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Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”
NL Daily Devotion for Wednesday, December 24, 2025
by Rev. Dr. Miles Hopgood, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: Our calling as Christians is to be the sign our world and one another needs to see.
Imagine you are taking a hike in the woods. It is a beautiful day (since it is winter, you may include snow in your mental image if you wish). Caught up in the beauty of your surroundings, you come to a junction and suddenly realize you have no idea where to go. Retracing your steps would be too long and difficult (again, feel free to imagine new-fallen snow has covered your tracks). You are going to have to figure out where to go, not knowing where you are. Fortunately, as you approach the split in the trail, you see a sign. What luck! Drawing close enough to read it, you simply find a wooden plaque with the words, “YOU ARE HERE” imprinted in large letters. No accompanying map, no arrows, no mile markers. Just these words, “YOU ARE HERE.”
Pretty bad sign, right? Worse than bad, it is really no sign at all, because for a sign to be a sign, by its very nature it must point you to something other than itself. Like wearing a nametag which says only, “ME” or “NOT YOU,” or a watch which simply reads, “NOW,” it isn’t doing anyone any good. It is the distance between the sign and the thing signified, placed within the context of references, which allows gives the sign its proper function.
The life of Jesus is filled with signs, and his birth is no exception. He comes into this world surrounded by signs, a few of which we see tonight. Born in the city and from the line of David, wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger. We are given a mixture of the old and new, ancient prophecies concerning when the Messiah will be born and specifics about what it will look like to be in his presence, here and now. Of the two, it is the latter which concerns us most this evening. We have been drawn here again tonight, by many and various paths, to look for what is new, the sign which is needed for this day and age to know that we still have a Messiah, the Lord. For Jesus to be Emmanuel, God with us, we look for a sign for this age. The signs of old have brought us this far, but we look again to reorient ourselves by what is new.
Here will be the hard part, preacher. The signs are looking at you, not knowing fully what they are. The gathered community, the body of Christ, is the sign God has given the world for our age. The faithful disciples, the Christmas-and-Easter contingent, those just looking for a way to be warm and no longer alone—it makes no difference. But they will not realize it. Like bands of cloth, they will be feel more fit for a tomb than new birth. Like a manger, they will think of themselves as purpose to hold feed for livestock rather than Christ in our midst. But our imperfection is no obstacle to God. Trying, failing, loving, stumbling, repenting, forgiving, alive as one body, pointing to the Christ who has enlivened us to live no longer to ourselves. It is the uniting of this proclamation and witness which testifies that to us a savior has been born this day.
