A Christmas Heart
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A Christmas Heart
Luke 2:15-20
Christmas is observed literally all over the world, and the traditions and customs are as varied as the countries in which they are found.
In Australia, for example, Santa’s sleigh is pulled by eight white kangaroos. Christmas dinner is eaten outdoors and is followed by a visit to the beach or a game of cricket.
In Germany, children decorate their Christmas lists with pictures and then leave them on the windowsill overnight, weighed down with a little sugar so they won’t be missed by Father Christmas.
A special tradition in Denmark is something called the “Christmas Heart,”
an interwoven paper basket in the shape of a heart. It is made of red and white paper, which happen to be the colors of the Danish flag. These paper hearts are put on the Christmas tree or used as mobiles, and they are filled with candy and other goodies. The Christmas Heart is a traditional Danish symbol. Most Christmas trees, including the big tree in Copenhagen’s Town Hall Square, are decorated with red and white woven paper hearts.
It is believed that the first Christmas Heart may have been made by Hans Christian Andersen, who gave us 156 fairy tales, including “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and others. The very first one he made is still on display at his home in Denmark.
April 2, 2005 marks the 200th anniversary of Hans Christian Andersen’s birth, and the logo for the celebration appropriately features a red heart with a fold right down the middle. It is said that the meaning of the Christmas Heart is to remind us of the love of Jesus towards all humanity, and that the candy inside the baskets represents the Christ Child inside the manger.
The Danish Christmas Heart is a piece of Christmas tradition that we do not practice here in the United States that much. Yet I wonder if we might not begin a greater tradition, one of making absolutely certain that each of us develops a true “Christmas Heart,” one deep inside us that won’t fade or go away.
Harlan Miller once expressed a wish that “we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.” That might be a good thing, but it’s just wishful thinking. Wouldn’t it be much better if we could develop a true Christmas Heart instead?
So what is a Christmas heart? Let’s take a look at the original story, realizing that the real Christmas story is one that touches us in our hearts.
The title for today’s message is “A Christmas Heart”
Our scripture is taken from the book of Luke Chapter 2 verses 15 through 20.
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
So what is a Christmas Heart?
First we find that …
1. A Christmas heart is an eager heart, (Luke 2:15-16)
What thoughts must have flown through the minds of those shepherds right after the angels left them? We can’t even begin to imagine it. I’m sure there must have been several minutes when no one said anything.
Then perhaps they all found their voices at the same time, and they said to each other, “Let’s go see this!”
Think of the things they must have seen, from beginning to end! It was an ordinary night, like hundreds they had experienced before,
when suddenly the darkness of the night was interrupted by the brightest star they had ever seen.
There in the brilliance of the glory, there appeared an angel.
The angel announced the birth of the Christ Child, and suddenly, “a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel,
praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
What a sight for their eyes to behold—things none of them had ever seen before—things none of us have ever seen before.
The announcements and declarations of the angels only served to stir up an eagerness inside the hearts of the shepherds to see more.
They heard the announcement of the angel which told them they would find the baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
This, they wanted to see for themselves!
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16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
Verse sixteen tells us that they wasted no time: “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” More rational thought would have dictated that they wait until morning, to make sure that they had not been hallucinating. Or they might have questioned why such a wonderful announcement should have been made to them, shepherds as they were. But, none of that mattered. They need to see for themselves.
A true Christmas Heart is one that is open and eager— even hungry—to see and explore all the wonders God has in store for us.
The person with a Christmas Heart is the person who is not content merely hearing about what Jesus has done for us—they want to experience for them self.
They don’t just want to imagine what it must be like—they wants to know it for them self.
What is God saying to you this Christmas?
It probably won’t be through an army of angels as it was to the shepherds, but it’s no less important. To develop a Christmas heart, each of us needs to cultivate an eagerness to explore the great things of God, to discover for ourselves what God is saying to us this Christmas and throughout the year.
God loves us and He has something to say to each of us. Let’s not be content to merely listen to what others say, but to enter into a personal quest to discover it for ourselves.
Secondly …
2. A Christmas Heart is a sharing heart (Luke 2:17-18)
Think for a moment, what did the shepherds do when they came to the manger? The Scriptures do not tell us. Were they typical males at a birth scene, awkward and feeling out of place?
