December 24, 2025
Luke Birth Narrative
Introduction
“They made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.” (Luke 2:1-20)
What do you imagine the shepherds told them? How would you envision “…and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them”? And I don’t want you to answer like someone sitting in church on Christmas Eve. Think how you’d answer in a modern day setting and perspective, or how it would play on a social media reel.
When I imagine what the shepherds told them, I think of it as one of those stories where it’s after work hours and these shepherds have made their way to the local watering hole where other shepherds have gathered as well, and everyone is swapping stories about work. One shepherd saying, “Not only was it freezing cold, but those bleeping sheep just wouldn’t stop bleating and they were just begging to get mauled to death!” Then another shepherd says, “I am so sick of this third shift shepherding. If I don’t get moved to first shift soon, I’m going to go become a fisherman.” To which someone else says, “Good luck with that pal. Dead fish smell worse than wet sheep!”
On and on, all these shepherds are sharing work stories, complaining, cracking jokes, and one-upping each other, until finally a voice from a group of shepherds that had been very quiet the whole time, finally says, “Well you all are never going to believe what happened to us.”
What do you imagine these shepherds told them? Did they tell about standing in a light of divine presence? Did they admit they were terrified? Did they tell about the angel’s announcement of “good news of great joy for all the people?” Did they dare mention they heard a choir of angels singing and praising God. I wonder if they told them about how they all looked at the child lying in a manger of all places, and said, “The angel told us about him. He’s the one we’ve been waiting for.”
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I don’t know exactly what the shepherds told them, we only know that whatever it was it left them (those who heard their story) filled with awe, wonder, and inspired. They were amazed. But I can’t help but question what they were amazed by. We assume they were amazed by the story itself, and maybe even the enthusiasm and passion with which it was told. But maybe it was the unbelieve-ableness of the story that was so amazing—the ridiculousness of it, the audacity of the story. After all, the one they all had been “waiting” for was the Messiah, the one who would come and set them free; a conquering king of royal birth for goodness sake. Not a baby born in squalor and laying in an animal’s feeding trough. And certainly, the announcement of the Messiah’s birth would not first be told to a group of dirty, smelly, shepherds.
“They made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.”
Move 1
When we take a moment to think about the Christmas story—this amazing story of God with us— it really can seem rather ridiculous. It sounds amazing—but one that is not really believable.
So what is so amazing about this story that two thousand years later we are still telling it? What is so amazing that we come back year after year to hear a story we’ve already heard countless times, and probably know by heart? What about this story, has you amazed tonight?
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Now typically, this would be the point in the Christmas Eve sermon, where I the preacher would regale to you an anecdotal sermon illustration of a modern-day amazing story. One of those “pull at your heart strings” stories that begins with someone in dire straits because life has been upended. Or maybe it’s a story of someone who has been forgotten, or lost themselves in some way, and are now struggling, and in desperate need of a life altering intervention. Or maybe it’s a story of everything going as expected, when all of the sudden the unexpected and unthinkable happens.
And then, whatever the plot line is, it all comes to a climatic and dramatic, emotionally manipulative, feel-good ending no one saw coming, where everything changes, the day is saved, and everything is right with the world—a story that will have you walking out of here thinking “What an amazing sermon delivered by such an inspiring preacher.”
And if I told that kind of story it would be fine. We’ve all heard those kinds of stories, and they are heartwarming, inspiring, even Christmasy. But I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to tell someone else’s story tonight. And I am not going to because truthfully, none of us here tonight need to hear someone else’s amazing story. And we don’t need to hear anyone else’s story because every one of you here tonight is already living an amazing story. An amazing story that you, like the shepherds, need to tell to them.
Move 2
No doubt the shepherds in that field so long ago had an experience that needed to be told, that deserved to be told because it is an amazing story about how many people were struggling, forgotten, and lost. It’s a story about how plans were upended. It’s a story about how everything was going as expected, until all of a sudden, the unexpected happened. It’s a story that had the ending already revealed, right up until what no one saw coming actually came, and everything changed.
