Why Christmas Is a Big Deal:
Faith, not Fear
Scripture Text: Luke 21.25-36
INTRODUCTION
Since 9-11, I have-flown only two-times. Before 9-11, my wife and I loved-to-fly. It was almost-like-a-high: to check-the-bags and board-the-plane, …to feel the thrust of the plane as it rushed-down the runway, …to feel the pull-against-your-body as the plane lunged-upward into the thin-air, …and to-watch the clouds floating-peacefully beneath the wings of the plane.
Oh, I still enjoy the actual-experience of flying: …looking-down at the patchwork of greens-and-browns, …stained with silver lakes, …laced with ribbons of highways-and-rivers; …and I still-imagine stepping-out on the clouds, …and riding-them like a puffy, pillow-surfboard!
But something-has-changed!
Something’s-changed to make the whole-experience of getting-on-a-plane a distasteful-thing!... Not the actual-flying ~ …But the process of arriving-at-the-airport, …and making your-way-through the obstacles-and checkpoints before you even-get-on the plane! It starts at the ticket-counter, with agents that seem-to-have-gotten-up on the wrong-side of the universe; …then, the threat-of-a forced-strip-tease before you can go-down-the-terminal ~ …take off yours shoes, …and your belt, …empty your pockets, …flip on your electronic devices to prove they are not a ticking-time-bomb ~ …and, don’t-forget: …don’t carry shampoo, …or an extra bottle-of-water ~ …’cause that’s reason-for-suspicion! The whole-thing makes my-stomach knot-up!... “Anxiety” is a good-word for it!
Of course, it’s all for the sake of “safety” ~ …’cause we live in a day-and-time of unimaginable evil; …but, it really makes me wonder whether it’s worth-it! If the stress-and-pressure that go-along-with getting on-a-plane, ..whether it’s worth flying!?! I’d just-as-soon stay-home, …or, better-yet, …take a road-trip, …instead-of risking an involuntary pat-down!
I even-read this-week about a new device they are testing. This new-instrument will measure stress-and-anxiety levels in-a-person. It works similar-to a lie-detector, …except that you don’t-have-to get “hooked-up”; …you just pass-through this magical-measurement ‘thing-a-hoo’, …and it measures skin-temperature …and involuntary muscle-twitches, …and rapid-eye-movement, …and heart-rate to determine whether you’re experiencing heightened-anxiety ~ …presumably to identify possible-terrorists.
I-guess somebody needs-to-tell-them, …Nearly-everyone who takes-off their belt-and-shoes in front of strangers, …Nearly-everyone who empties their pockets and worries-about being pulled-aside for a random “strip-search” ~ …We all have a “heightened-level” of stress-and-anxiety!... This new-machine is going to be chiming-and ringing faster-than the bell-ringer at a Salvation-Army kettle outside of Wal-Mart!
Anxiety-and-stress are responses to many situations-and-factors. Airport-security is just-one. Financial-instability, …job-insecurity, …marital-problems, …health-difficulties, …news-paper headlines ~ …these are all things that may lead to heightened-levels of stress-and-anxiety.
Many-of-us lived during the Cold War. Do you remember the routine-disaster-drills at school? ~ It was the same-drill for tornadoes and-for air-raid or missile-attacks ~ …we would file-out into the hallway, …face the lockers on the wall, …get-down on our knees, …and duck-our-heads as-low-as we could bend-over!
Somehow, I don’t-think that assuming-the-position would help, if a 2,000-pound nuclear-warhead fell within a 10-mile radius of the school ~ …because one-nuclear warhead is approximately 1.9-million-times as-powerful as the truck-bomb that Timothy McVay used in Oklahoma-City; …in-other-words, …those disaster-drills were useless-because, we would’ve-been “dust-i-fied”!…
Growing-up under the threat of nuclear-annihilation caused a general-level of anxiety that ran-throughout our society in-those-days. But, when the Soviet-Union began to fall-apart, …and the Berlin-Wall came crashing-down, …we in the United States took a collective-sigh-of-relief. “Maybe-now”, we thought, “we can live in peace-and-security! “Maybe now, with the fall of-our-enemy and the beginning of disarmament; “…maybe, now-that we don’t have-to-worry about missile-attacks, “…and who has their finger on the big-red-button; “…maybe, now-that we can convert our backyard-bomb-shelters into storm-cellars ~ “…Maybe-now we can enjoy a happy, stress-free life!”
