8 Gems for Preaching Christmas
Explore Interesting Ideas for Christmas Messages
Photo by Hert Niks. Used by permission.
Preaching Christmas Ideas
Christmas Eve is almost here. What will we preach? In 2023, Christmas Eve is a Sunday so we may have morning services as well as afternoon and evening services.
Keep reading to discover 8 Gems about the Christmas story and the Old Testament texts that might inspire us with new bursts of creativity.
#1 What if Mary’s Parents Believe Too?
How many times have we interpreted the lack of welcome from Joseph’s extended family to apply to everyone? Mary doesn’t become the Holy Mother in a vacuum. Maybe Mary’s parents are faithful, good people to raise a daughter like Mary. Maybe Mary’s parents believe her story of Gabriel and the miraculous pregnancy. How does this change what we say about Mary and the Christmas story?
#2 Isaiah 7:14: Virgin or Young Woman?
The Hebrew manuscripts of Isaiah 7:14 read (NRSV):
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.
In the 3rd century BCE, Hebrew scholars translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek. Since 6 translators from all 12 tribes of Israel were sent to Egypt to work on this translation the resulting work is called the Septuagint (70).
In the Septuagint, Isaiah 7:14’s Hebrew word for “young woman” is translated into a Greek word that can be translated as “virgin” or “young woman.” Early English translations of the Bible made from the Septuagint translated this Greek word into virgin giving it more meaning than the original Hebrew ever had.
#3 Does Joseph Own Land in Bethlehem?
One theory on why Joseph must go to Bethlehem for the census is because his family/older brother owns land in the area. He must register too, so that if something happens to his brother, the authorities will know he is next in line for the land.
#4 How Come Joseph’s Relatives Don’t Come Through?
Why does the Holy Family have to go to the inn? The innkeeper takes the brunt of historical ire, which might be better aimed at Joseph’s relatives who should be taking him and his pregnant wife into a family home. Someone should show hospitality and give space for Mary and Joseph to sleep.
Photo by Susanne Jutzeler. Used by permission.
#5 The Manger is Full Too
If the inn is full, then chances are good other people are staying in the manger1 with the Holy Family. Mary’s birth would have been attended to by some of these women. What a wonderful celebration of Emmanuel in that barnyard setting.
#6 In the Wilderness
The Hebrew Old Testament has no punctuation so the commas and periods in Isaiah 40:3 are the translators’ decisions. Rev. Dr. W. Dow Edgerton,2 back during class at Chicago Theological Seminary said that where the commas go can change the meaning of the prophecy. Here are the two options:
Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Prepare the way of the Lord. In the wilderness, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
In the first (most common placement of commas), the focus is on the listener as the one who is in the wilderness (lost or in trouble) and we are to trust in God and be ready to receive the savior. This reading emphasizes God coming to us.
In the second, the meaning shifts to God coming to the rest of the world. In this reading, we are to go to the wilderness, where the freed Israelites relied on God for 40 years. Now in the wilderness where we completely rely on God, we are to prepare the rest of the world to receive the savior.
In the first, God is coming to us. In the second God is coming to the rest of the world.3
#7 Stop Preaching Mary Was in Her Teens or Younger!
Trigger Warning
The scholarly focus on Mary being a young teenager roots out of a manuscript called “The Infancy Gospel of James” dated to the late 2nd century. In this narrative Jesus is born in a cave, Joseph is an old man who adopts 12-year-old Mary. Fifth-century scholars rejected this writing as wrong and heretical. They said it led people away from the true Word of God.
In the early 20th century German “scholars” promoted these ideas of Mary as an early teenager in their writings.4 The possible reason these men may have wanted this to be true should not be part of our Christmas celebrations.5
#8 Say It With Love
Pastors can get tightly wound on Christmas Eve. When we stand to share the Good News of Jesus on Christmas, may the joy and love of Jesus shine through us. This is the time for everyone: from doubters to faithful followers and everyone in between, to experience the love of Jesus in the words we say on God’s behalf about Emmanuel, God with us.
In Conclusion
Preachers, let the joy of the season infuse you this week. Listen to Christmas carols, eat good food, and enjoy your family. Let God give you the good news to share. I will be praying for you this week. Merry Christmas!
Manger literally means a long open food trough. The French used their word for manger “creche” to apply to the whole barn area where Jesus was born. Nit picketed people are right that manger is the food trough itself. This distinction can makes new believers feel stupid. Stupid is not what we should be going for on Christmas Eve.
His book “The Passion of Interpretation” remains one of the two most important books to my 30-year pastoral ministry. I often give it as an ordination gift to new clergy along with the other key book by Dr. Edwin H. Friedman “Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue.”
W. Dow Edgerton, after listening to the seminarians argue that this is not a real distinction and that it is implied in both readings that God is sending the savior, smiles and says, “Yes. Isn’t Bible translation fun?”
This is strange as the earliest manuscripts were not found until 1958
The source article on this I have not been able to find it since I read it in a Biblical journal in the early 1990s.