If this story is now starting to sound familiar in a different way, good. Because I’m no longer talking about the amazement of what happened to the shepherds, Mary, or Joseph. I want us to push through the sentimentality of the story and get to its power and meaning for our lives tonight. I want us to get at how this amazing story is actually your amazing story, within your life and circumstances tonight.
I don’t want you to hear, or even tell, their amazing story. I want you to recall, and tell, your amazing story. Because whether you believe it or not, because of this story, you have an amazing story to tell them.
Move 3
So what is your amazing story that needs to be told to them… told to the amazement of others? Is it a story about recovering hope when you thought all was lost; finding freedom and forgiveness of past guilt and regret; or facing and moving through your fear?
Maybe yours is a story of discovering light, meaning, and direction for your life when you were walking in shadows, or getting your life turned around and going in a new direction. Maybe your amazing story is about experiencing peace in a time of turmoil, or getting through another day when you didn’t think you could even get out of bed that morning. Could your amazing story be about how your life was put back together when you weren’t sure if you even had all the pieces? Maybe it’s an amazing story about love and intimacy, or abundance and gratitude, or healing and wholeness. Maybe it’s an amazing story about feeling a presence greater than and from beyond yourself and coming to the truth that you are known, you matter, and you are loved more than you ever imagined. Maybe it’s an amazing story about looking in the face of the child lying in a manger and recognizing yourself—recognizing that your existence, your history is blessed, that you went from nothingness to holiness.
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Every one of those stories, and a thousand others like them, is an amazing story of Christmas and they all begin with the child lying in a manger. A child who has an amazing story because they came so that the amazing stories of you could unfold and be told them… told so that all who hear them can be amazed.
Conclusion
We come this night to once again receive the child in the manger into our own lives. It doesn’t matter who you are, why you are here, or what has and has not happened in your life the past year. The angel’s announcement of “good news of great joy for all the people” is a promise all of us are given. And from that promise comes our amazing story. And often the most amazing aspect about our story is that it is happening even when we don’t see it or can’t yet believe the outcome will be amazing.
The amazing story began with the shepherds, but it continues with us. It is now your story and my story. And in whatever ways it penetrates our hearts, our minds, our emotions, all that we love and hold as dear, it will always be a story that is simply amazing and needs to be told to them. So what is the story you would make known about the child? How has that story grown in you? Is it still growing in you? If not, why not? In what ways does it continue to change and challenge you?
The Christmas story, this amazing story of God with us, does not end with the birth of Jesus. That’s when the story begins. And it’s not simply a story to tell, it’s our story to live. So on this Christmas Eve, let’s vow to not only tell this amazing story, but to live this amazing story—which is our amazing story. Let’s vow to live it to its fullest, to open ourselves to the world and word of the shepherds, and to allow our lives, words, and actions to become the amazing story to tell everyone. Because this story…AND your story…is an amazing story to tell them.
Merry Christmas. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, Christmas Eve 2025
Gracious and Holy God, on this most sacred night, we gather under the light of the ancient promise—that you sent your son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that your children would be saved through him.
Words cannot express the impact this amazing story has on us. The story that begins on a quiet hillside, with startling glory, and humble shepherds who were the first to hear the news that changed the world.
We thank you, Lord, that you did not send your message to the high and mighty, but to those whose story so closely reflects our stories—those who were simply trying to find in a broken and hurting world, moments of hope, peace, joy, and love. We marvel at how their fear was transformed into wonder when the angel proclaimed, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” And we are inspired at how they were transformed by seeing the babe in the manger, and then telling this amazing story to others.
And so, in their footsteps, we come tonight to the manger, needing to be reminded that their story is our story. May we, like the shepherds, be filled with the Hope that defies despair, the Peace that surpasses understanding, the Joy that no struggle could ever overshadow, and the Love that you made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
But Lord, don’t let us linger too long by the manger, and do not let this story end at the stable tonight. We pray that after we have received and heard again this amazing story for ourselves, you will ready us to go out just as the shepherds did—glorifying and praising you, and sharing this story by living this amazing story, telling and showing all that because of this night everything has changed for the better.
So as we carry the light of Christ from this place tonight, make us messengers of your light and story tellers of your Good and amazing News.
We pray all this in the blessed name of the newborn King, our Savior and Messiah, Jesus the Christ. Amen.