Christmas Day

Skipping Christmas

Christmas Day

December 25, 2022

One of my friends asked what I was going to preach on for Christmas Day and I told him, the birth story of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark. In all honesty, Mark really doesn’t have a birth story. So, this should be really short! Right?! Nah!

As I was thinking about Mark, I wanted to clue you in on one of my favorite Christmas movies. There’s a purpose here. Trust me . . . .

One of my favorites is Christmas with the Kranks. The movie actually comes from a John Grisham book, called, Skipping Christmas.

Luther and Nora Krank were sad their daughter wouldn’t be home for Christmas, so Luther suggested they totally skip Christmas and go on a 10 day cruise. It takes a while, but Nora gradually warms up to the idea.

But, their neighbors aren’t happy!! It’s going to cost them the prize for the best decorated block in the city. Everyone decorates in their neighborhood. The local charities aren’t happy, either.

The Kranks don’t buy a tree from the Boy Scouts, a calendar from the Police Department, a fruit cake from the Firemen; and the guy who sells stationery is upset when he loses their annual order of engraved greeting cards. Everyone’s angry, as the kids are yelling FREE FROSTY! They can’t wait to get out of town

And in some ways, and I’m stretching this a bit, Christmas with the Kranks reminds me of the Gospel stories.

If you were to drive down Gospel boulevard in Alexandria and you drove down the block which contained the houses of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - -

You’d see amazing displays in Matthew’s lawn. Of course there would be Mary and Joseph. We’d learn how many wise men there really were. There’d be a dazzling star in the sky, Bible characters and more.

Across the street lives Luke and you’d see John the Baptist and his parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth. Mary and Joseph traveling into Bethlehem; Angels in the sky singing and shepherds with their sheep.

Speaking of breathtaking, just look across the street at John’s house. How does one even begin to put into words the display that he’s put up? It’s like he’s replaying the creation story. There’s light and there’s life. It’s like a laser light show. The sky is illuminated as John showers us with images of Jesus being the light of the world. All you can do is stand their in silent awe.

Then you get to Mark’s house. The lawn is bare. No lights, no stories told, just blank. Mark simply tells us in verse 1 - - -

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

That’s it. That’s the Christmas story. Nothing more. And when Jesus makes His first appearance in verse 9, He’s already a full-grown adult!

Maybe Mark kind of identified with the Kranks. Leaving out the birth story is certainly the reason nobody reads Mark’s gospel at this time of year.

But, there’s something else going on with Mark. Let’s look inside Mark’s home. Let’s walk up to his windows and look inside.

As we look into his home, we see tons of framed pictures everywhere. Pictures are all over his living room wall. As we look closer they’re pictures from Jesus’ life. It’s the story of Jesus’ life, especially from Mark 1. Mark’s Christmas story is a life history.

Look at what we see - - -

pictures of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River,

Jesus being tempted in the wilderness,

Jesus preaching His first sermon,

Jesus calling His first disciples,

Jesus healing a man with an unclean spirit at the synagogue in Capernaum,

Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law,

Jesus healing the sick and casting out demons from all the people that showed up outside the doors of Peter’s house,

Jesus preaching in Galilee, and

Jesus healing a leper.

It’s Jesus . . . everywhere! And that’s just in chapter 1!

As you stand and stare at all those pictures, you’re awe struck at what He was doing. It’s the anticipated and hoped for, but not expected Messiah.

The people wanted a mighty ruler to defeat the Romans and the persecution they were under. They looked forward to the coming of their long promised Messiah. A “mighty” Messiah sounded great!

They didn’t realize their Messiah was coming to them first as prophet and priest before returning as their conquering king. Jesus wasn’t the kind of Messiah most of them expected.

In Mark’s story, Jesus is mysterious but not unknowable. The heavens opened when He was baptized, the Spirit descends and God’s voice is heard. Then Jesus enters the wilderness and is tempted by the demons, He’d take off by Himself to spend time with the Father. He invited fisherman to follow Him, He healed the sick, even touching the untouchable.