SEARCHING FOR THE TRUE CHRISTMAS STAR: WHAT IF IT NEVER CAME?

Sermon by Rev. Laurel Bobb

There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars our Gospel tells us before Christ comes again.  There will be signs, but will we recognize them, and more importantly, will we do anything about it?  This Advent we are looking at ways to make Christmas meaningful, so what does all this have to do with signs in the heavens?  Our focus on this Sunday is the true star of Christmas, so let’s focus on that star this holiday season.  Just how will we do that?  We’ll get our priorities straight.  We won’t be like the man who was in a car accident.  When the police arrived he complained, ‘My Porsche, my Porsche.’  The policeman told him he had more to worry about than that.  ‘You’ve lost your left arm,’ they said.  He then cried, ‘My Rolex, my Rolex.’”  He had his priorities all wrong.   [Mainstay Ministry: Making Christmas Meaningful, p. C-78]

I’m sure that many of you have heard the story of the little girl who wished it would be Christmas every day.  One day her wish came true.  The first day of Christmas came and it was wonderful.  There were more presents, food & candy than she had ever had before.  At the end of the day she was sad that it was all over and there was nothing to look forward to; she went to bed sad in the face of all this stuff that was designed to make her happy.

The next day she woke up & lo and behold, it was Christmas again.  More presents, sweets, and celebration.  She realized that her wish was coming true.  The next day she arose to more of the same.  After several days, however, she was stuffed to the gills with fancy foods and desserts, and running out of room to put all her new stuff.  She never had time to rest or play with her new toys.  She was getting weary.  Her stuff didn’t make her happy.  She wished she had never wished it, and then she woke up and realized it had all been a dream.  She decided to be content and that true happiness was not in getting, but in enjoying what and who you have.

Well, that girl had too much, but what if Christmas never came?  What if people were waiting and it never happened.  We would be as disappointed as the star gazers who were hoping to get a glimpse of the Leonid showers a couple weeks ago were when they discovered it would be too cloudy to see them & the next display of that magnitude would not happen for about another 100 years.

That is how people For whom the biblical account was written & people today may feel about the message in our Gospel.  They are looking for signs in the heavens and wondering when Jesus will come again.  Certainly we believe that he will come again, but what are we to do in the meantime?  The message to us is to keep on being watchful, keep on reading our Bibles, keep on worshipping, keep on living as Jesus wants us to live, keep on focusing on that true star of Christmas.  Let’s not let society dictate to us how we live our lives, or how we celebrate our holidays.

The feeling of many people today was expressed by this woman.  “Walking away from a nativity scene in a department store window, a package-laden mother exclaimed her outrage.  ‘Can you believe it?  Now they are even trying to bring religion into Christmas.  Where will it all stop?’” [Op cit., p. C-75]

The woman was actually more correct than we realize because the original Christmas was an invasion of a pagan rite.  Early Christians wanted to focus on the true star of Christmas.  It had been the celebration of Saturnalia--the sun god.  They celebrated the fact that the days would once again be getting longer and that Spring would again appear.  Christians wanted people to focus on the God of the Universe who caused that sun to rise and sent his only Son to tell of his loving care for them.

This Christmas we want to be true to our Christian heritage.  We want to make a statement to our world that Jesus is the true star of Christmas, so how do we do that?  How can we make an impact on our society?  We can consciously every day think about the reason for the season.  It is not rushing around trying to see how many things we can accomplish, how much stuff we can buy, how many activities we can participate in, how much food we can consume, or how much entertaining we can do.  None of these things are wrong in and of themselves in moderation, but when they become the focus, we not only harm ourselves, we dishonor God.

Practically let’s look at some things we can do to put our focus on Christ this Christmas.  We can begin with daily devotions to set our minds on our top priority.  That way when we go out into the world we will remember why we’re celebrating in the first place.  The little irritations of life won’t get us so upset.

All right, so we’ll all probably give gifts to some family members or friends, so let’s think about what we can do as we’re shopping to keep our focus on the proper thing.  First, try to find a gift that has meaning; don’t just select it on the basis of price.  (The Magillicutty’s spend about $40 on us, so we need to spend that on them.)  Is there something about them that reminds you of the goodness of God?  Let your gift-giving reflect that.

Now that you’ve decided what to purchase and you take your selection to that infernally long line, take a lesson from Scripture, wait patiently.  You can do more to witness to those around you by how you wait in line, and how you treat the sales clerk than all the T-shirts or pins bearing slogans about Jesus.  (And by the way, if you are wearing such items, be especially concerned about your behavior, for you reflect on the rest of us, and our Savior.)  Remember God loves store clerks who don’t know how to operate the cash registers properly, and who have probably been through the mill by the time you got there; so show them God’s love.  Encourage them.  Tell them you’re glad they're there serving God, then wish them a blessed Christmas--not happy holidays.

Okay, gifts are bought, on to the grocery store.  Think about your menu.  Will you have to make so much food that you couldn’t finish it if there were an army staying at your house.  Will cooking take up the entire day so you won’t have time to enjoy the gift of your guests’ presence, or to focus on and celebrate the true star of Christmas?  I invite you to scale down.  Make things that can be prepared ahead of time and served easily with minimal cleanup.  In fact ask you family what foods are especially important to them and decide on and make those foods, instead of trying to please anyone possible.

With all your extra time and money, now you will have these available to spend on doing God’s work.  What would be a meaningful reflection of your adoration for Christ?  Is there a special activity you could invite an unchurched friend to attend?  Could you go caroling so our shut-ins and neighbors can see how much these Christians love one another?  Is there some other thing that you could do to show God’s love to another?  Decide what to do then make plans to do it.  Free up your schedule.  Don’t overcommit so you can’t do those really important things.

The day has finally arrived; the food is prepared.  Take some time with your guests to put the focus back on the true star of Christmas, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  After we have done these things to prepare our hearts and lives, we can sit back and enjoy, for we will be able to say that we have had a truly meaningful Christmas season.  We can thank God for what he has done, because we realize what it would be like for us, if Christ had never been born--if Christmas had never come.

If Christmas had never come, we would have no hope, for we would be wallowing in our sins, and death would be a fearful thing for us.  The Good News is that Christmas did come.  God came to earth to give us a message of love and hope.  It’s not just a sentimental story about a baby of humble beginnings making good--that story could be told of many Americans.  This story is the story of the true star of the Universe--God himself caring enough to send his very best--his beloved Son.  That Son grew up to give his life for you and me.  When we think about this, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and even Santa Claus himself pale in comparison, for they can only give things that will last a little while, but God gives the gift that keeps on giving.  He is the true star of Christmas.
 
 
 
 
 

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