The theme we have chosen for this Christmas is Draw Near and we wanted to focus on the story of Jesus’ birth told by Luke. Each of the gospels tell it differently. Matthew’s sets Jesus into his family tree to draw attention to his status as anointed Messiah that fulfils the story of Abraham, and David all the way down to Joseph. John’s is the most poetic and theological – In the beginning was the Word. The Word made flesh. Mark leaves this part of the story out altogether, jumping straight to John the Baptist in the desert. But it’s Luke who gives us the fullest account – filling in the family stories of Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah, of Simeon and Anna and placing the birth of Jesus into a specific time (when Quirinius was Governor), a specific town (in Bethlehem – David’s town), and ending in a specific location (a feeding trough). Luke wants us to see how Jesus fulfils the longings and hopes of Israel, for a restored relationship with their God again, and it’s Luke who gives us the story of the Shepherds – the ones who draw near to seek out the baby wrapped in cloths and laid in a manger. And it’s their story that we are picking up tonight – drawing near again to worship the God who draws near to us. And why does this matter so much? It’s because we have been made for relationship, for communion, for connection. It’s always been this way. The whole arc of the biblical story is about relationship…
Created for union
In the beginning, as the Word spoke forth light and life, there was no separation between us and God. There was no barrier between us. As men and women together, we walked side by side with him in the cool of the day and found our meaning in working for him and with him. In those first days, distance from him was unimaginable. It was like those perfect moments with someone you love—sitting quietly together, enjoying their presence without the need for words. That’s how it was with God at the beginning. His presence wasn’t something we had to reach for; it was like the air we breathe, as close as the arms of a parent wrapping a child in love. He dwelt with us and we with him.
The great separation
But then came the great separation. Given the freedom to choose and enticed by the dream of independence, our first parents chose to walk away, and seek their own path.
We all know the ache of separation that finds its origins in this rebellion – a broken relationship, the loss, or death of a loved one, the painful silence just after an argument. Where there was once intimacy, now there was distance, and the reign of Sin and Death took hold.
And yet even as we walked away, as the story makes clear, God’s heart has always remained turned toward us. Even in our failure, he continued to seek us, to cover us.
The New Start
The steps towards reunion were many. It started with Abraham and Sarah. Isaac, Jacob, Judah. A covenant promise etched in bodies that marked the new beginnings of trust. And God says to Moses, “Let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them” – to dwell among them… that’s his desire.
The ‘Tabernacle tent’ they were instructed to create, perfectly exhibits God’s longing to draw near. Its rich tapestry of symbols, rhythms and rituals, repeatedly and consistently reaffirm his longing for communion, for atonement, for covenant, for relationship. It was a place of meeting. Offerings were made. Offerings that repaired, celebrated, and reinforced their relationship – just as ritual meals around the table at Christmas do the same for us and our families. God’s Tabernacle, and the temple, were his way of saying, “I want to be with you.”
Exile and Return: Longing for God’s Presence
There were still so many more painful lessons for Israel to learn. Idolatry, immorality, corruption, greed, and pride (just as they do for us given the chance) corrupted them, polluted the land, and fractured the covenant of grace that God had made. Year by year the nation and the temple became hollow shells. We all know that it is possible to be married to someone but for the relationship to be empty – a hollow shell. It was like that for Israel and Judah.
This relationship breakdown led to exile, which wasn’t just about leaving the land; it was about separation from God’s presence, about the painful consequences of Sin and Death driving a wedge between them. God left the temple, and it fell to the ground.
Yet even in exile, God’s heart was for relationship. Through the prophets, He repeatedly speaks words of hope: “I will gather you from all the nations… I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile” he spoke through Jeremiah, and in time Nehemiah and Ezra would lead the people to return and rebuild Jerusalem again. It was a sign of God’s mercy and faithfulness and gave birth to a renewed hope.
