Sermons
“The Experience of Christmas”
Old Testament Lesson: Isaiah 9:2-7
Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:1-20
Prayer: Loving God, in this time of worship as we remember the holy night when Jesus was born, and in our own experience of Christmas may your Word become flesh and dwell among us. Amen.
We Christians celebrate two Christmases. The first is a secular holiday celebration that starts roughly on November 1 with the pre-Christmas sales, and finds its climax on Christmas Day when all those purchases are redistributed. This holiday celebration takes place in malls and restaurants and entertainment venues. It ends on New Year’s Day when the party is over. This secular Christmas has become a world-wide cultural and commercial celebration. Its primary activity is selling and buying: gifts and food and entertainment to boost the economy so that the year ends with a profit. Its patron saint is Santa Claus and its focus is on our pleasure. We could call it the “Consumers Christmas.”
The other Christmas is a sacred religious and spiritual celebration of the birth of Jesus, with a focus on the wonder of God living in this world in a human being: God with us. This birthday celebration is much quieter. It is located in our homes and churches and within our own hearts and spirits. It begins with the Advent Season of anticipation near the end of November. On Christmas Day we Christians begin the Twelve Days of Christmas, and the celebration of the birth of Christ ends on January 6th with the Feast of the Wise Men – Epiphany.
For many years I wanted to separate these two Christmases. I wanted to defend the Sacred Christmas, and so I would get righteously indignant about the excesses of the Consumers Christmas. After all, my job was to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” right? I did not want to see a blend of sacred and secular celebrations. Part of me still feels that way.
But when I look at Christian history I find that for many centuries there have been these two celebrations, one laid on top of the other like sweet frosting on a cake, or like the savory herbs in the vegetable soup that give it flavor. We participate in both the sacred and the secular at roughly the same time. When we look back in history, we find that people of many lands had a time of celebration around the winter solstice, December 22, the darkest day of the year. By December 25 they began to celebrate the return of the sun when they could look forward to longer days and more sunlight. And so after the winter solstice there was a tradition of big parties. In the fourth century after Jesus’ birth Church leaders chose this winter celebration of returning light as the date to celebrate the birth of Jesus, for we call him “the light of the world.”
Tonight I want to think with you about the many ways we celebrate Christmas and how these two celebrations represent the way Jesus enters our world. Think about it! Caesar Augustus had ordered a census, in order to levy taxes. People had to travel back to their home villages. So the town of Bethlehem was extremely crowded, like last-minute shoppers at the mall -- so crowded with so many people that there was no room in the inn for Joseph and Mary. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of real life Jesus was born, off to the side in a stable, and yet he becomes the center of our lives.
I love many of the things we see at Christmas: homes brightly lit with multicolored lights or sparkly silver icicles hung in the windows or from the eaves, children whose faces light up with wonder as they look at the decorations on the Christmas trees, shops piled high with brightly wrapped packages and enticing treats. I am glad to see the cheerful Salvation Army bell ringers near the supermarket doors; because I know they do not forget the poor, and they remind me that in the crowded places Jesus’ spirit is still here.
I love seeing these poinsettias; they have become the flower of Christmas, and their brilliant red leaves brighten any ordinary space. The artistry and creativity in raising and displaying these poinsettias is truly marvelous. They remind me of how one special joyful person can brighten up our ordinary lives.
I love many of the sounds of Christmas: the amazing music that has been created to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. On the radio we hear Christmas music from Bach to Broadway to Nashville and everywhere in between – some of it inspiring, some of it nostalgic, and some of it nonsense fun – but each song a celebration of our two overlapping Christmases. “I’ll be home for Christmas” is played next to some silly Christmas song, and then we hear “O Holy Night” or “Comfort Ye My People” from “The Messiah.” It is Jesus in the marketplace again.
But there are other sounds of Christmas. Insistent shoppers, frustrated drivers, crying children – and those haunting words: “For all the boots of the trampling warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.” And these words from the news: “Today the last United States combat troops left Iraq…” Boots of warriors, the whine of helicopter rotors and the roar of army trucks, and the Christmas carol, “Silent Night, Holy Night.” Our hearts still long for the fulfillment of the biblical promise: justice, righteousness, peace on earth, and goodwill among all people.
I love the smells and tastes of Christmas: a whiff of pine as we brush past the Christmas tree, the spicy-sweet smell of cookies in the oven, and candle wax from the candles in the church. At home there are buttery Scotch shortbread cookies and a glass of milk. At a party we might taste a walnut encrusted cheese ball or sugary-sweet toasted almonds or rich chocolate candies, a sweet-tangy fruit punch, and those anise-flavored cookies called Springerle. I know you have your own favorite Christmas treats and tastes, foods for a celebration. “For unto us a child is born.”
A headline in the newspaper says, “Baby found inside a box,” and it tells how a healthy newborn baby girl was found in a cardboard box on the street in front of a day care center. Thanks be to God this baby was found, rescued, taken to the hospital and is doing well. For many children there still is no room in the inn, and they are born under terrible conditions of poverty or famine or war. Many are in refugee camps. The spirit of Christ urges us to care for the least and the lost in all these places.
For this newborn child found in a box, there is a human and humane system in place to provide basic care: a legal framework, a police investigation, an ambulance and a hospital to provide care, and nurses who named her “Baby Noel.” Because of publicity there have also been many offers to adopt this child. It took much work and goodwill to create the system that has provided for this child; it will take continued work and goodwill to provide for many others.
The spirit of Jesus is at work in amazing ways in both the Consumers Christmas and the Sacred Christmas! The headline in the newspaper says, “‘Layaway angels’ pay off others’ balances.” The story tells how people who do not have enough money to pay the full price for the Christmas gifts they want to give put them on layaway. In some cases they have been surprised and delighted to learn that a kind stranger has paid off the balance owed and so they can come and claim their purchases and give their gifts. Amazing! I see the Spirit of Christ present even in the Consumers Christmas.
Christ is present in the midst of our parties and celebrations, whenever Christians gather with a spirit of hospitality and compassion, just as Christ is present here in this communion service. He is here in the offering of bread and wine, here in the kind hands helping one another, here in the cheerful “Merry Christmas” greetings, here in our souls. Thanks be to God!