Community Church Sermons
December
24, 2007
Christmas Eve –7:00 Service
Luke 2:1-20
Rev.
Rhonda A. Blevins, Associate Pastor
I’ve
just received word that Santa has been spotted flying over the Smoky Mountains
heading our direction! Word has it that
Santa is thinking of retiring here in Tellico Village. That’s all we need
around here. . .another Northerner!
I
don’t know if he’ll retire here or not, but I do know that he’s bringing lots
of goodies for all the good little boys and girls here in the Village. I have
to confess, I’m not sure if I’m on his “nice” list. My entire life the whole
“naughty/nice” thing has haunted me.
I’m never quite sure just on which list I belong. Seriously, I remember as a little kid
thinking about how “bad” I’d been and so worried I’d end up on the “naughty”
list. I vividly remember bowing on my knees in my living room and praying
fervently to Santa, confessing my sin, and asking him to forgive me and bring
me presents. I guess in my child’s mind, I confused God and Santa. But then Santa “sees you when you’re
sleeping. He knows when you’re awake.
He knows if you’ve been bad or good so be good for goodness sake!” The
omniscient Santa certainly has some god-like qualities, doesn’t he? What the
song doesn’t tell us is that Santa is very forgiving, much like God. When I was
a child, Santa was more real to me than God because Santa left me presents
under my tree. And Barbie dolls and
Legos were way more fun back then than the things God gives. Peace? Joy?
Who cares about that stuff! I
want a chia pet!
Now
I’m all grown up. And though I’d still
like that Chia pet, I’d much rather open up a big box of hope on Christmas day
than anything Santa could bring me.
This I know to be true: the greatest gift we can ever give someone else cannot
be put under a tree.
Mary
knew this some 2,000 years ago.
The
best gift that Mary and Joseph received that very first Christmas was the birth
of their son, Jesus. At first it seems
from scriptures, it was just the three of them. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus sharing some intimate time together. But later on, the scriptures tell us, they
had two sets of visitors. Some of those
visitors brought presents, and some did not.
The
gospel of Matthew tells us about the visit from the Magi. There were very wealthy travelers who came a
great distance following a bright star.
And when they found Mary and baby Jesus, they had a little baby
shower. They presented gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh. They were expensive gifts, but not exactly
age-appropriate! These “wise” men must not have had any kids of their own! However, the gifts were incredibly expensive
and elegant. Listen to what the gospel
of Matthew says about these gifts, and pay particular attention to how Mary
responded to such elaborate presents:
Matt.
2:11-12 “And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother;
and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they
presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And having been
warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own
country by another way.”
Did
you hear it? Did you hear how Mary was amazed by these gifts and how she
thanked them and how these gifts meant so much to her? Nope.
The scriptures tell us nothing of how Mary responded to these amazing
gifts. Perhaps they were meaningful to
her, we just don’t know. The scriptures
are silent.
However,
we do know Mary’s response when the shepherds showed up empty-handed according
to the Gospel of Luke.
Those
shepherds left their fields to visit the newborn Christ child. They came on a whim; their journey was
fairly short. And where were their
manners? Emily Post would have been
appalled. They showed up without
presents! Who shows up to visit a
newborn without a blanket or a sleeper or some frankincense or something? These guys were ruffians! The only thing they had to offer to the new
mother was some words from an angel telling her that her baby would grow up to
be an extraordinary man. The scriptures are silent about Mary’s response to the
elaborate gifts from the Magi. But
about this gift from the shepherds, this meager gift of words, the scripture
says, “Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
She
TREASURED the shepherds’ meager gift of words.
We don’t know what became of the gold and frankincense and myrrh, but we
know this gift, this spoken gift, given to her by a bunch of ruffians, was
kept. . .treasured. . . in Mary’s heart her whole life through. It was a gift of hope and promise. It was a
gift that Mary cherished and clung to. . .mere words. . .something you can’t
wrap and put under a tree.
