Classic Christmas Eve
A GREATER MIRACLE THAN THE ONE ON 34TH STREET
December 24, 2006
At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order that all people in the countries under Roman rule must list their names in a register. 2 This was the first registration; it was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to their own towns to be registered.
4 So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David. 5 Joseph registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was now pregnant. 6 While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, 7 and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough.
Luke 2:1-7
A Greater Miracle than the One on 34th Street
You remember the movie “Miracle on 34th Street”. It’s actually pretty tough to avoid this time of year. It’s in b & w. It’s colorized. It’s reviewed, referenced, and replayed to the point that we have parts completely memorized. My favorite part is when all the letters get poured onto the judges desk…
This is the eve of the day we celebrate the coming of – not St. Nicholas, Kris Kringle, or Santa Clause. The miracle of 34th street doesn’t come close to the miracle of God’s birth!
The Miracle of the Incarnation
“Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to.”
“Fred” in Miracle on 34th Street
As you read through the Bible there are some things that go beyond reason–that goes beyond what are normal, everyday happenings.
For example, Jonah spending 3 days and nights in the belly of a fish before being spued on a Ninevite beach
What about the Red Sea parting and allowing the Israelites to walk across on dry ground. Can you imagine the wind speed that would be required to blow a path across a body of water? That’s something that I doubt that we’ll ever witness ourselves.
Then’s there’s Baalim’s donkey that turns his head and has a conversation with his master.
Fred, our attorney hero in “Miracle on 34th Street” said
The birth of God as a baby boy child certainly fits into the realm of miracles and faith.
Mary was pregnant without ever having been with a man. Somehow God sent His Holy Spirit upon Mary and she became pregnant. The act of God becoming a person in human form is referred to as the incarnation. It is rooted in the word “carnal.” Carnal means flesh. A carnival is a party that appeals to the flesh. Chile con carne is Chile with meat in the sauce. A carnivorous animal eats meat.
God – incarnate – is God in flesh and blood. He has become one of us! This is a miracle that by itself is larger than any 10 Santa Clause stories!
A little girl went to her mother one day and asked, "Mommy, where did I come from?"
The mother knew that this day was going to come and had dreaded having this discussion, but she was prepared. She pulled out a book that she had bought for this discussion and began sharing with her daughter about the birds and the bees and how children were brought into the world.
After the mother was done with her talk the little girl said, "That’s nice mommy. But Jimmy says he’s from Oklahoma and I was just wondering where I had come from."
Once we understand how we were brought into the world, then it goes against reason to think that a woman could bring a child into the world and still be a virgin – but if you or I were God how else to better share with human kind the experience and life we have every day – in bodies of flesh and blood.
If we accept that there is a creator God who loves his creation why not accept the idea that he chose to live with us for a season.
The Miracle of the Incarnation
14 The Word became a human and lived among us. We saw his glory—the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father—and he was full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
The birth of Jesus was unprecedented, unimaginable, and unequaled. So why did God have His Son be born into a world in a very natural, but also a very unique way?
To show that we have a God who understands what we go through.
Jesus experienced the pains of growing up
14 Since we have a great high priest, Jesus the Son of God, who has gone into heaven, let us hold on to the faith we have. 15 For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin.
The Miracle of Jesus is How He Changes Us
Jesus means literally “God is Salvation”. God saves us.
Years ago a couple who visited church asked me to come and speak with them about Jesus. They started the conversation with this statement. “Last week you said that Jesus saves us.” Then they asked this simple question. “What does he save us from?”
Jesus saves us from a broken friendship with God. It is not that God has moved away from us. It is that we – through a self centered nature have – all of us – turned away from God’s friendship and love.
Jesus came to repair that broken friendship. Jesus stepped in, took the blame we deserve and makes it all right with God. Jesus did it by becoming one of us and dying so that you and I don’t have to.
The Luck of Roaring Camp
A fellow by the name of Bret Harte has written a book called, "The Luck of the Roaring Camp."
Roaring Camp was the meanest, toughest mining town in all the West. It was a horrible place to live, inhabited entirely by men, and one woman of questionable character. Her name was Cherokee Sal, and one year she got pregnant and died while giving birth.
Those men took that baby and put it in an old box with some rags in it. One of the guys said he didn’t think that looked very good, so he jumped on his horse and rode 80 miles to buy a rosewood cradle.
The cradle helped, but those rags still looked kind of nasty, so one of the guys rode into Sacramento and bought some silk blankets. Before too long someone noticed that the baby probably wasn’t too safe on that old dusty floor, so a few of the guys got on their hands and knees and scrubbed that thing spotless. It wasn’t long before the windows were cleaned, the porch was clean, the walls and ceiling were washed, and one of the guys had put some curtains up.
One night over diner one of the guys suggested they start watching their language around the baby, and have their wild parties somewhere else rather than the house. Those who observed the whole thing been noticed the guys were bathing more often, and even shaving on a regular basis.
The point of the story is this–that baby changed everything
Christmas reminds us that that baby changed everything
When I look at the birth of Jesus I realize that I have a God who can do anything
I have a God who takes away my guilt and shame
I have a God who wants to live inside of me.