The Ultimate Drawing Near: Jesus, the Word Made Flesh
Years later, it was into this longing that Jesus was born. Zerubbabel’s temple had been rebuilt by Herod, but it hadn’t restored all that had been lost. The glory of God, his magnificent presence hadn’t returned, and the problem of Sin and Death still polluted every aspect of life.
But then the Word became flesh and dwelt among us – tabernacled among us – announcedby signs, and stars, and Angel choirs. “Today in David’s town a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” The great chasm was being closed.
His name would be “Emmanuel. God with us” and he would be found, in solidarity with us, wrapped in cloths and lying in a makeshift cot – Jesus, God with us, among us, walking alongside us, eating with us, touching the unclean, healing the broken, raising the dead, forgiving sins.
The Cross: The Restoration of Relationship
And then, on the night before he died, celebrating and retelling the story of Passover, he took bread and broke it. “This is my body given for you.” And he lifted the cup and gave thanks. “This is my life, my life blood shed for you all, for your complete forgiveness, for your complete healing, for your complete cleansing – my life offered to make us one. “
And he offered himself for us on a Roman cross. And the temple veil tore from top to bottom. In solidarity with our suffering the Man of Sorrows atones for sin and through his resurrection swallows death up in victory.
Why did he do this? Why did he come? To invite us to draw near to God, not just as servants, but as sons and daughters, restored to the life that was always meant to be. The distance Sin and Death had caused is overcome. No more barriers between us. No longer separated in life, or even death. Relationship restored.
The Church: The Presence of God Among Us
And the story was not finished at the cross and the empty tomb. After His resurrection and ascension, God’s relationship agenda continues to gather pace. God sends His Holy Spirit to dwell within his people once again, just as he promised he would – his holy presence filling people – the undeserving and the unworthy, the Jew and the Gentile, the male and the female, the slave as well as the free. And he recreates his temple – out of ordinary failures.
God’s presence – no longer confined to a building or protected by a veil, but in us, with us, among us.
The End of the Story: God Dwelling with Us Forever
Can you see how it’s all been about relationship, about closeness, about union – from beginning to end. The finale is also all about relationship.
In Revelation, on the last pages of our bibles, we see the vision of the New Jerusalem, where God’s presence is with His people forever. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
There will be no more death, no more sin, no more distance. The Garden will be restored. The communion that was lost will be fully renewed. The story that began with God walking with humanity in the garden will end with God dwelling with us forever, and us with him, in perfect union.
This is our destiny if we want it. Undeserved, unwarranted, amazing grace. What a tragedy it would be for any of us to miss out on this.
The Invitation to Draw Near
And so, the big story of the Bible, its central arc, is the story of God drawing near to us, and us drawing near to him. Sin and Death have always been the problem, but they will not have the final word. God has made a way, through Jesus drawing near, to banish both, to restore what was lost, and to invite us into the very life of God – an immortal, eternal relationship of love – what Jesus calls eternal life.
So tonight, the invitation is simple – just as it was for the Shepherds – to draw near to the God who has drawn near to you. Come closer to worship. Receive the gift of his presence, for the first time, or thousandth time. Draw near to God. For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, so that whoever put their trust in him, might not perish, but receive eternal life with him, in him.
Christmas declares that God has drawn near to us. Through Jesus, through his life, death, and resurrection, he has opened the way for us to draw close to him. Let’s take up his offer. Like the shepherds at the manger, let’s approach with awe and wonder. Let’s draw near to the one who drew near to us so that he could pour out his Spirit, sanctifying us, washing us, cleansing us, filling us.
Christmas is about presents – I learned this early as a child. But it’s really about presence. If we Fathers, though we are evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will our Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit, his presence and life, to those who ask him. Ask and you shall receive, says Jesus. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. The veil is torn. The distance is gone. So, draw near to the God who has always longed to draw near to you.
There is a reason we are here tonight. And connecting all the hundreds of reasons between us, underlying them all is this – relationship – a relationship between us and our Father in heaven.
