This past Thanksgiving my family and I headed North to spend the holiday with my family in Kentucky. As we were there, on the day after Thanksgiving, my wife and my sister went to do the usual holiday routine of shopping at the various stores. Now I’ve never been shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, I’m always on the couch with the left over turkey, but I understand that it can get pretty mean and ugly out there. And it did that day. As my wife went to Wal-mart, an employee in the toy section told them about an incident that had happened that morning. When the doors opened, the people rushed into the stores and when they got to the toy section, two women grabbed for the same toy. It was a pink big wheel and it was the last one. In the holiday spirit I guess, the two women began to cat fight right there in the aisle. Boxes were being thrown, hair pulled, the whole works. Unfortunately, there husbands was nearby. When they came to the rescue each man decided to stand up for his woman and the two men began to duke it out right there in the aisle. What a way to kick off the holiday season. Joy to the world, the Lord has come.
For many persons, Christmas is a time of rejoicing, a time of celebration. The family gets together and laughs about old times; gifts are exchanged, and it is for some truly the most wonderful time of the year. Yet at the same time, for others…Christmas is anything but joyous. We all have heard the statistics. More suicides happen in the holiday season than any other season. More alcohol is consumed in the month of December than any other month of the year. Christmas can be and is the most emotionally trying time of the year. Perhaps you’ve decided not to come home for Christmas this year and now your mother is mad and your upset because you feel like you’ve let her down.
I read about a man this week who for him this will be only his second Christmas after splitting up with his wife, and his first without his children--his wife gets them this year. And when he tries to make holiday plans he just gets depressed. I had a friend who I grew up next door to me whose family spent the holidays drunk, and his memories of Christmas are anything but jolly. Maybe, just maybe you have all your family coming in for the holiday season and you don’t know how your going to feed and sleep them? In the movie Christmas Vacation, when Clark Griswold tells his dad how frustrating Christmas is and then asks him how he managed to keep his sanity during all the other Christmas’, and his dad responds by saying, “I had a little help from Jack Daniels.” Now I’m not advocating alcohol, just trying to show you that for some Christmas is a difficult time of year.
Yet no matter the amount of discord you may experience at Christmas, there is still available an overriding sense of joy despite all the pain and difficulties you may be facing. Consider those involved in the Christmas story itself: Joseph finds out that his fiancé is pregnant and he begins to contemplate divorce; yet when the angel confirms in a dream the truth about Mary’s baby, Joseph rejoices. Mary herself is pregnant out of wedlock, no doubt the brunt of public ridicule ; then in her 9th month of pregnancy she is forced to travel 70 miles on a donkey, and yet when she holds her child who is the Son of God, she rejoices. Luke 2:10 says, “But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
The message of Christmas is good news, it is news that is worth rejoicing over. Today a Savior has been born to you. Now you may not feel like rejoicing this morning, that’s fine. I hope we can still minister to you, but the message of Christmas is filled with such hope and such wonder, it’s simply hard not to be joyful and I hope to impute some of that joy to you this morning. This message of joy is a message that is much needed in our day.
Let’s look at why it is that we need this gift of joy. The first reason is simply the anxieties of life. Let me ask you, are you worried? Are you anxious? I seems that our lives are so hectic, especially this time of year, and there are so many different worries bearing down on us from every angle. How are you going to pay for Christmas this year? How can we keep everybody happy? Is this the right gift? But all these are minute worries compared to the ones we face on a greater scale. The threat of war hangs over our country, the world’s no longer a safe place. The world’s second largest airliner declares bankruptcy, the economy’s not what it used to be. Will my retirement still be there when I retire? Just how many more Christmas’ do I have left, I’m not getting any younger. All these worries can weigh us down and depress us.
But it’s not just the worries of life that can get us down, it’s also the realities of life. Realities which are painful vivid reminders that we live in a fallen world. There are many in our community who will be spending Christmas alone this year, some perhaps for the first time. When my cousin Jimmy died in an awful construction accident a number of years ago just weeks before Christmas, his family was left with the daunting task of staring at the unopened gifts under the tree with his name on them. And now each Christmas acts as a reminder that their loved one is gone. Death is a reality which can cause despair, but when you add to it the reality of the horrors of our world, it seems almost overwhelming.
