Christmas Eve 12/24/21 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “One Person Can Change The World!”
(“A Real Advent and A Real 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
Merry Christmas everyone! What a
blessing it is to be here tonight with all of you. It is hard to believe that
we have now lived through two years of this COVID-19 Pandemic. Yet, we still
gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Some of us gather here in person
tonight, while others gather and watch online. Even so, we gather together on
this night that is full of hope, joy, peace, and love.
With this said, I have said through
the entire season of Advent that I was naïve enough to think a few months ago
that we would be much farther along in this pandemic than we are now. I created
a sermon series called “A Real Advent and A Real Christmas” because a few
months ago I thought that we would be back to much more “Normal” than we are
now.
Some people have barricaded themselves
away waiting for all of this to be over. Some people have not seen other people
in weeks, or even months. People continue to struggle with not being able to visit
some loved ones, some people struggle with events being canceled, and having to
wear masks indoors. Maybe some of us watch movies from before the pandemic and
marvel at how people are inside of a building without masks, without social
distancing, and without, wait for it, hand sanitizer.
It is safe to say that for the past
two years things have and continue to be different. Some of us though are still
waiting for “Normal” to return. In hoping that “Normal” would return by now,
once again, I created this sermon series called once again, “A Real Advent and
A Real Christmas.” In praying about it though, what God revealed to me was this,
we did have a real Advent Season leading up to tonight. We will also have a
real Christmas Season. Why is this? It is real my friends because we are all
still here. We are still alive, we are all still living our lives, and
hopefully on this Christmas Eve all will still have some hope, joy, peace, and
love.
In this season, we are invited to
bring the love of Jesus Christ into our hearts daily, we are called to remember
and celebrate his birth, as we await his second coming or return to earth.
Christmas Eve in many churches is
truly a wonderous and a beautiful time. We have the tree decorated, we have the
candles, or LED tea lights, we sing silent night, and the love and the care
that we have for each other is real and palpable. Make no mistake my friends,
we had a real Advent, and we will have a real Christmas, because the love of
God in Jesus Christ is still real, pandemic or no pandemic.
Some of us have gathered to worship
tonight, whether in person or online because we just love the Christmas Eve Service.
We love the hymns, the decorations, the beauty, and the love. As one seminary
professor I had also said of people going to church on Christmas Eve, around
Jesus’ birth, many people go to church on Christmas Eve because everyone loves
a baby!
When I was layperson, before I became
a pastor, I went to Christmas Eve Service because my family went. I believed,
but it was largely about family. What I realize now looking back though, is
that I was searching. When I went to the Christmas Eve service, I was hoping
and praying that the story of Christmas would not only be completely true, but
that somehow and in some way the story of Christmas could change me. Some
people believe in wishing upon star, some people believe in a better world, and
some people believe that greater things are possible. Christmas and the
Christmas story reminds us of the love, the power, and the transformation or
God in Jesus Christ.
So, the real question then, is outside
of all of the lights, the decorations, being with family, a baby, why
Christmas? Why is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so wonderful for so many? It
is amazing to me that I have seen human behavior change on Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day. I have seen people become kinder, more loving, more generous,
more compassionate, and love there neighbors even more. It is amazing to me that
at certain times of the year, and at certain days of the year some people are different.
On certain days of the year and during certain times of the year, some people
are just more loving.
Ask yourself then, is this all the
case because of the decorations, the lights, the gifts, the food, the endless
lifetime channel Christmas romance movies, or is there more here? What if a
baby born over 2,000 years has transformed the world, and we might not even
know it?
As I have been saying through the
season of Advent, and before, after six thousand years of recorded human
history, humanity continues to remain so broken. We still have so much violence,
hatred, wars, meanness, cruelty, and so on, and son on. Is it possible to make
a perfect world here on earth? Well, if we could, I think would have done it already.
What is possible though, is for us to change, for us to renew our minds, fill
our hearts, and restore our souls. Out of this change, we can change Sidney and
we can change the world.
If God were going to come to earth, to
live among us, to teach us, to heal, to laugh, to cry, and to show us amazing
love, wouldn’t we have expected something different than tonight? A baby born
outside in a stable, or maybe it was a cave. A baby born to woman named Mary,
who was probably fourteen or fifteen years old. This baby born in a poor and
forgotten place in Judea in the Roman Empire called Bethlehem. A baby born to
father who a carpenter, or maybe he was a stone mason. A baby born in poverty,
with nothing, to a teenage mother. A baby born outside. A baby that had shepherds
from the fields flock to him. A baby that guided wise men with a star. A baby
that drew both the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, Chicago
Bears fans and I guess even Green Bay Packers fans, and all manner of people to
himself.
