The War on Christmas
December 10, 2017
Luke 3:1-6
About 10 years ago there was a phrase which was popular. It didn’t last long, but it seems like every Christmas season those who are Christ followers feel like we’re in a battle. There was a popular book called The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought.
Christmas lovers have been asked to boycott businesses that don't use the word "Christmas" in their advertisements. You can't use "Happy Holidays" it must be "Merry Christmas." If not they’ll end up on the Enemies of Christmas list. There even was an organization keeping track of which retailers are naughty or nice.
Now, I want to warn you, I’m going to break with tradition. You see, I'm a little confused. We’ve heard for years and years that Christmas is too commercial — it’s all about the money. Now people complain that retailers aren’t using the name of Jesus. They’ve made it too generic. I hear the concerns. But . . . do we really want some of these companies invoking the name of Jesus to sell their goods?
The fact is, do you really want Budweiser, Seagrams, Marlboro, and Abercrombie and Fitch invoking the name of Jesus? Do you really want to see an ad that says, “Come, relax as a family . . . celebrate the birth of Christ with a Bud Light?” Maybe Season’s Greetings isn’t so bad!
Even in the movie Miracle on 34th Street, one of the characters complains that Christmas isn't like it used to be, it's become too focused on the material aspect. I’m not here to continue the war on Christmas. Remember what the angels said as the heavenly host appeared in the night before a group of awestruck shepherds ~
14 Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace, goodwill toward men. – Luke 2:14
This is a time of peace, a time of joy, a time to give glory to God, a time to express goodwill or generosity toward others. We need to understand the world view of Christmas has changed. It’s become much more secular and less spiritual or religious. Many people treat Christmas like I did when I was growing up. It’s a reason not to have school, to get together with family, to eat lots of good food, and to get gifts. (I didn’t get gifts, I got those at Chanukah). But all the rest applied to me. The fact is we really don’t live in a Christian world anymore. Most of the people we encounter don’t follow Christ as we follow Christ.
The proper response to this is NOT to say, “So, that makes us enemies, we’re at war!” The real response should be to show love, grace, acceptance and generosity to those who do not celebrate Christmas, or believe the way we do.
Today we're going to look at Luke 3. It's about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a prophet and a preacher. He was also an older cousin of Jesus. Large crowds gathered to listen to him. And John had a lot to say about hypocrisy and religiosity; repentance and good works. However, the primary purpose of his ministry was to announce and prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
There's a story in John 3 in which some of his followers came to him and said ~
26 “Rabbi, He who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness — look, He is baptizing, and all are going to Him.”
John's reply wasn’t what they expected. In essence he said, that’s the way it’s supposed to happen. Then John added these words ~ ~
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
That kind of sums up the Christian life in 7 words!!
John the Baptist captured the essence of what it means to be a follower of Christ. He is to become greater; I am to become less. John’s role was to lead people to see Jesus. There’s a sense in which our job, our purpose is to do the same thing. We are to help people see and experience Jesus by the way we live. Jesus increases, we decrease! We die . . . so that we may live.
This is such a wonderful time of the year, but the fact is that with all the craziness going on around us, it's easy to miss. It's easy to get lost in the external things, the material things, the stressful things to the extent that it's easy to miss the beauty, the power, and simplicity of the Christmas message. That message is ~
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. – John 3:16-17
The Christmas message is that God loves the world, He loves you and He doesn’t want to condemn you for anything, but wants you to experience the joy and the power of abundant life today . . . . and eternal life in some distant day.
So, rather than feeling the need to grab someone because they only say "Happy Holidays" - - let’s be the physical representation of Jesus wherever we go . . . that way we don’t have to say anything . . . instead our actions will show the world who we are in Christ.
To figure out some things we can do, let’s look at Luke 3:4-6 as he quotes Isaiah 40
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’” – Luke 3:4-6
Let’s look back at verse 4 as John proclaimed ~
4 ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make His PATHS straight.
In ancient times when a king planned to tour his dominion, he sent messengers before him to tell people to prepare the roads. The Greek word for paths or roads literally means "a beaten path, a path formed by rubbing or constant use." It meant ‘the king is coming and if no road exists, you need to beat a path, create one for him.
Have you ever noticed there are no sidewalks when you walk in the woods. Instead, what are there? Beaten paths. Beaten paths aren’t always easy to create. They have to start with someone.
What if your role this Christmas and beyond, is to do exactly as this passage says - -
You . . . follower of Christ . . . . prepare the way of the Lord. Create a path so that someone, maybe a friend, maybe a family member, a coworker, a classmate, someone . . . can journey down the path to Christ on a path you have created.
