“God’s Gentle Way”
Text: Luke 2:1-20 & 1 Kings 19:8-12
12-24-2025
In the name of our newborn Savior, dear friends in Christ. After each of my children were born, I did something that I imagine most every parent has done at one time or another. I’d wake up in the middle of the night, and immediately think of my new baby. So, I’d gently slip out of bed and tiptoe into the room where the crib was. And I’d stand there looking down on the beautiful new life God had brought into my world. I didn’t say anything as I stood there because I was totally filled with awe. My heart was also filled with thankfulness to God for that precious gift of a child. At a time like that, silent watching seems like the only proper response. There would be plenty of time for playing, and smiling, and singing, and noisy laughter. But right then and there, as I looked at the innocence and gentle beauty of my sleeping child, being quiet seemed like the best thing to do. That was more than enough.
I don’t know about you, but I get the distinct impression this is how it was on that first Christmas night in Bethlehem. Mary was resting quietly after giving birth to Jesus. And I imagine that at times she leaned over and joined Joseph as he quietly watched the sleeping Christ Child. They too were filled with awe and thankfulness for this precious gift God had given. But this was more than just an ordinary baby and Mary & Joseph knew that. This was the Messiah, the Savior of the world. All they could do was stand there in silent adoration as they looked upon the Son of God in human flesh and blood.
Believe it or not that’s the way God delivers to us all His gifts of grace: quietly, and more importantly, as gently as a newborn baby. You know, that’s not what we might have expected. Quite often when people read about the way God revealed Himself in the Old Testament, all they can think of is thunder and lightning and storms and floods and earthquakes. It’s true those things did happen by the hand of God. They were visible signs of His mighty power and sometimes, warnings about His wrath against sin. And yet, that’s not the way God deals with us sinful humans. Not even back then in ancient days. Rather, as Scripture tells us, He’s as gentle as a loving father when He shows His gracious, loving care. And that has always been His way.
Case in point, think about the prophet Elijah’s encounter with the close presence of the Lord. Elijah had challenged the people of Israel to decide who the real God was, because they were wrapped up in worshiping a false god called Baal. The long and short of it is that the true God sent fire from heaven to demonstrate that He alone is the God to be worshiped. That was far from a gentle way to get the point across. But this was a moment of judgment against the sin of idolatry and it required this powerful response. And Elijah agreed with it. But then evil Queen Jezabel, who promoted the worship of Baal, sent a message to the prophet that she was out to kill him. So, Elijah ran for his life, all the way to Mount Horeb as you heard in our reading.
Remember, Elijah was wanting and expecting more powerful displays of God’s wrath, especially against people like Jezebel and the others in her camp. But it didn’t come. As a result, he had to flee. That’s when God taught him a valuable, spiritual lesson of how the Lord responds with grace, even when we don’t deserve it. Elijah was hiding in a cave on the mountain. He was confused and he needed to know the truth about how God brings His holy presence to us in order to save us. He also needed to learn about God’s gentle mercy.
And that’s what God gave him. The Lord called Elijah to come out and see God pass by with His holy presence. Just as Elijah would have expected, there first came a mighty wind, so strong that it broke the rocks of the mountains. Then came another display of power in an earthquake. And then finally a mysterious, roaring fire. Like I said, all of this is what Elijah expected from God. And yet, after each of these displays of the God’s power, it says the Lord was not in any of these things. Instead, when God actually does come near to Elijah with His holy presence, He makes Himself known through a soft, gentle whisper. God had the power to come to this man and show His presence with mighty force. Yet, He chose to reveal Himself in a very gentle way.
That’s something Elijah could be thankful for. And it’s also something we can rejoice and be thankful for. Because you see, my friends, this is what happened on that first Christmas Eve. The Son of God set aside all of His power and majesty. and He came to us gently, as soft as a whisper, in the form of a gentle little baby. In that gentle little child lying in the manger, was all of God’s love, grace, and mercy for the world. Throughout His life, that’s how Jesus operated. He was gentle with the sinners He came to save. Yes, He used His mighty, divine power along the way and He spoke powerfully as He called people to repent of their stubborn sinfulness. But as Isaiah had predicted, Christ went quietly to the cross as a gentle lamb, led to the slaughter. There, He suffered and died to save the whole world.
As our minds ponder this and we think back to the lowly manger we need to consider our response to God’s gentle gift of love that’s lying there. Kind of like my opening illustration, it seems that the only proper response from us is to silently stand in awe of the gentle Christ Child. In our hearts, as we look upon the baby Jesus, we can only be filled with quiet adoration as we thank God for His precious gift of a Savior. After the shepherds quietly adored the Christ Child, the Bible says they left the stable, “glorifying and praising God for all that they had seen and heard.” As you leave here tonight, I pray that each of you will do as they did. Glorify and praise God for this wondrous good news of a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!