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Celebrate Jesus’ Day in Jesus’ Way
Today is the second Sunday of Advent,
a day in which we celebrate the peace that came into the world
in the birth of a baby in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.
There were 2 young sisters who were reflecting on Christmas,
and all the presents they received and all the fun they enjoyed.
The little sister turns to her older sister and says,
“I sure hope Mary and Joseph have another baby.”
What should Christmas look like?
According to psychologists, the Christmas season can trigger,
not only feelings of fondness and nostalgia and warmth,
but also feelings of loneliness and loss in many people.
This is a very real phenomenon that should be taken seriously.
We need to be kind to ourselves and pay attention to our emotional well-being.
But some of the pressure we feel during Christmas
is caused by unrealistic expectations we place on ourselves.
We feel guilty about not doing enough or not doing it right.
We sometimes expect more out of Christmas than it can realistically deliver.
So it’s necessary, from time to time, to step back for a moment,
and re-examine and re-evaluate the way we do things?
Do you realize that no other culture around the world
starts the Christmas holidays as early as we North Americans?
You won’t find slogans like "Only twelve shopping months until Christmas" in Scotland.
Some people really do start shopping for next Christmas on Boxing Day for bargains.
In Spain, Christmas Eve is still pretty much a purely religious celebration.
Families gather before their creches to sing hymns and pray before going to midnight Mass. In Ireland, there are few Christmas decorations, except for lit candles
set in windows on Christmas Eve to light the Holy Family’s way.
Now hear me clearly. I am not necessarily recommending
that we all go out and become modern day Grinches or Scrooges.
I enjoy putting up a Christmas tree, as much as the next person.
I absolutely love holiday time and traditions with my family.
But there is a limit to our energy and money and time, therefore,
we had better be very intentional and careful about keeping our focus.
Or else, I’ll guarantee you that there are plenty of advertisers
and marketers out there, who would like to define Christmas for you,
and it will never be enough because that’s the commercial agenda.
So what should Christmas look like?
The people at the Barna Research Group took a poll and found that only 37% of adults
in North America believe that the birth of Jesus is the most important aspect
of Christmas. Take a look at the Christmas decorations in your neighborhood.
Isn’t it true that you can look at many of them without ever
having the slightest clue that the season has anything to do with Jesus?
In my neighborhood in Oshawa, one of the flashiest front yard displays,
includes giant blow-up figures of Barth and Homer Simpson.
I want to suggest to you that Christmas looks a lot like what happened in Bethlehem and that we need to go back to the Bethlehem of the Bible to rediscover it.
We have to slip away from the mall, and stand back from our multi-tasking,
and turn off the TV and computer, and control our own appetites long enough
to go back to the Bethlehem of the Bible to rediscover what Christmas looks like.
You will recall that on the very first Christmas, the Bethlehem Hilton was all booked up, and unfortunately, Mary and Joseph couldn’t afford a reservation anyway.
Even the Victoria Motor Inn at the side of the road,
with its greasy spoon restaurant was filled up, too.
But the proprietor, seeing that Mary was ‘very’ pregnant,
tells Joseph that he can park his family in the back stable shed with the animals.
And it's there that Jesus is born and wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.
Now, if you or I were planning the very first Christmas,
that's probably not what we would come up with.
If we were writing the script, the holy child, the Prince of Peace would debut
at the palace, Caesar's Palace to be precise, the center of the Roman world,
but certainly not in a stable in a small town in one of the satellite states.
Or at the very least, the premiere would take place in the temple at Jerusalem,
the center of the Jewish religious world. But a stable? Not what you'd expect.
I met a youth pastor at a church conference who told me about the time he tried
to make the Christmas story sound more contemporary during a children’s story time.
He told the kids that Bethlehem was so small, it probably didn’t even have a Pizza Hut.
One young fellow quickly, and apparently, quite seriously remarked,
“Well, maybe they had a Little Caesar’s.”
The first Christmas looked a whole lot different
than what our culture has built it up to be.
So what are you expecting out of Christmas?
And what can Christmas realistically deliver?
What's it all about? I know we can all agree on one thing.
It's not about the commercialism and consumerism.
But, oh how easy it is, to get caught up in it.
A few Magi bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh,
and offer them to a child who they searched for by the light of a star.
And now, in today's modern world, literally hundreds of billions of dollars
are spent each and every year in North America alone, on toys and trinkets.
But guess what people? Christmas is not your birthday.
So go ahead and celebrate your birthday on your day,
but let’s celebrate Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way.
Anybody here today actually born on December 25th?
I feel for you, I really do, I think you must somehow
get short-changed, some family members may feel
they can kill two birds with the one gift, so to speak.
For the rest of us who are not born on December 25th,
go ahead and celebrate your birthday on your day.
But this year let’s celebrate Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way.
When did Christmas become so commercial anyway?
Has the spirit of consumerism replaced the Holy Spirit?
Is the slogan, “shop ‘til you drop,” how Jesus
would want us to celebrate his birthday?
The words that keep ringing in my ear this year,
are the words Jesus shared with his followers while he walked the earth,
“As you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”
That’s celebrating Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way.
A couple of weeks ago at the Family Fun Night,
parents and children coloured and put sticky gem stones
on pictures of the nativity scene and gave these pictures to Nancy Payne
to deliver to those in retirement homes and long-term care facilities.
That’s celebrating Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way.
Last week was White Gift Sunday.
Children placed pajamas in a crib at the front of the church
for families at the ‘Women’s Resource Centre’ and ‘A Place called Home.’
That’s celebrating Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way.
Money was also placed in White Gift envelopes
to help sponsor campers to attend Camp Quin-mo-lac.
And many people supported the Small Socks-Big Footprint program this year.
That’s celebrating Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way.
Every week, on Monday and Thursday, faithful volunteers
go to King Albert School to provide a hot lunch for the students.
In fact, more volunteers are needed in the New Year,
so please see Jan Warren in the gym after church.
I believe your love for these children would put a smile on Jesus’ face.
“As you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”
I could go on and on about the outpouring of love
and concern by the people of this church all the year through.
Each of you have a special and important part to play.
All God needs is a willing heart and your availability.
Your life will never be the same when you get involved,
and that is a good, good thing.
So what do you want out of Christmas?
What are your expectations?
Are you fixated on the toys and trinkets
the bells and whistles, the glitter and tinsel?
Or are you looking for something more?
When all the presents are unwrapped,
when all the turkey has been eaten,
when all the relatives have gone home,
what will you remember about Christmas?
You know what's on my wish list?
That when this year is all said and done,
I can look back and say I saw the Spirit of Jesus again this year,
through the witness and work of this church.
Let us honour the holy child, the Prince of Peace
by bringing peace, and joy, and hope, and love,
to the earth all over again, each and every day.
That, my friends, is celebrating Jesus’ day in Jesus’ way!