Matthew 2:1-2 (NRSV) In the time of King
Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came
to Jerusalem, 2asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of
the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him
homage.’
John 1:1-2, 4-5 (NIV) In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
4 In him was life, and that life was
the light of all mankind. 5 The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
How many of us are in the mood for Christmas? Do we
look forward to the season with excitement, or does it seem like Christmas has
come as an uninvited guest? Are our spirits lifted by the joy of the season or
are we weary with the responsibility? If we are not in the mood for Christmas,
that may be a good place to be. For not being in the mood helps us to remember
the difference between the Christmas of fact and the Christmas of fantasy.
The Christmas of fantasy sees the tiny village of
Bethlehem as a beautiful moonlit town where all is calm and all is bright. The
Bethlehem of fact was much different. It was a place where people went to be
taxed and the burdens of life were felt and resented. It was a noisy and pushy
place where people elbowed and jostled on another to secure a place for
themselves. It was a place where the blind and lame and the poor were resigned
to always having no place. And Bethlehem was a cold place, not because of the
weather, but because of the people, because of their fears and their self-centeredness,
callous spirit, and suspicious minds.
Matthew tells us in a matter of fact way that Jesus
was born in Bethlehem. John tells us the meaning of that fact for us: In him was
life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
Jesus confronts our fantasy that life will be found in the futile prizes we
chase. Jesus reveals the reality that life comes from God. As long as the
connection between ourselves and God is kept sound we are kept fully alive,
regardless of the chance and circumstances of life. Life is drained and drawn
from us when we are disconnected from God by a hardened commitment to self-centeredness. Real life is recovered for us when the
connection to God is re-established. In Jesus was the life of God,
re-establishing the lost connection. Christmas is God with us in Jesus. God confronts the resistance of our
self-centeredness in the life of a baby. Babies confront our self-centeredness
in the most beautiful and powerful way possible. We are reconnected to God in
the vulnerability of a baby.
When we give up the fantasy of our self-seeking and
discover the dream of God seeking us, we can see that God wants more than
anything else to give us His plan and purpose in the day to day doings of our
lives. Accepting God’s gift that challenges our self-centeredness is the hope
this season brings. If we are not in the mood, these can be the words we most
need to say and feel and believe.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
No comments:
Post a Comment