Wynonna Judd – Christmas album
“Christmas future is far away
Christmas past is past
Christmas present is here today”
Song goes on to say “Have yourself a merry little Christmas now.”
Christmas is an experience that is intended 365 days a year. It was simply launched when Christ was born. Sadly, Christmas has become nothing more than a few days before December 25th when even the hardest hearts and most callous spirits find some room for a little generosity and kindness to strangers. It likely explains why most of us would like to have Christmas stay around much longer than it does.
If Christmas is intended to be an expression of daily life rather than a dated event on the calendar, how does one live Christmas365 and recapture what it was meant to be? How does one be “the aroma of Christ…”?
The answer is wrapped up in the word CHRISTMAS.
CHRISTMAS IS
CHRIST Manifested, Acknowledged, and Shared
• Manifested: revealed
• Acknowledged: means “to recognize the authority, validity, or claims of” (Dictionary.com, 2006) – we have personally applied the manifestation of what has been revealed
• Shared: a basis of experience
I. Christ Manifested
• Learn through the shepherds again who were there that night when Jesus was born. They represent us – consumed with life; outcasts; separated from God; looking for a Deliverer.
Luke 2:10-11…
• “A Savior has been born” – Christ manifested
• No Christ – No Christmas; no manifestation of God; no redemption from misbehaviour; no remedy for broken fellowship with God.
The manifestation of God, through Jesus Christ, is a mystery that cannot be explained nor fully understood. Scholars have been writing and studying for centuries this mysterious account of God wrapped in a blanket and we continue to seek to understand it more than what we know, to pull it closer into our reality. Among the multiple writings and researches attempted, one scholar offered a wonderful insight as we gaze at the Christ in a manger. “What impresses a thoughtful person as he looks on an infant is not its futility but its possibility, not what it is but what it is going to be.” Then the scholar cites that familiar Isaiah 9:6, “…the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
It is not a small matter that when this Child was born His birth re-dated time from that day of His birth! It has been noted that “every time a date is affixed to a letter, bill, check, receipt, or legal document fresh acknowledgment is made of the fact that the birth of Christ is the watershed of human history.” It was His birth that forever impacted every life, every priority and continues to create dissension and discord between itself and other religions of the world because His birth is the defining difference between religion about God and being in relationship with God. No one else claims to be God in human flesh. The revealed presence of God in Christ has caused a stir from that day to this, and it will continue to be so until He returns for the Church, which is given the metaphor in Scripture of a groom coming for his bride.
The upswing, positive message of God revealed in Christ is absolutely breath-taking! There is nothing more wonderful that having someone very close to you in the same space as you find yourself. When I was involved in study for today I was in the home office which is in the basement. I could hear Glenys busying herself on the next level and while it was good to have her in the same house, it is even more wonderful to be in the same room. This is something like that picture painted for us by an author who wrote “To believe that God is above us is one thing. To believe that God is a strength sufficient for us is another. But to believe that God…is with us, God the near, the understanding and the intimate – that is best of all.” When you’re washing dishes or cleaning house; when we play Monday night hockey and exchange laughter in the dressing room; when one lies in a hospital bed waiting for someone to attend to a need; when we stand over the remains of a loved one departed – God is with us – intimate, close, near and understanding – that is best of all!
When we feel a Presence that cannot be explained with words but leaves a deep abiding sense that we are not alone, THAT is Christ Manifested to the human heart! When you sit in worship with God’s people and a deep emotion shocks you and arrests your heart so that you can do nothing but sit in silence or cry or feel your heart race when singing praise – THAT is Christ manifesting himself to you!
When Christ manifests himself to us it leads to a natural second reality which is
II. Christ Acknowledged
Travel with me to the manger with the magi caravan.
Matthew 2:1-2…
• We incorporate this fascinating account with the birth of Christ, yet Jesus would have been around two years of age when the magi (wise men who studied the stars, astrologers of sorts)called.
• Author, pastor and commentator Dr. Warren Wiersbe makes an interesting observation in noting that “The magi were seeking the King; Herod was opposing the King; and the Jewish priests were ignoring the King.” He makes further mention of the fact that the Jewish leaders were a mere five miles away from Jesus’ birth place yet they showed no interest or demonstrated any educated preparation for the evidence of Messiah. They knew the Scriptures and could cite by memory the words of the prophets and as they pointed others to the Saviour, they completely ignored the message and evidence themselves.
