As so many events are different this year, one thing we that know for sure, Christ was born, the Savior of the world, and we are here to celebrate that Holy Event
Scriptures; Luke 2:1-7 and John 1:1-5,14
Message; “Is There Room for Christmas?”
A 6-year-old little girl emerged from her Sunday school class with a toothless grin on her face and a piece of candy and a new pencil in her hands. “Guess what?” she said to Mom, “I was the best listener today. I won the prize!”
“That’s wonderful,” Mom replied. “How did you win?”
“Miss Lynda read a story about baby Jesus then asked what Mary wrapped the baby Jesus in when she laid him in the manger.”
“Well, what did Mary wrap him in?”
“Swaddling clothes,” came the quick reply.
“What are swaddling clothes?” Mom asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “I guess they’re what ducks wear.”
Sometimes we treat Christmas like that, we know the answers, we know the story, but we don’t know the meaning. And we need to ask ourselves, “Is there Room for Christmas?”
There’s one more story, I’d like to tell you before we read our scriptures tonight.
A young family I read about were going home for Christmas. The car was all packed. The mail and the newspaper delivery had been stopped. A neighbor would keep an eye on the house and feed the dog. All the gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles were somehow fitted into the trunk of the car. The car had been serviced and the gas tank filled. Their suitcases and hanging clothes were in place. They were finally ready to go. The husband started out of the driveway, when all of a sudden, the wife gasped, “Honey, we forgot the baby.”
Sometimes things get so hectic during this time of the year that we forget the real meaning of Christmas, we forget the baby. That led me to the question in the Title: “Is There Room for Christmas?” Is there? Is there still room for Christmas in this world of ours?
My answer, of course, is “Yes!” Not only is there room, but the gift of Christmas is probably needed now more than ever.
Let’s remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas as we look at these two passages of Scripture.
Luke 2:1-7
The Birth of Jesus
(1) In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (2) (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) (3) And everyone went to his own town to register.
(4) So, Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. (5) He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. (6) While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, (7) and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
John 1:1-5, 14
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning.
(3) Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (4) In him was life, and that life was the light of men. (5) The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
(14) The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
We know those words from John 1:1-5, many of us know them by heart. But the crucial question is: “have those words taken over your heart? Or maybe more importantly, has “The Word”, taken over your heart?” Without these words and without “The Word” Christmas would just be another day celebrated with lights and glitz and glitter.
I included verse 14 in our gospel reading, because there are many in this world that don’t understand who this baby was. This baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger was the Son of God. The Word, Jesus, God made flesh. As John wrote: “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.” There needs to be Room for Christmas because the world still needs what Christmas has to offer. “The Word”! The Son of God! Jesus!
Maybe we should read those first five verses of John in this way.
In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Jesus all things were made; for without him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. His light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
There is an old joke that circulates frequently in preaching journals and on the Internet. It serves to bring me back to earth when I think about my own preaching. It is one of those stories whose origin is unknown.
Just before going into surgery a pastor’s wife told him that, should she not survive the surgery, he should be sure to check the shoebox under their bed. She went into surgery, he to the waiting room. “Shoebox under the bed?” he thought. Their home was nearby. She would be in surgery for quite a while. So, he hurried home, and discovered the shoebox. In it was about $10,000 and three eggs.
The wife came through the surgery just fine. The pastor soon confessed to her that he had checked out the shoebox, and he asked her to explain the contents.
She began, “Well soon after we were married, I realized I didn’t want to be a criticizing spouse, so I decided that every time you gave a sermon that I thought ‘laid an egg,’ I would simply put an egg in the shoebox and let that be that.”
The pastor thought, “Thirty-one years of marriage and only three eggs, not bad!”
So just as he was beginning to feel good about his record, his wife continued: “And then anytime I had a dozen eggs, I would sell them and put the money in the shoebox.”
So, my hope is that this sermon doesn’t lay an egg, but there’s always that chance….
So, is there still room for Christmas in this world of ours? I’d say “Yes!” wouldn’t you? And maybe more so now, than ever before. No matter how sophisticated and technologically savvy we become, Christmas connects us to the grace and truth, a life of Hope which only God can offer.
Whether we like to admit it or not, we all discover that no matter how many eggs we lay, how many mistakes we make, we can’t do it by ourselves. We need the love and hope that Christmas brings. Forgiveness when we lay an egg when we sin. We need a God who is willing to say “let that be that” when we stumble. We need Christmas because we need the hope which only a Savior brings. And that Savior came in the form of a baby.
“Is There Room for Christmas? The answer is Yes! Because the world still needs the grace and truth our Savior brings. The hope we can receive if we make room for Christmas.
The world still needs this Baby because this Baby embodies hope. This Baby is hope in the flesh who came to dwell among us. This Baby grows to be a man who gives His life willingly for us and promises to “never leave us or forsake us.” He promised to be with us always, even to the ends of the earth.
The world still needs this Baby, because the world still needs the constant companionship, assurance and understanding which only Christ can bring in a troubled time. And it doesn’t have to be a world-shattering type of trouble.
Our God, who loves us and sent His Son for us, was there, walking right beside him and holding him up and filling him with insight for the rest of us. We still need that kind of insight. And that insight can only come because of the birth of this child. The world still needs this Baby. The “Word” made flesh.
There is room for Christmas. The world still needs hope, the world still needs this Baby. So don’t miss out on the greatest gift God has ever given the world. Don’t get so caught up in the trappings and parties and preparations of Christmas that you forget the Baby. Take time to reread the Christmas stories in Matthew 2 and Luke 2 come Christmas morning. Take time to pray. Prepare your heart and home for the celebration of the Birth of the Son of God.
The World Still Needs Hope, The World Still Needs This Baby. You Still Need Hope, You Still Need This Baby. Make Room for Christmas in Your Heart.
Do you need to ask yourself; “Is There Room for Christmas?” In your life?
In His Service,
Pastor Joe
Listen To Audio: Sermon 20221224
Unison Prayer Of Confession: God, who comes to us, forgive us—when our shadowed lives dim your Light, when the tinsel for Christmas means more than your truth; when our hearts of stone resist the pain and brokenness around us; when we care more about what is under the tree than the damage we do to your creation and to your children. Forgive us, Joyous Love. Come among us, filling our hearts with your grace and truth. Open our lips, so we might sing with the angels. Send us forth with the shepherds, to tell everyone we meet the good news of the birth of the One who brings us life, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen
Pastor Joe & Bonne would like to wish each one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy New Year! May 2023 be filled with more Hope, Peace, Joy and Love in Christ than ever before.
