For those not familiar with an Anglican Service, there are Four Scripture readings prior to the message. Those assigned for this day are Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14 and Luke 2:1-20.
Let Us Pray..... O' Heavenly Father.... I thank-you for all those gathered here this night. May you fill each .... with an overflowing presence ..... of your peace .... and your joy. ..... This night we remember..... the gift that you sent us ..... the gift ..... of your very own son. May we not only celebrate..... the night of our dear Saviors birth but may we treasure it always. We ask this in the name of Jesus... our Savior ..... and Our Lord. Amen!
In 1843 ..... Charles Dickens wrote a story
He called it ...... "A Christmas Carol."
And he prefaced the story ..... with these words. "
I have endeavored," he wrote, "in this Ghostly little book, ...... to raise the Ghost of an Idea ..... which shall not, I trust, ......put my readers out of humor with themselves, .... with each other, ..... with the season, ..... or with me.
He concluded......May it haunt their houses pleasantly."
And it has, .....It has haunted our houses, .....our bookshelves,..... our stages and our screens...... quite pleasantly .....for almost two centuries.
Over the years .....I have noticed something unique ..... about this Story:
Whenever I read it ......or see it played out, ...... Even though I know ...... the story well, ...... I always seem to hear something in it ..... something that touches .... my heart.
So this year, ...... as I was a seeking .....what I wanted to share this evening, ...... I was not surprised ...... to find my mind going back ..... to the ending of: "A Christmas Carol".
As you may recall.... After his hauntings ...... and his resolution to start a new life, ...... the narrator shares this about the change ...... that Scrooge experienced,:
The author writes: Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all and infinitely more. To Tiny Tim, who didn't die, he was a second father. He became.. as good a friend, as good a master, as good a man, As the good old city ever knew . And it was always said of him, that he knew how t keep Christmas well.
Is that what I do? ...Do I keep Christmas...well?
I have a feeling that many do not. Maybe we do not know how too.
Maybe we are a little selfish. So we do not "keep Christmas well."
Instead, we just "celebrate it.
We decorate. We cook. We wrap. We get together.
We unwrap. We eat. We un-decorate.
And then Christmas is gone until next year.
We celebrate Christmas yet , We do not hold on to it. We do not keep Christmas Well.
We do not allow Christmas to indwell us We do not let it transform us. We do not Treasure it as Mary did that Christmas Night. (Long Pause)
In Luke's account of the Christmas Story that was read this evening, ..... it is clear .... that Mary....Mary knows how..... to keep ......... Christmas.
In fact Luke describes Mary much in the same way that Dickens describes Scrooge after his transformation.
In the last lines of the Gospel reading this evening we hear these words ..... BIBLE "Mary treasured up all these things .... and pondered them in her heart." END
There is a clear link between the Holy Scriptures ...... and the line that Dickens wrote ..... at the end ....of his story.
It is even more obvious ..... when you realize.... that the version of the Scriptures..... that Dickens would have read ...... uses the past tense of the word "keep" .... instead .... of the word "treasured."
The King James translation of the Gospel (Luke 2:19) states it with these words: Mary...... "kept .....all these things and pondered them in her heart."
Mary .... Kept all these things. But I prefer the word ..... "treasured."
When I treasure something, ..... I do more than ..... just keep it.
The things I treasure ...... have more value to me.... than the things ..... I just .... keep around.
And their value often comes from the fact .....that they show me ..... just how much someone else ...... treasures me. (Long Pause)
...On my left hand, ...... I am wearing a ring. (Raise Left Hand) It is my wedding ring.
Which I have been wearing for thirty three years now. And it is one of the things..... I treasure.
You see the ring I wear is one of my treasures ..... because it is Not a ring .... That I bought for myself.
It is a ring .... that was given to me ......when my wife and I ..... were married, .....
This ring was given to me .... by wife ..... Lee.
It is a reminder of our bonding together ..... A bonding that was blessed by God .... in the sacrament of Marriage.
And it is a reminder ..... of all that we have shared together ..... before ...and since .... our marriage day.
I do not treasure the gold of the ring ..... but the story .... The story that encompasses it.
I treasure it ..... For It is a symbol of a shared story ... It is a symbol ..... of a shared life together. (Long Pause)
There are notes and letters from my children..... from Kristin and Justin ..... as well as from Lee ..... that I also treasure.
It is not the note paper that I cherish ..... but the stories...in and behind .... the letters and the notes.
I am sure ..... that you have treasures in your life, ..... treasures that help you see ...... just how much someone else ..... (Slow) has treasured you.
Gifts and Notes that portray .....how you have made an difference ..... how you have been a treasure .... to others.
It is not the gift or the note ...... that makes it priceless.
