1st Sunday in Advent Room at the Inn Series
INTRODUCTION:
A 6-year-old little girl emerged from her
Sunday school class with a toothless grin on her face and a piece of candy and
a new pencil in her hands. “Guess
what?” she said to Mom, “I
was the best listener today. I won the prize!”
“That”s
wonderful,” Mom replied. “How
did you win?”
“Miss Lynda read a story about baby
Jesus then asked what Mary wrapped the baby Jesus in when she laid him in the
manger.”
“Well, what did Mary wrap him in?”
“Swaddling clothes,” came the
quick reply.
“What are swaddling clothes?” Mom
asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted,
shrugging her shoulders. “I guess
they’re what ducks wear.” (1)
Sometimes we treat Christmas like that, we
know the answers, we know the story but we don’t know the meaning.
Did you know that the celebration of
Christmas is one of the biggest seasons of the year in Japan? It’s odd because
Japan’s population only has about ½ to 1% of the people who are Christians.
Yet, they love Christmas. It’s not a national holiday like it is here but they
still decorate their houses with lights, most homes will have a Christmas tree.
But for them it is all focused on the consumer side. It’s a time simply for
parties and celebrations.
The Japanese remind me of a young family I
read about who was going home for Christmas. The car was all packed. The mail
and the newspaper delivery had been stopped. A neighbor would keep an eye on
the house and feed the dog. All the gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts and
uncles were somehow fitted into the trunk of the car. They had plenty of
anti-freeze in the radiator. Their suitcases and hanging clothes were in place.
They were finally ready to go. The husband started out of the driveway, when
all of a sudden the wife gasped, “Honey,
we forgot the baby.”
Sometimes things get so hectic during this
time of the year that we forget the real meaning of Christmas, we forget the baby.
That leads me to the question in the Title: “Is
There Room For Christmas?” Is there? Is there still room for Christmas in
this world of ours?
My answer, of course, is “Yes!” Not only is there room, but the
gift of Christmas is probably needed now more than ever.
Let’s remind ourselves of the true meaning
of Christmas as we look at two passages of Scripture: Luke 2:1-7 and John
1:1-5. First Luke 2:1-7 (NRSV)
[1] In those days a decree went out from
Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
[2] This was the first registration and was
taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
[3] All went to their own towns to be
registered.
[4] 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.
[5] He went to be registered with Mary, to
whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
[6] While they were there, the time came for
her to deliver her child.
[7] 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.
John 1:1-5 (NRSV)
[1] In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[2] He was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things came into being through him,
and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being
[4] in him was life, and the life was the
light of all people.
[5] The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not overcome it.
We know those words, many of us know them by
heart. But the crucial question is: “have those words taken over our heart. Or
maybe more importantly, “Has the Word, ‘the
Word made flesh taken over our heart?” Without these words and without the
“Word” Christmas would just be another day celebrated with lights and glitz and
glitter. There has to be Room For Christmas because the world still needs what
Christmas has to offer.
I. THE WORLD STILL NEEDS HOPE:
Maybe you’ve heard the Associated Press story
that came out last Sunday, November 23rd, in Platteville, Colorado,
just north of Denver. It seems after Joe and Chris Miller, the owners of a 600
acre produce farm, heard reports of churches being broken into and the food
being stolen, decided to open up their farm for a public harvest of all the
leftovers after the harvest. The practice is Biblical and is called gleaning.
Gleaning is possible in the farm fields
because the harvesters are selective and pick the most uniform sized and
looking vegetables to package for you and me. The rest of the vegetables, all
still perfectly edible, are discarded onto the ground where they will either
rot or be plowed under.
Ms. Miller said she and her husband decided
to open the farm for public harvest for the first time this year as a thank-you
for customers. The Millers put an ad in the newspaper. They expected 5,000 to
10,000 people to show up Saturday to collect potatoes, carrots and leeks.
However, they received a big surprise when 40,000 people showed up.
An estimated 11,000 vehicles snaked around
cornfields and backed up more than two miles. About 30 acres of the 600-acre
farm, 37 miles north of Denver, became a parking lot. One family was able to
collect 10 bags of vegetables. The fields were picked so clean on Saturday that
a second day of harvesting, scheduled for Sunday, was canceled.
The farm’s operations manager, Dave
Patterson, said that in previous years the Millers had allowed schoolchildren
and some church groups to harvest their own food from the farm. He estimated
that about 600,000 pounds of produce was harvested Saturday.
B.
Is There Still Room For Christmas in
this world of ours? I’d say “Yes!” wouldn’t you? And maybe more so now, than
ever before. No matter how sophisticated and technologically savvy we become,
Christmas connects us to the Hope which only God can offer. We are discovering
again that we can’t do it by ourselves.
We need Christmas because we need the
Christmas miracles now more than ever. We need the hope which only a Savior
brings. Is There Room For Christmas? “Yes!” because The World Still Needs Hope.
II. THE WORLD STILL NEEDS THIS BABY:
A. And
The World Still Needs This Baby because this baby embodies Hope. This Baby
is hope in the flesh who came to dwell among us. This Baby grows to be a man
who gives His life willingly for us and promises to “never leave us or forsake us.”
Or “leave us orphaned.” He
promised “to be with us always, even to
the ends of the earth.”
The
World Still Needs This Baby because the world still needs the constant
companionship, assurance and understanding which only Christ can bring in a
troubled time. And it doesn’t have to be a world shattering type of trouble.
Some of you may have seen the story of Logan, the 13 year old boy they are
calling the Sky Angel Cowboy.
B. Logan was clearly upset because this
calf, he was close to, broke its back and he had to put it down. But our God,
who loves us and sent His Son for us, was there, walking right beside him and
holding him up and filling him with insight for the rest of us. We still need
that kind of insight. And that insight can only come because of the birth of
this child. The World Still Needs This
Baby.
CONCLUSION:
There IS Room For Christmas. The World Still Needs Hope, The World Still
Needs This Baby.
Don’t miss out on the greatest gift God
has ever given the world. Don’t get so caught up in the trappings and parties
and preparations of Christmas that you forget the baby. Take time to reread the
Christmas stories in Matthew and Luke. Take time to pray. Find a book of advent
devotions or inspirational stories to lift your spirit and prepare your heart
and home for the celebration of the Birth of the Son of God.
The
World Still Needs Hope, The World Still Needs This Baby. You Still Need Hope,
You Still Need This Baby. Make Room For Christmas in Your Heart.
This is the Word of the Lord for this day.
________________________________
Bibliography
1. Susan Childress, Modesto, California in
CHRISTIAN HERALD.
2.