That Old Time Christmas Feeling

Isaiah 7: 10-16
Matthew 1: 18-25

I had someone tell me once that the whole Christian story is a myth. That it was all made up from the very beginning to the very end. They cited what they considered to be facts and made a pretty convincing argument. And so I began to question whether it was possible that all that we know, all that we believe about our faith could just be some fantastical myth that brings false hope to billions of people.

I came to several conclusions. I believe in God. I believe in a God that loves us because God had so much love to give that he created the world as a way to express God's love more fully. God doesn't need us to be complete, but we need God to be complete. God created us to give and show love to us. And the more I thought about it, I realized the whole Christian belief system isn't based on "facts" about whether a baby was born in a manger with cows mooing or about a snake in a Garden or if Mary was truly a virgin or any other part of the Bible people like to debate "Did this actually happen?".

Our Christian belief system is built around the idea of a God that loved the world so much that He gave to us the gift that would save us from ourselves: Immanuel which means God with us. Jesus Christ, whatever day he was born, wherever he was born, came to earth to help God understand humanity and to help humanity understand God better. And I believe that to the very depths of my soul. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift we have ever been given.

The other conclusion I came to is it does not matter how historically accurate the bible is or isn't, and let's be clear, the writers of each book were not thinking of writing down history the way we do today. They were telling stories of faith, passed down to them by word of mouth from generation to generation. They wanted the world to know about what had changed their life. Therefore, instead of getting caught up in what is historically accurate and how long the bible says the earth existed and how it began, it is much more important to impart the faith in a God that took darkness and non-existence and created light and life. That's the miracle, people!

It has nothing to do with how many days God took to create the world, but how much love and thought was brought to bear to create a universe that sustains life from the tiniest bug and plant to the largest animals and humans. You want a miracle - look at your own body. The ligaments and nerves and muscles and organs. How each is interconnected and affected by something as simple as two hydrogen compounds and one oxygen compound: water. Our bodies are miracles. The ecosystem is a miracle. Gravity is a miracle because without it, we would drift away from the Sun and life would never have been sustainable.

The things humanity gets caught up in and fight over have nothing to do with the true meaning of Christ and Christmas. Ahaz was told by God that he could ask for any sign from him and he would receive it. God told Ahaz that it was okay to ask for anything, and Ahaz refused. Ahaz understood something that humanity lately seems to have forgotten. In our determination to have and keep what we have; in our inability to see other people's points of view; in our steadfast search to be entertained we have forgotten the deep, true meaning of Christmas and God.

Ahaz tells God, "I will not ask. I will not put the Lord to the test." Faith and belief. Love and hope. Joy and peace. They belonged to Ahaz because he understood that God has given to us the greatest of all gifts. God has given us life and then as if that was not enough, God gave us eternal life.

What do we do with these gifts? How do we show our appreciation? Tell me, what do you do to make sure the world knows what God has done for you? What do you do to make sure everyone receives the same amazing, life-altering gift that you have been given? Do you show your appreciation to God by living a life of faith and belief, like Ahaz, refusing to put God to the test?

We all are searching for meaning of life during this time of year. It's not that we don't want all that faith and hope and love and peace and joy, but for some reason many of us find it elusive. I think we need to examine our lives. What are our priorities? How much time are we giving to God? An hour a week for church is not going to make that Christmas spirit we miss so much come alive. Spending more time with God is what makes us come alive. God is life just as much as God is love and therefore if we want more life and love, then we need to go to the source.

Little prayers. Wake up in the morning and say "Help me through this day, Lord", and at night say, "Thank you for helping me through the day, and help me to be better tomorrow." Those two lines - those are prayers. They are real prayers. God doesn't need fancy words or an itemed agenda. God needs honesty from us. We need to be honest with ourselves and honest with God. Read a scripture a day and try to memorize it if you can. There are apps on phones and computers these days that can send you a scripture every single day to read. Deliberate do something kind for someone every single day. Help a woman with too many packages and a screaming baby by holding the door for her. Compliment every person you see one day by deliberately looking for something worthwhile in them. Start telling your loved ones you love them before getting off the phone.

