7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”  8 Listen!  Your watchmen lift up their voices; together they shout for joy.  When the LORD returns to Zion, they will see it with their own eyes.  9 Burst into songs of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem, for the LORD has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem.  10 The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.  - Isaiah 52:7-10, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

In the name of Jesus, the Christ who gives Christmas its meaning and gives us every reason to gather together for worship today, dear friends:

I have some good news for you today.  It is fairly safe to assume that all of you know what that news is.  After all, the message I have to share with you is nothing new.  It’s not anything you haven’t heard before.  And I didn’t come up with it last night.  Actually, if I did not share this news with you this morning, you would have every right to be surprised.

The good news I have to share with you on this beautiful Christmas morning is that Jesus Christ is born.  Our King has come into the world.  That miraculous message, first announced by an angel to a group of lowly shepherds, fills our hearts with great joy.  We will never grow tired of hearing the Christmas story again and again.  It is a blessing for us to be able to review and refocus our hearts on our Savior’s birth at this time every year.

But it wasn’t always like that.  Not all believers were given the same opportunity to look back and appreciate what God has done for them.  When our sermon text was written, there were no gospels, no Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.  A written record of Christ’s birth did not exist because Jesus had not been born.  In fact, the Savior would not be born in Bethlehem for another seven hundred years.

Yet with the Holy Spirit at his side and writing under inspiration, Isaiah could write with complete confidence in God’s promise that the Messiah would indeed come.  These words of prophecy invite us to step back in time and look through the eyes of an Old Testament believer.  By doing so, we can learn and grow by looking at the Christmas story from another angle, as a person who was looking forward to the coming of the promised Messiah.

May this different perspective give us a deeper appreciation of the Christmas message that we know so well: Jesus came to earth as a tiny baby and humbled himself for us.  In anticipation of that great day, Christmas Day, the prophet Isaiah proclaims…

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news" (7).  Before Isaiah gets into the message itself, he takes a moment to remember the messengers.  The feet that carry the news are praised for the good news they bring.  God’s messengers played an important role throughout the Christmas story.

The angel Gabriel came to Mary and announced to her that she would give birth to the Savior of the world. Another angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and announced that Mary had conceived and would give birth to a child.  He told Joseph to name the baby ‘Jesus,’ because he would save his people from their sins (Mt. 2:20).  The hymn we just sang reminds us of the great company of angels that filled the night sky and proclaimed, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men…" (Lk 2:14).

But even more important than the messengers is the message they bring: "who proclaim peace, who bring good news, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’" (7).  Peace, good news, and salvation: these are not different concepts.  They all describe what Christ’s birth has brought into the world.

Peace in particular is a popular concept this time of year.  People may talk about peace, but they do not always connect peace with what Jesus has done to bring it about.  For many, wishes for Christmas peace are wishes for peace among warring nations, peace among the races, when people set aside their differences for a few days and join hands.

There is nothing wrong with this kind of peace, those wishes that make people feel good about themselves and their fellow man, wishes that give us a warm feeling inside.  But they do not even begin to scratch the surface of what Christmas is all about.

Some people might argue that we should do away with gift giving to recapture the true meaning of the holiday.  That way people won’t be pressured to rush around and overspend to buy gifts that people don’t really need.  With the time that we save, we will be able to meditate on the Christmas story.

This might sound like a good idea, but it is not a perfect solution.  For one thing, I like Christmas presents.  I enjoy giving and receiving gifts, but not because I am selfish and want to get new stuff.  Every time people exchange gifts, they are making a symbolic gesture.  These gifts serve as a visual reminder of another gift, the greatest gift ever given.

That gift, the gift that started it all, was not wrapped in colorful paper with perfectly squared corners.  It did not come with a decorative bow on top.  It wasn’t bigger than a breadbox.  It didn’t even come in a box.  The gift came in a few strips of tattered old cloth, and the tag attached read: From your Father with love.  The gift, of course, was God’s Son.

Along with that gift, we receive many other blessings: peace, the peace of forgiveness, the peace that only comes from above.  This is the "good news" that Isaiah talked about long before it happened.  This is the good news that the angel shared with the shepherds hundreds of years later.  Jesus came to earth as a newborn baby.  He died for our sins and has won for us "salvation."  Jesus gives us peace, for this life and for the life to come.

But Isaiah did not stop there.  The messenger’s excitement leads him to exclaim, "Your God reigns."  Even though the terrible and tragic events of the past year might lead us to believe that the walls of society are crumbling around us, even though it might be difficult to see any evidence of God’s ruling activity in our lives and in the world, even though it may appear that Christmas has been trampled under by secular traditions, our God still reigns today!  The almighty and powerful Lord is ruling over all things.  Our Savior comes in peace, but he also comes in power.

"The Lord will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all nations" (10). To the Old Testament Jew, the arm was the symbol of strength and power.  They didn’t have power tools and heavy machinery.  If they wanted to get something done, it took hard work and manual labor. Isaiah prophesied that the Lord would lay bare his holy arm.  He promised to roll up his sleeves, bare his arms, and get to work.  And God did more than just talk about his strength.  He demonstrated his power by sending his Son into the world.

But when we think about Jesus’ birth, when we think about Christmas, awesome displays of strength may not be the first things that comes to mind.  God’s miracles: healing the sick, turning water into wine, feeding the 5,000, raising Lazarus from the dead, even his own resurrection and ascension, all of these things demonstrate God’s power.

Based on outward appearances alone, Jesus’ birth was not especially powerful.  It was plain and lowly, and went unnoticed by most of the world.  Jesus, the Son of God, was born a helpless infant.  His birthplace was a not a sterile hospital, with the best care available.  He was born in a barn.  His parents were not rich or famous or royalty.  They were common people with common people’s problems.  Jesus’ entrance into this world was not at all like the grand procession you might expect for the Messiah, the king of the world.

But a closer look reveals that the power of God was at work.  The birth itself may have been unassuming, but the birth announcements were spectacular.  Angelic choirs were the first ones to proclaim that the Savior had been born.  God set a special star in the sky to mark the importance of the event and to lead others to the place where Jesus was.

The message of the angels filled the shepherds with awe.  The star in the sky was a miracle of God’s doing.  But the most amazing part of Christmas, what makes the Christmas message so powerful is what that birth means for you and me.  Because Jesus came down from heaven, because he set aside his divine glory, because he made himself nothing, he has given us everything.  He humbled himself to die for us and give us peace.  What amazing humility!  What amazing power!

"And all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God" (10). Jesus obeyed the Law perfectly and died on the cross for the sins of all.  This is the good news, and it is not exclusive.  It will be hidden from no one.  All people will see the salvation that God has won for us through his son.

Simeon may have been thinking of these words when he proclaimed in the temple: "For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people" (Lk 2:30,31).  This is the good news.  Isaiah saw it as a vision in the future.  Simeon saw it in his arms.  God allowed Isaiah to share the good news about the coming of the Messiah.  God allows us to look back and reflect on Jesus’ birth.  Our Savior has come in power.  Our Savior has brought peace into the world.  Rejoice in the good news, Christmas Day, and every day.  Amen.