Sunday
12/21/14 Freeville/Homer Ave UMC’s
Blue
Christmas Service Sermon
Sermon Title: “Do we feel alone
this Christmas Season?”
Old Testament Scripture
Lesson: Psalm 80:1-7
New Testament
Scripture Lesson: Hebrews 10:32-39
Gospel Lesson: John
16:31-33
Brothers and
sisters, welcome once again to this Blue Christmas or Longest Night Service.
Since the Winter Solstice falls on or near December 21st every year,
we have this worship service. Specifically, we have this worship service every
year on the Winter Solstice, because the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of
the year, and therefore, it also the longest night of the year. Since the
Winter Solstice every year is shortest day and the longest night, it is also the
day every year with the most amount of darkness.
Since Christ is the light the world, we gather on this
night with the most darkness, to seek and to be filled with the light of Jesus
Christ. We gather tonight in all different places in our lives. Some of us come
here this evening not liking the winter months. For perhaps we don’t like the
cold, the darkness, or the snow and ice. Perhaps we gather this night due to
physical pains, or do to a personal loss, or an emotional hurt. Perhaps we feel
like that we are at the end of our rope, or spiritually empty. Maybe we are
doing well, and are just here to worship and to pray. Wherever we find
ourselves this evening, we come before the living God to ask Him to fill us. We
come together to pray, to extend love to another, so that we are not alone on
this, the longest night of the year.
Tonight then, like every time we come together to worship,
we come before God, and we come before each other, so that God may fill us. So
that God may use each of us to fill one another.
For
I find that so often that in this time of the year, many feel alone. In a
season of so many events, and so much activity, how could anyone really feel
alone though? Perhaps our schedules are very busy, and maybe we are doing
countless things, yet maybe we still feel empty. When we fall into bed at the
day’s end, maybe we still feel hollow and drained. Perhaps our schedule is not
busy, and we are quite lonely. Do we realize though, that we are never really
alone? Maybe we are doing pretty well this time of the year, and we are here
just to worship, to pray for others, and to be filled by the living God. For
whatever reason we find ourselves here tonight, God meets us wherever we are.
In this season then, for some of us our faith is tested. Yet
for some of us our faith is stronger than ever. On this day of the year that
has the least amount of light though, do we still see God’s presence in our
lives? Or are we so disconnected, that we feel as if God has utterly forsaken us?
The God we worship,
the Most High God is with us, when we suffer. The Most High God has promised to
never leave us, and never to forsake us. For He is always with us, through the
good and though the bad. In fact, the Apostle Paul said in his Epistle or
Letter to the Romans in 8:38-39:
“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord.”
While some
days seem dark to us, while this is literally the darkest day of the year,
nothing can separate us from God’s love. Do we believe this? Do we believe that
God is always there for us, no matter what?
In addition to this, God uses us to love one another. You see
sometimes God performs miracles, but the rest of the time, he sends us. While
God is always there for us, God uses us as His hands and feet to care for and to
love each other. For in the church, in loving faith communities like this, we
find people that care for us, and care for each other.
If I am having
a down day then, I not only can turn to God, but I can also turn to God’s
people. This family, this community of caring, this manifestation of the love
of Jesus Christ on earth, is what the church is. You see the church building we
are in, the family that worships here, seeks to serve God every day, to become
more Jesus Christ every day, seeks make the world in His image every day, and seeks
to care for all those who suffer every day. In this way, the church is much more
than just a physical building, it is a living and breathing community of faith
that loves God, follow Jesus Christ, and loves each other.
If we feel
alone in this Advent or soon to be Christmas Season then, let us realize that
God loves us, that the church is a loving family of faith, and that we are
never alone. For God works in us, and through us. Let us never accept the
incorrect reality then, that we are alone.
In the gospel reading for tonight from
John 16:31-33, Jesus asks his followers if they truly have faith in him. For in
verse 31 it says, “Jesus answered them, “Do
you now believe?”
Jesus then goes on say in John 16:32-33, “The
hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his
home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is
with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the
world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!”
On the day the Jesus was crucified,
all but one of his twelve disciples, the “Beloved Disciple” abandoned him, and
he was alone on the cross. His mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, and probably some
other women disciples and followers were there, but otherwise he was left all
alone. For Christ himself, the living God on earth, knew what it felt like to
feel alone, to feel abandoned, yet he was in the Father and the Father was in
Him
So, “do we feel alone this Christmas
Season?” The truth is, despite was the enemy of God whispers in our ear, we are
never really and truly alone, for we have God, and we have each other.
I
would like to share to story about being discouraged with you called “Not Much
of a Dog,” by author unknown. Here is how it goes: “There was once an optimistic farmer
who couldn’t wait to greet each new day with a resounding, “Good morning, God!”
He lived near a woman whose morning greeting was more like, “Good God…
morning?” They were each a trial to the other. Where he saw opportunity, she
saw problems. Where he was satisfied, she was discontented.”
“One bright morning he exclaimed,
“Look at the beautiful sky! Did you see that glorious sunrise?” “Yeah,” she countered. “It’ll
probably get so hot the crops will scorch!” “During an afternoon shower, he
commented, “Isn’t this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink
today!”
“And if it doesn’t stop before too
long,” came the sour reply, “we’ll wish we’d taken out flood insurance on the
crops!”
“Convinced that he could instill some
awe and wonder in her hardened attitude, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just
any mutt, but the most expensive, highly-trained and gifted dog he could find.
The animal was exquisite! It could perform remarkable and impossible feats
which, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited
her to watch his dog perform.”
“Fetch!” he commanded, as he tossed
a stick out into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The
dog bounded after the stick, walked on the water, and retrieved it.” “What do you think of that?” he
asked, smiling. “Not much of a dog” she frowned. “Can’t even swim, can he?”
We all suffer sometimes, we all feel
alone sometimes, but let us in this Season of Advent and this soon to be Season
of Christmas, put our faith and our trust in God, and let us as God’s people
care for and lift up one another. For Christ gave everything up for us, his
very life, and he is coming soon as an innocent and sweet baby, so that we may
believe, that we may faith, and have it abundantly. So, we are never alone, as we
have the living God, and we have each other. Let us trust God, and love and
care for one another, not only in this season, but in all seasons, in the name
of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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