12/24/2011 FOREVER CHRISTMAS - Christmas Eve Sermon
FOREVER CHRISTMAS
Wouldn’t it be great if Christmas lasted all year?
Now, I know what some of you are thinking & the reservations you have. “Let’s give this a little thought before we proceed too hastily, Pastor,” you’re cautiously thinking to yourselves. Right? I guess, I agree.
No one wants the worst about Christmas for another 364 days, do we!?! We’re so fed up with the down side of the season that come December 26th we’re done with it all. Gosh, the Christmas displays in the stores have been up before Halloween. The “all Christmas, all the time” radio station formats have been in place for almost two months. That’s 1/6th of the year! And who needs to hear more of “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” “Dominic the Donkey,” “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,”& my all-time least favorite, Madonna singing, “Santa Baby”! My girls crank up the stereo every time B101 plays it, just to razz me.
There’s also the stress of the season. It’s become the norm this time of year. All the pageants & concerts & rehearsals. All the people you don’t know what to get. All the lines in the stores. All the dreaded bills we anticipate. The toddlers screaming on Santa’s lap for a $25 photo. The tiresome “Happy Holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” political correctness. The ACLU lawsuits. We can do without these things.
So, I understand why some of you
winced & moaned when I blithely suggested how great it would be if Christmas
lasted all year. The fact is: all of the
hustle, bustle, hassle, harassment, the stuff & stuffing are, sadly, what
Christmas has become. They’re not what
Christmas is. The better side of
Christmas is, well, that’s: the healthy gathering of family, the feasting on turkey &
cookies, the decorations & lights,
the fun of getting that
special gift for that special someone, the favorite carols, watching the classic Christmas
TV specials, going to a sing-along of
Handel’s Messiah, Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,”
peering out the window on a
snowy Christmas Eve,the thrill on a child’s face
Christmas morning, the overtures to peace, serving a meal to a person in
need, posting & receiving
Christmas greeting, singing
“Silent Night,” by candlelight in church, &,
of course, the goodwill generated in these days, like the Secret Santas at
K-Mart paying needy families’ lay-a-way bills nationwide. Have you been following that story? Wow!
These holy day effects are a whole lot better than those other
distractions. So, I say, “Thank God for
Christmas.” Such blessings really should
last longer!
What’s best, though, is what Christmas is most truly about: this story from Luke we just heard & its sequel with the magi in Matthew’s gospel & the more stylized version in John Chapter 1. Jesus Christ is what’s best & what’s original on this holy night.
After all these years, I really do find it amazing, & wonderful (in the sense of being full of wonder), that God so loved us that he became Jesus. The Bible tells us that God, this heavenly, other-worldly Spirit, took on human flesh & joined us here on earth. Two “w” words: Wow! & Why? Why would God do that? Because God loved us, as I said. Wow! again. Theologians even have a big word to describe that process, that event. It’s called inarnation.” Simply defined: God becomes human.
That becoming human only happens once. We peg the date as December 25, but know that’s probably not the actual date. The point is that Jesus’ birthday is only one day, the one we celebrate, the one we look forward to celebrating every year, the one that we enjoy so much, the one that brings us here.
So, I ask again: Wouldn’t it be great, if that Christmas spirit lasted all year, if we could extend the anniversary celebration to the remaining 364, or 2012 being a leap year, 365 days? I’m not just proposing a sci-fi, “Groundhog Day” movie-type of fantasy in saying this, either.
If each one of us were to read beyond Luke Chapter 2 & learn about the life of Jesus & be inspired…. If each one of us put into practice the things he taught & modeled: the forgiveness, the kindness, the helping, mercy, grace, & love for others no matter how different they are…. If each one of us, relying on God’s Spirit for help , were to strive to live like Jesus every day, the best of Christmas would become a daily reality, rather than an annual remembrance.
Imagine if the two billion souls who identify themselves as being Christian earnestly lived their faith. That’s one-third of the world. What an impact! Does that describe you? Or, if that’s too ambitious, what if just the people in this congregation got on board with the idea? G.K. Chesterton once noted, “The Christian ideal has not been tried & found wanting; it has been found difficult & left untried.” Does that describe you? I have to disagree with Mr. Chesterton, slightly. Actually, it was tried, & worked, with only 12 persons. It has to start somewhere, though. How about you & me partnering to live this Jesus faith!?!
The point is that it all depends on
not just a little baby Jesus Christ, but on all of us becoming “little Christs”
-- all of us responding to Jesus &
the life he models -- thinking, acting, living like him daily. St. Teresa of
Will you come back in January
& genuinely give it a try? Will you try
for a year? If so, it could be forever Christmas.
In
the Name…. Copyright 2011 by G.D.Knerr at