If we want to be better people then we need to practice being more like Christ. If we want to be more like Christ then we need to be communicating with Him. If we want to know what Jesus would have done in the situation we are in then we need to know Jesus and that means reading the Bible. If we want that old time Christmas feeling then we need to connect to the one that began it all.

Some of you made an excellent start with the Wynwood Angel tree. Not only did so many of you donate gifts to the people, but then some of you went and delivered them in person. It meant the world to those older people. The carols you sang, the gifts you brought and the time you took to make something that could have been impersonal into a special event will stay with them forever. You changed lives with that angel tree this year. I know, because I've received several phone calls telling me so.

This is exactly what we should be doing here. Spreading good cheer and the message of Jesus Christ not only through words, but through actions. It's not enough to say we're Christians because in today's world that doesn't really mean anything anymore. The meaning as well as the feeling of Christmas has been lost. And it's up to us to get it back and to show others what it means to be a Christian.

You have an amazing opportunity in front of you. May you reach out with both hands to grasp this new gift that God has given to each of us here at Trinity. We have the ability to change lives and to make the world a better place through Jesus Christ. That's not something to scoff at!

Amen.

Joy and Expectation

Isaiah 35: 1-10
Matthew 11: 2-11

At first glance, the passage in Matthew does not seem to have much bearing on the third week of Advent, the week that represents the joy of our coming Savior. However, John the Baptist is a lot like the rest of us and he was waiting for the Messiah just like we are today. John was waiting in a prison cell, when he hears about this man named Jesus who is doing great things and some confess him to be the Lord. But John isn't sure this man is truly the Messiah until he sends one of his disciples to make sure all of his expectations for the Messiah are being fulfilled because there are many that will come and try to pretend to be the Messiah and so John needs to be sure that this man is the one he's been waiting for his whole life. Just like John, we often allow doubts to creep into our hearts due to our expectations of what things should be like.

And so John sends one of his disciples to ask Jesus if he is the one who is to come, the one John has longed for and tried to prepare the world for over and over again. This tells us something very important. John, with as much knowledge and as much grace as God had given to him did not know if Jesus was really the Messiah. How are we to recognize Jesus if one such as John did not recognize him right away?

Jesus gives us the answer in this text just as he gives John the answer he seeks. Jesus looks at John's disciple and he does not tell him off or tell him to go back to John with mere words of "Yes, I am he". No, instead, Jesus tells the disciple to take a close look at what he is doing and report it back to John. He tells the man, "Report back what you hear and what you see."

There are a lot of false people out there. False prophets and false Christians and false charities, especially around this time of year. It can suck the joy of Christmas right out of us knowing how quickly and easily people are being scammed. Jesus understands our fears and our weariness. Jesus understands our lack of trust and our inability to put our faith in the mere words of another.

This is why celebrating Advent and Christmas is so important. It helps us to remember who we really are, and it helps us to regain our trust in humanity and in the gift that God has given to us. Christmas is not just a fleeting holiday for enjoying the flowering poinsettia before it fades. This is when we remember that we are not just parents, business people, or senior citizens. If you allow any job to define you, you will eventually be exiled from joy. Christmas is when we gather in homes and churches to remember that we are Christians who believe the word of the Lord will stand forever. We believe this Word became flesh and was incarnated to us in Jesus Christ. And we believe that means Jesus Christ stands with us – forever.

John the Baptist wanted to know before he died that the Messiah the world had been promised had finally arrived. He had great expectations for the Messiah just like the rest of the Jews did. They all wanted a Savior, but that savior took on many forms in their minds. Jesus still has that ability today because it has often been said that what we read and what we hear in the scriptures are what we expect from Jesus rather than what Jesus really is. For example, those of us that need a strong Jesus seek out the passages of him where he does not mince his words or actions. For those of us that need a gentle, loving savior we like to read about the Jesus who heals our wounds and offers comforting parables. Expectations can sometimes get us into trouble however.

