Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Anecdote: A king fell in love with a poor maid. The
king wanted to marry her. When asked, "How shall I declare my love?"
his counselors answered, "Your majesty has only to appear in all the glory
of your royal raiment before the maid's humble dwelling, and she will instantly
fall at your feet and be yours." But it was precisely that which troubled
the king. He wanted her glorification, not his. In return for his love, he
wanted hers, freely given. Finally, the king realized love's truth, that
freedom for the beloved demanded equality with the beloved. So late one night,
after all the counselors of the palace had retired, he slipped out a side door
and appeared before the maid's cottage dressed as a servant to confess his love
for her. Clearly, the fable is a Christmas story. God chose to express His love
for us humans by becoming one like us. We are called to obey, not God's power,
but God's love. God wants not submission to His power, but in return for His
love, our own.
Lessons: We celebrate Christmas with great
rejoicing for three reasons. 1) It is the birthday of our God who became man
and Savior to save us from our sins. 2) It is the
birthday of a God who came to share
His love with us and 3) It is
the anniversary of the day when Almighty God came to live with us as Emmanuel.
Savior : God
undertook the Incarnation
of Jesus as God-Man to save us from the bondage of sin. The Hindu Scriptures
describe ten incarnations of God, “to restore righteousness in the world
whenever there is a large-scale erosion of moral values.” But the Christian Scriptures teach
only one Incarnation and its purpose is given in John 3: 16: “God so loved
the world that He sent His only Son so that every one who believes in Him may
not die, but have eternal life.”
Sharer : Jesus, as our Savior, brought the “good
news” that our God is a loving, forgiving, merciful and rewarding
God and not a judgmental, cruel and punishing God. Jesus demonstrated by his
life and teaching how God, our heavenly Father, loves us, forgives us, provides
for us and rewards us. All his miracles were signs of this Divine Love. Jesus’
final demonstration of God’s love for us was his death on the cross to atone
for our sins and to make us children of God. Each Christmas reminds us that
sharing love with others is our Christian duty, and every time we do that,
Jesus is reborn in our lives.
Emmanuel : Christmas
is the feast of the Emmanuel because God in the New Testament is a God who
continues to live with us in all the events of our lives as the “Emmanuel”
announced by the angel to Mary. As Emmanuel, Jesus lives in the Sacraments
(especially in the Holy Eucharist), in the Bible, in the praying community and
in each believer as the Holy Spirit transforms us into “Temples
Joke: On Christmas night the local minister’s
wife collapsed on the couch and said to her husband “I am really
exhausted.” He said “You’re exhausted!
How about me? I had two Christmas Eve services
and three services this morning to do; that’s five sermons. Why are you so tired?” She replied: “I had to listen to all of them,
dear!”
Introduction: Nativity of
the Lord
Message: God’s covenant gloriously shines forth in
the birth of Jesus, son of David. Out of
love for us, God became flesh, for our Savior has appeared, Light dawns for us
all.
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