Verse: Luke 2: 1-20
Topic: Christmas
Probing Question: What is the reason for Christmas?
Key Word: reasons
Subject: Reasons for Christmas
Aim: To inspire the congregation to experience a renewed sense of what Christmas is all about.
Title: Christ Over Tradition
Introduction
Christmas with your Family:
Family Traditions are a part of every Christmas celebration. Each of us has grown up with traditions that are unique to our own families. We get the Christmas lights on the house, the tree up and decorated, we all have our favourite Christmas show (The Christmas Carol, It’s A Wonderful Life, Rudolph or Frosty the Snowman), some open presents Christmas eve while others wait until Christmas morning. In our family we have Christmas breakfast after we have opened our gifts. We participate in a traditional Christmas eve service. These traditions are all a part of our family heritage.
Do we question our traditions?
The story has often been shared about the husband who asked his wife why she cuts the ends off the Sunday roast before she puts it into the roasting pan. She says to her husband, "my mother always did it that way and that was the way I was shown". The husband’s curiosity requires him to ask his mother-in-law. So next family gathering he goes to his mother-in-law and asks her why she always cuts off the ends of the roast before putting it into the roasting pan. She looks at him and says, "my mother always did it that way, so I learned from my mother and then I taught my daughter to do it the same way. But I don’t know why my mother did it that way. It’s just part of our tradition." Now the husband’s need to know becomes overwhelming so he goes to his wife’s grandmother and asks her why she cuts the ends off the roast before putting it in the roasting pan. She says to him "I had to cut off the ends to make it fit into my very small roasting pan." A tradition can start from a real need and continue through generations even though it has become irrelevant. This story confirms the need to know where our traditions have originated, why we still practice them and if they are still relevant.
In the Christian Magazine "Home Life" there was an article titled "Who Wants to be a Christmas Millionare?" taken from the popular TV show "Who Wants to be a Millionare". The article clearly showed the discrepancy between the truth of Christmas and the traditions of Christmas. We need to question traditions such as:
1. Yule logs
2. Mistletoes
3. Christmas trees
Transition: Many of the traditions we take for granted have little connection with our Christian faith. It is interesting that many of us just accept them without question. Today lets take a look at three of our traditions and how they relate to Christmas and to our Christian faith.
Content
Spirit of Giving (Saint Nicholas)
Luke 2: 1-7
2:1 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
2:2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
2:3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
2:4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
2:5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
2:6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Illustration
Santa Claus
Father Christmas (Santa Claus) is based on Saint Nicholas, who is said to have become the Bishop of Myra at age thirty. Tradition indicates that he came from a rich home and became well known for supporting the needy. He came to be worshiped and prayed to as the saint of merchants, the poor, children and just about everything else.
During the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, Martin Luther tried to stop the worship of saints. However, the gift giver took on many other names: in Germany, he became Der Weinachtsmann ("Christmas Man") and Kris Kringle, in France he became Père Noël, he became Father Christmas in Britain and the colonies.
The Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, founded New Amsterdam (New York) and brought with them the celebrations of Sinterklaas, the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas. Santa Claus is the American pronunciation of Sinter Klaas.
In 1809, Washington Irving (the author of "Tales from Sleepy Hollow") wrote about Sinterklaas in his "A History of New York." Irving described Sinterklaas as a rotund little man in a typical Dutch costume, with knee breeches and a broad-brimmed hat, who travelled on horseback on the Eve of Saint Nicholas. In 1822, Clement Clark Moore, a poet and professor of theology, published the poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" (also known as "The Night Before Christmas"). Moore’s Santa is a jolly old elf who flies around in a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer. Moore even named the reindeer by the names we know them today, and the method by which Santa returns up the chimney.
Thomas Nast, the illustrator and caricaturist, contributed his own vision of Santa for Harper’s Weekly magazine during the late eighteen hundreds. Nast, also in the late eighteen hundreds, depicted Santa in a red, fur-trimmed suit and a wide leather belt. Each year he added more details to his version of the Santa legend, including the home-workshop at the North Pole and the Naughty & Nice list.