I do not know who has a harder time with Christmas – those who expect it to be awful or those who expect it to be wonderful. In either case, it is the expectations that create the problem. Christmas is just the herald of good tidings. Do not get so preoccupied with what the herald is or isn’t that you miss the proclamation: “Here is your God. Standing right beside you in Jesus Christ.” In good days, in horrible days, or in ordinary days – that is our source of joy.

Don't you love to see people who are joyful? They have something that is different from happiness, which is more dependent on circumstances. They have joy, which emerges from the inside out, stays with them long after the holidays have faded, and allows them to work with delight.

But joy does not happen when we are caught up in our expectations of who Jesus is and who we are and what Christmas should or shouldn't be. On the news the other day, I saw a woman getting very angry at the idea that a blogger would talk about having a black Santa Claus instead of a white one. She even went so far as to say that Santa Claus came from the patron saint, St. Nicklaus who was from Greece and therefore white. She then went on to say that as we all know, Jesus Christ is also white.

I sat there for a moment, stunned and disbelieving as her panel of white peers did not disagree with her. Did not one of them realize that Greece back then is now what we call Turkey and Turkish people are brown skinned and therefore St. Nicklaus could not have been white? And did she not know that Jesus Christ was born in Israel, in Bethlehem and therefore could not be white either? And why did Santa Claus or Jesus'  skin color matter so much to her anyway?

She was raised with an expectation that they were white and to mess with that expectation took away  her joy and replaced it with fear. Fear causes us to say and do some awful things. The reason we spend four weeks anticipating the birth of our Savior Jesus is so that we can remove the falsities, remove the blinders, remove the unrealistic expectations in our minds and hearts and replace them with the hope, love, joy, and peace that is given through the birth of Jesus Christ.

This year, I want you to examine your heart. I want you to examine the expectations you have not only for this season, but for the coming year, and for yourself. What expectations are holding you back? What ideas do you have about your life and your church that keep you from doing something new? What fears do you hold in your heart that have you lashing out at others without thinking? Where has expectation removed your joy?

At Christmas, we who call ourselves Christians hear the incredible tidings that the Messiah has come to stand with us. That is how we find joy. And when we get clobbered by fear and unrealistic expectations, the joy is powerful enough to get us back on our feet again. That is because the word of God will stand forever.

May your Christmas this year be filled with all the peace and hope, love and joy that God has to offer you in the power of God's holy Word.

Amen. 

Love and Depression

Isaiah 11: 1-10
Romans 15: 4-13

Advent is about preparing our hearts for the coming of our Savior. The one who was born of a woman who was young and inexperienced. She had nothing to her name, and even her reputation was slightly soiled by the time Jesus makes an appearance. All she had to give was her love, and that she gave with abundance to this little baby wrapped in a blanket and surrounded by none of the luxuries and comforts she would have wished for him.

Mary and Joseph know something that no one else knows. This baby was special, and although all babies are special gifts this child was to be a gift to the world given by God. How Mary must have wanted to lavish the finest things on this little boy. How Joseph must have wanted to protect every tiny hair on his little head and wipe every tear from his sweet little face. Their love for Jesus would have known no bounds.

But soon after he was born, they had to flee Bethlehem and head not back to their hometown of Nazareth, but to Egypt to escape death. They never had a chance to give him all the things they wanted to, all the things that God deserves from us. Jesus grew up with a lot of love, but very little in the way of material wealth and possessions.

Christmastime in the 21st century tells us that our children and our loved ones cannot be happy without the best and most lavish gifts from us. We're told that we are to be always smiling during this month. We're to hold peace and joy and love in our hearts, and give thanks for all that we have. We're told so many things and they've created a false ideal. They're NOT true, not completely.

It's okay to not be happy during this time of year. It's okay to not spend a small fortune on all your friends and family. It's okay to be angry and depressed. It's okay to not enjoy this time of year. You're not alone if you sometimes feel that way. It doesn't mean you don't enjoy some aspects of this time, it's not that you don't appreciate what your Savior has done for you. All it means is that life has not been easy on you, and it's hard for you to find peace and joy when your wounds are fresh, and your heart is aching with suppressing it.

