Christmas Eve 2016

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Jesus... Savior... Immanuel... the Christ

Luke 1:28, 30-33. Mary, you are given a great, gracious gift! God is with you! You will have a son, Jesus! He will be the savior!

Matthew 1:20-21. Joseph, take Mary as your wife. She will give birth to a son. Name Him Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins. He will also be called, Immanuel, God with us!

Luke 2:11. Today a Savior is born, Christ, the promised one, the Lord!

The names and titles of this baby that we are celebrating still today reveal why we celebrate Him.

Jesus - meaning God Saves

Immanuel - meaning God is with us

Christ - his title meaning God's anointed one. What God established long before with Israel was that there were three offices, three types of Leaders God would provide for them. The three offices were the ones who were anointed with oil to show that God had chosen them. Prophets declared God's message to the people. Priests served as representatives of the people to God, and God to the people, because people could not approach the Holy God and live. Kings were anointed to rule on God's behalf, to lead the nation the way God would have them live. The Christ, the promised one, would do all three of these offices. He would declare God's message, He would be the go-between for the people and God. He would lead the people, ruling justly over them.

How could he do all of this? Because his other title, Lord, showed Him to be none other than God Himself, come in the flesh.

But, why do we celebrate a Savior? Why celebrate that God is with us? Why celebrate that God is talking with us, being our mediator, and our leader?

To learn why we celebrate, I would like to use the Christmas Tree.

Christmas Trees. I remember growing up, we always went to get a real Christmas tree. Most years, we bought a cut tree, brought it home, and put it up with decorations. We had decorations that went back through the years, and it was fun to see the old decorations year after year, and the memories of what had happened, captured in the ornaments. Of course, some of the ornaments were damaged. I remember having a Santa Claus ornament which had a sled that could hold little pieces of candy or other small things. The one ski of the sled was broken off. And there were those glass balls that just liked to fall off and break when you looked at them!

Nevertheless, the tree was always beautiful, smelled wonderful, and is the object of many fond memories.

Back then, we didn't have fake trees. They were real trees that had been cut. To keep them going through the Christmas season, we had to water them. I remember having to water the tree, and getting poked by the needles as I tried to reach in under the tree. Remember that? Those needles, which were soft and green on the outside, were hard and pokey underneath! And, by the end of Christmas, even with faithful watering, the needles getting harder, falling off and many were turning brown.

Why, even with watering were they falling off?

Well, the tree was dying. It had been cut off from the roots, its source of life.

That tree was just like you and me.

Long ago, when God created this world, God had created man to be with Him. He formed the first man, Adam, from the ground, and breathed life into Him. He was the one to provide all that Adam needed, and was his true source of life. God would spend time with the Adam and the wife He provided for him, Eve, in the garden He made for them.

However, though God warned Adam, one day Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. The fruit looked so good. It looked like it would be everything they would want. They were told it would satisfy them, and make them wise like God. God had tried to protect them from knowing Evil, but the day they disobeyed God and ate from that tree, they knew what was evil, and were in fact, evil themselves. They were no longer perfect as God had made them. They were now sinful, doing things that God determined were wrong. They were sinful in their actions, in their thoughts, and in their words, trying to blame others outside of themselves for their failures. The fruit that looked so good, and seemed like it would be so fulfilling, left them empty, disappointed, guilty and ashamed.

Because they had done this, what God had said came true. God warned Adam if he ate the fruit of that tree, he would die. And that day, Adam and Eve, when they ate the fruit, became just like a Christmas Tree. They were cut off from their root, their source of life, the Holy God who had created them. They looked healthy. They acted healthy. But just like the Christmas tree, they were drying up, and dying. They still drank and ate, but that only delayed the inevitable. They were dying, because they were cut off from their source of life, God. They were no longer with him, and would no longer get what they needed to live from him.

Then, when they had children, those children as well were cut off from God. Their children were just like their parents. They too desired, and pursued what God said was wrong. Their children too, were sinful; all the way down through the generations to you and me.

So we are all like this tree, cut off from the root, the source of life, the Holy, perfect God. All in the process of dying apart from Him. NO matter how much it drinks in, it is dying.

When I look at the Christmas tree, it reminds me that apart from God, I am dying. No matter how much I do good, no matter how many times I go to church or receive sacraments, I am dying. That is like the water the tree drinks in. It seems to help, but it ultimately does nothing to save the tree. Those things do nothing to save us. We need something more... We need a savior!

