A fresh look at Christmas
Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ
December 8,2002
I have one of those grandfathers who has a great sense of humor at least I think he has a great sense of humor. He has a habit of saying things that will most likely get him into trouble. I remember the whole family getting together a few years ago to celebrate my grandmother’s birthday. It was a good time there was family and friends, everyone was enjoying themselves.
After the action died down and a few people left we all went in the living room and sat down. My grandfather sat down next to my grandmother and after it was quiet for a little while he said, “so do you feel any older” she said well not really. He said “well you look sure look a lot older”
A ninety year old couple sat on the front porch one night. The old man was overcome with the romance of the evening and he said to his hard of hearing wife, “I’m proud of you.” “Huh,” she said. “I’m proud of you.” “I’m tired of you too,” she said.
More often than not the case is that over time the more familiar we are with something the less fascination we have with it. We get tired of things very quickly. Things that once fascinated us, now bring little emotion. I get a new CD and listen to it over and over again but eventually the CD gets old and sits on a shelf un-listened to. We go out and get a new car but after six months the newness has worn off and we want a newer one.
We have a saying that “familiarity breeds contempt.” But more often than not, “familiarity just breeds indifference.” And the more we become familiar with something the less fascination we have. The newness fades, we lose the wonder. And that happens often with us at Christmastime too. We have heard the Christmas story over and over and slowly the wonder of what occurred some 2,000 years ago diminishes. It fails to do much for us spiritually. The old, old story, has become just that old, old story.
In Jesus Day there was a large crowd that was tired. They thought God didn’t really have anything left to show in fact he had been silent for 400 years. After a period of silence we start to wonder what happened. It happened before, It happened to the isrealites when Moses went onto the mountain for 40 days they thought that God was done talking and helping because it had been a little over a month since they noticed His work. There is quite a span from 40 days to 400 years.
The people thought he had used up his bag of tricks like Mark Hammel in star wars but what happened to his career after that? It’s easy to see the mistakes looking back. And we can easily get down on these people but they also new the fading glory of an old story.
One of the best known philosophers to date is a guy names Friedrich Nitche. He was the guy who said “God is dead”, That phrase can be found today in books, on t-shirts and in the hearts of many people. That was a controversial statement but the reason that Nietche thought that was because He has grown tired. And could no longer explain the injustices of the world.
He had bad things happen to him. He was shoved off to a boarding school by his parents and really bought into the pessimistic view of life. We are very much the same was as a society. We are bombarded by impulses to shop rather than share. We wonder where God is when tragedy happens. Sometimes we start to believe it, and we think he doesn’t have anything new to show us. All we have is an old book.
But the people who had been looking for a messiah new better. They new that there was an old story but God was writing a new chapter everyday and someday He would write an ending that promised and end to suffering. And end to war, that God would write an ending filled with peace on earth and goodwill to all people. Perhaps God wants to write a new chapter in your life today.
Believing requires effort. You know I have heard people ask why we take communion every week and when we tell them because we believe that is part of worship. They say to me “doesn’t it loose a special place if we do it every time we meet” The answer is, only if you let it. In Fact that’s one of the reasons we have a high divorce rate, because we get tired of each other and we don’t find ways to keep the things that should be special to us.
An older couple was sitting together watching tv one night. The husband was falling asleep, but the wife was in a romantic mood and wanted to talk. She started to cry She said: "You used to hold my hand when we were first married" Wearily he reached across, held her hand for a second and tried to get back to sleep.
A few moments later she said: "Then you used to cuddle with me."
So he skooched in closer and put his arm around her.
Thirty seconds later she said : "Then you used kiss me"
Immediatley he jumped up to walk out of the room
"Where are you going?" she asked.
He answered, "To get my teeth!
Because Knowing God is about the relationship we have with him, we have to work at it. It requires that we remain focused on Him even if we have known the truth for a long time.
I like the story of the 4 year old boy who went with his grandfather into the woods to select a Christmas tree. They walked all over, but the boy couldn’t find a tree that suited him. Finally, it began to get dark and cold, and the grandfather said they would have to quit looking. "We’ll have to take the next tree." he said flatly.
The boy looked up sadly and said: "Even if it doesn’t have any lights either?"
We have to work for our faith. We do not find it with the decorations on it already but it requires time and effort from us. That has been the dividing line when it comes to belief. There are those who believe we have seen God’s last stand and there are those who believe that we can stand on God’s promises till the end. There are those who give up on life’s hard questions and there are those who work out their salvation in the midst of confusion and hard questions.
Which camp do you fall into? What does your life say about you. If we were to look at the evidence and actions in your life would they reflect an indifferent attitude or would you still be able to look at Christmas with fresh eyes? Some here today are pretty sure of their faith and don’t think there is much left to learn or But there are also some here who are waiting for God to reveal himself more fully.
I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me but I want to be clear. I am not necessarily talking about the differences between believers and non believers. I am talking about the difference between those who allow the truth of Jesus become old and second place and those who find ways to keep the message of hope alive in their hearts.
God will reveal himself to those who are searching for him. Jeremiah gives us a great promise in chapter 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Today I hope you will be inspired to seek and continue to hold precious The Gift of God.
That’s what we think of isn’t it? Christmas is a time of giving. Giving was started by God but the Christmas story reminds us of the gifts others brought to Jesus. So today that means Christmas is a time of shopping. Ever since the wise men from the east showed up at the stable carrying gold, frankincense, and myrrh, people have been exchanging gifts at Christmas.
Some of have suggested that things would have been considerably different if these wise men had actually instead been wise women. And things sure would have been different. If it had been ‘Wise Women’ instead of ‘Wise Men’, they would have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts from Baby’s-R-Us, including diapers, wipes, bibs and formula. But that’s an entirely different story…...
