Narnia Christmas Series
“What if there were no Christmas”
Oakbrook Church 12/24/05
Intro.- It looks like we have a long winter ahead of us. (slide-) I hate it when we get snow and cold so early. I was born and raised in GB, so this isn’t anything new, but the older I get the longer and colder and snowier winter gets. Here’s my perfect plan for winter in WI; snow for deer season, stop; snow for Christmas, stop; 2 weeks of snow in Jan; then warm up from there.
Don’t get me wrong, I love living in WI, I love having 4 seasons. I just don’t like it when one of the four is 6 months long. Sometime during the winter season most people begin to long for spring, by the way, as of Thursday the days are getting longer.
Our winters are long and cold and snowy, but can you imagine 100 years of winter. Can you imagine living in a place where it is always winter but never Christmas? (slide) I mean Christmas is the only good thing that happens in winter, besides a golfing vacation to a warm climate. In C.S Lewis’ book TLTWTW 4 children discover a magical wardrobe (slide) and stumble into the land of Narnia, (slide) where it’s always winter and never Christmas. The land is under the curse of the evil White Witch, Jadis. (slide)
The Narnians long for spring, well, really they long for much more than spring, they long to be rescued from the evil witch, they long for the return of Aslan, (slide) the Rightful ruler of Narnia; they long for hope that is bigger than their everyday hardships and struggles. Sounds like me.
Can you imagine a world without Christmas? No Christmas tree, not gifts, no family gatherings at grandma’s house. No Christmas carols, no Grinch, Rudolph, or Charlie Brown TV specials, no It’s a Wonderful Life. No special holiday times with friends. What if there were no Christmas?
Well, there would be no long lines at the stores, no 20 minute trips around the parking lot looking for a parking place, no 4” thick newspapers filled with sale flyers, no incessant holiday sales commercials, no political debates over wishing people a Merry Christmas, no extra 10 lbs. from holiday eating, and no demoralizing credit card bills in Jan.
Hmm, maybe if there were no Christmas it wouldn’t be so bad after all.
No, seriously, if we lived in a world where it was always winter and never Christmas (slide) there’d be no Christ. What if Jesus were never born? What if He had never lived, taught, died or risen from the dead? What would the world be like? (slide-) What would your world be like?
Well, about 2000 years ago another pastor thought about the state of the world without Jesus and he left us some ideas of what that would mean. His name is Paul, and his words are inspired by God Himself. Listen to how he describes a world without Christmas, a world where Christ never came, a world where the reality of Christmas was never personally embraced.
Eph. 2:12 (slide) “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”
“In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from God’s people, Israel, and you did not know the promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.”
Without Christmas there is no Christ. What it’s like to be “apart from Christ”; “to be living apart from Christ”.
“excluded from God’s people”- no church, no family, no community of faith.
“foreigners/strangers from His promises”- you did not know His promises; His promise were foreign to you and you were foreign to His promises- they didn’t know you and you didn’t know them. No promises, no hope
“no hope” You lived in this world “without hope and without God in the world.” (slide)
Life without Christmas- no God, no hope
Imagine the despair of being without hope; hope-less. Of feeling there is no end to the misery, no light at the end of the tunnel, no reason or purpose to go on; imagine. Some of you don’t have to imagine, you’re there, or you have been, or you’re afraid you will be. No one wants to live where it’s always winter and never Christmas; where there is no hope and no God!
Our Longings-
We long for spring, for life, for the joy of being rescued from our frozenness; we long for hope that the misery will end, good will come and the bad will go away. We live everyday with deep longings within our heart, longings which Christmas seems to revive, longings which are renewed by stories like TLTWTW.
We long for the awe and wonder of Christmas, trees and lights, gifts and food, a shimmering moon reflecting off the snow covered countryside. Yes we long for these. But we long for an even greater sense of awe and wonder, the awe and wonder of a transcendent God visiting our world.
We long for good news of great joy (slide) and the hope that Christmas brings.
Luke 2:6-20...
(slide)
The Wonder of Christmas- (slide-) a virgin, no room in the inn, angels, the star, the shepherds, a manger, the Son of God in the flesh; the wonder that God came near. Not the story, the reality. We long for the reality of the wonder in our lives- life bigger than the mundane, larger than my everyday hardships and struggles.
We long for Good news of great joy- a Savior has come, He’s on the move and the rescue is coming.
Christmas brings hope that good will triumph over evil; Christmas sets the stage for that triumph. The life of Jesus is bracketed by (slide) two impossibilities: (slide) a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb. Christ entered the world thru the door marked “No Entrance” and He left thru the door marked “no Exit”.
