That's What Christmas Is All About |
Luke 2:8-20 |
“And that’s what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown.” Those are the words that first introduced me to the true meaning of Christmas. Like most kids, when I was a child, Christmas for me was all about the Sears Wish Book and long lists of all the stuff that I hoped that Santa would bring to me on Christmas night. Lists, by the way that would be revised and cut down, and edited weekly based on my parents’ gentle reminders that I needed to leave some toys off of my list so that the other kids might be able to get something. When I was a kid, we seldom went to church, and so I didn’t get much chance to hear about the true meaning of Christmas from a pastor. And so it was Linus standing all alone on that stage in his school auditorium who first told me and Charlie Brown what Christmas is all about. And it’s important that we hear Linus’ words again this evening. Because just as in “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” when Lucy wanted real estate, and Sally wanted cash, preferably 10’s and 20’s, it serves as a reminder of how easy it is for any one of us to lose track of the real meaning of Christmas in the hustle and bustle of the season. And so we return to the words of Luke and Linus, “And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Vs. 10-11 The headlines of our newspapers are full of bad news. Thousands of our young men and women are overseas fighting a war of questionable validity. The economy is stumbling, utility costs are skyrocketing, and kids carry weapons to school, sometimes using them on their teachers and fellow students. People that we love are sick, and others have passed away. One doesn’t have to look far to find bad news in the world today. And that’s why it’s so important that we hear once again Linus’ reminder of the angels proclamation, “I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” You see, the magic and the meaning of Christmas is this; the birth of Jesus Christ is good news that produces great joy in the hearts of all the people of the world. In other words, even, and maybe especially when times are hard, when we are living in difficult seasons of life that can threaten to rob us of our joy with bad news, the good news of the birth of Jesus comes as God’s Christmas card to world, declaring that the love and peace of God is more powerful than anything else in all creation. Jesus birth is good news for all people. Whether we are celebrating a birth, or mourning a loss, whether we are enjoying good health or enduring an illness, whether we are relaxing in the company of those that we love, or deeply missing someone who is far away, the truth that Jesus is born provides us all with a sense of peace and joy that cannot be threatened by even the worst that life can send our way. His very name, Emmanuel declares the truth that God is with us. In good times and bad, in happy times and sad, God is with us. And God’s presence is so powerful that it can turn hatred into love, it can turn anger to laughter, it can turn enemy into friend, and war into peace. God’s love can turn fear into comfort and sorrow into joy. God’s love and God’s presence can even turn death into life, as it did 33 years after that first Christmas morning when Jesus, born in Bethlehem walked out of the tomb in Jerusalem giving evidence of the power of God’s love. And the peace of heart and mind that comes with that knowledge is the greatest gift any of us could ever receive. And that is why the angels’ declaration that God is with us is such good news indeed. For just as Jesus came to Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and the wise men, sending them away into the night glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, so does our celebration of Jesus birth, and God’s presence in our lives fill us with a spirit of peace, hope, joy and love that glows in our hearts even as our houses and trees glow with the light of Christmas. My friends, God is with us, Jesus Christ is born in Bethlehem and he brings to each and every single man, woman and child on this planet an eternal and unchanging spirit of joy and love that can provide us all with hope and peace in any and every circumstance of life. |