The manifestation of Christ is listed as “the central fact of doctrine of our religion…Admit it and all the other wonders of the Saviour’s life become not only easy to believe – they appear but the natural and suitable incidents of such a history as His. Deny it, and the whole gospel narrative becomes a {mysterious riddle}…The very heart of its meaning taken out of it, you may try to turn it into a myth or fable if you please; but a credible story it no longer is.” Jesus said himself that whoever acknowledges him in this world will be acknowledged by him before the angels and God. (Matthew 10:32; Luke 12:8) To quote writer Philip Yancey, “According to Jesus, what I think about him and how I respond will determine my destiny for all eternity.” It is not hard to believe the suggestion that more has been written about Jesus in the last thirty years than in the previous nineteen centuries. People are searching for truth and want answers to life’s purpose. Pastor Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life is one such evidence of this fact. Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia) mentions that “The book has been on the New York Times Bestseller list for 174 weeks (statistic compiled as of May 2006).
People are searching for answers and looking to answer the most difficult yet important question of all – What do I think of Jesus in the context of my life with its purpose and values?
• The question haunts us as well.
• Does life-behaviour reflect faith in Jesus Christ? Board experience of personal mission/vision reflection and development. Choosing our values was not to write out what we think are important values to us – e.g. I value honesty, integrity, truthfulness, etc – had to choose those things that make up the practices of our lives – e.g. does my behaviour reflect that I am honest, a person of integrity and truthful in my daily dealings – if not then these do not constitute any part of my value system. Our values are determined by our behaviour and at the same time we can decide to change our behaviour if we desire a certain value to be an integral part of our makeup.
• Does my behaviour reflect a person who is seeking the King, opposing the King or ignoring the King? There may even be a little seeking and ignoring at the same time – want God’s blessing but not his instruction.
These questions of Christ manifesting himself and our response related to acknowledging Christ are critical before we can move on to the final point that helps us lives Christmas365. They are critical because the answer we give to these determine the extent to which we participate in:
III. Christ Shared
Return for a moment to our shepherd friends – Luke 2:17-18…
How would Dr. Luke have known of this night unless he had been told – either by someone to whom the shepherds had spoken and the story was passed on – or by the shepherds themselves? It is possible that Luke didn’t know of this event until he walked with Jesus and Jesus, who was that baby thirty years earlier, could have told Luke the story himself. But how could he translate the experience of the shepherds that night when he was a helpless infant who would not have known of their joy and excitement? It seems more likely that Luke is telling us the story based on the first-hand information received around the time Jesus was born and when Jesus called him thirty years later, to follow Him, Luke must have thought back to that night when the shepherds declared what they had seen and heard. Surely Luke’s day of following Christ was anchored in part to the testimony of the shepherds. I would imagine that Luke spent thirty years believing Christ to be the Messiah or certainly questioning if it could be possible – leading to belief when he chose to follow Jesus.
Most of us have decided where the birth of Christ – Christ manifested – stands in our belief system. He is undoubtedly the Messiah of God – which leads to the second step of Christ acknowledged. That’s the easier part! Now there is the sharing dynamic of our faith.
Someone said, speaking of the shepherds, “As always, happiness is a spiritual experience which breaks through the shell of common things. These men, simple as they were, were sure that they had looked into God’s reality. Then those who heard it were hushed in wonder.”
I search with a questioning heart and wonder – when was the last time that my encounter with God was so profound that those who heard my testimony were hushed in wonder? It is a question we all need to consider.
Our favorite psychologist, Dr. Phil McGraw speaks a truth that is too commonly true for a lot of people. He writes, “Common sense might suggest that one of the easiest steps in getting what you want from life is to “place your order”: to stand up and declare what it is that you desire. Nothing could be further from the truth. I’m convinced that if the mythical genie ever did pop out of the bottle and say, “Tell me your wish,” most people would stutter, stammer, and be in terrible conflict about what to ask for.”
We experience this reality when we’re asked “What do you want for Christmas?” Most of us respond with, “Oh doesn’t matter. I’m happy with anything” because that’s a lot easier than actually needing to know what I think I want or need!
Author, James Taylor writes, “Jesus was and still is the ultimate Christmas present. No other gift has matched that one, and none ever will. Because unlike us, who fuss and dither about gifts, God knew exactly what to give the world, and gave it.”
• Finish up with today’s text.
o If Christ has manifested himself to you (and me)
o If Christ has been acknowledged by you (and me)
o The extent of his manifestation to us and our acknowledgement of him determine the extent to which we wills share him – both verbally and non-verbally. The sharing reaps differing results:
Fact #1 – we are an aroma to those being saved and those perishing – see verse 15…
Fact #2 – The fragrance is both stench and perfume – see verse 16…
Fact #3 – We are not to peddle God’s word for profit – see verse 17 – Profit: favored by people, personal security, a means of satisfying personal gain.
WRAP
• Avoid the danger of adopting the slogan of the Caramilk commercial: “To good to share”.
