Christmas Eve, 2021

 

I am a Christmas movie junkie (Yes… even the Hallmark movies). I know they all have the same story line and they all end happily ever after, but isn’t that what all of us really want?  And, this Christmas Eve, 2021, don’t we want that for our lives too? Well, let me give you a few “happily ever after” principles to think about as you celebrate Christmas.

 

§  First, God offers forgiveness to all (cf. Isaiah 11:1-2). The underlying message, woven throughout the Christmas story, is “God and sinners reconciled”.  Whether we’re proud of our ancestral roots or not, we’re stuck with them. And while we don’t get to choose our lineage, God chose Christ’s human ancestry right from David’s seed. David — the man after God’s own heart, yet David — the man who committed adultery.  This speaks to our Father’s abundant mercy!  The Messiah descended from a royal human bloodline, but one riddled with human frailty.  But Christ’s heavenly ancestry rang perfect, pure, and holy. This is the ministry of reconciliation. 

 

§  Second, Jesus will be our shepherd (cf. Luke 2:13-14). Shepherds were looked down on in Bethlehem society.  People didn’t exactly rub elbows with them at social events.  But God’s message was clear — this hope was for ALL people, including shepherds! Christ came to bestow peace, but also to lead us.  What a comfort!

 

§  Third, God can perform the impossible (cf. Luke 1:46-50). Cousins Mary and Elizabeth each had miraculous reasons to rejoice. God had honored both with miraculous pregnancies.  Both seemed impossibilities; one, an old woman of 80 years; the other, a virgin. As the angel said to Mary upon the announcement that she would conceive in holiness, “For nothing shall be impossible with God”.

 

§  Fourth, God provides in His way (vv. 6-7). We tend to glance over the stable birth, forgetting how traumatizing that would be for an expectant mom.  I’m sure Mary was no different. The long trip, the crowded city, and the dirty accommodations of a barn were just the beginnings of her concerns. But God used Mary, an unwed teenage girl, to deliver His Christmas gift on a trip in a barn. He provided in His way, in His time.

 

Celebrate this evening before the birth of Jesus with a knowledge that God is doing miraculous things among us today as well!

 

Dwelling Among Us

 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. (John 1:14-18 ESV).

 

We’re almost there. I’ve almost finished all my projects and now it is just a matter of placing the finishing touches on each task before everyone begins to arrive. Taking a little time to write this devotional made me ponder the often repeated phrase: Jesus is the reason for the season. It has been used for many titles of books and articles; it hangs proudly as an ornament on our trees; and, it is even written in golden ink across our Christmas cards.  I do like it. The message is clear and points directly to Jesus. However, I wonder if it is really accurate theologically. I do not write that for the shock value. There is a certain truth that Jesus is not alone at the center of the Christmas story. He is indeed central to the story, but we must consider the effect of His birth, life, and death on us.

 

Being a devote people watcher, I cannot help myself from watching the facial expressions and body language of folks this time of the year as they rush to and from all of their tasks. While in a very crowded grocery store the other day, I couldn’t help but wonder if all those folks really knew why they were so busy getting ready for Christmas. I wondered if THEY knew Jesus. Then it dawned on me …THEY are the reason for the season, just like you and I. John said it so well in our reading today. The divine, eternal Word became flesh and dwelled among us!

 

Simply said, the season is Christmas. Christmas is JESUS, His birth. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Jesus came to earth; He lived to die, resurrected and sits on the right side of the Father. He did ALL this for US!  We are the ‘whosoever’.  WE are the reason for the season, the reason Jesus came! Even with all the self-interest, self-emersion and all the “I” focus today, I challenge us this Christmas to look into the eyes of those around us, consider THEM, and be you focused. Now that’s GREAT news indeed.

 

The Reason for the Season

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). (Matthew 1:18-23 ESV).

 

Family will start to arrive soon. All the gifts have been purchased, wrapped, shipped, and tagged. I’ll make one final trip to the grocery store to get all the ingredients for a Christmas dinner of epic proportions as I prepare my grandmother’s recipe of pasta and meat sauce. It’s been a while since I’ve made a big pot of sauce, though I have no doubt I’ll be able to recreate it one more time. However, the gifts, the family gathered, the food, and the fellowship are not the reasons we celebrate this season. Our reading makes it very clear there is something far greater worth celebrating. The coming of Immanuel, God with us, is the reason for the season.

 

Anything we can ever receive on this earth does not come close in comparison to the greatest gift ever given to us and doesn’t cost us anything. That gift is the birth of Jesus. It is a gift given freely to us by the birth of Jesus Christ. When Christmas draws near we can get so consumed with our version of the “Perfect Christmas” that we can push aside what it is truly about. This should prompt us to reevaluate what we do during this season.

 

We should take care to evaluate our concern over the things we think need to be “perfect” for us to celebrate this season. The “things” in our lives do not need to be “perfect” nor will they ever be. What we need to remember is the “perfect” way God chose to make himself known to us and that is through his one and only begotten son, Jesus. This being said, we should not become districted and forget that One perfect thing. The virgin has conceived and given birth to Immanuel, God with us through Jesus Christ. Jesus humbled himself as a servant so you and I could be reconciled with God.

I can NOT think of a greater gift that we can receive, can you?

 

 

Fifty-three Years of Wonder

 

“Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates. (Proverbs 31:29-31 ESV).

 

Today is our 53^rd Wedding Anniversary. Mary and I have had over a half century of “wonder”! Some might laugh at that statement asking what she must have “wondered” when she agreed to be with me that long! However, the way I want to use that word today is in the sense of awe and glory. The picture I’ve included today was taken at Santa Fe Baptist Church in Tennessee where I was pastor before moving back to Texas. I had invited Paul Dengler, a good friend and Forrest Gump Impersonator, to come and share some of the wisdom from the wonderful story the movie. We had our picture made together with him after the service. Mary is holding “the” ping pong paddle and I’m holding a sign that reads “Run Forrest, Run.” I can assure you that may have been great advice for Mary 53 years ago, but I would have made the greatest mistake of my life had I done so.

 

I’ve often described the “wonder” of our decades together as being “bubble-wrapped” by God. That doesn’t mean we have not walked through crises. We have. We have struggled financially through career changes; we have struggled with health issues for many years that continue to be managed today. However, there has never been a time when God was not ever-present and working these things to our good. Additionally we have been blessed through the years with great blessings. We have three sons and their families that continue to be a great source of strength and joy to us. And, more importantly we have each other.

 

The writer of Proverbs provides and apt summation found in our reading today: “May women have done excellently, but you surpass them all” (v. 29). It is unfortunate that more people have not had the opportunity to know Mary as I have. Some would see her as quiet and uninvolved. Nothing could be further from the truth. She is the anchor point in our lives. She had always been that stabilizing influence, even in the great storms we have weathered. We have made a great team through these years and I hope to continue for as many more as the Lord desires to leave us on this world. So, this day, so near Christmas I am reminded of the work of Christ to bring us together and keep us so. We are indeed blessed! Happy Anniversary, Mary!