Hey, Grinch -- Bring Back Christmas!
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
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On this final Sunday before Christmas, the collision between the secular Christmas season and the sacred calendar of the church reaches its zenith in many congregations. In this installment of The Immediate Word, team member Mary Austin notes that many Christians often feel like they're living in a parallel universe that much of society is losing awareness of, except for quaint Christmas carols and the occasional symbolic nod toward nativity scenes in the public square. Yet that feeling of dislocation is hardly unique, as this past week's congressional vote on the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy reminds us. Mary finds some intriguing similarities between the feeling of living in a world apart experienced by gay people serving in the military and what those of us who believe Christmas is about celebrating the incarnation instead of Santa Claus sense at this time of year. Even more telling, Mary points out, is the feeling of living in twin worlds that Joseph must have had in the wake of his visit from the angel informing him of the true nature of Mary's pregnancy. Despite the angel's admonition to avoid fear, Joseph had to have been concerned about how his situation would be perceived in his community -- which did not know the whole story. Team member Kate Murphy offers some additional thoughts about the way Joseph responds, and how we view his righteousness. Yet, Kate observes, we are all too satisfied with settling for Joseph's level of righteousness when God calls us to a much greater degree of righteousness -- one defined by compassion rather than judgmentalism.
Hey, Grinch -- Bring Back Christmas!
by Mary Austin
Matthew 1:18-25
"Christmas is everywhere," a rabbi colleague complained good-naturedly. "Snowmen, reindeer, snowflakes, colored lights. There's no escape."
To him, it seemed like an overwhelming surplus of Christmas -- and to me, none of it was Christmas. A lot of clutter, but none of it was about the birth of Jesus and the radical choice of God to dwell in our world for a time. A lot of light, but not much illumination of the coming of the Christ as a child among us. A lot of nostalgia, but not much remembering the God who promises and delivers the holy into our lives.
At Christmas, we Christians live in two parallel universes. We shop for loved ones, delight in the parties, lament the hectic pace, enjoy the music, and hope for snow (or not) just like the people around us. And yet, we have a secret. We celebrate a Christmas that fewer and fewer people understand or believe in. Christmas is essential to our faith, and yet we may feel like we're celebrating a whole different holiday from our friends and neighbors. Our Christmas and theirs might well be two different holidays.
These separate but parallel lives find an echo in current news events, and in the story of Joseph, as told in Matthew's gospel for this fourth Sunday in Advent.
THE WORLD
The end of this session of Congress has called attention again to the military's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), which allows gay and lesbian people to serve in the military if they don't advertise their sexual orientation. As Congress ponders repealing DADT, as military commanders past and present weigh in, as service members and their spouses give their opinions, the gay and lesbian people who are in the military may well feel like they're living in two parallel universes. On one hand, they serve in the military's two wars and around the globe, performing work they're trained to do. On the other hand, there's a constant level of worry about being discharged and the effort of keeping a secret from people with whom they live and work closely.
Politicians also may feel that they live in two parallel universes. Democrats, once uneasy about President Obama being too liberal, are now angry with the administration for, as they see it, giving in to congressional Republicans on extending the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. They have expressed feelings from bewilderment to outrage about the Obama's agreement with Republicans, while the president contends that this was the only way to save the extension of unemployment benefits, which was also part of the deal. The deal extends unemployment benefits for another 13 months, and also leaves in place tax cuts for all income levels, as well as extending a variety of other small tax cuts from the Obama era. The Wall Street Journal reports that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates a total cost of $858 billion, more expensive than the official stimulus program. Republicans who want to repeal the health care reform provisions passed earlier this year as being too expensive apparently find the tax cuts affordable.
THE WORD
Joseph, too, lives in two parallel and perhaps irreconcilable worlds. To the people around him, in a small village where everyone knows everyone else's business, he is the husband of a woman who got pregnant before they were married. It's easy to imagine the speculation about the baby Mary is carrying. Did Mary and Joseph get pregnant too early? Is it perhaps someone else's baby, and Joseph is too foolish to know?
And then there's what Joseph knows, but can't say. This evocative story from Matthew's gospel only hints at his torment when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, suggesting a long thought process, resolved by his decision to end the relationship quietly -- or as quietly as you can do anything in a small village. His hope not to expose Mary to gossip and condemnation seems a little silly, if well-meaning. No one in the village is going to be able to overlook the baby she's carrying.
