Well, the roads are getting fuller, the stores more
crowded as the day of reckoning is almost upon us!!
Christmas - with office parties, family gathering and TV
specials.
"I'm dreaming of a white christmas" croons
through the speaker systems of malls...... which may be all we get for white this season!
And everyone hopes for a time of warm, cozy happiness in
the sort of ambience that Norman Rockwell portrays -
tinsel and trees, mistletoe and poinsettias, fruitcake and
egg nog, laughter and a crackling fire.
All of which may be well and good, except that - well -
as much as decorations begin to appear and the setting
around us appears ever more festive, individuals begin to struggle. Those who wish they
could identify with these Rockwellian singers........ but can't.
Merriment, cheer, jing jing jingelling and fa la la la la
are light years away as they struggle with heaviness in their lives.
Perhaps that's you.
Straining under the load of sickness, or keenly felt grief
because of death, or trying to escape the fog of depression or the trap of poverty or the
pressure of a chew-you-up-and-spit-you-out kind of job.
Yes - the outward peace and goodwill, prosperity and
luxury is not much more than a ho-ho veneer which hides a deeper restlessness that boils
underneath in the lives of many.
Christmas -
I don't know about you, but sometimes I find all the
energy and attention that we pay to these veneer stuff to be rather frustrating. Oh, don't
get me wrong. I'm not against decorations and festivities, presents given in moderation
and good time gatherings. That's all well and good............
........... but incidental.
It's totally beside the point, a very secondary added
option.
Something that's supposed to be a "by the
way".....
.... but which unfortunately often gets in the way -
- in the way of real Christmas.
Gets in the way, and adds
a lot of extra pressure and pain in the lives of people who often suffer with enough the
way it is, and who don't need any extra.
This morning we read of a Christmas carol that has no
veneer, no added frill, no distractions. Just straight forward, central stuff about this
season.
It's a carol sung to people who didn't have a lot of room
in their lives for fancy extras or frills. They weren't surrounded by fake veneer
exteriors. For them it was enough to survive.
They were shepherds - the lowest of the low in their day.
People with a reputation for a thieving tendency to confuse "mine" with
"thine". For various reasons they often didn't take part in temple ceremonies
and Jewish religious law and so were considered outcasts. Their testimony was not even
admissible in court as evidence.
A despised class, they were.
They encounter the true content of Christmas.
They encounter it in a huge display of glory power; power
that would be enough to crumple and crush them in an instant if it so desired.
An angel appears in the dark Judean sky. And then, after
he speaks, "a great company of the heavenly host" shows up.
How often haven't we read those verses? Again and again,
year after year, right? In church, at home, in school, on TV. We read them, close the
book, and carry on with preparing the trimmings and stuffing the stockings.
Today, let's stop for a moment and think about it.
The angel shows up. I wonder how we would respond if God's
power actually showed up here one day? What would we do if in the middle of our silent
prayer, as we quietly prayed for the presence of the Lord, He uttered the divine command
and sent an angelic messenger to appear before us.
How would we respond?
We come from a tradition that isn't too terribly good at
showing emotion and being spontaneous. Lots to learn. What would we do if the Lord
suddenly interrupted our liturgy and sent a great company of the heavenly host?
Do you know what that phrase means? "Heavenly
host" is the bible's word for the army of heaven. The army of heaven invaded the
Judean night sky; the same army that surrounded the city of Dothan when an enemy brigade
came hunting for the prophet Elisha. A flaming host of horses and chariots of fire which
protected that prophet and his servant (2 Kings 6.17).
How would we respond if they invaded 1475 Merivale Rd?
Think about that when you pray, "Come in our
midst, Lord."
No crooning carols.
No warm fuzzies and chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
This is big,
loud,
and very very powerful.
Which is why the lead angel has to say, "Do not
be afraid."
A phrase used to comfort and encourage the people of God
some 65X in the Bible. When our human instinct is to cower, quiver and run before the
power of God, the angel reaches out with the message "Do not be afraid."
You don't have to run from heavenly power.
You don't have to cower before Almighty God.
You don't have to say what young prophet Isaiah said in
ch.6 of his prophecy as he confronted the overwhelming power of God, the power so great it
could crush him in an instant - "I am doomed. There is no hope for me for I am a
sinful man...."
"Do not be afraid."
Not because the power has been neutralized.
Not because God has gone elsewhere.
Not because the Holy One has suddenly gone passive.
The english translation of the of Luke's original Greek
wording doesn't do a very good job at this point. They miss a little word. It actually
reads - "Do not be afraid FOR I bring you good news of
great joy that will be for all the people."
THIS is Christmas!
In the face of the great power of God, people don't have
to fear any longer.