But-then-came the Taliban and thugs-like Saddam Hussein; …and then-came-rumors of mass-exterminations in Rwanda and the melt-down of Yugoslavia; …and then-came hearts-so-full of hate, …that they turned a box-van and passenger-airplanes into portable-bombs that-sparked new-fears and renewed-anxiety throughout our nation, …and-then-came the incredible-greed of corporations and investment-executives, …and the selfishness-of-celebrities, …and the near-financial-collapse, …and almost-double-digit-unemployment, …and the housing- and credit-crises, …and rumors of new-viruses and deadly flu-bugs ~ …and all-of-it just-continues to ratchet-up our stress, anxiety, and fear!
TRANSITION
And-although the terminology that Jesus uses in this passage may be a little “out-there” ~ …we get-it! We completely-understand the psychological-and-spiritual condition that Jesus is talking-about: …fear. …anxiety. …unsettled, uneasiness that arises in our hearts-and-minds when the world-around-us is so messed-up!
It’s-enough to make you wanna bury-your-head in the sand (like-an-ostrich). Or, sell all your possessions, and build a mountain-cabin (far-away-from-all-the-chaos). Or, turn to ‘drink’, to try and forget all your troubles!
But Jesus offers us another way to respond to the headlines, …and the confusion, …and the fear …and the chaos of our world: HOPE!
Hope that is based on Him ~ …not on government-intervention, …not on fate, …or good-luck, …or karma …and-not on your own-ability to turn-things-around. In the midst-of-all-this-craziness, …Jesus invites us to put our hope in Him.
BODY
I want us to take a quick-look at Jesus’ teaching, …but-first, …we-have-to put it in context.
I. Enthrallment with the World
So-many of Jesus’-teachings are in-response to life-events, …or people’s-questions, …or-when He observes something. It’s a beautiful-thing that His teachings fit-into the narrative of life and living and relationships! There’s a hundred-and-one examples of how this works in the Gospels ~ …but we have-to-look no-further than Luke-21 to see it in-play.
This teaching about ‘signs’ and ‘warnings’ and ‘catastrophes’ and ‘faith’ and ‘hope’ ~ …it-all comes-on-the-heels of an observation that He made.
I was kinda-blown-away when I looked-at-this-passage ~ …and traced-it-back to see what-it-was that prompted Jesus to say all this stuff about end-times and natural-disasters… Was He bullied by a group-of-Roman-soldiers, as they-pushed-their-way through the Jerusalem streets? Did He just finish another heated-argument with the Sadducees and the Temple-priests? Did He just stub-His-big-toe and bump-His-head ~ …and He was just in ‘one-of-those-moods’ that says, “Life stinks and the world is coming-apart at the seams”!?!
No… These weren’t what-prompted Jesus’ teaching about the end-of-time and His-return. The thing that did it was: …He and the disciples were hangin’-out in the Temple-courtyard. …And His eye was caught by a poor-ole-widow who dropped a few coins in the offering plate. Jesus praised her ~ for, her-offering was everything that she had.
In-contrast, …the rich gave great-big-offerings ~ …but they-had plenty in-their-pockets! She gave it-all!
Now, of-course there’s a-lesson for us-all in-that Jesus loves and praises our generosity… But-there’s-more…
After-praising the widow’s meager, but-generous gift, …the disciples start-marveling at the majestic-construction of the Temple. They started going on-and-on about what a tremendous and awe-inspiring place the Temple was. And-I-guess Jesus just-couldn’t-take-it!... He had just-praised the widow’s small-gift, …and basically-said it was a big-deal; …but the disciples were gawking at things through worldly-eyes ~ …they are fascinated by the big, .the bold, …the impressive accomplishments of men. (Which do you admire ~ the big or the small?; …the temporary or the enduring?)
And that’s-what prompted Jesus to teach the disciples about the end-times ~ …it’s a way-to-say, “This-stuff (that you-think is so impressive) ~ “…it’s all temporary, boys! “There’s bigger-things to look-at and to look-for. “Pay-attention. “Keep your heart-ready and your eyes-peeled because this-world, “…and all the grandest-things that you see in-it, “…it’s all gonna-fall when the Son of Man comes-back to redeem His children, “…and to judge-the-world!”
