Thursday
12/24/20 - Sidney UMC
Christmas
Eve – 7:00 pm/11:00 pm
Sermon Title: “Is
The “Inn” Of Your Heart Open?”
(“The Path To Christmas” Series: Part 5 of 5)
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 9:2-7
New Testament Scripture: Titus 2:11-14
Gospel Lesson: Luke 2:1-20
Welcome once again everyone, and Merry
Christmas to you all! Welcome, as tonight we cross from the season of Advent,
which is the season of Joy, Hope, Peace, Love, expectation, and anticipation, to
the season of Christmas. Tomorrow morning, Christmas Day, is the first official
day of the 12-day season of Christmas. Tonight, we gather for worship, as
Christians have for nearly two-thousand years, all over the world. Tonight, we
gather, as do brothers and sisters in Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia, North American,
South America, etc. We gather, as the savior of the world, the prince of peace,
the king of kings, and the Lord of Lords is to be born anytime now. We gather
on this blessed night with Christians the world over, with hope, joy, love, and
mercy, to see this child born in a manger in Bethlehem.
I am blessed that this is my ninth
year as a pastor leading Christmas Eve worship. Yet, as we all know, this year
is different. This year, 2020, the year of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the year
of a divided country, social upheavals, and other tensions. I think if we are
honest, many of us love coming to the Christmas Eve services on the years that
we have come, because we love the service. Jesus is born, and everyone loves a
baby, right? We love the candles, the singing, the beauty, the majesty of it
all. Further, so many of us know the story of that first Christmas. Some of us in
fact, have acted it out in church pageants. Some of us have the read the story
to others, and some of us have had it read to us. On some of these Christmases
we felt close to God, and maybe some of these Christmases have been crushing,
because of losses that we have faced in our lives. So how are we doing on this
our Christmas Eve 2020? How are we feeling? How is it with our souls?
As I said, as we gather to worship on
this our Christmas Eve 2020, the year of the plague, things are quite different.
We cannot touch each other, we cannot sing, and we cannot even light real candles.
So, we will listen to Silent Night at the end of this service with LED tea
light candles. I am sure this is exactly the way that Jesus would have wanted
us to do this! Still though we gather. Some of us gather to hear hymns that we
have heard for generations, some gather for hope, some gather to be with family,
and some gather out of hope of what God will do this Christmas, and in the coming
year. We gather on this night for so many reasons.
On the first Sunday of the season of
Advent, which ends tonight, I began a sermon series called, “The Path To
Christmas”. Every year, and earlier for some of us, when the four-week season
of Advent starts before Christmas, we are preparing for Christmas. We begin to
take out our decorations, we begin shopping, we get the tree, the eggnog, the
stockings, the ugly Christmas Sweater, etc. Amidst all that Advent is, we prepare
for Christmas. As Christians we also are called to ask God to help us to focus
on the birth of His son Jesus, during a crazy time of the year. On non-2020
Advent seasons, most of us could not wait until Christmas was over, as the
whole thing seems like an endless treadmill of running around, shopping,
wrapping, preparing, and eating too much. Some of us long for December 26th,
when the craziness of the Advent Season, and Christmas Day are over.
For years now, I have heard so many talking about the
excessive commercialization of Christmas, the rampant consumerism, and how it
gets bigger and bigger each year. “How can the story about the birth of Christ,
have been turned into all of this chaos?” I have heard some people ask. I have also
heard people ask, “Wouldn’t it be nice if Christmas was simpler, and we just
celebrated the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with our family and
friends?” The real meaning of Christmas is God coming among us as a little
child, us coming together, and the hope of Christ’s return one day. For in Jesus,
we find the source of life, light, and love. In him we are made new and filled
with love. We are then called to live this love out in a variety of ways in a
broken and a hurting world.
In my Advent Sermon series “The Path To Christmas,” I have been talking about how our journey’s to
Christmas, as I said, are all different this year. Many of us have also had
smaller Thanksgivings, and some of us have no family get togethers planned this
Christmas. “I just want Christmas to be simpler and to get back to basics,” I
have heard for years. Well dear friends, through a horrific global pandemic, we
have gotten just that.
Yet, during our otherwise insanely
busy Advent and the Christmas seasons, I think that so often we have missed the
sheer simplicity of that first Christmas. Jesus’ Mother Mary was told by the
Angel Gabriel, at the Annunciation, that she would bear the Christ Child. She
was probably only 14-years old, and her fiancé Joseph dumped her due to her
pregnancy. Joseph later went back on this, and eventually they married.
Joseph and Mary, as tonight’s gospel of Luke reading tells, us once
again, made a long journey to Bethlehem, Joseph’s hometown, and the ancestral
birth of the great King David. The Roman Emperor Augustus had ordered a population
census for the whole of the Roman Empire, like the censuses that we have in the
United States. The Roman Emperor Augustus wanted an accurate accounting of all
people, in large part to charge more in taxes. Everyone was required to return
home, to be registered in this census, and since Joseph was from Bethlehem, Mary
and Joseph left Nazareth to go to Bethlehem. This was a journey of up to 100-miles,
depending on the route.
In some movie depictions, Mary rode on
a donkey, but we have no scriptural or written evidence of this. In fact, Mary
and Joseph may have walked the whole way on foot. Mary was “very” pregnant, and
the journey was likely exhausting. When they finally arrived in Bethlehem,
things were likely chaotic, and they probably had little money. After
registering for the census, Mary then went into labor. Joseph had enough money for
a room at the Inn, or the Super 8 here in Sidney. Unfortunately, the Inn or the
Super 8 was completely full, with no open rooms. The Inn or the Super 8 owner
however, had a barn, a shed, or maybe even some sort of cave out back. This
structure held animals and was a stable of sorts. This is what the Inn keeper
or owner had to offer Mary and Joseph. Giving birth to the savior of the world,
among animals, with the smells, the hay, etc.