I don’t know.
Did they do anything to help? Probably not.
Did they tell Joseph and Mary what they had seen out in the fields? We can guess, but we don’t know for certain.
What we do know is that as soon as they left, they had one thing on their minds: this news was too good to sit on. It was news that had to be shared.
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17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
As we continue to read beginning in verse 17: “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
The words “sharing” and “Christmas” just go together somehow.
Those who would be delighted to ignore the birth of Christ, still try to make the meaning of Christmas about sharing and giving and love.
Even removing Christ, they cannot remove giving from the picture.
When we think of giving at Christmas, our minds might go back to the wise men who presented three different gifts to the Child, but the idea of sharing goes all the way back to the shepherds.
There was no directive from the angels that they should go tell everyone. They simply received the good news, realized it needed to be shared, and they shared it.
And that’s what we are instructed to do!
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Matthew 28:19–20
“19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:19-20 instructs us, no, it commands us to go forth and teach them. Them being the world about the good news.
George Mathew Adams once wrote, “Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world, the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years. Underneath all this facade that we all put on is this beating Christmas heart.” And I would add the beating Christmas heart is a sharing heart.
Listen to me very closely, and I want you to take note, this is the best news the world has ever heard!
The angel had told the shepherds “Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10) “Good news of great joy” is more than just a cute little saying we hear at Christmas. It is literally “good news of great joy.”
Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” is the most recorded Christmas song in history. We are most familiar with Bing Crosby’s rendition of it—and what a great job he did! Crosby tied Christmas with sharing when he said once,
“Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it white.”
The true Christmas Heart is a sharing heart.
and finally ...
3. A Christmas Heart is a pondering heart, (Luke 2:19)
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19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
The experience of having her first child was probably nothing like Mary had imagined. There were no warm blankets, no doctors or nurses, and no mother close by to provide comfort. Yet the event was filled with wonder and mystery. Her nostrils filled with the smells of the straw and the animals. Here she is miles away from her family, her eyes glazed over with the pain and exhaustion of child-birth.
Mary was still able to “treasure up all these things and ponder them in her heart.”
Take a look at the words Luke used here. The NASB and others use the word “treasured” where the King James uses the word “kept”; either would be accurate. The original word meant “to keep something in your mind so that you don’t forget it.”
Mary naturally had some things to guard in her mind, didn’t she? What an experience this was! And she “treasured” them; she “guarded” them, so that she would never forget them.
But what does it mean to “ponder”? Look at the word “pondered.” The original word meant “to throw things together.” So what is Mary doing? She is taking all the experiences of the last several months, and particularly of that night, and is bouncing them off, each other to come to a conclusion.
Imagine for a moment if you can, a child with a piece of Play Dough. He rolls it around in his hand, smoothing it and shaping it. He’s intent and focused on what he is doing. When we ponder something, we are like that child—we are rolling it around in our heads, examining it from different angles, smoothing off the rough edges until we come to a conclusion about it.
At Christmas, it is so important that we rediscover the art of “pondering.”
We should ponder the fact that God loved us so much that He purposely became one of us, not just so He could get an idea what it is like to be human.
It wasn’t so He would have a better grasp on what it’s like to be tempted, or to get angry, or to feel loneliness. He came in order to die, to pay the tremendous penalty for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to!
When we ponder this awesome truth at Christmas, we will go deeper than cute little angels and fluffy Santa Clauses. We will move past the crowds and the lines at the malls. We will move and the traffic on 580 trying to get to the Outlet Mall, to spend money we really don’t have.
Through the story of Christmas we are presented with the chance to listen to the greatest story ever told—that God came to us as a human baby. Have you truly listened to the story?
How tragic it will be if we hear the story once again—as we have so many times before—turning off our hearing aids so not to be bothered.
What a tragedy it would be if we stop pondering, stop wondering, stop being fascinating and enthralled by the true story of Christmas.
I can think of nothing sadder than to awaken on the day after Christmas and realize that it came and went, and we didn’t really celebrate it at all.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would give Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part.
But what can I give Him --
I give Him my heart.
(Christina G. Rosetti)
From My family to each of years, we wish you a Merry Christmas Heart.
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