A widow’s gift is more-enduring and more-significant than the grandest-accomplishments of humanity; …for, her-gift is a sign of complete trust in the Lord.
…The magnificent-Temple would crumble (and it did, less-than 50-years after Jesus said-this); …and ‘unsinkable’-cruise-ships will sink to the bottom of the sea; …and billion-dollar sports-stadiums will turn to rubble; …and the greatest nations will-collapse. But the widow trusted in God’s enduring-faithfulness!
Don’t get so-wrapped-up in the wonderful-and-impressive accomplishments of our world. There’s more-to-see ~ …stuff that looks small-and-insignificant, …but-in-reality, …this is the stuff that really-matters! Like-when, a widow gives it all-away because this world ain’t her forever-home; …or-when a Chinese-pastor keeps-preaching in one-village after-another, …even-though he’s been imprisoned and beaten and threatened, because he knows the sufferings of this present-moment only-last for the blink-of-an-eye, …when-compared to eternity; …or-when a student tells classmates that following God is a great-adventure, …and it’s so-much-better than wasting-life chasing fleeting-promises!
Don’t get so-wrapped-up in the empty-promises and enthralled-with the seemingly-amazing-accomplishments of our world! No politician, …no million-dollar-lottery, …no retirement-fund, …no sports-team, …no magical-pill, …no product-in-a-bottle is going-to-be what makes your life secure-and-happy-and-fulfilling!
Only Christ! Only Christ is a secure-anchor that we can hold onto ~ …an anchor that will hold when life is stormy, …and when the world is falling-apart, …and-when it seems-as-though everything is aligned-against-you. Only Christ will hold you and carry-you through-to-eternity! Won’t you hold on-to-Him?
II. Signs of the End
Jesus pulls the rug out-from-under the disciples: They are enthralled with the majesty of the Temple ~ …but, Jesus doesn’t-just say, “The greatest-accomplishments of men are only-temporary-structures”. He goes-on to talk about the temporary-status of this-world, as-we-know-it!
The signs: …natural-disasters and nations-in-anguish ~ …people will be anxious and “faint-with-terror”, …worry and uncertainty will hold-captive the hearts of humanity. The signs are indications that the things that we are so-impressed-with, …are really shaky-foundations for our faith and hope and confidence! It’s not-just that the Temple will eventually-be destroyed; …it’s not-just that the ‘towers-of-Babel’; will eventually come-crashing-down; …and the biggest-and-the-baddest will-eventually rust-and-decay; …and the Donald-Trumps and the Kobe-Bryants and the million-dollar-bank-accounts ~ …it’s all-going-to dissolve into the dusty-pages of history… It’s not-just the things-of-this-world will eventually-be-destroyed… …but-also, …the sun and the moon and the sea, …the foundations will-be-shaken: of-the-earth and the heavenly-bodies!
All-these-things that we seem-to-think are impressive and certain and foundational ~ …Jesus says that there will come a time when it will all “pass away”! In-a-way, …He hearkens back to Genesis-chapter-one:
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
In-other-words, …Creation-exists by the will of God… He-brought it into being with a spoken-word; …and He can bring-an-end to-it without-a-moment’s-notice! Just-because it hasn’t-fallen-completely-apart-yet, …is-no-reason to doubt that it ever-will! It might-be tomorrow or next-week or 10,000-years-from-now! The point-is-not when the end-will-come; …the point is-not-how it will all go-down; …and the point-of-the-‘signs’ that Jesus talks about in Luke-21 is not so-that we will have a ‘heads-up’ on everybody-else ~ The point-is: Where is your hope-and-faith!?! ~ Is it tied to the Titanic ~ ‘cause that-ship is goin’-down! Is it anchored in your 401k retirement-account ~ ‘cause that-paper can dissolve faster-than-snow! Is your hope based on a wish-and-a-prayer that your luck-will-change, …or that eventually things will turn-around for you? Are you captivated by the glitz and glamour of Vegas and Disney World and the new Cowboys-stadium ~ ‘cause bricks-and-mortar crack-and-disintegrate! Even the predictable-circuits of the sun-and-moon and the tides-of-the-ocean and the sparkles-of-stars ~ even-the-most reliable things of nature will eventually-evaporate!