After Mary gives birth, the shepherds
come to see Jesus, and then the Wise Men or Magi will make there way to see Jesus,
as well. They see and follow the Bethlehem Star, and many of us have this
depicted in our Nativity Scenes at home.
I really believe that for so many of
us that the simplicity of this story of the birth of the savior of the world has
been so overshadowed by all that Christmas has become in our culture. Do not
get me wrong it is not all bad. We all seem to like the lights, the music, the food,
but it all exists, because of the birth of Jesus.
In my short life, I have learned that
on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that many people are kinder than normal.
Some would not normally to something nice, but then they think, “but its
Christmas”. The birth of Christ is so significant to the whole world, that human
behavior on this night and tomorrow is changed in many. All because the birth
of Christ.
In our reading for tonight from the Old
Testament Prophet Isaiah, once again, Isaiah, hundreds of years before that
first Christmas, prophesied on the birth of Christ. Isaiah said once again 9:2:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined” (Isa. 9:2, NRSV).
This
centuries old prophecy, which led many by the Bethlehem Star in the sky to a manger,
to see the savior of the world born among the animals in a shed.
Or
as our reading from Titus 2:11-14 says so well form this evening, once again:
“11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12 training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds” (Tit. 2:11-14, NRSV).
So,
this night, Christmas Eve, we gather to worship the one who will be amongst
very soon. This Jesus will transform the world forever, millions and even
billions gather to worship on this night.
Given
all of this, the question that I have you, and for me on this night, is this,
are you transformed by this Christ? Have you turned to this Jesus, embraced
him, renounced your own sin and darkness, and embraced his light, life, and
love? Are you walking in darkness the Prophet Isaiah said? Do you believe that
through God’s love that you can be made a new creation, and be made whole? Not
just on your own, but also through your brothers and sisters in faith? Do you believe
that your present circumstances define you, or do you believe that the great
love of our Lord Jesus Christ can change you forever? I know that I do. Do you?
As
I have said, many of us have heard the birth narrative of Christ in both the
gospel of Matthew, and of course tonight in our gospel of Luke reading. We know
the story. We know the star in the sky, we know about the shepherds, we know
about the Wise Men, we know about no room at the Inn or the Super 8, and we
know how Jesus was born.
The
good news for us, is that while there was not enough room for Mary and Joseph
at the Bethlehem Super 8, the Inn’s of our hearts have amazing amounts space. I
have heard people tell me that when their children were born, when they got
married, or when they got a new puppy or kitten, that the love in their hearts
grew. It seems that for many of us the space in the “Inn’s of hearts” can grow much
smaller or much larger. The good news for us on Christmas Eve, is that we have
room in “Inns of hearts” for Jesus. Are our hearts hardened and angry on this
Christmas Eve, or are we open to the hope and the love of Christ in our hearts?
I
am always taken by the famous picture of Jesus standing at the door and knocking.
Generally, in these pictures, if you look carefully, there is no door nob on
Jesus’ side. You see, he knocks on the doors of our hearts, but we must decide
if we have enough room in the “Inns of our hearts” to let him in. Friends, do
you have room in your hearts for the life-giving love of Jesus? Will you open
the door of your and permit him to come into your life, to take your guilt,
your shame, your brokenness, and your sin, so that you be made whole and filled
with love?
I
have a told a great story before, and I know that some of you have heard a
version of this story from me more than once. Yet, I feel it is such a good
story to tell on this our Christmas Eve 2020, the year of the plague.
This
story is called: “Whoever
Takes The Son Gets Everything”. Here is a version of this story:
“A wealthy man and
his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their
collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire
the great works of art. When the Vietnam war broke out the son went to war. He
was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The
father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son”
“About a month late there was a
knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his
hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom
your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to
safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often
talked about you, and your love for art. The young man held out his package.
"I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your
son would have wanted you to have this."
“The father opened the package. It
was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the
way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The
father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He
thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. "Oh, no sir,
I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father
hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took
them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other
great works he had collected”.
“The man died a few months later.
There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people
gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to
purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.
The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this
picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence.
Then a voice in the back of the room shouted. "We want to see the famous
paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will
someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?"
Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We
came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!" But
still the auctioneer continued. "The son! The son! Who'll take the
son?"
“Finally, a voice came from the
very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son.
"I'll give $10 for the painting." Being a poor man, it was all he
could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him
for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid
$20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the
son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The
auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!"
“A man sitting on the second row
shouted. "Now let's get on with the collection!" The auctioneer laid
down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over." "What about
the paintings?" "I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this
auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to
reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be
auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate,
including the paintings. Whoever receives the son gets everything!"
God gave His son 2,000 years ago to
die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The
son, the son, who'll take the son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the
Son gets everything” (http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/son.html).
Friends, brothers, and sisters, in 2020,
the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and everything else that has happened, I hope,
I pray that through all of this, we have been pointed back to God. I hope that
we realize that is not the number of gifts we get, it is not the materialism,
it is not about who did or got the most. What it is really about friends, is
this, “Is the Inn” of your heart open to love of Jesus Christ,” because when it
is all said and done whoever receives the son gets everything. Merry Christmas
and God bless you all! Amen.
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