
If we’re honest, the brokenness “out there”
often mirrors the struggles within our own hearts.
Anxiety, fear, guilt, hopelessness — these can weigh us down.
Yet Jesus didn’t just come to change the world on a grand scale;
He came to change you.
In Him, the peace proclaimed by the angels,
becomes personal.
· Jesus brings peace with God:
Through His birth, life, and eventual death on the cross,
He reconciles us to the Father (Romans 5:1).
You and I are no longer estranged or condemned,
but adopted into God’s family.
· Jesus brings peace within:
When we welcome Him into our lives, He offers rest to our restless hearts.
Philippians 4 reminds us that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
· Jesus brings peace with others:
As recipients of His grace,
we are empowered to forgive, love, and reconcile
in ways that defy human strength.
In a chaotic world, Jesus is the Prince of Peace
who whispers to each of us, “Do not be afraid.”
Whatever disasters you face, His presence makes all the difference.
This Christmas, we hear the story that Jesus comes as good news for the whole world.
…AND Jesus comes to YOU.
Later in the service the Choir will sing the beloved carol “Infant Holy, Infant Lowly,”
Let us hear the line that reminds us:
“Christ the Babe was born for you!”
The shepherds heard the angel’s proclamation,
and they acted.
They went to find the Christ child.
And so the invitation is to YOU: will you come close to Jesus?
Will you let Him make a difference in your life?
Let me read a short ‘wondering’
about the meaning of Christmas by the author Adrian Plass…
"On Christmas we remember Jesus by having a turkey."
This is the earliest piece of my own literary output that I can find.
I must have been four or five years old at the time.
At first glance there may appear to be a couple of theological and factual holes in the fabric of this earnest contention.
However, with each Christmas I see, and the older I get, the more inclined I am to believe that Jesus might smile ruefully on reading these words and agree that, sadly, there is a grain of truth in my infant proposition.
But the truth has never changed, no matter how it is neglected by the hearts of men and women.
God came to be with us.
That is what we celebrate THIS DAY.
And a strange, exciting, mystical aspect of the truth is that,
actually, Christmas can also happen on any other day of the year.
Each time the Holy Spirit meets a receptive soul
and finds that soul responding to the love of the Father,
a new wave of excitement will pass through him
and therefore through the assembled hosts of heaven.
For the billionth time, no matter what horrible things might be happening in the world,
…Jesus will be born.
On Christmas day the world will turn once more towards its end
…And Jesus will be born
A woman who has tried once more in vain to re-create the morning
Will find her spirit crushed at last by failures and defeats
Her grief will trail like tattered ribbons
Through apocalyptic streets
…And Jesus will be born
A little child who cannot waste his tiny reservoir of moisture
on a thing as purely pointless as a tear
Will puzzle at the burning skies
Blank and empty as his mother's eyes
And wish beyond the point of fear
That darkness would descend
…And Jesus will be born
Yes, Jesus will be born
though the night enfolds like a black shroud
and the Liar's lies drive us from our peace
and take us from our beds
and bring us to our knees
on the cold stone tiles of the kitchen floor
…Jesus will be born
Yes, though the skies crack
and the heavens sway
and the heat dies in the earth's core
and the last stitch in the last ditch appears
When all is lost
A child's hand will reach out from the manger
A wounded hand will catch our tears
…For Jesus will be born on Christmas Day.
(Adrian Plass And Jesus Will Be Born, pp197-200)
Today, let this truth settle in your soul: Christ came for you.
He sees you, He knows you,
and He came to bring you
life, peace, and hope.
Will you receive Him…?
“Christ the Babe was born for you!”
And because He brings God’s love this close,
you can have life, you can peace, you can have hope.
May the love of God Jesus brings fill your hearts today and always.
Amen.