If God was going to come among us in a
surprising and in an unexpected way, well then, the birth of Christ in Bethlehem
on Christmas was truly a surprise to many. Was his birth predicted by many
prophets and writers in the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible? Sure, as we hear
in our reading from Isaiah 9:2-7 for tonight. As the prophet Isaiah wrote of
this coming savior centuries before his birth, he said of this Jesus:
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this (Isa. 9:6-7, NRSV).
All of this from a baby, born outside, to a teenage mother,
in what many have described as the armpit of the Roman Empire. God in the flesh,
the savior of the world, came to earth to be like one of us. Maybe if Jesus
were born today, he would be a volunteer fire fighter here in Sidney. Maybe
Jesus would work at the Great American. Maybe Jesus’s father would be a machine
operator at Amphenol. Maybe Joseph worked his whole life at Unalam, and Jesus
took up right after his father. Jesus, my friends, came as one of us. God came
this night to show us that he stands with us, and that he gets us. God came in the
simplest of ways to show us that he will stop at nothing to have a loving
relationship with us. Love Came Down at Christmas, and his name is Jesus
Christ. Since we are so broken, God chose to redeem humanity through his son’s
death on a cross. We are offered love, light, and life in abundance if we but
turn to Jesus. Turn to him, repent of our sins, our brokenness, our darkness,
and allow the Holy Spirit to change us mind, heart, and soul.
Jesus does not just come tonight only so that one day that
he can die for the sins of humanity. Jesus also comes to us this night so that
we might change. The world continues to be so broken, and during his life on
earth Jesus transformed countless people and the world. Hope itself was born on
this night, and Jesus came to become like one of us.
For as our reading from Titus 2:11-14 for tonight says 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, 13 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).
Many of us have heard the birth narrative of Jesus that was
read tonight in the gospel of Luke, or maybe you also have heard it in the
gospel of Matthew. This life changing story of the birth of Christ is story
that for many of us has been near and dear in our families, our communities, and
for centuries. It is part of the fiber of who we are. It reminds of who we are,
who’s we are, and what is possible through God.
As my sermon title says, “One Person Can Change The World!”.
Certainly, Jesus changed the world, but so do we all. I meet people and talk
with people here in Sidney every day who change the world. Our brave volunteer
fire fighters who serve and save lives. There are not paid, they just care, and
this is changing Sidney and the world. It might not seem like that big of a
deal in the great picture of the entire world, but you are all changing the world
in different ways.
You see, Jesus’ birth,
life, death, resurrection, and return one day, are like a key. This key goes to
our minds, our hearts, and our souls. This key unlocks us so that we might have
joy, love, peace, hope, restoration, freedom from sin, and a calling to change
the world. Friends, this is why God sent his only son Jesus to be born in the humblest
of ways.
So, can we all change the world, as Jesus came to change
us? Yes, we can. For example, here is a story called about a woman named Kate
and a homeless man. Here is the story:
“Kate McClure was driving
to Philadelphia and ran out of gas. She was scared and didn’t know
what to do. Then a homeless guy came up to her and told her
to stay in the car because it wasn’t safe to be outside.
He left, but 20 minutes later he brought her a can
of gas. Johnny spent his last $20 so that Kate could return home
safely. The girl didn’t have any cash to return to him. So, during
the following weeks, she drove past this place to give the homeless guy
a jacket, a hat, socks, and food”.
“In November 2017, the girl organized a fundraising campaign for Johnny to help him start a new life. This story was so moving for many people that just 2 months later, more than $400,000 was raised. Johnny used this money to buy a house and a car, and he will donate the rest of the money to the people who have helped him over the years” (https://brightside.me/wonder-people/16-stories-proving-that-we-can-change-the-world-for-the-better-450460/).
You probably have never heard of
Kate or Johnny, but just like you they are regular people who are changing the world.
Friends, this night, the birth of Christ, is not just an historical event. It
is the beginning of the transformation of the world. That transformation, however,
begins in you and it begins in me. God then equips and uses us to change Sidney
and to change the world.
May this night, this
Christmas Eve then, be more than just decorations, gifts, food, love, and
endless lifetime channel romance movies, maybe it can be something that changes
you, mind, heart, and soul. For this is why Christ came, to give us life, and
give us life abundantly. Friends, go and change Sidney and the world, for “One
Person Can Change the World!” Merry Christmas! Amen.
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