"A WorldWide Celebration"

Luke 2:8-15 . . . . .(December 13, 1998)

If you have ever been somewhere where people were speaking a different language than you, you know how awkward that can be. You don't have to go to another country . . . there are parts of Chicago where the people speak Spanish. Other places where the people speak Polish. Adults may feel they are in a foreign land when they talk to some teenagers. You don't know whether something that is "bad" is naughty or whether it is really good. When teenager says you are "fat", they may be spelling it with an "f" or with a "ph". So, you don't know whether they are insulting you or complementing you. If they say "It's da bomb, yo" You don't know whether they are talking about a destructive device, something that has failed miserably, or whether they are saying something is really good.

Fortunately, there are some things that transcend language: Tears. A smile. A freshly covered grave. The Olympic Rings. The MacDonalds Arches. Coca Cola. A brightly wrapped package. A hug. And Christmas. Every year the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has a feature called "Christmas Around the World". This exhibit displays Christmas trees, decorations and some of the practices of peoples around the globe. All around the world people are preparing to celebrate Christmas.

Of course, we must acknowledge that just because people celebrate Christmas, doesn't mean they understand it or are esteeming and worshipping Christ. But there is something about Christmas that touches the hearts of people everywhere. And as we turn our attention to the story of the Nativity this morning I want you to see that Christmas was meant to be universal.

In our text in Luke 2 the angel said to the Shepherds,

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 birth of Christ is Bethlehem was meant to reach out to all people. This morning I want to show you the universal audience of Christmas AND the diverse responses of Christmas. In doing so I will show you what this means for us.
THE UNIVERSAL AUDIENCE

I read these words of Karen Mains this week,

I often look at that familiar verse, John 3:16, and thiink the world the Gospel writer was describing looked like mine: American, privileged, suburban, educated, free. The truth is that the world John declared God loved so much was also probably radically unlike the one I know: Semitic, eastern, nomadic, African or tropical maybe; certainly poor, illiterate, under oppressive rule.

It is easy to forget that Christ came into the world to reach people . . . not only people like you and me . . . but ALL people.

Look at the account of story of Christ's entry into the world. Notice the different kinds of people involved

• the religious elite: Zacharias and Elizabeth
• the poor: Mary and Joseph
• the elderly: Simeon and Anna
• the blue collar workers: The Shepherds
• the aristocracy: the Wise Men

But these aren't the only people involved. Surely there were many of the common folk who stopped to visit the manger that night. There were also those who may not have seen the baby themselves but were moved by the testimony of the Shepherds and the Magi.

Look at the life of Jesus. Look at the kinds of people He reached out to:

• Government workers (Levi the tax collector, the Roman Centurian)
• Common Laborers (the fishermen)
• Outcasts (woman caught in adultery, lepers, demon-possessed, the sick)
• Revolutionaries (Simon the Zealot)
• The Religious Elite (Paul was a Pharasee of the Pharasees)
• Gentiles and Jews
• Men and Women (Mary, Martha, Lazarus)
• Rich and Poor (the rich young ruler, the woman who put in two pennies in the offering)

In fact, if you read through the Bible you would be hard-pressed to find any group of people that was not represented in the Bible. The gathering on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two involves people from many different coutries and races. Now if you see the big picture I want to narrow your focus just a bit. I want you to see why this is important.

We are reminded that the true message of Christmas is for everyone.

Understand what I'm saying. The message of Christ. The Gospel itself is not limited to only those we think might be interested (usually because they are like us.) The message of God's grace is for

• those the world generally finds unacceptable (the diseased, the law-breakers, the social misfits)
• those who feel worthless (those who have been wounded, those who have made serious mistakes, those who have brought shame to themselves and others)
• those who are steeped in sin (the addicted, those who see sin as "relative")
• those who don't fit in (because of clothing style, hair style or length, where they place their earrings, their introverted personality (or extroverted personality), because they like disco music . . . )
• those who act superior.