It is more complicated today than it was for the wise men. For one thing, they didn’t have to contend with shopping malls, all packed full of parents going from store to store to store, desperately searching for a Nintendo Playstation 2. The magi didn’t have to worry about sizes, or colors, or return policies. There were no razor scooters in those days, no life-size Barbies, and definitely no robot dogs. Just plain old gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Well, this year, just like every year, millions of people, both children and adults, will open millions of gifts. Some won’t fit. Some will be the wrong color. Many will be returned or exchanged. But there’s one gift that meets everyone’s need, one gift that will never wear out, never break or need repairing. Because He never loses his relevance or meaning.
A gift that is appropriate for a small child, or a teenager, or an adult, or a senior adult. Boy or girl, man or woman, it makes no difference. The gift we all need, the most valuable gift of all, is that baby in the manger. The one that this whole season is about. On Christmas, we celebrate the fact that God gave us the gift of His own Son, Jesus Christ, so that through faith in Him we could be forgiven of our sins and have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 (NIV)
1. The gift is Jesus Christ himself
The gift God offers us is to know Christ. To know Him as a friend, to have fellowship with Him, to have a relationship with Him. The gift God offers us is to be known and loved by Christ.
[Jesus: ] “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:15 (NIV)
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” – John 17:3 (NIV)
Let me ask you a question: Have you received this gift? Do you have this kind of relationship with Jesus Christ? Do you know Him as a friend? Is He someone you can talk with, confide in, seek counsel from? Do you feel at ease in His presence, like you would with a close friend, or do you feel like you have to rush around cleaning up your spiritual “house” before you can welcome him in? If the answer is “no,” if you don’t have this kind of relationship with Christ, the good news is that you can.
Maybe you’ve never heard the Christian life described in this way before. Perhaps it sounds a little strange to talk about spending time with Jesus Christ, as if He were a flesh and blood person, someone you could see and hear and touch. Well, no it isn’t like that. We don’t claim to see visions or hear voices. But that doesn’t make our fellowship with him any less real. Christ is present with us. His Spirit lives in us. He speaks to us through the Bible. And we speak with him through prayer.
Your greatest gift to your children isn’t a few boxes wrapped in colored paper, on Christmas or their birthday. The most valuable thing you can offer them is a relationship; your love and care, your time and attention, your commitment to always be there when they need you. Everything else flows from that. In the same way, God’s greatest gift to us is a relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. The Gift Has Great Value
We need to be reminded of the value of knowing God. There are people who look into the manger, and they don’t see a king. They don’t see the Savior of the World. They don’t see “the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. They don’t see anything special at all, because they don’t have eyes of faith. All they can see is an ordinary human being. And so, they pass by the child in the manger and instead seek after the gold, and the frankincense, and the myrrh sitting at the side. They don’t want the baby, they want the presents.
Which do you value more, the toys and trinkets of this life that will all eventually crumble into dust, or a relationship with Jesus Christ that will last forever?
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” – Matt. 13:44-46 (NIV)
Knowing Christ is worth more than anything else in this world; in fact, knowing Christ is worth more than everything else in this world. We will never be disappointed by Him. He is that treasure; He’s that pearl of great value. God’s gift to us, this child in the manger, is worth more than anything else we could ever possess. Does your life reflect that truth? Do you know Him? Are you seeking Him?
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” – 2 Corinthians 9:15 (NIV)
Lord you are more precious than silver, Lord you are more costly than Gold, Lord you are more beautiful than diamonds and nothing I desire compares to you.
3. The gift must be received
It’s available to everyone, but God doesn’t force it on anyone. We have to receive it. We have to take the package, and open the box, and accept it as our own. We each have to make the decision to receive Jesus Christ into our lives.
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” – John 1:12 (NIV)
Not all who heard about him, or agreed with his teachings. Not all who attended church. Not all who tried to follow the golden rule. But all who received him. Some people imagine that God’s love has to be earned; that we have to do something to deserve His forgiveness, that we have to somehow be good enough to merit His acceptance. But a gift you have to pay for is no gift at all.
Now, maybe you opened that gift years ago, but lately it’s been sitting on the shelf. You’ve been too busy, or too distracted, or too hurting to give Christ the time and attention you know He deserves. Or maybe for you that gift is still under the tree, wrapped and ready to be opened. My appeal to you this morning is this: Don’t leave Christ on the shelf; don’t leave Him under the tree. Take him into your life today.
If there is one thing I wish for us this Christmas it is that we experience the same wonder of Christmas that Mary, Joseph and the shepherds experienced. That we each would experience the life changing power of Jesus Christ.
The coming of Jesus Christ into the lives of Mary, Joseph and the shepherd’s changed them forever. They would never be the same. And it is my hope that this Christmas you would open yourself up to the life changing power that comes when Jesus Christ enters your life. You see whenever Jesus comes, whether it was that first Christmas or whether it is spiritually into a person’s life today he always brings change for the better.
And if you are at the end of your rope this morning, if life has got the best of you, I want to tell you that if you give Jesus Christ a chance he can transform whatever situation you have. He can take your life and give it a complete makeover. He came to this world 2,000 years ago to change it forever and his goal is to change you.
2 Corinthians 5:16 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
And I don’t know where you are in life, but I suspect that there are some of us who come here today, needing a new life. Some of us who are unsatisfied with your lives want something better. I am here to tell you that an experience with Jesus Christ can bring the needed change you have been looking for all along.
What you are looking for can only be found in Jesus Christ, the one who came, the one who died and the one who lives forever. And this Christmas would you let the old story have a new place in your heart?
