Christmas � It�s Not About the Gifts
TCF Sermon
December 13, 2009
When we think of Christmas, it brings to mind many different things perhaps different things for each of us.
Of course, the good, Christian answer to the question, what do you think of when you think of Christmas, is that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World. And of course, I�m sure that�s in the thinking of all of us here this morning. After all, we�re in church!
But when you really think of Christmas, there are bound to be many more things that come to mind. For me, the real �reason for the season� meaning, has always been an important part of my thinking about Christmas. I remember as a boy going to midnight mass with my family on Christmas Eve, hearing my dad sing Mary�s Boy Child, then walking out of that event into a quiet night with the snow falling and the crunch of the snow beneath my feet.
And then getting home, and one particular Christmas, after midnight mass, turning on the radio and hearing the voice of an astronaut orbiting the moon, and reading from Scripture as he looked back at the big blue marble of earth.
So, yes, the real �reason for the season� has been a significant part of my Christmas experiences through the years.
But, to be honest, there are many other things that can tend to crowd that out. Mixed together with the spiritual thoughts of the midnight mass, of the manger scene with the baby Jesus, are also the wonderful memories of a still and snowy night, Christmas lights, and many other things that go with the season.
Why is Christmas enjoyable or meaningful to us? What�s special about this particular season for us? I can�t answer for you, but for me it�s things like:
- Christmas songs
- decorations and lights
- family and traditions
- memories of Christmases past
I have to admit that, while I really enjoy the carols we sing here, and many of the Christmas songs with a clear Christian theme, I also really enjoy many of the secular Christmas tunes. So many of my Christmas memories are wrapped up in these sounds, and music is such a powerful memory maker, and so closely entwined with our emotions, that it�s hard to escape.
One of my favorites is The Christmas Song - perhaps better known by the first line: Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.
When I told Jim Grinnell that this was one of my favorite Christmas songs, he told me about the big chess tournament at the Downtown Doubletree last year.
After the first day�s competition, many of the winners were sitting around in the foyer of the hotel talking about their matches and bragging about how good they were. After a few drinks they started getting louder and louder until finally, the clerk at the front desk couldn�t take any more and kicked them out.
The next morning the Manager called the clerk into his office and told him there had been several complaints about his being so rude to the hotel guests....instead of kicking them out, he should have just asked them to be less noisy. The clerk responded, "I�m sorry, but if there�s one thing I can�t stand, it�s chess nuts boasting in an open foyer."
When I was in college, a friend and I re-wrote the lyrics to the Christmas Song, and included the names of many of the guys on my dorm wing, and called it the Shekinah Christmas Song. Shekinah was the name of my dorm wing. In a moment of inspiration (some of you may think it was more like a moment of perspiration), I�ve again re-written the lyrics and call this the TCF Christmas Song.
The TCF Christmas Song
Jim�s buns roasting on an open fire,
Bud Greene nipping at his toes,
Yuletide carols being sung by Jim Garrett
And Gordon dressed up like eskimoes
Everybody knows Al Baker and James Manchester
Love their I phones and PCs
Dave and Karl with their eyes all aglow
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Joel is on his way
He�s bringing Linda, Jane and Doris on his sleigh
And Jody and Mike Brose will surely spy
To see if Jania really knows how to fly.
And so, I�m offering this simple phrase
To kids from Hannah to Steve Staub
Though Bruce has said many times many ways,
Jason Feathers can�t sing
They know that Joel is on his way
He�s bringing Brian, Tom and Sarah on his sleigh
And Daniel and Hal Reed will surely spy
To see if Hallett really knows how to fly
And so I�m offering this simple phrase
To kids from Shirley to Chris Staub
Though Ed has said many times many ways,
Spencer Travers can�t sing
You have to know that I picked on Jason Feathers and Spencer Travers primarily because they have musical names. Some names just fit music better than others. For example � Carol of the Bells � Bill Sullivan, Bill Sullivan, Bill Sullivan, Bill Sullivan�
My dad had a Frank Sinatra Christmas album with a version of this song, as well as the more famous version by Nat King Cole. When Barb and I were first married, our very first Christmas as husband and wife, we lived in Memphis, and because I was still working in radio then, I had to work Christmas Day. So not only could we not afford to travel to visit my parents or hers for Christmas, but I couldn�t have gotten the time off if we could afford it. So, we had to make new Christmas memories.
Barb�s memory of that Christmas is probably the case of frostbite she got because we lived in a poorly insulated townhouse that was really cold downstairs.
But right before Christmas, when we were both kind of sad because we couldn�t be with either one of our families, I remember browsing through a bargain bin in a store there in the little town outside of Memphis where we lived, and finding a copy of the same Sinatra Christmas album I grew up listening to. It provided just a taste of my childhood Christmas memories, and helped me get through that first Christmas without my extended family.