Where is your hope-and-faith anchored? ~ When you see troubling-things happening in the world-around-you; …when your-world seems-to-be falling-apart; …when all-the-signs point-to-chaos and instability and destruction ~ …are you worried? …anxious? …fearful?
Jesus says:
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. (21.28)
In-other-words, when it seems that everything-is-fallin’-apart, …when the world-is-slipping-into-chaos, …when your-world is coming-apart-at-the-seams …don’t-despair, …don’t lose-faith, …don’t give-in to fear! If your faith is anchored in Jesus, …then you can stand-up in anticipation that deliverance is-come!
CONCLUSION
You’ve probably noticed that the underlying question of this sermon is: Why is Christmas a “Big Deal”?
It’s not a very-big-stretch to see-ourselves sitting-among-the-disciples with Jesus in the Temple. Except, …we’re-not-gawking-at the magnificence of the Temple; …we’re gawking at the sales-ads and the merchandise that fills our favorite-stores; …and we’re sayin’-to-each-other, “Isn’t the latest ‘this-or-that’ awesome?” And we’re dreaming of getting that-new-iPod or flat-screen-t.v. or lap-top-computer or whatever because it’s absolutely-cool ~ And we’ve-bought-into the empty-promises of Madison-Avenue that our lives would be much-better if we just-had ‘this-or-that’ newest gadget. And I wonder if Jesus is talking-to-us ~ …talking-to-us about our enchantment with the material-world; …and tryin’ to-get-our-attention that all-this-stuff is not gonna make our lives any-better; …and reminding us that this-world and all the stuff that the world offers is fading-and-temporary!
Why is Christmas a “Big Deal”? ~ It’s a big-deal because the most-significant-things happen in unexpectedly-small-ways!... …Like-when a widow puts all-she-has in the offering because she has complete-trust in God to take-care-of-her! …Or-when a young-person decides to use-her-talent to serve the kingdom-of-God, …rather-than pursuing her-own dreams of fame-and-fortune! …Or-when a young-boy spends all his savings on a mission-trip, …instead of on-something a store has-to-offer! …Or-when a couple chooses to open-their-home to a little-child ~ either-by fostering or adopting; …or when God sent His Son into the world as a tiny, helpless Baby!
Christmas is a ‘big-deal’ because it reminds us that though the kingdom of heaven looks like an itty-bitty mustard-seed, by the world’s-estimation, …it is really the most rock-solid anchor for our hope-and-faith.
Christmas is the celebration of Great News: that God entered into this broken, fractured, chaotic-world, to bring hope through Jesus Christ. Christmas is a big deal because the Baby that lay in the manger is the Antidote to all the things that cause us fear and anxiety. Christmas is a big deal because in Jesus, God entered the world and began the work of reconciling all things to Himself.
Christmas is a big-deal because the One who came, is coming again. The first-time, He came as a Babe, born in a stable, laid in a manger. The next-time, He will come riding on a cloud ~ …tying up all the loose-ends and bringing-an-end to all injustice, chaos, hatred and evil.
Just-as the people-of-God looked-forward-to the coming of Messiah ~ …and shepherds and angels and wise-men welcomed Him with joy and thanksgiving, …the people-of-God continue to look-forward to Jesus’-return ~ …and we need-not-dismay at the current state-of-affairs in our world!
The season of Advent is a time to celebrate that-which we look-forward-to. It’s not the holiday of Christmas that we’re looking-forward-to; …It’s not the packages under the tree, …or the time-spent with family ~ …(those things might be fun and good), …but, it’s the Second Advent of Christ Jesus, the Lord, that we’re anxious-for!
He came once, …to bring salvation and usher-in the Kingdom of God; …He’ll return to bring-an-end to all-things that stand-opposed to rule-of-love and the reign-of-God!
Is your faith anchored-in-Him?... Or, Do you trust in things-of-the-world?
Are you anxiously-looking-forward to His return?... Or, Are you just-feeling anxious because of all-the-craziness in the world around-you?
Are your eyes focused on what-is-enduring and steadfast?... Or, Are you fixated on temporary-things!?!
Today is the day that you can change all-that ~ …forget about the stuff that is passing, …the things that will rusty or break or fall apart; …forget about the people who will disappoint, …and the accomplishments-of-men that will eventually-crumble. Now is the time to put your hope in Jesus.