Do you understand? The Gospel is for all these folks. There is no one you will meet this week that is beyond the reach of God's grace. NO ONE. So here's the challenge:

• confront your own prejudice and stereotype. Talk to someone you would usually ignore.
• pray for those you have "written off" as "beyond hope". It may be a family member (someone who hurt you a long time ago), it may be a former employer, it may be an acquaintance, and it may be somebody you only know by reputation. Dare to see them through the eyes of Jesus.
• show Christ to someone new this week. You don't have to preach to them . . . show them Jesus in the way you relate to them. Listen to this account of one women's attempt to do just this. She writes,

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3). My husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonalds, one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special play time with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.

I did not move an inch...an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell... and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling". His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally deficient and the blue eyed gentle man was his salvation. I held my tears....as I stood there with them. The young lady at the counter asked him what they
wanted. He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. To sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something...they just wanted to be warm.

Then I really felt it...the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me...judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears
in his eyes, and said, "Thank you." I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said,"I did not do this for you...God is here working through me to give you hope." I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me
honey....to give me hope." We held hands for moment and at that time we knew that it was only because of the Grace that we had been given that we were able to give.

You and I have been given grace as well. And God comissions us to share it with others.
The message of Christmas is for you.

Many of you can see how Christmas is relevant to everyone else . . . but still feel that it does not apply to you.

Many of you feel that you have messed things up beyond repair. You have pushed your family away or you have made terrible mistakes that cannot be undone. People were hurt, lives were destroyed or bruised. As a result, you feel you deserve nothing. You feel the condemnation of the crowd and feel you deserve God's condemnation too. And you're right. We all deserve His condemnation. But it is to we who are condemned that He offers the pardon of grace. This pardon is extended because of what Jesus did for us. It was available to the thief on the cross, it was available to Paul who was an accomplice in the murder of Christians, it was available to the prodigal who squandered his inheritance. And it is available to you.

Others of you feel alone. Someone you love has died. The people you cherish don't seem to have time for you. Someone you love has pushed you away. The crowd refuses to accept you. It seems that no one notices that you are alive. And you have concluded that God has overlooked you too. But you're wrong. He saw the Shepherds on the hill side. He saw the peasant girl named Mary, He saw the tax-collector in the tree, He saw Paul on the road to Damascus, He saw the children in the crowd, He felt the touch of the woman with the issue of blood, he heard the cry of the leper over the din of the crowd. He will not miss you.

Others of you feel immune. You enjoy the celebration. You are religious, you have been in church all your life. You nod as I speak about Christ's relevance for the down-trodden. But the fact is, you think this doesn't relate to you. "The message is for sinners!" you say. However, the Bible holds no punches when it proclaims that "ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." You may feel you are immune but may I be bold and suggest something? May I suggest that you are measuring yourself by the wrong standard? You are measuring yourself by how you compare to the way you perceive others to be. Friends that is the wrong measuring stick. We must measure ourselves by God's standards. He is the one who sets the rules. His standards are set forth in His character and in His Word. If you read through the Bible and do not see any wrong in your life . . . you need to pay more attention! Every one of us needs the message that Christ brings to the world. This is relevant for You and for me.

The gospel message can be stated in three simple propositions. This is the simple message of Christmas:

1. I am a sinner
2. As a sinner I need a Savior
3. Jesus is that Savior

The person who is willing to entrust themselves to this Savior is a person who will be transformed by Christ. They are the ones who will receive God's Spirit in their life now, and eternal life in the future. So, my friends, don't just walk on by the manger. It's a fact of history that affects You.

