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A Sermon Prepared by |
For the
congregation of |
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To Be
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On the Occasion of Christmas Eve |
Text: Luke 2:1-20
From God With Love
It is finally here! Christmas! Collective sigh. It takes a lot of work to get ready for Christmas, doesn’t it? As much as we try to keep the focus of Christmas where it should be, on the birth of Jesus and all that God has done for us through the life, ministry, death and resurrection of his Son, we still can’t escape the fact that Christmas is about gifts. We are Church people, and we see the blatant commercialization of Christmas, and it disgusts us. We complain. We do all that we can to keep the holiday in a spiritual way. But still, how do we celebrate Christmas? By giving gifts.
This year on the first Sunday of Advent I did a children’s sermon that included a visit from St. Nicholas who came bearing gifts of candy. The focus of the sermon was on giving. That’s probably a common theme among parents of young children, to try and get them to focus on giving rather than getting. I know that my own children see commercials on TV for the latest toy or game, and they immediately turn to me, point at the TV screen, and exclaim, “I want that!” It’s kind of a holiday tradition, you know. Children especially, who are by their nature self-centered, tend to focus on what they want for Christmas. They sit on Santa’s lap, and what does he ask them? “What do you want for Christmas?” Parents and grandparents are trying to make their lists, and they ask, “What do you want for Christmas?” And as already noted, the retail businesses that are looking for their year end profit bump are more than willing to keep the focus on what you want, and what you are going to get. That’s why I thought it appropriate to try and get the children to focus a little more outside themselves. We want our kids to learn to be generous, and thankful, and to think of others before themselves, don’t we?
These are lessons that we have all learned quite well, I suspect. How much time and energy have you spent in the past six weeks or so finding just the perfect gift to give everyone on your list? I won’t ask you how much money you have spent. Collective groan. We have indeed learned the lessons of Christmas giving. It occupies us, you might say it possesses us, as we prepare for Christmas. In fact, we have learned that there is real joy to be had in giving a gift to one we love, or in giving a little extra to help someone less fortunate this time of year. Who can deny the sheer delight in watching a child open a gift that they really wanted, the excitement of wrapping paper flying through the air, shouts and dances of joy? It is infectious. It is part of what Christmas is all about.
So now that you have spent so much time and energy choosing, buying, wrapping, and maybe shipping all of the gifts you plan to give this year, I want you to shift your focus a bit, to what it is you will receive. Think back first, to remember what was the greatest gift you ever received. What was it? Was it during your childhood when you got that thing you really wanted, that you prayed for? I remember when I was about thirteen I came downstairs to see under the Christmas tree a drum set all set up with a bow on top. It was what I had dreamed about. Or was your favorite gift something from your adulthood? Was it something special given by someone special? Or that you got to see a loved one that perhaps you didn’t think you would see at Christmas time? Or was it some simple gift given to you by a child, their handprint in plaster or a glued together popsicle stick ornament with their picture in the center? Just think for a moment about what it was that was your favorite gift you received on Christmas.
We have been so
conditioned, with all the best intentions, to think more about giving than
getting at Christmastime, that it is hard for us to focus on receiving. But my friends, Christmas IS about receiving. “For unto you is
born this day in the city of
In receiving
Jesus, we receive love, God’s love. That
love is embodied in the babe in the manger, and in the man on the cross. That love is embodied in the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, and in the shrouded body laid in the tomb. That love is announced by the angels who said
to the shepherds that Jesus is born in
In receiving Jesus, we have received forgiveness of our sins. They have been washed away. Our sins, and the sins of the whole world, have been forgiven. Receive forgiveness this Christmas. Receive redemption. Receive salvation.
Being receptive to the wonderful gifts that God wants to give us may seem like a simple thing, but it isn’t necessarily; like finding the perfect gift, receiving the perfect gift doesn’t just happen, it takes work. To receive God’s love, we must first accept that we are lovable. To receive God’s forgiveness, we must first learn to forgive others, and perhaps most difficult of all, to forgive ourselves.
Nothing would please God more this Christmas than if we all would just receive the gift that he has already given. God wants to see the wrapping paper fly, and the shouts and dances of joy as we receive Jesus in our hearts, in our daily lives. Receive God’s gift. Grab hold of it. Carry it around all day. Enjoy it. Fall asleep with it under your arm at night.
God has given us Jesus, and all that he has done for us. Receive him with awe and wonder, with thanksgiving and joy, with humility and grace. Receive God’s gift. Receive Jesus.
AMEN