It is the story that goes along with it ...... that turns the gift ..... the note..... into ..... a treasure. (Long Pause)
And it was the same for Mary ..... that .... first Christmas night.
Miraculously, ..... God placed Himself within Mary's womb.
Some nine months later ..... Mary gave birth to a Son.
And when she looked into the face of her little boy, ..... she was looking .... into the face ..... of God.
O' Beloved.... that Christmas Night Mary received a gift, ..... the gift of a son.
But along with the gift came a story, ...... a story told to her that night ..... by the shepherds.
A story about an angel..... an angel who appeared to them while they were watching .... their flocks by night ....
A story ..... about what the angel had said to them: Hear God's Word once again:
BIBLE "Do not be afraid. I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people. To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord." END
It was the story ..... that made the gift of this child.... a treasure.
And Luke shares with us.... that when the shepherds finished their story, ....... (Slow) Mary treasured it.
And this gift .... This treasure ..... was not only given to Mary and Joseph ...... this treasure ..... was also .... given to all mankind... it was given to us .
And we to ..... can share .... in that treasure.
In fact Beloved....... we need to.
It is a story that God wants you and I ..... and the whole world ..... to hear.
I am bringing you good news of great joy ....... for all people.
We that are gathered here this night ...... are part of the "all" ..... in the angel's story.
We are part of that heavenly proclamation. "I am bringing you good news of great joy.... for all people."
These words are straight from Heaven..... they are straight ...... from the heart ..... of God.
(Slow) "Good News of Great Joy for All people."
We need this night to understand.... To know in the depths of our very being .....that the words "all people" includes .... all of us gathered here to worship ..... this Christmas Eve.
So Let us ...... this night..... receive .....the gift of the Christ child.
Let us receive the gift, ..... just as Mary and Joseph did that first Christmas night.
But Beloved ..... (Slow) Please.... Please go beyond that.
Receive also the story that comes .... with the gift.
Listen to it, ..... take it to heart ......(Slow) treasure it.
For To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is the Messiah,..... the Lord."
Born to you... and born me. (Pause)
There is a wonderful tradition concerning this Christmas story ....... that has been passed down by Christians ......from at least ..... the 2nd Century.
They would personalize this Christmas Story and place their name .....where the Scriptures use .....the plural you.
Personalizing the Sheppard's acclimation .....helped them to ponder as Mary did ..... It helped them to treasure it's meaning ..... for their own life.
They would place their name within the Story.
For to you ..... James Jeffrey Smead is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
In the City of David ...A Savior has been born for me and for you.
This acclimation is personal... it is an acclimation for the ages .... It is an acclimation.... that should be treasured by all who call themselves followers of the Christ.
So.... Ponder for a moment with me this evening........ As I read to you the words ...... of the shepherd's story ..... once more.
Only this time, ..... think your name ..... into the story.
And together ..... we will ponder the meaning of these things ...... for our own lives. (Long Pause)
The angel said to the shepherds "Do not be afraid.
I am bringing You .....James Jeffrey Smead ..... good news of great joy.
Bring Good News of Great Joy.
O' Imagine for a moment ..... that the joy ....that the angel was proclaiming, ...... The joy that came with the birth of this child in the manger ..... (Slow) is specifically meant for you. That joy is meant for You!!
The Scriptures continue:
"To You ....... James Jeffrey Smead is born this day..... in the city of David,..... a Savior..... who is the Messiah,..... who is the Lord.
Beloved...... a Savior has born to you ... to you personally ..... "and to all people." (Pause)
In the Greek text .....it is a plural you .......and it means ....."all of you." ..... each of you.
Can you sense it...... Can you sense ..... (Slow)how much God treasures you .....
He gave you not only the gift ....... but also the story .... The story ......that lies behind the gift.
And the truth is this...... the story...... is about you. It is all about ........ God's love for you.
It is about ...... God's desire ..... to bring you good news ..... Good News.... and great joy.
It is about his desire to be your Messiah, ... to be your King, ..... to be your Savior .... to be your Lord."
Can you begin to sense it ..... to sense how much God truly treasures you .....
So...... (Slow) what will you do this Christmas?
Will you treasure the gift ... will you treasure the story?
Will you ponder it ..... more than just.... this night?
O' I pray ..... that you will not just celebrate Christmas .....but that you will keep it .... That You will ponder it.... That you will treasure it.
And if you do .......... God promises ..... that you will be a new creation ....You will be A treasure in Christ Jesus.
He has sent you ...... Good news ..... Good News of great joy.
He sent His only begotten Son ...... to be your Savior, ..... your Messiah ..... and your Lord.
O' Beloved.... When we leave this side of eternity ....
May the world say of you and say of me ....
(Very Slow) They knew how to keep Christmas ..... well". "That they truly ...... treasured Christmas.
Amen and Amen!
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