12.16.2012 Celebrating Christmas Better

(Blog reading begins around the 5:00 mark and the sermon begins around 21:30)

SermonAudio

With everything that happened in Newtown on Friday – in thinking about this – I went to one of the blogs that I read – a number of people post on it… I feel like it expresses so much of our thoughts.
Rebekah Lyons - http://www.qideas.org/blog/a-connecticut-winter-why-our-hearts-break.aspx
There are no words for this devastation…
Luke 2:8
Lord, we lift our hearts to those who are mourning and suffering in Connecticut. It affects all of us. Help us to be empathetic. Allow it to stir our hearts. Comfort and flood souls with grace – may the Love of God be seen through this tragedy – this act of violence. Help us to be people of peace. Help us to understand the words we will read from the Gospel of Luke – Peace on Earth – among those He is pleased. Peace won’t truly come until You return – come quickly, Lord Jesus – that true peace may be received by all.
In this story – Luke 2 – the angels song – when we think of the birth of Jesus – this was a place of great sorrow – Rachel’s children were weeping – Herod had murdered all of the babies under the age of two – we live in a violent, sinful, evil world – and it will always be that way – it has always been that way – until Christ comes again.
Peace with God – is the peace we can experience – because of Christ going to the cross. Peace on Earth won’t happen until the earth is made anew. Justice will be satisfied someday. But in this day – in this world, we are called to enter in to an evil dark world. We tend to think – we need to retreat – to pull back – but God is saying no, it is our job to enter in.
I think of the commercial – a marine commercial – all this chaos in the desert – there is only one group who moves toward the chaos – the few, the proud, the Marines. But we are being called into the darkness – into the heart of it – to bring peace, comfort, help in the grief – to mourn those who mourn – to weep with those who weep.
There will be those in our own lives who suffer sorrow – and we need to learn to enter into that with them – engage that – become a part of that.
This is a story of sorrow and suffering – and how do we celebrate it? Today’s focus is JOY – Dietrich Bonheoffer was a German pastor who stood against Hitler. He was arrested and was awaiting execution. He wrote letters to his family – they were wondering if they should celebrate Christmas – and Bonheoffer wrote back – we MUST celebrate Christmas, because when we celebrate Christmas – we win the battle against evil – the enemy is defeated.
We need to learn to celebrate Christmas better - I think our celebrations are shallow at times – We need to learn to celebrate with a whole new frame of mind and focus.
Luke 2: 8 And in the same region there were [some] shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "And this [will be] a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
Good news – GOSPEL – it means – to announce/proclaim the good news – the gospel. It is a word that Luke uses a lot – but it is also a word that is not just a Christian religious word – used all the time in the Roman world. To us – it is a religious word – the gospel – the most important aspect of our faith – this good news of what Christ did. But it means – BREAKING NEWS! NEWS REPORT! We interrupt this program! In Rome – coming down from the Emperor – they would herald the good news of Caesar – there were inscriptions, written twenty years before Christ – Caesar, Augustus, son of god, our savior, has brought peace to this world.
Caesar would send out his people to declare his message. God has sent out His messengers – heavenly messengers – who were saying – the true savior – the true king – has been born – and is revealing true power and authority – and it does not come from this world. Rome claims to bring peace from the world – but did nothing of the sort. What we have in contrast – pomp and circumstance and glory – and in contrast – the angels come at night to a few shepherds – the lowliest of occupations. The Pharisees considered them unclean because of their job, so they wouldn’t go to a shepherd’s home. That is the contrast between God’s world and ours – we see power and success and victory.
The real power – the real authority – is seen in unbelievable humility – to go to the lowest spot – born as a helpless babe – the eternal God – helpless in the hands of Mary and Joseph.
Luke 2:15 And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds [began] saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 And when they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Shepherds, minding their own business , on a hill,, in the dark – and BOOM! Angels! Scary!! And when the angels leave, they run to see – the good news produces great joy! And they are filled with joy – but that joy produces proclamation – the news is so wonderful – so incredible – that they go out proclaiming it – spreading the word of what had been told them.
This Christmas season all the more – we need to spread that word. We have a great joy in great darkness. This story is the perfect picture of what has taken place – there is a message that needs to be told – and God is calling us to tell it like these shepherds – to share it.
If you go to a great movie – you know how everyone talks about it? You proclaim it – don’t you?! The new iPhone comes out – and people are talking about it.
Think about the last thing that you had happen and you talk about it at work… how much more should this fill us with joy and fill our hearts to overflow to talk about it?
As we go to celebrate better – in light of all that has happened…:
For some, Christmas is not a time of joy and celebration. There are many that this is a time of sorrow and depression – especially those going through grief. There are families whose closets are filled with presents for 5 year olds whom they will bury this week. For some, holidays are the hardest. Joy is something different from what we expect. Christmas has been turned into something that is magical – there is nothing wrong with the lights and the presents – but we need to turn it into something much more than magic. Sometimes, in the magic, it loses its genuine joy and celebration.
Like the commercial – the guy gets his wife the new car – and she sees the neighbor’s new car that is bigger – and there is something wrong with that. We need to learn to celebrate better.
Source of Joy –
Psalm 16: 11 You lead me in the path of life;
I experience absolute joy in your presence;
you always give me sheer delight.
Joy is something we can possess even in deep sorrow – because it is not based on circumstances, but on what God has done for us. We need to remember that IN HIS PRESENCE is fullness of joy – not in the PRESENTS. Presents can be taken away like THAT – but in HIS PRESENCE – there is joy.
Hebrews 12: 2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners, so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
Because of the future, He was willing to sacrifice. The great celebration will take place in the next life. We need to believe and understand that we will not truly celebrate until the next life. In this life, we have a shadow of celebration. The more we fix our joy and celebration on the next world – the more we will understand how to celebrate in this world.
A couple of practical things –
First – celebration is about relationships. We are all thinking about that now. The focus to be better – not necessarily that the food is good – but that the relationships are good – that the time is spent with one another. Knowing that that is what really matters – relationships. For some, the presents will be small this year. For others – they will be large – but the joy comes in the relationships and loving those God has placed in our lives. I urge you to gather – gather with people you love.
Second – as you read through the Psalms – doing word searches – joy is often mentioned with SINGING! It is amazing how they are connected – Sing for joy!
This is a perfect time to express joy through singing. Christmas carols – Christmas eve – we sing carols – together – and there is something about that – you can do it on the radio – you can do it on your own.
Two more:
Do as many intentional acts of service and kindness that you can find. Do as many as possible. Random acts of kindness? Skip the random! Do intentional acts of kindness – look for ways! Go to the grocery store or the mall – instead of fighting over the gift, look for intentional ways of doing kindness. With your spouse, children, parents, coworkers, school, neighborhood.
Someone told me he did a job for an elderly woman and decided not to charge her – boy was he excited.
Intentional acts of kindness.
And finally –
2 Cor. 8: 8:1 Now, brethren, we [wish to] make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their generosity.
Those are incredible words – amazing words – Joy comes – simply – not from receiving – but from giving – it is really true. We need to receive well when people want to serve us – but we need to find joy in giving of our selves as Christ was given for us. Let’s pray.