"Nativity of our Lord, 2006"
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Pastor David Hansen
4th Sunday in Advent / Nativity of our Lord, 2006
(Children’s Christmas Program)
Grace and peace to you in the name of the Christ-child. Amen
There is something about the combination of our celebration of Christmas with a children’s program that is very moving – it really touches the heart of what the holiday is about.
We have all heard that saying of Jesus, that you must be like a little child to enter the kingdom of heaven. This morning, with our Christmas celebration and our children’s program, is a wonderful time to reflect about what it means to be like a child when it comes to the kingdom of God.
As adults, we can be very serious about Christmas. For some of us, that means getting indignant with the non-religious “holiday season.” Commentators talk about the “culture wars” and the “war for Christmas.” We worry about the focus of the holiday becoming less and less about the Christ-child, and more and more about big business.
For others of us, we are serious about Christmas because the holiday season is when sales figures move from the red to the black.
Either way, we are very serious about Christmas.
But what about children? How do they approach Christmas? What does it mean to experience Christmas as a child?
I think it is safe to say, as I look at our young people who are participating in the service this morning, that they are not quite so serious about Christmas.
At least when I was child, there was very little that was serious about Christmas.
But there were GIFTS.
And I love gifts. Big gifts, little gifts … expensive gifts, wal-mart gifts … It reallt doesn’t matter to me. I love all gifts. I always have.
When I was a little boy, I was always the one in our house who got into trouble for sneaking into the living room and shaking the presents under the tree. I couldn’t help myself – I was so excited by the idea of giving and receiving gifts that I just couldn’t leave them alone.
I can remember one Christmas, when there was an unmarked present under the tree. After we had opened all the other presents, it was still there. Unmarked, wrapped, and just waiting to be opened. Of course, I couldn’t leave it alone, I had to know what was in there. So I opened it. My brothers – knowing that I wouldn’t be able to resist – had wrapped the present and left it under the tree without a name. And when I opened it, I found in that unmarked present a lump of coal with my name on it.
I’m still that way. Julia has to keep me away from presents starting in early December.
And what is it about gifts that produces this fascination?
I mean, there is the fun of getting something new … but it is more than that. I think that the most important thing about gifts is surprise.
Yes, surprise.
Pulling back the paper – or more often ripping it off – and being surprised by what is inside. Being filled with joy at discovering a gift that we never expected.
As adults, we get so wrapped up in the seriousness of Christmas that we often forget about the gifts, we forget about the surprise.
This Christmas, I invite you to look at the holiday in a new way, to celebrate Christmas as a child.
Think again about the surprise: The one true God – the creator of heaven and earth – has been born as a little child.
Think about the gift: That child will live his life, and die, all so that you and I could be restored to a right relationship with God.
Gifts and Surprises abound at Christmas!
Angel choirs, singing their praises – not in front of audiences of Kings and Presidents, but in front of the poor shepherds in the field. Wisemen from the East, bringing their gifts not to a palace, but to a stable.
And here’s the best surprise of all this Christmas: It is all for you.
The child is born, for you.
The angels sing for you.
The child will live and die for you.
Whether you are rich or poor;
Whether you live in a big house or an apartment;
No matter who you are, what you have done,
It is for you.
So celebrate this Christmas as a child. Leave aside the seriousness of being an adult for one day, and enjoy the wonder and joy of the gift and surprise given to you.
But there is one more surprise for those who can celebrate Christmas as a child: The Christmas gift does not end on December 25th.
If you are open to the surprise, if you can rejoice at the gift, you will encounter the Christ-child at the least expected moments throughout the entire year.
When money gets tight in February, there you will find the gift of the Christ-child.
When a loved one falls ill in May, there you will find the gift of the Christ-child.
Where you least expect it, you will be surprised by the gift of this child, this gift of God’s love, throughout the whole year.
Being open to that gift all year long, and rejoicing at that surprise, is what is means to celebrate Christmas as a child.
So go ahead, be childish this Christmas.
And know that the gift is for you.
Thanks be to God.
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