Christmas Eve Sermon: “Christmas Boots”
Adam J. Copeland
December 24, 2009
Adams Mountain Lutheran Church
Christmas Boots
Isaiah 9:2-7
Luke 2:1-20
Tonight, thousands of miles away from us here, pilgrims having gathered in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity. There they worship God at the site traditionally marking Jesus birth. Some will have traveled many miles to attend a Christmas Eve service at the ancient church. Some Palestinian Christian will just have walked a few blocks from their houses.
Parts of that church in Bethlehem date back to the 4th century, so it’s fascinating to think of the variety of Christmas Eve services celebrated within its walls over the years. From monks to knights, peasants to kings, the church has seen it all.
If you were there tonight, though, and were feeling a little playful I’d suggest playing a game. It’s called, “Spot the American.” My friends and I played it sometimes when I was studying abroad in college. To play you just sit back in a tourist hot spot and try to pick out the Americans. No listing to accents, that’s cheating. You have to do it by sight. After a few trips, it’s actually pretty easy.
You can almost always spot Americans tourists in one of three ways. One, they have their money or passport around their neck on a cord. Have you seen that type of travel wallet? Americans love them, nobody else seems to carry their money so close to their hearts. Another way to spot Americans while traveling is by looking for fanny packs. Yes, we invented the fanny pack so we claim it near and far. Finally, the easiest way of all to spot Americans while traveling is by their shoes, their footwear. I don’t know what it is about the American shoe manufacturing business, or Americans’ feet, but our shoes stand out. There’s the white sneaker that’s almost uniquely American, the black Reebok which makes many trips abroad, and the sensible brown travel shoe. I’m telling you, after a little practice you can spot American footwear a mile away. If you were playing “Spot the American” at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem tonight, you’d have no problem at all if you focused on the feet.
In that prophetic passage from Isaiah 9 tonight, we hear:
The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness–on them light has shined…For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
Perhaps this passage strikes us even more pointedly this year as 30,000 more troops head to Afghanistan. Isaiah writes that in the day of the Lord all the boots of the tramping warriors will be burned as fuel for the fire.
A few years ago now, Jim Webb ran for the U.S. Senate in Virginia. As a Democrat, he needed to appear especially strong on national security issues, especially considering he was running in the state home to so many who work at the Pentagon. For these political reasons, or just because of where his heart was, Jim Webb wore some very unusual footwear while he campaigned. Jim’s son was just back from a tour of duty in Iraq, and was returning soon. Jim wore his son’s combat boots every day of that campaign, whether now-Senator Webb was wearing jeans or a suit and tie, those combat boots made a statement that he supported his son, and he supported the troops.
Isaiah writes of a time when combat boots are no longer needed, for the enemy has been vanquished. Their boots are thrown into the fire and the people can rejoice for a child has been given to them called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah knew all those names, but he didn’t call him Jesus. Not until a few hundred years later did the world welcome God incarnate by that name. And even then, his birth was not what we might have expected, not the glorious loud triumphal birth of a king, not at all. … Continue Reading
"It's All Sermon Prep to Me"
When I was in high school and chatting with a teacher about our churches, he said “I don’t think I could ever respect a pastor who didn’t know Greek and Hebrew.” That statement stuck with me. Heck, it probably kept me going through some rather challenging times in both my Greek and Hebrew courses.
For a few years now, however, I’ve been wondering how much credence my teacher’s comment really has. I preached about forty sermons in Scotland two years ago without my Greek or Hebrew resources over there (I opted to take golf clubs, not books 
). I didn’t get too many complaints from church members about my lack of declining Greek nouns or parsing Hebrew verbs.
Now, though, I have my Greek and Hebrew books on my new pastor’s study bookshelf, but I haven’t been inclined to pull them out. Sure, I could check out a perplexing phrase in a text if I really wanted to, but I just rarely ever want to. So I wonder, what’s the rub: am I a sermon writing slacker or reality claiming time-manager?
The point, I suppose, is not that one uses Greek and Hebrew in one’s exegesis necessarily, but that sermons are well planned and delivered, deeply grounded in the word and call others to do the same. I’d never want to intimidate someone with knowledge of Biblical languages (what little knowledge I have), or put someone off with a flippant Greek or Hebrew remark in a sermon. On the other hand, I wonder what was the point of all those sweat and tears in Greek, Hebrew, and exegesis courses? Maybe they were supposed to teach me how to think, and did that. But how, also, might my sermon direction change if I took the time to read the original language each week?
When I have a conundrum, I often try to solve it with technology. The problem is, technology isn’t always the answer. (I don’t want to become like another Adam and blame my Weight Watchers struggles on the lack of iPhone app.) I do wonder, though, if investing in a good Bible translation program might provide me the added boost to work more with the original language? If you think so, what program for my Mac would you recommend?
And, in any sermon prep discussion I always wonder: and how might I involve our congregation more in the exegesis?
image by Renaudeh
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