The Diverse Responses

The second thing we see in the story of the Nativity is the different ways people responded

• Herod turned away in anger
• Joseph responded with faithful obedience
• Mary, Anna, Simeon and the Angels responded with songs
• The Shepherds responded by taking time off to go and worship
• The Magi brought gifts

There is a diversity in the way people respond today as well. Some will coldly ignore everything. Others will be militant in their desire to stamp out any trace of "religious meaning" from Christmas. But others . . . and I hope you are among them, will respond in faith. They will bow in worship and surrender their lives to the One who was God become man to dwell among us. Some will cry, some will laugh, some will sit quietly. It's not how you respond but THAT you respond.

People may argue over the correct way to celebrate Christmas. We can debate whether it is better to open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We can argue about the correct day to have our Christmas worship service. We can debate the appropriateness of some of our traditions. But, we really are missing the point. The real issue is not HOW we celebrate, but WHO we celebrate.

Some Suggestions for Celebrating Christmas This Year

Let me make some simple suggestions for you this year.

• Emphasize the meaning of Christmas. Read the Christmas Story. Bake a birthday cake for Jesus. Make worship a priority.
• Find some time to be alone with the Savior. Find a quiet spot and thank Him for the gift that inspires all the other gifts . . . the gift of Christ with bring forgiveness and eternal life.
• Start a new tradition. Understand that the things you will remember about Christmas in the future is not the presents you received this year. . . you will remember the traditions. When I think of Christmas as a child I remember the family gatherings. I remember having to wait until after dinner to open presents when we went to my Grandparents. And I remember having to take turns. I remember the 11:00 Christmas Eve service and walking out of church and having everyone wish each other a Merry Christmas. And as I look back on Christmas with my children I'll remember having a big and special breakfast before we opened gifts . . . it was a reminder that the best gift was that we had each other. I'll remember watching Maggie and the kids set up the Christmas tree with "It's a Wonderful Life" on the TV in the background. I'll remember the way Maggie transforms our home so that it looks like Christmas. I'll remember decorating the sanctuary and our Christmas Eve Eve worship.

In fact, the Christmas Eve Eve service is one of those new traditions I'm talking about. 16 Christmases ago we felt we should have a special Christmas service to honor Christ. The problem was that too many of the people had family gatherings on Christmas Eve. So . . . we said, "why not a Christmas Eve Eve worship?" And now for 16 years we've met on the 23rd to worship the Lord. And let's face it, for many of us, it would not be Christmas without the quiet singing of "Silent Night" in the candlelight. And now many of you have established traditions that accompany the Eve Eve Service.

As I said, the traditions are the things that you and your children will remember in years to come. Make a deliberate effort to establish your traditions. Look for ways to build traditions that point to the Savior. In conclusion let me share one tradition a family began.

It is just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so. It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas--oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it--overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma--the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.

The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only things holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.

Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he would swagger around in his tattered outfit with a false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I just wish one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take heart right out of them." Mike loved kids--all kids--and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse.

That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years, for each Christmas I followed the tradition--one year sending a group of retarded youngsters to a hockey game, another yeare a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground a week before Christmas, and so on.

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.

The story doesn't end there. You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. But when Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped up in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more.

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope in the tree for their dad. the tradition had grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.

This is the kind of tradition that honors the Lord. Be creative! Be worshipful. Honor the Lord!

Christmas is indeed a worldwide celebration. It declares a message of love, hope and joy to anyone who will listen. Even you. This Christmas I encourage you to hear the summons of the Savior. Don't just celebrate the holiday . . . celebrate the Savior. Give your life to Him right now. In the quietness of this hour, cast aside your proud swagger. Let down the barriers. Receive the One who can make you whole and give you eternal life. Today, bow in simple faith and say, "Lord Jesus, I recognize that I am sinful and I acknowledge the wrong that I have done. Today I need a Savior. And I turn to You and acknowledge you to be that Savior. I place my life, my hope, and my confidence in You. Take this broken person and make me new. Lead, and I will follow."

And when you have done this, look for ways this Christmas to help others see the reason for our celebration.

Rev. Bruce Goettsche

The Union Church of LaHarpe, IL

PO Box 493

LaHarpe, IL. 61450