Into that emotional storm of distress, seeming betrayal, pain, and fear comes an angel of the Lord, speaking to Joseph in a dream. The angel first addresses Joseph as a "son of David," reminding him -- and us -- of his role as a descendant of Israel's greatest king. The next words are peculiar: "Do not be afraid." Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife; your fears of betrayal are unnecessary. Do not be afraid of what everyone is going to think. Do not be afraid of this complicated relationship with God that will follow you for the rest of your life.
The lectionary leaves out the genealogy in verses 1-17 that connect Jesus with God's hand at work in Israel's history, but reading those verses allows us to see Jesus' birth as part of a larger work of God's, and to know that Joseph and Mary are not alone in this frightening chapter of their lives. Lonely as they may feel, they too are surrounded by a great cloud of ancestors, another unseen level of God's grace at work.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Curiously, "Do not be afraid" is the first thing angels seem to say whenever they show up, which makes me wonder if we should be afraid. Whatever comes next is always earth-shaking, life-changing, and perhaps unwelcome news. Fear seems like an eminently reasonable response! Maybe we like it better when God isn't speaking to us or showing up in dreams. Joseph's life before the angel of the Lord appears has its pains, but he has the solution neatly settled in his mind.
The genuine presence of the Lord is a fearsome and demanding thing. Our parallel universe of a wildly commercial Christmas and abundant secular symbols allows us to keep our distance from the real thing. The snow people and the Muzak version of familiar carols help distract us from Emmanuel, God-with-us, and all that God might ask of us once we acknowledge the Holy in our midst.
Living in two parallel universes allows us to dip in and out whenever one grows too burdensome or demanding. But Joseph, and the angel of the Lord, remind us that there is really only one level of reality -- the one where God is alive in our world. Our dreams, our lives, even Rudolph and the Christmas cookies and the tinsel, all belong to the God who chooses to be born again and again into our world and our lives. The snowflakes and the colored lights are a reminder that we too might be born anew into this holy reality, as Emmanuel is born again to us.
ANOTHER VIEW
The Righteousness of Joseph
by Kate Murphy
Matthew 1:18-25
"Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly" (v. 19).
It's one of the things we celebrate about Joseph, that even when he thought that Mary had been up to no good, he was righteous toward her. It was his right to publicly expose her, demand she be punished for her sin against him. As his betrothed, her sexuality belonged to him. He'd paid for it, it was his legal property. In the moment he finds his future wife pregnant, the legal transaction between Joseph and Mary's father becomes invalid. Mary has destroyed the value of what Joseph paid for. In a society where land is sacred and passes from generation to generation, a woman's sexuality is serious business. A wife who becomes pregnant by a man other than her husband puts his family's land at risk. In these days before DNA testing, there is no definitive way to tell the paternity of a child. So a woman's sexuality must be carefully controlled. When a woman has sex outside the institution of marriage, the very foundations of an agrarian patriarchal society are threatened. It's no surprise that the punishment for these transgressions is severe -- death by stoning for the woman and the man (if you can find him).
But Joseph is righteous, and so even before he knows what's happened, he knows he's not going to expose Mary. Out of the goodness of his heart, he's going to dismiss her quietly. But what does that mean? Dismissing her quietly sounds a whole lot better than shaming or stoning, but it still would have left Mary extremely vulnerable. It's unlikely her family of origin would have welcomed her back, not pregnant and rejected by her betrothed. It's more probable that she would have ended up homeless. In first-century Palestine, women depended on men for protection and legal status. Without a father or a husband, Mary would have had no legal rights, no way to provide for herself or her unborn child. It seems unlikely she would have survived very long -- and any life she had would have been full of threats, fear, and violence. Yet, Joseph's decision to "dismiss her quietly," presumably to destitution and death, is "righteous."
Joseph and Mary lived in a broken social system. Perhaps his intended plan was the most righteous option in a fallen world. But one important insight to glean from this passage is that Joseph's righteousness is far inferior to God's. God instructs Joseph to keep his promise to Mary, to make her his legal wife, and raise her child as his own. It's tempting for us to dismiss God's intervention in this relationship as exceptional. Of course that's what God commands Joseph to do, because Mary wasn't "at fault" in her pregnancy and the unborn child was holy -- God's own son, in fact. But do we really believe that if Mary had been an "ordinary" adulterer, God would have watched with approval as she and her child were abandoned to die in the streets? God's intervention on behalf of Hagar and Ishmael comes to mind. God's choice to incarnate Christ as the illegitimate son of a teenager is a revelation. Should it not cause us to forever question our own ability to judge the sins of another? As Christians, should we not forever be mindful of the possibility that God is within the life of another -- even when that other person appears to us to be a worthless sinner? One of the most common complaints from non-believers about Christians is that we are judgmental and sanctimonious. As we celebrate this sacred story, can we pause for a moment and contemplate how close a "righteous" believer came to throwing Christ and the mother of God out on the streets?
