Things to Look for: Good News of Great Joy!
Luke 2:1-20
by Jim Westmoreland
We come to celebrate Christmas, the birth of our Lord, Jesus the Christ. We come as families, as people part of the family of faith. Perhaps, we come seeking the warmth of religious memories and wanting to be close to God. God is here with us, and He wants to touch your life and reveal Himself to you. There is Good News of Great Joy for you. But, if we come as the accomplished religious, as those so together and so knowledgeable that we have “advanced placement” status when it comes our time to go to heaven, if we are ready to sit at the right hand and left hand of Christ, then Christmas is only a warm, fuzzy holy day, and we’ll miss the Great Joy!
Hear this reading for us from the Gospel of Luke:
“In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, `Do not be afraid; for see-I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.'
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, `Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!'
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, `Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.' So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.”
This ends this reading from the Gospel concerning the birth of our Lord.
In his book, If God Is In Charge, Stephen Brown tells a beautiful story about a young couple that I think gets to the heart of the Good News, the Incarnation, God coming to live among us in the form of a person, the baby Jesus:
"She was eighteen and he was nineteen when they met. They fell in love, and one year later they were married. Some six years and three children later, she decided while standing before the kitchen sink with a pile of dirty dishes and with a pile of dirty diapers on the floor, that she just couldn't stand it any more. She took off her apron and just walked out the door. Sometimes, she would call home to check on the children, and on those occasions he would tell her how much he loved her, and he would ask her to come home. Each time she refused.
"After a number of days, he hired a private detective to find his wife. The report said she was living in a second-class hotel in Des Moines, Iowa. He packed his bags, placed the children under the care of a neighbor, and took a bus to Des Moines. He found the hotel and made his way to her room. When he knocked on the door, his hand trembled because he didn't know the kind of reception he would receive. His wife opened the door, stood for a moment looking at him in shocked silence, and then fell apart in his arms.
"Later, at home, when the children were in bed, he asked her a question that had long troubled him: `Why wouldn't you tell me where you were when you called? You knew I loved you. Why didn't you come home?'
"She replied, `Before, your love was just words. Now, I know
how much you love me because you came.'"
God so loved the world that God came. That's the glorious message of Christmas. God came, not wrapped in glitz and glitter. God came in the vulnerable plain brown wrapper of humanity just to show us how much we are loved. That's the gift of Christmas.
In God’s love and acceptance of us there is deep joy, not the shallow happiness that the world tries to sell and we try to have. I've known very few people who have lost their joy in life because of their religious faith. But, I've known many people who have lost the happiness they made such a point to get because they had no vital religious faith.
When God fills us with His presence, His joy bursts forth in love for others. The children in the Special Olympics had been training and preparing for months. The big event was finally here. Those in the sprinting competition were anxious, excited and ready. They had poured there heart and soul into training and working hard to do good.
The gun goes off. The race begins. Determination and joy fill their faces as they take off. Then, one boy falls! His knees hit the track, hard! He cries out in pain as his knees are scraped raw. Then, he looks up and sees the other eight runners ahead!
They are going for the finish line and he, he is back here on his knees! All that work! All that training! All that excitement! All that hope for accomplishment, gone in a fall! Now his loud, bellowing and unmistakable cry of disappointment and anguish fills the air for everyone to hear.
The spectators in the stands hear it...and look. Everyone on the field hears it... and looks. And the other eight runners hear it...and look. Then, as a whole, the group walked back to the fallen boy. One child stoops to kiss the injured knee. Saying, "I think that'll make it better." And, they help the friend fallen runner to get up, then as a group they walk towards the finish line. And, as a group they all cross the at the same time.
Don’t let religion and the Good News of the Joy of Christ get confused in your minds. They are not the same.
The stores are closed now. We have stopping our looking for all the things on our lists. And, we are here tonight because, of all the things to look for during this season, the greatest is the Good News of Great Joy! It is re-centering our hearts on the great joy of being loved, accepted, forgiven and made new.
As we have received the Joy of God’s great gift to us, we have been given the light of Christ. What will we do with it? Amen.
Century Christian Church, December 24, 2007 - Sermon by Jim Westmoreland
_________________