The paths in some of our family relationships are cluttered with debris from the past - - weeds, rocks and stumbling blocks, to the point that no one can get through that path. At Christmas we're around family we may not care for, there’s some baggage, some resentment, bad feelings. Whatever it is . . . let me encourage you to start to make a path toward them, a path of reconciliation, a path of mercy, a path of peace and forgiveness. Make room for God to enter that relationship, so that they can experience the power and presence of the Spirit of Christ through your spirit.
You do this by starting today. Most of us already know our Christmas plans. Most of them are set in tradition. We know where we are going and who will be there. We don’t have a choice. Today, start praying. Pray for God’s power and Spirit to fall on you. Ask for whatever it is you need. Ask for the Fruits of the Spirit . . .
22 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, and self-control, against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23
Pray! Pray! Pray! I would encourage you to beat a bath to God’s throne of grace. Go there so often, day after day after day. Do it so that the road has become a beaten path between you and God. No obstacles. No hindrances! The more you prepare a path between you and your relationship with Jesus, and the more you prepare a path between you and whomever, the more opportunity you give for Jesus to be glorified among those around you.
Notice what Luke said in verse 5 ~
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,
It's a fact of life that a great deal of inequity exists in our world. There's a lot of pain, hardship and suffering, not only in our world, but right around where we live. Sometimes, we can look the other way. Yet around this time of year, we tend to soften up a little and it seems to be a little easier to be more generous during the Christmas season.
I'm encouraging you to take advantage of as many opportunities for generosity as possible. No doubt within your circle of people you know there are people for whom the road is currently crooked and rough. Is it possible we can help make those roads straight and smooth?
I was talking to a man who said he felt panicky and guilty this Christmas. He said it's panic because he doesn't know how he can provide a good Christmas for his children; the money isn't there. And he felt guilt because he wants to provide better for his family, but he felt he just doesn't measure up.
You can talk all day to this guy about how he shouldn't feel that way and how Christmas is more than just presents under the tree and on and on and on, but the truth is -- he’s not really going to hear those words. He can’t move beyond his present situation. He’s struggling with his self-worth.
Maybe there’s people you know who are struggling financially, and you know you’ve been blessed this year and you can help them. It’s not about being extravagant, sometimes, it’s about providing a few simple things that straightens out the road and smooths it out for a bit.
There are lots of people who are traveling on that crooked and rough road. I'm not just talking financially. There are people you know whose road is rough because they're lonelier than they've ever been before. Their road is rough because they've experienced a relationship which didn’t work out, maybe they’ve endured the death of a loved one, or a sickness that has change the family dynamics. Maybe there’s a job issue. Can you smooth out the road for them? Can you straighten that path out for them?
We all know people who are hurting in many different ways. We all know someone who is hurting. Is there someone who needs to see and experience the love of Christ through you. Because you help straighten that crooked road and smooth out the rough road, they now have the chance to see Jesus in you. You have the opportunity to offer a little hope to someone who may be feeling hopeless and worthless for whatever reason. Look for the chance to set something straight.
MY OFFER
Then John said ~
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God. – Luke 3:6
All flesh will have the opportunity to experience the salvation of God! Isn’t that the message of Christmas? God came into our world so He could save us. So He could redeem us by dying for us and giving us the gift of life. We receive reconciliation — forgiveness — hope — grace — mercy — power. It’s all part of salvation.
Remember, the story of Christmas is not about condemnation - - or guilt - - or judgment - - or punishment. The story of Christmas is about Love, God's love for people.
Paul said it so powerfully in Romans 8:1 ~
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1
If you are in Jesus, you are not condemned!! Salvation. That's the message of Christmas. It’s really a year round message! Especially at Christmas and Easter we hold to that a little more. We need to shine a light on this message.
Go back to the beginning. If someone is going to say HAPPY HOLIDAYS or SEASONS GREETINGS - - - it doesn’t mean you boycott that store or product. That’s not the headline you want to make as a Christ follower . . . is it?
If we're going to make headlines, the headline should be that WE are announcing the salvation of God to a world desperate to be saved, that we are preparing a path for Him, a path of reconciliation and forgiveness, a path of peace and power. We are making those crooked roads straight and clearing off the roads to smooth them out.
We are beating a path to God to gain all the spiritual power so we can have those conversations, to have the power of patience so that we can demonstrate God’s glory to whomever needs to experience it.
We are willing to become a little more generous with our money, our time, our love . . . so we can help someone who has a need - - - - again, experience His power and presence. That's the message of Christmas.
You can say, “Jesus, I want you to become greater and greater in my life. Give me the opportunity to make a path so that others may find you. Give me the opportunity to make the road straight and smooth for those who are suffering. Give me the opportunity to shine a light on you, and your grace, mercy, and salvation.”
In order to do this, AGAIN we MUST to follow John’s 7 powerful words!
Christ must increase, but I must decrease!