Mary ached. Joseph bled. They were expecting a child and it can be a miraculous and beautiful time for parents. Or it can be terrifying and confusing. I suspect that Mary and Joseph experienced both and it was the terror and confusion and uncertainty that plagued them most. No one likes to talk about that though. No one likes to mention the pain of being unwed and pregnant. No one likes to mention the hurt Joseph must have felt to know this son would never be completely his. No one talks about the utter fear and desolation they both must have felt as they came to Bethlehem, knowing that Mary was about to give birth, and they were without support or love.

Do you think they didn't feel abandoned by God? Oh, trust me, they did. God sweeps in and announced Mary is pregnant with a very special child, that salvation depended upon her giving birth to a perfect little son. Do you know how rare that was? 2,000 years ago giving birth was extremely risky and often caused the death of the mother and the child. If the child lived, they didn't always live very long. Not many children made it past their 2nd year, and even fewer made it past childhood into puberty. The pressure they were both under was enormous. She probably had morning sickness all day long for all 9 months from the pressure and stress she was under.

Joseph would have been wracked with guilt that there was nothing he could do to ease this pressure and stress from Mary. He would have stood by her side and watched her throw up, trying to reassure her that all would be well, that God had a plan and would let nothing happen to them. But they weren't stupid. Bad things happen to good people all the time. Bad things happen to those God professes to love more than anything. The Old Testament was filled with those God loved being troubled and hurt. And so Joseph's reassurances would have been slightly empty, like we are sometimes empty during this holiday season.

It's not that we don't believe that God loves us. It's not that we aren't thankful for Jesus Christ coming to earth as a baby and dying for our sins. It's not that we don't want to accept hope, love, joy, and peace into our hearts. We have learned that life is fragile and those we care about can be ripped from us in a couple heartbeats. We have learned that although we struggle to do the right things, that those who do wrong often get what we do not. We have learned that it is in the moments we're supposed to be most happy and joyful, that instead we are lonely and sad.

How do we get past our pain to accept the love that is ours this day? It's not easy, and we may never get past it completely, but there are things we can do.

The first thing we do is pray and offer our troubles to God. We ask that the Holy Spirit be with us during our darkest hours and fill our hearts with good things instead of the pain of past hurts and missing loved ones. The second thing we do is believe that God wants what is best for us. The third thing we do is find the things that do bring us joy. I have not been feeling the Christmas spirit this year, and my grandmother noticed.

She kept insisting that we put up my Christmas decorations and tree before she left this last week. We ended up having to make a special trip to see my sister and so we didn't get to it. She's called every day since then to ask if I put it up. Finally, I asked yesterday why she cared so much if I put it up or not. She told me, "A Christmas tree is a reminder of the promise. The lights twinkle no matter what mood we're in. The ornaments are made from loved ones and the things we enjoy. Looking at the tree brings me peace. It gives me hope that better times will come. You need that. We all need that. Put up the tree, Audra. Give yourself a chance to find some joy in a lonely moment."

My grandmother is a wise woman. I put up the tree last night. I spent a long time watching the lights glitter off the ornaments. I remembered past Christmases sleeping under the tree with my sisters and my mom nearby watching television with us. I remembered the promise God made to us all. Not that life would be without pain, but that God was there with us. That Jesus died for us. That the Holy Spirit never leaves us alone and therefore I am not abandoned to my fate with no hope of redemption.

This may not be your favorite season. This may be a painful time. But even in the darkest moments, we can allow the light of God's love to shine in us and chase some of the gloom and doom away. As Paul said in Romans 15:13 " May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Trust in God. Not yourself or anyone else, but in God the one who gave us the miracle of Jesus Christ, birthed to two people that were just like us and were scared and lonely just like us. Trust in God and allow God's hope to fill you with joy and peace so that this Christmas we may all overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.