This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on December 24, 2012, Christmas Eve.
Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalm 96
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-20
My mom always said that it’s just
not Christmas until she heard the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke’s
gospel. Now, you all know that it you shouldn’t disagree with your mom so it’s
OK to agree with me. I agree with my mom, I don’t think it’s really Christmastime
until I hear this too.
One of my favorite holiday TV
specials is “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Charlie Brown finds himself having a
hard time understanding what Christmas is all about. He gives Christmas cards
to the whole gang, but nobody gives him one. He sees great and wonderful
Christmas trees covered in tinsel and ornaments and big lights, but the only
tree he can get is a scraggly old thing that falls under the weight of one
ornament. Even his dog Snoopy gets into the act winning first place in a house
decorating contest.
Finally Charlie Brown finds himself
on the stage at school getting ready for the Christmas Pageant. He’s upset.
He’s sad. He’s confused. Nothing seems right so he cries out, “Isn't there
anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?”
Charlie Brown’s best friend Linus walks
up and answers him in the best way he knows:
Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what
Christmas is all about: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they
were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring
unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you
is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”
That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie
Brown.
So, what does this tell us about
Christmas?
It tells us first that Jesus loves
the little children. Jesus loves the little children so much he became a little
child. Just like little Kevin in the nursery, just like all of you, just like
me, and just like Mr. Al, we were all babies once, just like Jesus. That’s why
Jesus loves us so much. He was one of us.
Another sign that he loves children
is that as soon as he was born, the angels went and told the shepherd boys. The
angel didn’t tell the President, or Caesar the Ruler of Rome. The angel didn’t
tell the leaders of the temple or the Session of the church. The angel didn’t
go to anyone who most people would think is important, he went to the children.
Jesus loves the little children so
much he was one and he told them first. That gives children a lot of credit as
far as I’m concerned. If Jesus loves the little children then everyone should
love the little children, shouldn’t they?
Do you feel like everybody who is
here loves you? I hope you do because I know they love me too.
Now, Jesus has a lot of names. We
call him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of
Peace just to name a few. We call him those names because the prophet Isaiah
does first. These names seem to be for a grown up for the baby Jesus, don’t they?
Titus says “the grace of God has appeared,” doesn’t he? That sounds kind of
complicated, doesn’t it?
Well, I’m gonna make it easy. As I
told you, Jesus came because he loves us. He loves us so much that he came to
save you and me. This is God’s Christmas present to us. Jesus is God’s present
to us. How’s that?
Did you know there isn’t a better
present? You might find all sorts of neat things under the tree tomorrow, but
none of that stuff lasts forever. Now, I think presents are great, I like
presents too, but they won’t last forever will they?
And then you have to write thank
you notes don’t you?
The present we get that will last
forever is Jesus. The gift he gives us is God. That’s where our salvation is
too, in God through Jesus!
So, now we need to thank Jesus, do
you know how? The first thing we need to do is say “Thank you, Jesus.” Can we
do that together?
Then we need to thank Jesus by
being good girls and boys. Not like those boys and girls acted toward Charlie
Brown. We need to thank Jesus by helping others. We need to do this all the
time because with all of these people around you, people who were babies once
too, they love Jesus. They say “thank you” to Jesus, and they act like good
boys and girls helping others too. So let’s thank Jesus together…
Dear God,
Thank you for your Son Jesus,
Who came as a baby,
To save the world.
Amen.
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