Just consider the front page headlines from just this week. North Korea activates its nuclear program in defiance of the US. The US suspects that Iraq has given nerve gas to Al-Qeuda. In Florida, two 9 yr old kids were arrested at their school for trying to sell Marijuana at their elementary school. The world can be such a depressing place and that‘s from just this week alone. Anne Murray had a song out in the 80’s, “We sure could use a little good news today.” and I agree with her, and here is the good news. The angel said, “I bring you good news of great joy unto you is born a Savior.” Into this dark depressing world was born He who is the light of the world. What good news! What great joy!
Now why is the message of the angels such good news of great joy? What was his message? Well it was basically the gospel. A Savior has been born unto you. The word gospel literally means good news. What’s the good news, it’s this. God left all the splendor in Heaven and came into this world in the form of a tiny infant. He lived a perfect life and when the time was right, he willingly went to the cross and died a substitionary atoning death on our behalf. He was crucified and dead, but on the third day He was raised from the dead. Now by placing our faith in Him, even though we may be deserving of Hell, we can be forgiven of our past, restored to our right relationship with God, renewed into the image of Christ, and promised the gift of eternal life in Heaven. Now I don’t know about you but that’s good news to me!
Now along with the basic message of the gospel, I want you to see other messages imbedded into the Christmas story that cause us to rejoice. The first message communicated to us is that no matter what the world may think of you, God thinks the world of you. God says that you are special and you are the object of His affections. There was an article in this month’s edition of Christianity Today about how the so called “untouchables” of India are quitting Hinduism and flocking to Christianity because it gives them a sense of worth. For their whole lives they were told they were nothing, lesser that others, but in Christ they are called the children of God.
Jill Brisco is a women’s ministry advisor and author of several books, and in a message she gave she told a story about a friend of hers who is a schoolteacher in the Milwaukee school system. Just at the beginning of last semester, she was passing in the corridor by the lockers, and she came upon two 9-year-old children talking. One of them said to the other, “What sort of vacation did you have?” The little boy said, “Well it was sort of tough. My dad trashed me.” “Oh,” the other boy responded, “that’s tough. I know what it feels like, because my dad trashed me last year. Why don’t we be friends?”
As they stood looking at each other—9 years of age—describing their experience as children of divorce, of “being trashed,” the teacher was able to approach and put her arms around those two kids and say, “Let me tell you about someone who will never trash you.”
You see Christmas tells us that God hasn’t trashed us. When we were sinking helplessly in the guilt and shame of our own wrongdoings, God remembered His love for us. Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." God is saying, “I haven’t forgotten you, in fact I want you to from now on call me Father an I‘ll call you my child.” I like how Max Lucado once put it. “If God had a refrigerator your picture would be on it. Christmas tells us that God cared enough to send the very best, and He did it all just for you.
Another reason to rejoice is that the good news gives us hope that is beyond this world. Isn’t strange how we will spend all this time and effort in putting up the Christmas trees and lights, but come December 26th…we want them down. Why, because it’s temporary. It’s there for only a while. In the same way, this world and everything in it is temporary. From the house you live in to the car you drive, it’s temporary. But there is a land that will never end. A land that is not affected by neither moth or destruction. A land that is eternal. And when God descended to this world, He provided a way back to His. By the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the gate to Heaven has now been flung open wide and we have been invited in. And it is in Heaven, not this world that we as Christians have hung our hope on.
There was an ad for New York City in a gourmet magazine that was published back in the 1990’s. In it you can see the Twin Towers and the lights that read, “I love New York.” In the ad it said, “Stop by, the light is always on.” The fine print reads, “The fun and excitement of New York City just never stops.” You know what? It did stop. Even the world’s most impressive buildings pass away. That is a reminder that we better have something more.