When I see the shiny gold, ornaments, they remind me that just like Adam and Eve, I go after all kinds of things that I think will satisfy me. I go after whatever I want, when I want, the way I want so I can get what I want--what I think will satisfy me. Those shiny, ornate ornaments remind me of all that I pursue thinking that I will be satisfied. But, just like those fancy ornaments, I find out it is all empty. It is all so fragile, and ultimately unsatisfying. They too often leaving me empty. When I pursue them instead of God, I feel disappointed. And, for those sinful things, and the sinful ways I go about getting them, my selfishness all leave me feeling guilty and ashamed.

So the Christmas tree reminds me I am dying. The shiny gold ornaments remind me of the empty way of life I have which separates me from God, leaves me disappointed, guilty and ashamed. Merry Christmas, huh?

Well, we aren't done yet!

At the top of the tree, just like the tree when I grew up, is the angel!

The angel reminds me that even though Adam and Eve rebelled, and we have all be rebelling ever since they did, God still loved! God so loved the world that He sent His one and only Son into this world. And He did not come to condemn us further, but to save us! And he sent the angels to announce this GREAT news! The best news ever! On the morning of the best day ever! The day, God provided the savior He promised ever since Adam and Eve first sinned.

Like the angel said, The Savior is born! That is what this baby's name meant! Jesus--God saves! And oh I needed saving! I needed to be saved from death. I needed to be saved from emptiness. I needed to be saved from disappointment. I needed to be saved from the sin which seemed to drag me away even when I knew it was wrong to do, and still did it. I needed to be saved from the guilt and shame, and blame shifting. That is what Jesus does! He is God, the Savior!

How did He save me? God said the punishment for sin, for disobeying Him, and doing things that He says are wrong is death. The punishment is to be separated from Him for ever in eternal punishment. So, Jesus came as a baby so he could grow up and die in my place. To die in your place. To die in the place of every person in this world! He had to be a man in order to die in our place, He had to be God to be great enough to pay for all the sins of the whole world! And that is what He did!

The red balls on the Christmas tree remind me that Jesus, this baby grew up and died on the cross to pay for my sins! He shed His blood to pay for your sins! His blood paid for the sins of the whole world! Wow!

God's free gift of salvation can now be had by anyone, by everyone who will believe in Jesus! Believe in the God who died on the cross, shedding His blood to pay for our sins, and who rose from the dead to give us new life!

And there's even more!! You see the lights? The Bible uses Light as an imagery for God. Light is pure. It is warm, it brings hope and peace to a dark night, to a dark world. God brings us hope and peace when we receive Jesus by believing in Him. Jesus himself said that He and the Father would dwell within whoever believes in Him. When we receive Jesus as our Savior, He, the Light of the world comes to live within us to be with us, forever! Immanuel, God with us! Never alone again! Never apart from God, our source of life, hope and peace again! That is amazing! All of the lights on the tree remind me how God will live in and with each of us who believe in Him! Wow! Immanuel!

This really is GREAT NEWS of GREAT JOY!

My hope and prayer tonight is that you understand what Christmas is all about. That you understand all that this tree symbolizes for you and me.

Do you know that we are all sinners? Do you realize that no one is perfect? Do you know that you are not perfect? Do you know the emptiness of pursuing the things of this world? Do you know the disappointment of knowing your own failings, the guilt and the shame? Do you know that God is holy and has judged and condemned you already?

Do you know that God still loves you? Do you know that Jesus came to this world, and died, shedding His blood to pay for your wrongs? Do you know that He wants to forgive you? Do you know that He wants to remove your guilt and shame? Do you know that He wants to give you light within, life, hope and peace? Do you know that He wants to be with you?

He receives no one because they are good. Because everyone has done something wrong.

He only receives those who will admit they are sinful, and who will believe He came to save them!

Have you believed that Jesus alone can save you apart from any effort to earn it on your part?

I invite you now, that if you have been trusting in anything you have done to make you right with God, believe Him when He says, that everyone who believes will have eternal life. That the only work God requires is to believe in Jesus, the One He sent to be our savior!

Please answer this question in your heart? Do you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior who died to pay for your sins? Do you believe that He is the One who forgives your sin simply because you believe in Him?

If you said yes in your heart, then rejoice with me in our Savior, Jesus the Christ who was born to save us from our sins!

Please join me in prayer, talking to God and verbally giving thanks to Him for sending Jesus our Savior. Pray along with me in your heart.

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