This memory also serves as an example of a problem I�ve had with some Christmases, on and off, through the years. Christmas music, lights and decorations, family and traditions, memories - these are the kinds of things that most often come to mind when I think of the Christmas season. They�re so ingrained in me and so clearly associated with the season, that they create expectations in me as we approach the Christmas season. And when some or all of these things are missing or somehow fall short, my expectations are not met, and I can get somewhat melancholy during this season of the year.
Christmas can be somewhat of a let-down. I know I�m not alone. Many people experience seasonal depression this time of year. They want things or circumstances they don�t get, or something about the season doesn�t live up to their expectations. Some people call this the holiday blues.
I found some information on this phenomenon.
Sadness is a truly individual feeling. What makes one person feel sad may not affect another person. Typical sources of holiday sadness include
� stress,
� fatigue,
� unrealistic expectations,
� overcommercialization,
� financial stress, and
� the inability to be with one�s family and friends.
One study showed that as many as one-third of adults experience at least the holiday blues, if not outright depression.
There�s nothing wrong with these good things we enjoy about Christmas. There�s certainly nothing wrong with family and friends, nothing wrong with songs, nothing wrong with decorations, and nothing wrong with memories.
But I�ve been challenged and convicted recently, as I�ve pondered why some Christmases seem so much better, or worse, than others, to me. Is it more than just the pressure of the busy schedule of the season? Is it more than the pressure to get gifts to give, or cards to send? For me at least, and I�m guessing this is true for some of you, it does go deeper than these common reasons that people want to say Bah Humbug about Christmas.
When Christmas season makes me melancholy, it�s usually because something about the season doesn�t meet my hopes or expectations. But I have to be honest and say that I realize my expectations are not only wrong expectations, they�re not only unreasonable or unrealistic in some ways, they�re also misguided, and more importantly, they�re especially mis-focused. That�s because my expectations at Christmas are too often focused on the gifts.
I�m not talking about a materialistic, what am I going to get for Christmas expectation. Speaking of that, there�s a list of things I want for Christmas in the foyer for those of you still shopping for me.
Seriously, though, we�ve all had to temper our children�s understanding of Christmas as simply a time to get gifts � we know it�s not about the presents we receive. I�m really long past that view of Christmas. In fact, we don�t do much gift-giving at Christmas, for that very reason. Barb and I have really made a genuine effort since early in our marriage to lower the expectations about who gives what to whom, because we really do not want Christmas to be about getting gifts.
When I say that my expectations at Christmas are often on the gifts, I�m talking about the gifts of family and friends, the gifts of wonderful Christmas memories and traditions, the gifts of enjoyable Christmas songs that stir my emotions.
And the thing is, these are all good gifts. These gifts are good things. I think they are blessings from God, meaning they are ultimately gifts from Him.
But here�s the problem. These gifts are byproducts. They�re trappings. They�re not what Christmas means, and they�re not meant to be the focus of my holiday thinking or satisfaction. They�re not supposed to be what I embrace about Christmas. That doesn�t mean I can�t or shouldn�t enjoy these things � they�re just not meant to be the focus.
In some ways, and sometimes, I find myself inadvertently embracing these gifts, and not the Giver of the gifts. I find myself seeking meaning and satisfaction for the season in these gifts, rather than the meaning and satisfaction found only in the Giver. And inevitably, when I do that, I am disappointed. I�m let down. Christmas is not all I�ve cracked it up to be. And that�s my own fault.
At those times, it�s clear that I have forgotten what Paul wrote to the Philippians:
Philippians 3:7-8 (NIV) But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
In verse 7, when Paul wrote of �these things,� he was referring to his success, his credentials, the good things he had done, and it was in the context of how we are saved. He used the language of business to describe it � profit versus loss.
But then in verse 8, he made �these things� more inclusive of other ideas. �Everything else� or �all things� are worthless by comparison to knowing Christ. Here�s how the NLT renders these verses:
Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT) I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him
Paul here is making a comparative statement. He�s not saying that there�s no good in these things. He�s saying that compared to Christ, there�s no worth in these things.
After Paul considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he decided to write it all off as "worthless" when compared with the greatness of knowing Christ. We should value our relationship with Christ as more important than anything else. To know Christ should be our ultimate goal. Life Application Bible
Paul�s not saying we shouldn�t enjoy good things. He�s saying that all these good gifts, as good as they may seem, or maybe even really are, these gifts are only a shadow of the Giver Himself. What I need to do, what maybe you need to do, is to renounce my reliance on the gifts for my joy and my satisfaction, and embrace my total reliance on the Giver.
After all, if we consider what is the real meaning of Christmas, we can come up with several things, and none of them are these trappings, these byproducts of the season, even when they�re good things.
But here�s what I think of, when I think of what Christmas really means. These are just some of the things that can help me remember the Giver first, instead of just His wonderful gifts.
