The Nativity of Our Lord: Christmas Day Thursday, December 25, 2008 The Rev. Charles Henrickson
“The War on Christmas” (John 1:1-18) Everybody loves Christmas. Santa Claus, gift-giving, time off from work, time spent with family, honey-baked ham, and the cheerful holiday spirit. Yes, everybody loves Christmas. Or do they? Well, I guess it depends on which Christmas you’re talking about. Because there’s also that other Christmas, you know, the one that has to do with Christ. And that one isn’t all that popular with everyone. In fact, the anti-Christmas sentiment has become so common and so frequent that it can even be called a movement. And it has even been given a name: “The War on Christmas.” Let’s cite a few examples. Item, Olympia, Washington: In the state capitol, right next to a nativity scene, the Freedom From Religion Foundation placed a sign that reads as follows: “At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world. Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Apparently, not everybody loves Christmas. Item, 520 Costco stores, nationwide: Costco says it will not use the word, “Christmas,” on its website or in its stores. A customer wrote to Costco and asked, “Does Costco use the word ‘Christmas’ in your store advertising or on any signs anywhere in your stores during the Christmas season?” Kory Rosacrans, staff manager for Costco, replied, “I guess the answer would be No.” No, Costco doesn’t love Christmas, either, although they do love your Christmas shopping money. Item, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: At the Comcast Center, a huge multimedia show called “The Comcast Holiday Spectacular” features secular holiday songs, but religious Christmas songs are expressly prohibited. That’s just fine with Michael Muderick of Havertown, PA, who attended the show. “We don’t observe Christmas, so I appreciated that there were no religious references,” said Michael. “They managed to capture the holiday spirit in a very inclusive and unusual way.” Item, Springfield, Missouri: At Missouri State University, a new rule explicitly bans nativity scenes from being displayed in common areas. The War on Christmas gains a victory right here in Missouri. Item, Hattiesburg, Mississippi: A public school teacher marked down a poem written by eleven-year-old Andrew White because he used the word “Jesus” in it. The assignment, oddly enough, was to write a poem on the theme, “What Christmas Means to Me.” So, Andrew did the assignment. He wrote about what Christmas means to him, as follows: “The best Christmas ever is when everyone is there. It is when everyone is laughing here and there. That is the Christmas I want to share. Christmas is about Jesus’ birth. About peace on Earth. This is what Christmas is about. It is when He lay in a manger. And the three wise men come to see. That’s what it means to me.” Well, I guess the teacher didn’t really want Andrew to write about what Christmas means to him, since she doesn’t like the Christmas with Jesus in it. These examples of the War on Christmas show that, no, not everybody loves Christmas. In fact, the world hates Christmas--the real Christmas, that is. But should that really surprise us? The War on Christmas has been going on for a very long time. St. John told us the world would not know or recognize or receive the Son of God when he came into the world: “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” Let’s ponder that a bit. Here is one called “the true light” coming into the world, and it says, “the world was made through him.” This is speaking of the Eternal Word, the Logos, the one who was in the beginning with God, even the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. “The world was made through him,” as is found in Genesis 1: “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’” and so on. “All things were made through him,” it says in John 1. The Eternal Son of God was active in the act of Creation. And so we confess in the Creed, concerning the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: “by whom all things were made,” virtually quoting John 1. The world was made through him. And he is the true light. He is the source of light and life, the one through whom light and life came into existence. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” So you would think the world, the people of this world, would recognize their own Creator, the one who gives them life and light. But no. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” Darkness, thick darkness, lies over this world like a shroud. It darkens men’s minds so they cannot see or recognize the truth. It is the darkness of sin and death. By nature, after the fall, men do not know or understand God. They reject God, hate him. That is the state of the world we live in. Men hate God. And therefore they hate Christmas--the true Christmas, that is--because it is God bringing his light and his truth too close for comfort. You see, when the light of God shines, it exposes the darkness of men’s deeds, the things they would rather keep hidden--so they think--from God’s sight. Men’s self-centeredness, their greed, their hypocrisy, their lust for power and control, their lust for other people, treating them as objects to serve their desires--all the dark recesses of the human heart. Can’t have those exposed by the light of God’s scrutiny. So therefore, snuff out the light. Squash it. Kill it. The War on Christmas really is as old as the darkness of sin in the world. The true light was coming into the world at Christmas, “yet the world did not know him.” But it wasn’t just the world. John continues, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” Not only did the sin-darkened world not recognize Christ, even God’s own people did not receive him. Well, OK, you say, but there we’re talking about the Jewish people, aren’t we, the Jews of the first century? Well, yes, that was the case. The people whom God had chosen, Israel, the people who had all the advantages of the patriarchs and the prophets, God’s revelation and blessing, the people who should know better--yes, even they rejected and did not receive the Messiah God sent to them. The people of God were acting like the world around them. But that’s us, too, at least to some extent. At times, too many times, we the church, we the Christians, we the people of God act like the world around us. In the War on Christmas, sometimes we’re fighting on the wrong side. Let me cite a couple of examples. Item, many Christians’ homes, today: Church members are staying home to be with family, rather than being in the Lord’s house, to be with Jesus. But keeping the Christ in Christmas also means keeping the Mass in Christmas, the Christ Mass. Keeping Christmas means being here for the Divine Service of Word and Sacrament, keeping the Feast on this High Festival Day. Skipping out on the Christ Mass is to go AWOL while the War on Christmas is going on. Item, your home, later today: When you get home from church, will Christmas go with you, or will this be the end of it? I’m not talking about the big meal and the presents. I’m talking about the light of Christ, the life of Christ, going with you throughout the day and into the night. Will we walk in the light or surrender to the darkness? When we lose the love and the truth that the Christ Child brings, we are surrendering to the enemy, we’re fighting for the other side, in the War on Christmas. What to do? Flee to the manger. Run to that little child, lying there. He is your only hope. He will receive you still, even when you have deserted him, time and time again. Christ can handle the attacks on him, the War on Christmas. Look, he endured the cross, didn’t he, and came out victorious on the other side. The war of the world on Christ, when even God’s people turned against him--that took place in climactic fashion when the people yelled “Crucify!” and Pilate said, “Go ahead.” God was at work there, though, recreating the world through the Son’s sacrifice. For that is why the true light came into the world at Christmas, to go to that cross in utter darkness. The darkness of sin and death, the darkness of the world not knowing and the people not receiving, the darkness of God’s silence and God’s no, falling on the Son instead of on you and me. But by taking the darkness and the death upon himself, the holy Son of God was recreating the world with light and life. The true light and the true life. Resurrection life. Light to walk in the way of God and to see the truth. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” You see, Christmas is not only about the birth of Christ, it is also about the birth of you. Your new birth, your second birth, your birth as a child of God. That is why Christ came. He came for you. The War on Christmas is over, really, and Christmas won. You won. For think of all that Christ won for you: Light and life, grace and truth, grace upon grace, new birth, children of God. These are God’s Christmas presents to you today. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” The War on Christmas is over, and Christmas won. Charles Henrickson 4749 Melissa Jo Ln St. Louis, MO 63128 (314) 845-8811 (home) (314) 779-8108 (cell) [email protected] ___________________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_ _attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. Subscribe? 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