Too often, we are content to achieve Joseph's level of righteousness. We only strive to be as righteous as others around us. Yet God calls us to another level of righteousness altogether. God calls us to show compassion to those who are vulnerable, even when their vulnerability appears to be a just consequence of their own sinfulness. God calls us to be righteous, even when others will perceive that behavior as foolish and scandalous. We are righteous, especially toward those who do not deserve our compassion, because we know that we too have received blessings that we do not deserve.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Where's the Line to See Jesus?
Original song by Steve Haupt and Chris Loesch
(various performances available on Youtube)
Christmas time was approaching, snow was starting to fall.
Shoppers choosing their presents, people filling the mall.
Children waiting for Santa with excitement and glee.
A little boy tugged my sweater, looked up, and asked me:
Chorus:
"Where's the line to see Jesus? Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday, why don't we see Him more?
Where's the line to see Jesus? He was born for me.
Santa Claus brought me presents, but Christ gave His life for me."
As I stood in amazement at this message profound,
I looked down to thank him; He was nowhere around.
A little boy at the mall might as well have had wings.
As the tears filled my eyes, I thought I heard him sing:
(Chorus)
In the blink of an eye,
At the sound of His trumpet,
We'll all stand in line at His throne.
Every knee shall bow down.
Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
(Chorus)
* * *
Hearing God's Voice
The Bible tells us that throughout our faith history people have received messages from God in different ways and responded to them in different ways.
* Isaiah: "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8).
* Jonah: "Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord" (Jonah 1:3).
* Samuel: "Speak, for thy servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10).
* Moses: "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face-to-face, just as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11a).
* Elijah: "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains... but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind and earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).
In the readings for this Sunday we find two men confronted with the awesome experience of hearing a message from God. In the Isaiah passage, Ahaz tries to avoid it. He isn't so sure he wants to hear what God has to say. In Matthew, Joseph hears God speak through an angel, and later responds obediently. He must have felt a sense of relief at the news the angel brought.
What message is God speaking to us this Christmas season? How are we responding?
* * *
If Christmas is only about presents, we must be very careful about how we give and receive them.
The story goes that a grandfather, not knowing what kind of new gadget or electronic toy his grandchildren could want or use for Christmas, decided to write a check for each of them and enclose it in a Christmas card with the note to "buy your own present." Grandma thought the ideas was too impersonal, but she acquiesced to his wishes.
On the day after Christmas the two were talking about Christmas morning and how they thought the grandchildren seemed a little distant this year. Maybe it was because they were growing up. Who knew how the minds of teenagers worked these days?
Perplexed, they left the breakfast table to begin their chores for the day. That was when Grandpa found the checks he had written still sitting on the desk. He had forgotten to enclose them in the cards.
* * *
Most people don't realize that for many years Santa Claus was depicted in myth and legend as either a mischievous elf or a skinny, foul-tempered old man.
It was not until commercial artist Thomas Nast, inspired by the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (The Night Before Christmas), created an image of Santa to be used in magazine and billboard advertisements for Coca-Cola that we began to see Santa Claus as a large, jolly fat man dressed in red and white fur.
* * *
Number 92 for the Washington Redskins has been dominating the sports news. Albert Haynesworth did not want to be a team player. In his desire play to defense, where he could showcase his skills and be recorded as one of the best defensive players in the history of the NFL, he refused to accept his designated role in the Redskins game plan. His ambitions did not coincide with the Redskins' goal of winning the Super Bowl. Disgruntled, Haynesworth refused to cooperate with the coaches, participate in practices, and even execute assigned plays on the field during games. He even went so far as to say he would not speak to head coach Mike Shanahan. In a radio interview Haynesworth said that his big-money contract ($100 million) didn't mean he was "a slave," and he could protest if asked to play another position. This continued insubordination forced the coach to suspend the player, without pay, for the final four games of the season.