1. The reality of the incarnation
John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
What an awesome thing to think about. The Maker of the Universe takes on human flesh, and lived among us. What�s more, now He lives in His followers by the Holy Spirit. He truly is God With Us, Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14 (NASB95) 14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV) 16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
2. then, there�s the promise � God promised redemption and He delivered
Acts 13:23 (NIV) 23 "From this man�s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.
Acts 13:32-33 (NIV) 32 "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers
33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.
Galatians 3:29 (NIV) 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham�s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Ephesians 3:6 (NIV) 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
3. Then, there�s the indescribable gift
� not the extra gifts that come from the Giver, but the Giver Himself and His gift to us � salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Think about this for a moment. We cannot separate the Giver from this indescribable gift.
2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV) 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
There is no gift of redemption, there is no salvation, without the Giver of the gift coming to us. He couldn�t send us salvation via UPS or Fed Ex. The gift was Himself, His very life, His very blood, in the flesh, not on Facebook, not via email or cell phone. We can see that God�s love was demonstrated by the fact that He gave. He is the embodiment of the ultimate Gift, as well as the ultimate Giver. There�s the continual reality in scripture, where we see that God gave:
John 3:16 (NIV) 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Galatians 1:4 (NIV) 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Galatians 2:20 (NIV) 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
1 Timothy 2:6 (NIV) 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men--the testimony given in its proper time.
Titus 2:14 (NIV) 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
We see in all these passages that God gave us the ultimate gift, and that gift is Himself � the living King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The reference is�to the inexpressible gift which God had granted to them in bestowing his Son to die for them; and this is one of the most striking instances which occur in the New Testament, showing that the mind of Paul was full of this subject; and that wherever he began, he was sure to end with a reference to the Redeemer. The invaluable gift of a Saviour was so familiar to his mind, and he was so accustomed to dwell on that in his private thoughts, that the mind naturally and easily glanced on that whenever anything occurred that, by the remotest allusion, would suggest it. The idea is, "Your benefactions are indeed valuable; and for them, for the disposition which you have manifested, and for all the good which you will be enabled thus to accomplish, we are bound to give thanks to God. All this will excite the gratitude of those who shall be benefited. But how small is all this compared with the great gift which God has imparted in bestowing a Saviour! That is unspeakable. No words can express it, no language convey an adequate description of the value of the gift, and of the mercies which result from it." Barnes Notes on the New Testament
Let me paraphrase this commentary, so we won�t miss the meaning here. The idea is that the good things God gives us are indeed valuable, and for them we are indeed thankful. Because of these gifts, our gratitude will overflow into good deeds and even to providing gifts to others. But none of this compares to the great, even indescribable gift that God has given us in Himself, God With Us, Immanuel, our great God and Savior.
The word for indescribable is used only here in the New Testament. It means �unable to recount or tell fully.� It�s a gift like no other gift we could ever receive. It�s the gift of eternal life in the person of Jesus. What we�re talking about this morning is more than just a lesson about how to think about Christmas, or what gives real meaning to this season. It�s truly a life lesson.
We sometimes find satisfaction in God�s gifts, Christmastime or otherwise. But the gifts are meant to remind us of, to point us to, the Giver. We miss out when we settle for the gifts instead of the Giver. We miss out on true joy, true satisfaction. In our minds, let�s apply this C.S. Lewis quote to our Christmas desires this year.
"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." � C.S. Lewis (Weight of Glory and Other Addresses)
So, just because we�re able to sometimes easily pleased in certain good things about Christmas, doesn�t mean we�ve found infinite joy.
So, let me apply this personally this morning. I�ve been too easily pleased by the lights, the decorations, the Christmas music I enjoy, the memories, and even by the time with family and the wonderful traditions. These are good things, gifts to enjoy, nothing wrong with them, but, these things are just a small taste of Him.
The gifts, again, are just a shadow of the Giver. So when I rely on, or chase the shadow, I�m always disappointed. Our position should be the same as the Psalmist:
Psalms 16:2 (NIV) 2 I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."
John Piper wrote: Christ does offer total satisfaction, much of it right now in hope and forgiveness and growing power to love. But all of it in the age to come when we will be made perfect in a perfect world. Then there will be no sense in which we will be disappointed in ourselves or in our circumstances at all.
Piper says:
God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
In closing, let me read this poem by singer and songwriter Michael Card. As far as I know, he never set this to music, but it�s an entry in his book Immanuel.
The Gift � Michael Card
Forgive me, oh Lord, for being so dim,
I�ve embraced all your gifts, put my arms around them,
I was holding so tight, it was all I could do,
I forgot that my arms belong just around you.
Now Jesus has taught to let everything go,
All the things that you own, all the people you know.
If you stop asking questions and simply obey,
You�ll possess them in a much
More beautiful way.
Pray
