(Singing this acapella) “I'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me. Please have snow and mistletoe and presents on the tree. Christmas Eve will find me where the lovelight gleams. I'll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams.”
That Christmas song was written back in 1924, but it was years before it became popular because many singers wouldn’t sing it. They felt it was too sad to be sung at Christmas. But then along came Bing Crosby who recorded it in 1943, and it became an overnight sensation. It was so popular in the US that it became one of the top-10 favorite songs that year.
But in spite of that, the BBC (British Broadcasting Co) refused to play it. Britain was at war with Nazi Germany and the BBC felt the words of the song would demoralize their troops.
But amongst American troops… things were different. “I’ll be home for Christmas” was such a POPULAR song that when the USO came and entertained the troops at the front, it was the most requested song every time they performed.
But, would this song appeal so much to American soldiers? Well… they weren’t home. And they weren’t sure WHEN (or even IF) they ever would get home. They longed for home; they longed for Christmas with their families. And so for our soldiers it WAS a sad song…
But the song was also a declaration. It was a declaration that spoke of their hope that ONE DAY they would be home for Christmas.
On sermoncentral, I found there were several preachers who preached “I’ll be home for Christmas” as a Christmas sermon, and a couple of them made this interesting observation:
Almost NO-ONE in the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem was home for Christmas. Mary and Joseph weren’t home. Their home was in Nazareth, but they had to travel for about 2 days to read Bethlehem. The Shepherds weren’t at home. They were at work in the fields. The Wisemen weren’t home - they traveled for months until they found Jesus. And, of course… Jesus wasn’t home either.
THERE WASN’T EVEN ANY ROOM FOR HIM AT THE INN!
Philippians 2:6-8 tells us that “Though (Jesus) was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Jesus emptied Himself of His Godhood. He came down from Heaven (which was His home); He became human and allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross and die for us.
I recently saw a meme on the internet that said this: “A 1000 times in history, a baby has become a King to rule mankind. But only one time in history has a King become a baby to save mankind.
Now why would He do that? Well, He did it for the same reason American soldiers fought in WWII… Jesus VOLUNTEERED. He didn’t have to do what He did. But He left His home in heaven because He chose to. He stripped Himself of His Majesty because He chose to. He became human because He chose to. AND He died on the cross because He chose to. He chose to do all that … for YOU & ME
Someone else noted that “Jesus removed His crown of glory, so He could give us crowns of life. He put on the rags of our sins, so that we could wear robes of righteousness. And He came from His home in heaven so that He might take us with Him to heaven.” (adapted from a quote by W. Dyer)
Jesus did all that … voluntarily. He did that so He could take us home with Him to live with Him for eternity. So, essentially – that’s the message of the birth of Christ:
Jesus left HIS HOME (in heaven) so He could ultimately take us HOME with Him.
And now (in our story this morning) he’s in Bethlehem. And the only folks who come to Bethlehem to worship Him were the shepherds and the wisemen.
Nobody else seemed to want to show up. They had other priorities; other things were more important than Jesus. They were just… busy.
ILLUS: I read of a mother who was on a “last-minute” shopping run. Time was running out to buy presents, and she was frantic. She’d taken her 3-year-old son and was going furiously from store to store. And then, suddenly she realized that her little boy’s hand was no longer in hers. She began to frantically look around and then began to quickly retrace her steps. She found him standing at a store window, gazing at a manger scene. Hearing his mother the boy turned and shouted, “Look Mommy! It’s baby Jesus – baby Jesus in the hay.” But Mommy didn’t care. It’d been a long day and she was tired and worn-out. Indifferent to his joy and wonder of her son, she jerked him away saying, “Come on! We don’t have time for that!”
Now that was a special moment. She had a chance to focus on the real reason for the season… but at that moment it wasn’t important to her. She was busy; she had other priorities; and so she missed it. She missed the chance to focus on Jesus.
The people who found Jesus were the ones who were LOOKING for Him (the shepherds and the wisemen). They knew that he had whatever they needed in their lives, and so nothing else was going to distract them.
There’s an old Gospel song that says: “This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through; My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue; The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door. And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”
It’s when you realize that this world is not your home that you begin to desire Jesus more than anything else on earth. Nothing else will distract you.
Jesus said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
And again, Jesus said “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
When Jesus becomes your focus you begin to lose interest in the things of this world.
ILLUS: There’s a story of a traveler who stopped by to see a famed wiseman, but when he entered the home of the wiseman he was amazed to see how little the man had in his room. All that was in the room was a table, a bench, and a pallet to sleep on. He was a bit shocked and asked the wiseman, “Where is all your furniture?” The wiseman gravely responded, “Well, where is all YOUR furniture?” The tourist answered, “I don’t have any furniture with me. I’m just traveling through.” And the famous man smiled, “So am I.”
“I’ll be home for Christmas” - that’s what the song says. The soldiers in WWII realized that they faced danger and hardship - even death. But one day (as the song said) they believed they’d be going home.
One day, Jesus was talking with His disciples and He told them “‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:1-6
ONE DAY… I’LL TAKE YOU HOME WITH ME! That’s the promise of Jesus.
He came as a baby in the manger (But as a song I wrote says) “the story of that baby Jesus still can make me smile; but the baby Jesus soon became a man. And the crowds that once had cheered Him on became a howling mob “Crucify Him” was their demand. They nailed Him to a rugged cross, stained with dirt and mud; The only decoration on that tree was His blood; And there upon that Christ-filled tree we saw God’s gift of love; The true gift from the Father up above.”
The baby Jesus became man and then… they crucified Him. He was born to die. But after he died, when He rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven that’s when He went to prepare a place for us. A place where we could be at home with him forever.
God described that home in Revelation 21:3-5 “(God) will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”
Everything that makes this world uncomfortable for us… will disappear. Sorrow, crying, pain, … and death – they won’t be at our new place. Our new home will be better than anything we’ve ever had here.
CLOSE: Now, one last thought: Jesus didn’t just promise us pie in the sky by and by. He also promised us - steak on the plate while we wait.
In John 14:23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and MAKE OUR HOME with him.”
Did you realize, that the moment you became a Christian, God came down (in the form of His Spirit) and made His home with you. I know… it’s not quite heaven. But it ain’t bad. Because once you believed in Jesus, repented of your sins, and been buried in baptism with Him - from that point on you were never going to be alone again. But how did God MAKE HIS HOME with us? Acts 2:38 tells us “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Once you were baptized into Christ… God came inside you. God made His home with you. Yeah, one day, you’re going to leave this world and be with God forever, but until that day God will come and into YOUR life and make His home with you right now.
ILLUS: An older man was visiting his daughter’s family one Christmas when he walked into the family room and saw his grandson. Tommy was a toddler and right now he was crying his playpen - his face was all red and tear-stained. When little Tommy saw his granddad, his face lit up and he reached out his hands pleading, “OUT, PAPA, OUT!” What grandfather could resist this plea? And so he walked over to the playpen and he began to reach down (PAUSE) and just then, the mother stepped into the room with a dishtowel in her hand and she said, “Tommy, you know better. You’re being punished. And DAD… you just leave him right where he is.” And then she marched back out of the room. And there stood granddad, not knowing what to do. Tommy’s tears and outstretched hands were more than he could bare, but he didn’t want to interfere with a mother’s discipline either.
He didn’t know what to do! But then he had an idea. If he couldn’t take Tommy out of the playpen, he’d climb in with him. And that’s where mom found him when she came back into the room. (Brian Bill)
That’s what Jesus did with us - He climbed in with us. That way, whether we’re in this world, or the next, we’d always be at HOME with Him.
INVITATION