Christmas – The Mystery of Faith
In just eight days when you date a check you’ll have to remember to write 2010 instead of
2009. That means it’s been about 2,010
years since God came into the world as a human - a baby named Jesus. The first mystery of faith: the Son of God became
incarnate of the virgin Mary, and was made man. That first Christmas is so important that it
divides time between “BC”, before Christ, and “AD”, anno Domini, in the year of
our Lord.
A fourth grader’s assignment was compose
a short report on his family history. He
didn't want to be boring, so he decided to do some investigation. He found his
mother in the kitchen, busy with dinner. Without warning, the boy asked,
"Mom, how was I born?" Caught somewhat off-guard by the question and
unable to answer it properly, she just said, "The stork brought you,
dear." The boy nodded and went to the living room, and found his
grandmother. "Grandma, how was my mother born?" This dear old lady was not about to be drawn
into a discussion of sex, so she said, "The stork brought her."
"And you, Grandma, how were you born?"
"The same," she replied with a smile.
He now had what he was looking for -- that unique introduction to set off his
paper from the rest. “According to my research, for at least three generations
there has not been a normal birth in our family."
That little baby in the manger was no normal birth, for Jesus is the
Son of God and he came with a mission, as the angel announced:
I bring you good news of great joy for all.
To you is born this day in
the city of
A savior. Jesus came to save.
But what does it mean to be saved? People say, “He was saved!” Was he
drowning or something? Saved is just a synonym for rescued, delivered, set free,
released – and Christ does all of that.
But maybe don’t think you need a savior.
A husband and wife went shopping in July. He stayed in the car with his four year old
as his wife went into the store. He had
turned off the engine and the air conditioning, thinking his wife would finish
her shopping quickly. Their little girl
had been strapped into her car seat for a while. It was a hot day and the
windows were open.. The little girl couldn’t take the
heat. She hung her head out the window, and yelled, “Oh, God! Get me out of
this!” She needed a savior.
How many times have you said that, “Oh, God, get me out of this?” You
needed a savior.
Jesus can save you from something, Sometimes you just want to be saved
from that tough situation you’re in right now.
“Lord, if you just get me out of this, I promise you I’ll...”
You’ve probably said that - and forgotten to keep the promise.
But Christ can also save you from guilt, from sin, from worry and
bitterness - He can save from your past. and
even from yourself.
Did you know that the Lord doesn’t want you to
go around carrying guilt? That’s why Jesus offers you forgiveness of your past.
And he wants to set you free from the pain of bitterness. When you hold
that hurt in your heart, it’s going to eat you alive. Christ gives you the power to let go of old
hurts and grudges - More than that, He gives you the desire and ability to
forgive others, so you can make a new beginning in experiencing His peace and
harmony in your life. Make peace with
your past so it doesn’t mess up your present.
Christ wants to set you free from the burden of worry and anxiety. The
Bible says, Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything.
You can make the choice: You can pray or you can panic. If you prayed as much as you worry, you’d
have a whole lot less to worry about.
In place of worry and stress, bitterness and guilt, Christ would give
you peace - that’s the promise of Christmas.
A father was trying to teach his young son how to shoot a basketball. The father shot a couple of times, saying, "Do it just like that, son; it's real easy." The little boy tried very hard but he couldn't get the ball near the basket. The little fellow got more and more frustrated. Finally, after hearing his father say how easy it was for the 10th time, the boy said, "It's easy for you up there. You don't know how hard it is from down here."
At Christmas, the Son of God came down here to experience how hard life
is. Because of all Jesus went through,
you can’t say “Lord
you don’t know how hard life is down here.”
He went through it all – temptations, loss, betrayal, injustice. So he knows - he understands - he sympathizes
- and he can help.
Our second lesson summarized the message of Christmas in ten words:
The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to
all. Titus 2:11
God’s grace - His goodness and mercy, His readiness to give and forgive
- was shown in Christ who offers salvation to all.
“Salvation” means wholeness and healing and peace. Salvation is not just in the future, but it’s
about your life right now. It means
healing old emotional wounds - getting over bitterness and burying the grudges,
accepting forgiveness and offering forgiveness - so that you’ll have a sense of
wholeness and peace in your life now.
Honestly, all that doesn’t come naturally. Aren’t we all born with a
default drive set on selfishness?
But we were not made to live this way.
You need a different orientation - a transformed attitude.
The transformation that leads to wholeness and peace in your life
begins with facing the truth: “It’s not all about you.”
Our culture says: it’s all about me. Do it for me. I’ve got to think of
what’s best for me. No wonder our homes are so noisy, jobs so stress filled,
politics so cut throat and harmony so rare.
If you think it’s all about you, and I think it’s all about me, there is
no hope for harmony and peace.
You will never find satisfaction and significance by living for
yourself. So you need something greater than yourself.
You need Good news of great joy.
To you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord.
Life makes sense when you accept the fact that Christ is your Lord, and
you are his follower. It’s really all
about him.
If it’s all about you, then it’s all up to you. Accepting Jesus as Lord rescues you from that
burden. While you’re valuable, you
aren’t indispensable. You’re important
but not essential. Don’t take yourself
too seriously - No one else does.
Last Sunday, the youth and children of the Sunday School
presented A Christmas Carol, Scrooge in
That’s why the angel said I bring you good news of great joy.
Salvation means wholeness and peace, which in turn brings joy. Jesus not only saves us from stuff, but he
also saves us for something better. I have told you these things so that my
joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
John 15:11
Christmas is all about a transformed heart that’s filled with love and
peace and joy. It’s about transformation
and new beginnings, through the power of God.
Luther said that when listening to the Christmas story, it’s easy to say:
"If
I had only been there!
How quick I would have been to help the Baby Jesus. How happy I would have been
to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!"
Well, if you feel
that way, Why don't you do it now? You can see Christ
in your neighbor. Serve others and you
serve Christ.
When the wrapping paper is cleaned up and the decorations are put away,
it’s time to sign up to work with Mary’s son
Jesus. Our purpose is to participate in
what the Lord is doing in the world. It
begins by sharing Christ’s love and acceptance with others.
We can be transformed as we receive Christ and His love
- and
then share Christ-like love
-
- so that we may live in
peace and harmony.
For Christ’s way of love is
the way to peace in our lives.
May the Lord Jesus, fill your heart with His
divine love, that you may share His
love with family and friends, and thus experience His peace in
your life.