One of the things that always becomes a point of discussion in the birth narrative is Joseph's obedience to God. Though he was bewildered and confused, he obediently followed the instructions of God that were conveyed to him through an angel. Joseph did not understand his role and it was certainly not the one he would have accepted for himself, but he was devoted enough to listen to the game plan shared with him by the head coach. As instructed by the assistant coaches, who came in the form of angels, he remained faithful to Mary, journeying both to Bethlehem and Egypt.
This holiday season and the coming year, are we going to more concerned about flashing #92 before the cameras, or humbly and quietly following the instructed path that leads us to our own designated Bethlehems?
* * *
In an Advent devotional that was printed in our local newspaper, the Reverend Billy Graham was asked: "If you somehow had the ability to eradicate just one problem in the world, what would it be?"
Reverend Graham responded, "What one problem would I try to solve, if I could? It would be this one -- the problem of the human heart. But I can't change the human heart, and neither can you! Only God can change it."
That is the message of Christmas -- that a child, lying so humbly in a manger, came to change the human heart.
* * *
Sylvester Stallone's name was recently added to the roster of the 12-member 2011 class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum. He was selected for writing the script for the movie Rocky and portraying Rocky Balboa. Stallone's selection was based on the premise that the movie, along with the 1976 Olympic boxing team, once again brought a sense of pride back to the sport.
In receiving the honor Stallone said, "It has been my privilege to have been blessed with the ability to write about the incredible courage and commitment of the many thousands of real-life Rockys whom we have watched perform honorably in the ring."
Boxing may not be a part of the Christmas message, but courage and commitment certainly are. From manger to cross, Jesus was a witness to both. May we have the same fortitude, so at the end of our journey we can say, "Yo, Adrian! I did it!" Or better still, "Yo, Jesus! I was faithful!"
* * *
The last line of the last entry that Elizabeth Edwards posted to Facebook before her recent death reads: "The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that."
The three wise men each brought a gift to the child in the manger. One gift was myrrh -- an embalming oil -- a symbol of death. This gift would not have gone unnoticed by Mary and Joseph. And if Jesus was told of the gift during his adolescent years, he too would have understood its symbolic meaning. And everyone came to realize its meaning on Calvary Hill, even the high priest.
This Christmas season we do celebrate the birth of a child. It is not just any child, for this is God's beloved Son. We know the story will lead to Calvary Hill, but we also know what follows is an empty tomb.
Elizabeth Edwards understood this story as she died in the season that we celebrate a birth. And as she journeyed to her own Calvary Hill, she did so with dignity and passion, fortitude and strength, love and devotion. May we, knowing our days are numbered, live by her last words? May we, knowing our days are numbered, live a life that emulates Jesus?
* * *
David Hasselhoff, as the shirtless lifeguard on Baywatch, made a name and television success for himself. Discontented at being relegated to relative obscurity for years after the show, he decided to resurrect his career with his own reality TV show. He would be the guardian and manger of the careers of his two daughters. Certainly the opportunity offered by the A&E cable channel would be his new calling for fame and once again propel him as a public media icon.
One could only wish. With ratings indicating only 718,000 viewers for the first episode and even fewer (505,000) for the second episode shown on the same Sunday evening, the show, The Hasselhoffs, was cancelled on the day of its first airing. I guess he needed a Pamela Anderson in his supporting cast.
Joseph and Mary got the same reception as David Hasselhoff for those first 30 years after the birth of their oldest son. For the first couple of years Herod showed some interest along with some astronomers from Mesopotamia. Beyond that, outside of a few family and friends the lives of Joseph and Mary and Jesus went unnoticed. Then, when Jesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the supporting cast of John the Baptist, along with Matthew, James, John, and the others, he suddenly was prime-time material.
The question for us is: What does it take for us to "watch" the story of Jesus? Can we be content with the tranquility of a manger scene and a quiet ministry that teaches peace, or do we only sit up and take notice with the vividness of 39 lashes? Let us be sure we watch the entire ministry of Jesus, from the manger to the cross.
* * *
Jim Morrison, the lead singer for the Doors, was arrested and sentenced for exposing himself during a concert in Miami. There are conflicting accounts of the event, and the case was under appeal when Morrison died in 1971, drowning in a Paris bathtub.
Recently Florida Governor Charlie Crist pardoned Morrison of his crime. In doing so, Crist said that Morrison was never afforded an opportunity for an appeal, so as governor he was doing it for him.
