Delivered on Thursday 24 December 2009 in St George's Chapel

Luke 2:1-14

Now we have heard the Christmas story. We have heard about Caesar Augustus and the governor of Syria, about Joseph and Mary and the birth of the baby in Bethlehem, about the shepherds in the fields, and the appearance of the angel of the Lord in their midst, about the multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying Glory to God in the highest.
As you heard the story, what went on in your minds? I guess the reactions will have been different. There may have been some whose thoughts wandered, thinking instead of presents still to wrap, or lunch arrangements, or whatever. There may have been some who thought the story a nice fairy tale. And there may have been some for whom the story triggered memories of past Christmases. All these are our human reactions to the Christmas story: a little absentmindedness, a little unbelief and a little Christmas sentiment. These are our reactions, mine as well.
Until, that is, the angel of the Lord appears and shakes us up. You can think of the angel as a kind of postman bringing you news. But this is no ordinary mail. The angel of the Lord is God's messenger, and he is delivering the news of the Christmas story. And when he announces his news to you, all absentmindedness, all unbelief, all lofty sentiment disappears. So what is his news: To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour! And remember this news is not given to you by a politician, or an academic theologian, or a priest of the church - it is a message delivered to you by the angel of the Lord. It is a message delivered to you from God.
And, to emphasise the point, the angel's message begins 'To you'. This message is for you. You, regardless of who you are, whether or not you understand the message, whether or not you are good and pious. The news is for you. It is for you that the Christmas story happened. It does not take place without you - it is a story in which we are all involved.
We are all involved. When the Royal Mail postman comes, we ask 'Anything for me?' and we withdraw to read the envelope alone. The event of Bethlehem is, by contrast, not a private matter. The angel points to you and to me, individually but he addresses us corporately. His news ties us together like brothers and sisters who share a gift from their father. No one is first, no one is last, and most importantly no one is left wanting. That's exactly why we pray 'Our Father'. It's why we never pray 'Give me this day my daily bread' but 'Give us this day our daily bread'. And its why at the Lord's Supper we eat from one bread and drink from one cup. Communion with each other, and communion with the Saviour - one is not possible without the other. So that's what the angel means when he says 'For to you'.
The good news also speaks of who is born. To you is born a saviour. What is a saviour? The saviour is he who brings us salvation - he is the helper, the liberator, the redeemer; he is all these things not as a man might be but as only God can be. He stands by us, he rescues us, he offers us the possibility of genuine life. All we are asked to do is to stretch out our hands, to receive the gift, and to be thankful.
The angel of the Lord says: to you this day is born a Saviour.
That is the Christmas story - that is why we are here this evening. We are here to be addressed by the angel of God. He will not force us to listen. Instead we must listen willingly; we must participate willingly.
Our reading tonight ends with willing praise: 'And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!'. A few verses later, Luke tells us that as Mary reflected on all that had happened on that first Christmas, she treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. We too need to treasure and to ponder. The angel of the Lord says: To you is born this day a Saviour.