The virgin’s womb sets the stage for the empty tomb; Christmas brings the hope that good will triumph over evil.
(slide) What if there were no Christmas?
No awe, no wonder- no supernatural activity on behalf of humanity.
What if there were no Christmas? We would miss the joy of being rescued, there would be no arrival of a Savior; it would always be winter. Our world, our lives would be without God and without hope.
What if there were no Christmas? There would be no hope that spring would ever come, that the evil white witch would be defeated; no hope that good would triumph over evil.
We were made for awe, we long for transcendence- something, someone beyond the limits of possible; someone apart from us, beyond us, greater than and unlike us. We long for the wonder of God. We long to simply be in Aslan’s presence. (slide)
The Rescue- We certainly don’t have to wait for the evening news to realize that the world we inhabit is in trouble. We know the world has gone awry. We apply our scientific, economic, and political will and power in vain attempts to fix it; no sooner do we appear to solve one problem than another arises. It’s like the world is cursed, and it is. We’re under the curse of sin and we long to be rescued. (slide)
In Narnia the curse is externalized, it’s real easy to see. The White Witch Jadis has cursed the land and holds the Narnians in the fear of being turned to stone; it is a land under siege, held in her icy grip, denying/forbidding hope.
It’s been winter so long in Narnia that most of them have known nothing else. But, although hope is forbidden they are still hopeful, not b/c of any empirical evidence or experience. Their circumstances make it real clear that it’s winter and never Christmas; their hope does not come from their situation. How can they fight against this oppressive wicked power; a simple touch of her wand and you’re instantly frozen.
Their hope doesn’t come from their circumstances, or their surroundings or their senses; hope comes from their faith in a revelation, a prophecy.
A prophecy that says help will come from outside of Narnia and destroy the wicked witch and her power, bringing spring. Rescue is on the way, (slide) when Aslan is on the move.
This story rings so true for those of us living on the mundane side of the wardrobe. Our world is cursed, all messed up and our best efforts have not changed that. We need to be rescued, we need a rescuer, we need Aslan. There is a prophecy- Is. 9:6-7...
C.S. Lewis’ good friend JRR Tolkien, said that fairy stories work b/c they tap into our innate desire for what he calls the eucatastrophe (slide) the good end. That’s me, a romantic, I want a feel good story, a happy ending.
We are hardwired to believe that in the end, good will triumph over evil. (slide)
The Triumph of good over evil- To abandon this belief is to abandon hope. Before Aslan comes, Narnia is in perpetual winter, without hope, evil is in control. But when Aslan comes He triumphs over the evil White Witch, Narnia is set free, spring and joy and hope return.
Before Christmas, before Christ came into the world, our world was lost in sin and without hope. But when Jesus comes, (slide) He defeats sin and death and the devil. Setting everyone free who will trust Him and follow Him.
Conclusion- What if there were no Christmas? (slide) There would be no awe or wonder of a transcendent God who entered our world, moved into our neighborhood. There would be no joy of being rescued; no hope that good would triumph over evil.
We long for Narnia, we long for Christmas, not a fantasy, the reality. We’re tired of winter- the cold winter of the soul, the harsh winds of hardship, the heavy snows of everyday struggles. We want hope and dreams and faith bigger than our everyday hardships and struggles.
We want to be alive with wonder, overflowing with joy and energized by hope.
And we can be, b/c Aslan came, Aslan’s on the move, Aslan can take your place... (Edmund’s story)
We can know the wonder of His presence, the joy of being rescued and the hope of victory. When we accept Christ as our substitute and choose to follow Him.
At the conclusion of TLTWTW, Aslan wins the battle, He sets up the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve on the thrones of Cair Paravel.
And in the end we see Aslan walking away, leaving Narnia. And just when you’re about to wonder what will happen, just when you’re about to lose hope b/c Aslan’s not going to be in Narnia; Mr. Beaver says, “Don’t worry, he’ll come back, in his time.” (slide)
Yes, Aslan’s coming again, so we live with hope and we look ahead in hope. B/c there was a Christmas, there will be a return.
At the end of Christ’s first visit, He tells His followers to be His witnesses, to tell His redemptive story, wherever they are and wherever they go. And then He leaves, they watch Him go.
An angelic messenger comes to them and says-
(slide) Acts 1:11 “...why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.” b/c He came and died and rose, He will come again.
Friends, there’s coming a day when we will hear-
(slide) Rev. 1:7 “Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him,”
For those who know the wonder of Christmas- God came
For those who know the joy of being rescued- God died in my place
For those who know the hope of His resurrection- He is alive
those folks have hope for today and hope for tomorrow.
The One who came and die and rose, will come again.
Boy, I’m glad there’s Christmas.