One could debate the appropriateness and motivation of the governor's decision. But if the governor is to be taken at his word, the underlying motive was one of grace. Crist wanted to offer forgiveness and reconciliation to a performer who still lacked his day in court.
As we look to the innocence of a child in a manger, who in the same state of innocence will hang from a cross on Calvary Hill, we can see in the birth narrative the story of grace and forgiveness. Let us be slow to judge the Jim Morrisons of the world, as we wish people will be slow to judge us, and let us ever be attuned to allow grace abound.
* * *
For many modern women, the Mary of Christian tradition is at best an irrelevance, at worst one more reminder of the way in which no woman can live up to the image of perfection -- perpetual virgin/perfect mother -- created by centuries of male theologians. What can speak to us, though, is her humanity. Mary shares many women's experiences; her early arranged marriage, her struggle to keep the family together after the death of her husband, her love for her son, and her grief at his death. It is the human Mary who reaches across the centuries to women in every age and every culture.
-- Helen K. Bond, lecturer in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, in the Guardian, December 19, 2002
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
N.B. Some pastors will strictly keep to the Advent season this Sunday, while others will treat this as Christmas Sunday. These resources attempt to serve both.
Call to Worship
Leader: Restore us, O God of hosts.
People: Let your face shine on us and save us.
Leader: Let your hand make us strong.
People: We will never turn back from you.
Leader: Give us life.
People: We will call on your holy Name.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who is true.
People: We come to worship the One we can trust.
Leader: In God there is no shadow of turning.
People: God is a rock, a sure refuge.
Leader: The trustworthiness of God is beyond understanding.
People: In God we rest because God's ways are sure.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Of the Father's Love Begotten"
found in:
UMH: 184
PH: 309
NCH: 118
CH: 104
LBW: 42
Renew: 252
"Christ Is the World's Light"
found in:
UMH: 188
"I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
found in:
UMH: 206
Renew: 152
"Savior of the Nations, Come"
found in:
UMH: 214
PH: 14
LBW: 28
"Joy to the World"
found in:
UMH: 246
H82: 100
PH: 40
AAHH: 197
NNBH: 94
NCH: 132
CH: 143
LBW: 39
"Once in Royal David's City"
found in:
UMH: 250
H82: 102
PH: 49
NCH: 145
CH: 165
"O Come and Dwell in Me"
found in:
UMH: 388
"Dear Jesus, in Whose Life I See"
found in:
UMH: 468
"We Are His Hands"
found in:
CCB: 85
"Shine, Jesus, Shine"
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is one in thought and deed: Help us, your children, to bring both our thoughts and our deeds into alignment with you and your great purpose for creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to you worship you, O God, aware that in you there is no duplicity. Your ways and your thoughts are one. Open our ears, our heads, and our hearts to your word, that we may truly follow Jesus into the way of righteousness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the duplicity with which we live our lives.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We take our place in worship as followers of Jesus, and yet out in the world we are likely to follow the leadings of the world. We talk of the great love of God, and yet the world perceives us as being full of hostility and hatred. We claim to be sisters and brothers of the one who ate and shared with sinners, but we are careful to not allow such persons to get too close to us. Forgive our double-mindedness and cleanse us with the power of your Spirit, that we may truly reflect our Creator and our Redeemer. Amen.
Leader: Know that God desires nothing more than our wholeness. God grants you forgiveness and the power to live in harmony with God, others, and yourself.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship you, our God of Salvation, for you are the One who comes to us with no deceit. You are who you say you are, and you act out of the integrity of your being.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We take our place in worship as followers of Jesus, and yet out in the world we are likely to follow the leadings of the world. We talk of the great love of God, and yet the world perceives us as being full of hostility and hatred. We claim to be sisters and brothers of the one who ate and shared with sinners, but we are careful to not allow such persons to get too close to us. Forgive our double-mindedness and cleanse us with the power of your Spirit, that we may truly reflect our Creator and our Redeemer.
