Christmas Sermon, 2014

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

And so the waiting is over and we have come back to the beginning. This Advent season, we have emphasized waiting. We have talked about the promise that God would appear, we have talked about how God would appear, we have talked about what God requires of us, and we have talked about the waiting required of us. And tonight, the waiting is over and we have come back to the beginning.

“In the beginning was the Word….and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”

When God first brought existence into existence, God was composed of three parts. There was the powerful Creator, God the Father, whose name as told to Moses – “I am that I am” – tells us that God the Creator is the creating power Itself.  God is what creates – there can be nothing before or deeper than God.

Connecting together all creation is the Holy Spirit of God, underlying and flowing through all things, including those who have accepted that same Spirit. Communication, guidance, and counsel is the Spirit’s function, drawing us ever closer to the Three-in-One that is God.

Guiding the Creation is the Wisdom of God, who goes forth as the Word of God, and who came to walk on this earth as a human boy-child over 2000 years ago. If you wanted to send a message to an alien civilization, you might write a note or make an audio recording. Still better would be to send a DVD telling who we were, and what our intentions are. But even better yet would be to send an Ambassador, a walking, talking, teaching intelligent Message of who we are, both messenger and message at the same time. But then, we would have to choose which person would be the messenger and the message. For if you think about it, sending an army general to deliver a message is very different than sending an entertainer…or a child.

God has many things God wants to say to us. God did not send a military leader to earth to threaten us with destruction. God did not just send a philosopher to earth to teach us new way of thinking. God did not even send us a normal ambassador to negotiate a treaty with us, nor a scientist to teach us new technologies. No, God sent us a very human, baby boy, born in the normal way that first Christmas night. God sent us perhaps the most fragile, least fearsome of all possible Ambassadors – He sent us His Son as a tiny newborn baby.

“Fear not. I bring you tidings of great joy!”

Fear not.

The Babe of Bethlehem does not wish to destroy your soul. The Babe of Bethlehem does not wish to destroy your body. The Babe of Bethlehem does not wish to harm you in any way.

Instead, the Babe wants to bring you into a relationship with the God who is Three-in-One, a friendly, loving relationship, such as a great, wonderful family has.

I realize that some Christians you have met in the past have harmed you. They have said hurtful things to you, done mean things to you, and generally behaved in ways that the Babe would rather they didn’t. But that is because they are learning.

Each person comes to meet the Babe in different ways. Some men have met the Babe when they were in foxholes under enemy fire and helpless to do anything except to call upon Him. Some women have met the Babe in childbirth when they were helpless to do anything except to call upon Him, and others have met the Babe as they held their newborn in their arms and reflected upon the miracle that is a child. Still other people have met the Babe while moving, as a plane encounters turbulence or a car spins out-of-control on an icy road. Even others have come to the Babe when they realized that they were helpless in the face of chemicals or alcohol, and needed Somone else to lift them from their addiction. When we are helpless, we turn to the One who became helpless for our sake. 

But others have come to know Him in other ways - the result of careful study, the result of despair, the result of a long upbringing by Christian parents. One man is recorded to have come to know God when God appeared to him as a talking bush that was on fire. We all become Christians in different ways.

The day you become a Christian does not remove your sinfulness. All people have learned deeply ingrained, ugly habits. It takes a lifetime – often longer – to remove those ugly habits.

Here is where we learn to shed those habits. Here is where we learn to put aside our fears, our concerns, and stride forward in hope, joy, and love. Here is where we learn to heal from the damage done to us by other people, other people who once were – or still are – in rebellion to God. It is in the company of other Christians that we learn to walk in a new way, following Jesus Christ into a world which is far, far different from the world the Babe came into.

Have you ever wondered why Mary and Joseph didn’t simply go to a hospital? The answer is simple – they didn’t exist. Hospitals were invented by Christians. Did you ever wonder why Mary had to ride a donkey a hundred miles? The answer is simple – trains and cars didn’t exist. These are both the inventions of Christian nations. Did you ever wonder why the world today is so different from the world of the time of Mary and Joseph and the Babe of Bethlehem?

The answer is simple. The Word of God, brought by the Babe, has changed the world. Compassion has flourished, Wisdom has spread, and Loving Your Neighbor is recognized as a sound truth today. It wasn’t always that way. It isn’t that way in non-Christian countries today – look at the lands controlled by ISIS today. The selfish world that turned away pregnant Mary from the inn has faded over the last two thousand years. Today, someone would at least call 911 and get the EMT’s to come to the stable.

Whether or not you believe in Him, the Babe of Bethlehem has changed your world. Whether or not you follow Him, the Babe of Bethlehem has gone on ahead of you, improving the world and making it a warmer, nicer, place. Whether or not you call Him Lord and Savior, the Babe of Bethlehem wants a friendly, loving relationship with you. Will you choose to follow Him today?