One
of my dear friends has a little girl named Kaleigh. A couple of Christmases
ago, when Kaleigh was about four, someone was asking her if she was excited
about Christmas and Santa coming. Of course, she indicated that she was very
excited. The person then said to young Kaleigh, “So what are you going to leave
for Santa Claus when he comes to your house?” Kaleigh thought for a moment, and
she said, “Well I guess we’ll leave him a check!”
Our
rampant consumerism starts early, doesn’t it? Even Santa can be bought! It’s
really hard not to get wrapped up in it, because if you’re like me, you
genuinely want to please the people on your Christmas list. So we buy lots of
stuff, hoping to please the ones we love, and then we see that stuff in the
church yard sale the next spring.
I read a story about a fellow named Mike who detested
this aspect of Christmas. . .the commercialism and overspending. His deep
hatred of Christmas consumerism made it pretty difficult to shop for him at
Christmas! So his wife labored to find a Christmas gift for Mike. . .she knew
it would have to be something truly unique. She found her inspiration when
their 12-year-old son was in a wrestling competition against a team sponsored
by an inner-city church. The kids on the other team were from low-income
families, and wore ragged sneakers held together by shoestrings. Their son’s
team, on the other hand, wore spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new
wrestling shoes. As the match began, the husband and wife couldn’t believe the
other team had no protective headgear, a luxury the ragtag team obviously could
not afford.
It ended up being not much of a competition. The inner
city kids were stomped by the sparkly blue and gold team. They lost every
match. Mike turned to his wife, shook his head sadly, and said, "I wish
just one of them could have won. They have potential, but losing like this
could take the heart right out of them."
That was the moment Mike’s wife knew what she would do
for his Christmas gift. She went that afternoon to a sporting goods store and
bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously
to the inner-city church. Then on Christmas Eve, she placed an envelope on the
tree, the note inside telling Mike what she had done and that this was his gift
from her. Mike’s smile was the brightest thing about Christmas! Then it became
a tradition, every Christmas Mike would find an envelope on the tree and would
learn that his wife had sent a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a
hockey game, or that she had sent a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose
home had burned. Every year, that envelope was the highlight of Christmas. It was
always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and their three children,
ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad
lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew
up and became adults, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the
envelope never lost its wonder.
The Christmas after Mike died, his grieving wife decided to
continue their family tradition, so she sadly placed another envelope on the
tree on Christmas Eve. When she got up on Christmas morning, she went into her
living room and saw the tree, and she fell speechless. There on the tree was
the envelope she had placed there for Mike, along with three other envelopes.
Each of their children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on
the tree for their dad.
What a meaningful way
to honor their father.
My husband and I were talking about the idea of
meaningful gifts, and we tried to remember really special gifts we received as
children. Out of all the hundreds of presents we must have opened on Christmas
day where we were children, we each could remember maybe one or two. We agreed
that what we treasured more than anything we opened on Christmas morning were
words spoken out of love to us throughout the year from parents and
grandparents and teachers. “You’re such a great kid. I love spending time with
you.” “I’m proud of you, son.” “I love you no matter what.”
Now, my son isn’t old
enough to talk let alone buy a present for me. But one day, several years from now,
I hope I’ve done a good enough job as his mother for him to say to me, “You’re
such a great person. I love spending time with you.” “I’m proud of you, mom.”
Or maybe he’ll give me a gift I’ll always treasure and he’ll say to me “I love
you no matter what.”
It was over 2,000
years ago when some shepherds gave Mary the simple gift of hope through some
kindly spoken words. She received
pricier and fancier gifts, but it was the shepherds’ words she held close to
her heart and remembered all of her days. More than likely a year or two from
now, the people you love won’t recall what you wrapped up for them and placed
under the Christmas tree this year. So
give them something they can remember. Give them hope. Give them love. Give them yourself.
That’s the gift they’ll always remember.