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He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. \xa0While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them (Luke 2:5-7).

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas was once asked what he thought was the greatest threat to American Christianity. His answer was surprising. It wasn\u2019t atheism, radical Islam, civil religion, or consumerism. No, Hauerwas stated that what threatens to undo American Christianity is sentimentality.

Rather than actively engaging with the grit and grime of the world, sentimentality longs for a life in a world illuminated by a soft, flattering light, where no one cusses and where every conflict is neatly resolved. It\u2019s safe for the whole family. It never disrupts, never demands, never makes us question. Sentimentality thrives on comfort and making us feel good.

Luke will have none of that. As Pastor Anthony said yesterday, because the emperor in Rome wanted a census taken for taxation purposes, Joseph and Mary headed off to Bethlehem. When they finally arrived, there was no room for them, so Mary\u2019s baby was born without an address. Jesus began his fleshly life among the animals because humans had no place for him. Nothing sentimental about that.

The Christmas story raises a central question of the gospel. John the Baptist put it this way, \u201cAre you the one?\u201d (cf. Matthew 11:3). How can this be the saviour of the world? How can someone born in such conditions be Israel\u2019s Lord? The supreme ruler of the universe lays in a feed trough. What kind of beginning is this? Philippians 2 tells us that this humble birth was only the beginning of his humiliation (5-8).

Jesus embraced the grit and grime of human life. Nothing sentimental. But can we believe that this is the Christ? Jesus never assumed that we would easily come by such faith. When he talked about his second coming, he asked, \u201cWill I find faith on earth?\u201d

If we do believe, does it matter? Yes, says James, \u201cfaith without deeds is dead\u201d (James 2:26). What deeds accompany faith? \u201cFeeding the hungry and clothing the naked\u201d (2:15-17). Paul concurs, \u201cThe only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love\u201d (Galatians 5:6). Loving amidst the grit and grime of life on earth, Christianity refuses sentimentality.

The gospels tell us that with Jesus, the kingdom of God arrived on earth. For us, kingdoms are associated with power people and fancy palaces. But not the kingdom of Jesus. It still advances on this earth through the small acts of love and kindness. His kingdom is still difficult to find, to see. This fits with the famous definition of faith, \u201cNow faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see\u201d (Hebrews 11:1).

This understanding of faith presses us on towards the end of history. Jesus summarized it this way, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End" (Revelation 22:13). The universe with its billions of galaxies glittering with stars, he brought into existence. Our Lord created all things visible and invisible; in him and through him and for him all things were made (Colossians 1:16). He is the consummation and end of all things. When the curtain falls on cosmic history, Jesus will be there full of glory as the Omega, the end of all things.

Until that time, Jesus\u2019 disciples reject sentimentality. We get into the trenches of the grit and grime of the world with our Lord. The Christmas story is told to underscore that following Jesus is the way of humility, of grit and grime, not sentimentality.