If your hope is primarily in Heaven, you are not terrified when the world collapses. You are not jealous when others have more of the world’s goods. You are not easily tempted by the temporary pleasures of this world, and you really are not caught up in your own success. I was impressed last year when Coach Mike Davis of Indiana University was asked, after beating the Duke Blue Devils in the semi-final game in the NCAA Tournament, “Are your players going to practice tomorrow before the game on Monday?” And he said, “Oh, no, we never practice on Sunday. We give our boys a chance to go to church.” It almost persuades me to be a Hoosier! As Christians, we are able to enjoy the world’s success and not be overwhelmed by it or depended upon it. We realize that there is something much more important that awaits us. And by doing so our priorities are correct and joy is not dependent on worldly things or circumstances.
In this dark world we have something to look forward to. Something to motivate us through the tough times. Hebrews 12:2 says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus could endure the cross because He knew what laid ahead. We can face this world and all it‘s troubles, because we know what lies ahead for us in the next. That’s good news of Great joy!
Arthur Gossip wrote, “The New Testament is the happiest thing in literature, with the sound of singing in it everywhere; opening with the choir of angels over Bethlehem and closing with the Hallelujah chorus of the redeemed. No matter how you look at it, the gospel is good news of great joy.
Now I want to give you some practical way to help you rejoice this Christmas season. These are ways you can get the most out of this joyful time of year. First, Forget the things that made you sad, but remember the things that made you glad. If you were to ask Mary what she remembered about that night, she wouldn’t tell you about the long journey to Bethlehem…she would say, “I got to hold my baby.”
Now many of you have painful memories of past Christmas’! An argument took place; a loved one was lost, times were tough and money was tight. Those are painful memories I know, but still Let them go. Let go of those bad memories and instead focus on the good times you had.
My Grandmother has a room in her house we call the picture room, because from wall to wall there is nothing but pictures of her loved ones, her friends and her family, many who are no longer here. But when she shows you a picture, there will always be a wonderful story attached with it. When my Mammaw shows you a picture of my cousin Jimmy for instance, she won’t tell you about his tragic accident on the construction sight just weeks before Christmas, no she’ll always say, “Jimmy loved to eat gizzards. And every Christmas eve I would make a plate just for him and he’d eat every last one.” Instead of mourning his death, she has chosen to celebrate his life.
Secondly, don’t forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. As others have said, “Remember the Reason for the season.” In a B.C. Comic strip a while back it had One ant asking his dad a question. "Dad, who is Jesus?" The father ant replied, "He’s the reason for the season. The next panel says, "But Dad I thought Santa Claus was the reason. And the father ant replies, "He is-if you prefer Sony Play Station 2 instead of everlasting life."
This can be such a hectic time. Shopping, decorating, attending parties, visiting relatives… It’s easy to just let Christmas pass right by without ever considering the meaning. And because the holiday has become so commercialized and so hectic, we need to take time every year to remember why it is that we celebrate Christmas in the first place. God sent us Jesus not to give us another holiday, but to give us a Savior. So take time this Christmas to remember that. My family and I have decided to bake a birthday cake on Christmas day for Jesus and sing happy birthday. That may sound corny to you, but that’s our way of reminding ourselves that Christmas is not about what presents we can give and get under the tree, it’s about the gift under the star. Make a special effort to remind yourself why it is that you are celebrating Christmas.
Next, make a special effort to be a joy to someone else. Give a gift this year with no strings attached. Make a phone call to somebody who may be spending Christmas alone and tell them, “Just wanted you to know that I was praying for you.” Send a Christmas card. Instead of fighting over a toy, let the other person have the last pink big wheel. Do something to lighten up somebody’s day simply for the glory of Christ .
And finally, Experience the joy of Christmas for yourself. We can talk all about this joy we receive until we‘re blue in the face, but until you know Christ as your Lord and Savior you won’t be able to grasp all that I have said. And receiving the gift of Christ is so easy, but you must act upon God’s gift. The angel told the Shepherds about the baby in the manger, he told them how to get there, but they had to make the decision to go and the find the child themselves. Now I’ve told you this morning about the baby in the manger, and I’ve told you how to get to Heaven to be with Him, now will you go? God has given us the gift of Jesus Christ and just as He was born that day, He can be born in your heart this morning by you simply turning your life over to Him and saying Jesus I want you as my Lord and Savior. And when you do, you will experience a joy that is beyond compare, and not just for a season, but for all of eternity.
