“O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”
“Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”
Merry Christmas, everyone! It is such a joy to be here with you all today. There is no better way to celebrate Christmas than right here in Christ’s church, with Christ’s people! As nice as giving and receiving gifts is; as nice as a fancy meal with family and friends can be; as fun as a visit from Santa is, those things have nothing on this. There is no better way to celebrate Christmas than to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
It’s so easy at Christmas to forget that worship is true celebration of the birth of Christ the Lord. It’s so easy to forget which GIFT is important at Christmas-time. It’s kind of like watching a little toddler on Christmas morning. My nephew is a good example. Last year was his first Christmas, and everybody in the family was so excited for this monumental occasion. We all carefully shopped for the “perfect gift” for this newest addition to the family. And when Christmas rolled around, we were all excited to see little Bryce open his gifts. He ripped open the first gift like at little boy would. Then, he pulled the toy out, looked at it, dropped it on the floor and began to play with the wrapping paper. The same thing happened with the next gift, and the next.
Finally, there were just a few gifts left, and my sister put in front of Bryce what we were sure would be a great hit. We were certain that he would want to play with this toy. Again, Bryce ripped the paper off the paper. Some of the family helped open the box and pulled the toy out. Bryce’s face just lit up! He began to fidget with the pieces and push the buttons. Success! He seemed to really enjoy this toy. But, in only a few minutes Bryce crawled away from his new toy, and into the box it had come in! You know how children are; even with bright shiny toys nearby, it’s more fun to play fort in the box, or to throw paper wads at your siblings. It’s so humorous and yet hard to believe at the same time.
Yet, as God’s children, we have been given the most awesome gift that could ever be given. It's gorgeous from every perspective. It's a gift of such grandeur that it's hard to wrap words around it and explain it. It's beautiful from every vista. It's the gift that every human being needs. It's a gift that in all of your work and all of your effort and all of your achievement you could have never earned; you could have never deserved; you could have never achieved. It is absolutely, without question the gift of gifts. It’s what we are here celebrating today. It's the gift of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, it’s the gift of salvation that comes through him. But even knowing that, I am deeply persuaded that, even in the face of this gift, there are many who are content to just “play in the box.”
My friends, the birth we celebrate today is indeed the greatest gift that has ever been given, and it is a gift we all need. It’s easy to be content sitting around the Christmas tree or eating a holiday ham, but these are empty gifts compared to the salvation that comes in Jesus Christ. The scripture passage we heard this morning describes the events leading up to and including Jesus’ birth. If you remember, when the angel appeared to Joseph in his dream and explained Mary’s unexpected pregnancy, the messenger told Joseph, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Whether you believe in God or not, Jesus came to save, and we all need saving from something!
After the angel has visited Joseph in his dream, Matthew comments about the message the angel delivered. He says, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel’—which means, ‘God with us.’” These words are Matthew’s editorial comment on the story, and Matthew is quoting the prophet Isaiah. When Isaiah penned his prophecy about a virgin conceiving and bearing a child, that was probably not understood by Isaiah to be about a child to be born 700 years in the future, but instead about Isaiah’s own son.
You see, at the time that Isaiah made this prophecy about a virgin conceiving and bearing a child, he was living within the walls of Jerusalem. Beyond the walls, two armies had laid siege to the city. The people of Jerusalem were terrified. But God gave Isaiah a word of hope for the people and their leader, King Ahaz. God was with them; Judah would be spared, and the armies would be defeated by their foes, the Assyrians. God even gave Ahaz a sign that this would pass, that “the young woman would conceive and bear a son, and call him Emmanuel.” And Emmanuel was the name given to Isaiah’s own son, because his birth and life were a reminder of God’s promise to be with, and to deliver, God’s people.
The child Isaiah prophesied about was a sign, a visible reminder of God’s concern for and ultimate protection of his people. He embodied the hope that God had not abandoned Jerusalem. But if the child of Isaiah’s prophecy was his own son, or even some other child born in his day, why did Matthew say that Jesus’ birth fulfilled this prophecy from Isaiah? Perhaps Matthew was confused, but I don’t think that’s really the case. Matthew was not confused, nor was he misinterpreting Isaiah. When Matthew quoted this verse from Isaiah, I think he was saying, “Jesus, like that first Emmanuel, was a sign sent by God that you might know God is with you, that you might know he will never leave you, that you might know he will deliver you!” Matthew wants all to know that what happened in the days of Isaiah is happening again in Jesus! God is delivering his people! The child whose birth we celebrate today is a sign that we are not alone. God himself is in this baby, and he has come to deliver us!
But what about us? What do we need to be delivered from? Our city is not under siege! What is it that Jesus saves us from? This is a question we should ask ourselves often because I think Jesus does a lot more than we realize, and it’s a constant work. Here’s what I know. I know that Jesus has saved me from a life of complete selfishness. He has saved me from a life focused on “more;” more money and more power. Christ has saved me from becoming my worst possible self and to whatever degree I actually seek to care for others, to give of myself for them and to work for justice and compassion in a broken world. All of this comes from Jesus.
Jesus delivers us from adultery and greed. Jesus saves us from guilt and shame, from hopelessness and despair, from fear and death. I have seen Jesus save addicts from their addictions and give them a new life. I have seen him lift up prostitutes and give them hope for a better future. I have seen him save men and women from being self-absorbed, resentful, bitter, and angry, and transform them into people who live with freedom, hope, and joy. Today we celebrate Jesus Christ, who came “to save his people from their sins;” who came to deliver us, to lead us, to love us, and to give us life! This is no gift to be cast aside and ignored! “Come, let us adore him!”
Let’s celebrate today the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus is a sign from God that we are not alone, he is Emmanuel. In a way that the child of Isaiah’s prophecy so many years before could never do, this child Jesus, is uniquely the son of God. God has wrapped himself in human flesh, born in a manger, so that we might know that we are not alone. The God who is invisible, who rules the universe, has become visible and taken on flesh in this baby. So that we might know, no matter how dark our circumstances, no matter how afraid we may be, no matter what’s happening in our life or the world around us, God is always with us! This is what Matthew wants us to know the Christmas story is all about. In that one little line from the prophet Isaiah, “he shall be called Emmanuel,” Matthew wants us to know that this is about God making clear to the human race, “I am always with you!”
Now, in the midst of celebrating this great gift, God’s presence with us, we need to remember that Christmas is never just about receiving, is it? Inside this story is a calling on our lives. Christ is a sign to us that God is always with us, his people. And Jesus calls us to be his representatives, to be a sign to others that God is with his people. Do you know someone right now who’s walking through a really tough time and they need to know that God is with them? How are they going to hear that, if not from you; if you don’t show them through your actions, if you don’t come alongside them and say to them, “Look, I’m here to remind you that God is always with you.” Isn’t Christmas more meaningful when you can give as well as receive? And see how much more so when the gift we are talking about is God’s very presence in the person of Jesus Christ?!? What an amazing gift we have received! What a wonderful opportunity to give and to serve in the best way possible!
Christ has come to save us from our sins. Let us celebrate Emmanuel! Let us proclaim that God is with us! Come, let us adore him!!!