They don't have to fear FOR
there is good news.
Great news!
Fabulous news!
Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you;
He is Christ the Lord.
Christ is born. Removing fear.
Were it not for His birth we would have much
to fear.
Were it not for His birth we would not be able to face the
prospect of life beyond the grave without an impending sense of doom.
Were it not for His birth we would remain with Adam and
Eve, banished forever amidst the thrones and thistles east of Eden; life a cursed,
frustrating experience.
Were it not for His birth we would have no power to be
able to counter the destructive influence and terrorizing presence that Satan would love
to inject into our lives.
Christmas isn't about the pressures of buying the right
something for that special someone; or about even having someone at all with whom to share
the season.
It isn't about sleighbells and trees.
It's not a season of warm coziness where everything in
life has a place and is resting - at least for the moment - safely in that place.
It has absolutely NOTHING to do
with all those incidental things which put so much emotional and psychological pressure on
hurting and struggling folk.
The real Christmas stuffs all those things back in the
closet and reaches out to people like shepherds - ones to whom no one else will give the
time of day, or think about for even a moment; bottom of the heap people.
It comes for the hurting, the struggling, the lonely, the
sick, the grieving; precisely the sort of people that in 1998 often feel like they're the
odd ones out, the ones supposedly missing the Christmas spirit.
It reaches out to those who are frustrated with themselves
and their lack of purity before the Lord.
It beckons to those who feel that heaven is so far removed
from their existence.
It reaches out to the ones who are desperately trying to
hold a veneer of niceness around their life, but find it beginning to crack and peel away.
It comes to average people, like you and I, with all our
hangups and regrets and imperfections;
to people like baby Margot and her family with all their
hopes and dreams and desires.
It says "Do not be afraid for I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for ALL the people."
Yes, my friend. It's good news for you, too!
The Saviour has been born.
Hear the angels sing:
Glory to God in the highest
And on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests.
The first line of that song needed no explanation. The
shepherds could see its brilliance first hand. The shining light coming from the angels
was just a vague, dim reflection of the true brilliance found in the throne room of God.
Glory. Majesty. Power.
Power that could destroy us; or
equally horribly just leave us to wallow in misery of our own making.
But, no - listen: And on earth peace to men on whom His favour rests!
Peace coming into the lives of human beings because God,
with all His glory, shows us His favour.
His favour - He looks at us with love.
Cares about and wants the very best for us!
Peace.
History buffs among you will remember that this event
happens during an era known as the Pax Romana. Right, Mr.Triemstra? The era of
Roman Peace. All of Europe, the Mediteranian and North Africa was in a time of economic
development, political security and social stability. Outwardly, really quite peaceful.
But that's all it was - outward.
As one ancient historian, Epictetus, wrote - "While
the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from
passion, grief and envy. He cannot give peace of heart...."
We in Canada live in similar economic, social and
political circumstances. Peaceful - no threat of immediate collapse, chaos or war. Some
piddly little ice storm that interrupts our cable tv service for a while is seen as big
news.
But inside - oh, if we could see inside the minds, the
hearts, and the souls of all those crowding the shopping malls. And, oh - the state of our
own secret inner selves.
Is there peace there?
The angels leave and the shepherds elbow each other in the
ribs. "Let's go check it out!" Again the english doesn't show clearly
enough the urgency in those words. The idea is "come on, hurry up, let's go!!"
How about us?
What's our hurry?
To get the gifts wrapped and tree decorated?
Or to find a few moments away from the bustle so that we
can meet the One - the only One in heaven or earth -
the One who can bring the glory and power of heaven to
influence our lives and construct some measure of peace within us?
Peace in our lives won't begin with a box of chocolates
from Zellers, or a new watch from Sears. It begins when we surrender our lives to Christ,
kneeling beside the shepherds in response to the song of the Angels, the power-filled song
of good news.
God's favour rests on you, my friend. And He desires to
give you the greatest peace possible, the peace of His presence within your heart.
When you have that presence, He will guide you through the
seasons when everything else seems to be falling apart or to be stormy.
He will remain your friend even when everyone else turns
and walks away.
He'll be there to guide you home to heavenly glory when
the back cover is closed on your earthly life.
Norman Rockwell images are nice.
Christmas parties can be enjoyable.
But they're paper-thin. Cosmetic, really.
Another couple of weeks and we'll put it away for another
year.
The peace which the angels sing about is deep.
The peace from having Christ in charge of your life is
eternal.
It's a peace that can give Ed & Carol the confidence
to bring their children into the world - for the power of God, and the resources of a
whole heavenly army, are with them through Jesus.
It's a peace that is there for each of us.
God's Christmas present to us!