In 1885, Nast sketched two children looking at a map of the world and tracing Santa’s journey from the North Pole to the United States. In 1931 Haddon Sundblom presented Santa as a plump human rather than an elf, with a jovial face and big beard in a Coca-Cola advertisement. (Coca-Cola was a client of Sundblom’s advertising agency from 1924 until his death in 1976.) Today, it is Sundblom’s Santa that slips down chimneys around the world.
Is it not interesting how a story changes over the generations. It is like the game played in youth camps where a circle is formed and one person is given a message to pass on to the next person. By the time the last person is asked to share the message it is so changed you can hardly recognize the original message.
Explanation
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
God’s message to us is unchanging. He sent his son, in the form of a baby, to live and to die so that we may be blessed with the gift of eternal life. What a tremendous gift to give to humanity. What a tremendous message to share with a lost world.
Application
Often society mistakes Christmas commercialism with the true message of Christ. The Spirit of Giving is not in the purchase of stuff. It is in the giving of ourselves to one another in love. Is that not a message to proclaim for all to hear? Is that not a heritage to pass on to future generations?
Spirit of Peace (Christmas Cards)
Luke 2: 8-15
2:8 In the same region there were {some} shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
2:9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
2:10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
2:11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
2:12 "This {will be} a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
2:15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds {began} saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
Explanation
John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."
Can you imagine the Shepherds excitement. They received a message from angels. The proclamation was "good news of great joy for all people". The Shepherds were given the opportunity to proclaim to all people a message of peace, of joy and of hope. This is a message that the world still needs to hear. A message that family, friends and neighbours need to hear.
Illustration
Christmas Cards
Christmas cards are a common part of Christmas for most North Americans. Most of us take it for granted that we will be spending time writing in cards, addressing envelopes, and licking stamps. This is just another part of what we do during Christmas. However, this tradition is based on the need to communicate a special message to family and friends in a convenient manner. People in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century were becoming tired of writing long letters so they began to write cards instead. This practice became common practice. It was even used by Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War. He requested a political cartoonist, Thomas Nast, to illustrate Santa Christmas (Santa Claus) with the Union troops to bolster their spirits.
Today, the greeting card business is a multi-billion dollar industry supplying cards for just about any occasion.
Application
As did Abraham Lincoln we use Christmas cards as one way to send our greetings to others. These cards give us a chance to encourage others with the Christmas message of peace and joy. We also are able to renew contact with family and friends.
The good news was given to the Shepherds two thousand years ago. But now we have the opportunity to share the same peace and joy that comes from God’s love with everyone around us. This message is as fresh and exciting today and will be just as fresh and exciting two thousand years from now.
Spirit of Love (Candy Cane)
Luke 2: 16-20
2:16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
2:17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
2:18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
2:19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
2:20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Explanation
John 15:13 "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
We know the rest of the story. The shepherds may never have seen Christ fulfill his ministry. They may have died long before Christ was crucified. But we know the rest of the Story. Christ died and he rose again in order that those who believe may have the gift of eternal life. Christ’s sacrifice for us has been the foundation for our faith. It has been the hope of many believers. One believer, a candy maker, established a tradition that has a great significance for believers. This Christmas tradition has its origin in the desire of a candy maker to share the true message of the gospel.
Illustration
The CandyCane
A Candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would help us remember who Christmas is really about. So he made a Christmas Candy Cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless nature of Jesus. Hard candy to symbolize the solid rock, the foundation of the Church, and firmness of the promises of God. The candymaker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. It also represented the staff of the "Good Shepherd". The candymaker then included red stripes. He used three small stripes and a large red stripe to represent the suffering Christ endured at the end of his life. The candy became known as a Candy Cane -- a decoration seen at Christmas time. The meaning has faded, but still gives joy to children young and old, whom Jesus loves and treasures.
Application
This Christmas if you remember just one tradition; remember the story of the Candy Cane. Its significance is in its message to a lost world and the hope it gives to Christians across the World.
Conclusion
Where do your family traditions originate? How can we put the true meaning of Christmas back into the traditions we practice? This Christmas take time to reflect on the true meaning behind Saint Nicolas, the Christmas cards we send and the Candy Cane we so enjoy. Remember the true spirit of giving, the true spirit of peace and the true spirit of love that only exists for those who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are
his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his
name.
For the Lord is good and his love
endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through
all generations.