We give you thanks for all the blessings you have bestowed on us. You have given us your great creation, your love, and your Son. We are truly blessed. During this season we are reminded once again that you are always with us, in us, and among us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We bring to you the cares of our hearts. We offer our prayers, our love, and our lives, that all might be used in your great work of salvation. Empower us to be your physical presence among the broken and hurting of our world, that they may find wholeness in you and rejoice, with us, in your love.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
This might be a good time to tell the children about the candy cane -- white for the purity of Jesus (this would be the main tie-in for the theme), red for the blood, shaped like a shepherd's crook for the Good Shepherd, and upside-down forming the letter "J" for Jesus.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The Best Presents
Matthew 1:18-25
Objects: a Christmas ornament or a figurine from a nativity scene depicting the baby Jesus, and one depicting Santa Claus
Good morning, boys and girls! Look what I've got here. Who is this? (display figurines -- let the children respond) Of course, this is the baby Jesus. How about this one? Everyone knows who Santa is. Now, let me ask you a question. I want you to think about the answer before you speak, and I want you to be honest. Here's my question. Who gives the best Christmas presents, Santa Claus or Jesus?
Santa gifts are lots of fun! Trucks, cars, dolls, tea sets, video games, stereos, new clothes, all kinds of stuff to play with! Santa gifts are great, but what about the gifts that Jesus gives?
What kinds of gifts does Jesus give us? (let the children respond -- direct their answers if necessary) Jesus gives us hope, peace, love, strength, rest, joy, and all the things that really matter in life. Jesus can give us what we need to live a happy life.
What happens to the Santa gifts after we play with them for a while? (let the children respond) The batteries wear out, or we get tired of them and toss them aside, or they break and don't work like they're supposed to any more. But the gifts that Jesus gives never break down. They don't need batteries and they will last forever.
There really is no contest -- Jesus gives the best presents. We all like the Santa gifts and they are fun to get and to give, but they don't compare to the wonderful, life-changing gifts that Jesus Christ gives. I hope you enjoy your Santa gifts, but I pray that you treasure your Jesus gifts!
I hope you have a blessed Christmas season. God bless you.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 19, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
Hey, Grinch -- Bring Back Christmas!
by Mary Austin
Matthew 1:18-25
"Christmas is everywhere," a rabbi colleague complained good-naturedly. "Snowmen, reindeer, snowflakes, colored lights. There's no escape."
To him, it seemed like an overwhelming surplus of Christmas -- and to me, none of it was Christmas. A lot of clutter, but none of it was about the birth of Jesus and the radical choice of God to dwell in our world for a time. A lot of light, but not much illumination of the coming of the Christ as a child among us. A lot of nostalgia, but not much remembering the God who promises and delivers the holy into our lives.
At Christmas, we Christians live in two parallel universes. We shop for loved ones, delight in the parties, lament the hectic pace, enjoy the music, and hope for snow (or not) just like the people around us. And yet, we have a secret. We celebrate a Christmas that fewer and fewer people understand or believe in. Christmas is essential to our faith, and yet we may feel like we're celebrating a whole different holiday from our friends and neighbors. Our Christmas and theirs might well be two different holidays.
These separate but parallel lives find an echo in current news events, and in the story of Joseph, as told in Matthew's gospel for this fourth Sunday in Advent.
THE WORLD
The end of this session of Congress has called attention again to the military's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT), which allows gay and lesbian people to serve in the military if they don't advertise their sexual orientation. As Congress ponders repealing DADT, as military commanders past and present weigh in, as service members and their spouses give their opinions, the gay and lesbian people who are in the military may well feel like they're living in two parallel universes. On one hand, they serve in the military's two wars and around the globe, performing work they're trained to do. On the other hand, there's a constant level of worry about being discharged and the effort of keeping a secret from people with whom they live and work closely.
Politicians also may feel that they live in two parallel universes. Democrats, once uneasy about President Obama being too liberal, are now angry with the administration for, as they see it, giving in to congressional Republicans on extending the tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush. They have expressed feelings from bewilderment to outrage about the Obama's agreement with Republicans, while the president contends that this was the only way to save the extension of unemployment benefits, which was also part of the deal. The deal extends unemployment benefits for another 13 months, and also leaves in place tax cuts for all income levels, as well as extending a variety of other small tax cuts from the Obama era. The Wall Street Journal reports that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates a total cost of $858 billion, more expensive than the official stimulus program. Republicans who want to repeal the health care reform provisions passed earlier this year as being too expensive apparently find the tax cuts affordable.
THE WORD
Joseph, too, lives in two parallel and perhaps irreconcilable worlds. To the people around him, in a small village where everyone knows everyone else's business, he is the husband of a woman who got pregnant before they were married. It's easy to imagine the speculation about the baby Mary is carrying. Did Mary and Joseph get pregnant too early? Is it perhaps someone else's baby, and Joseph is too foolish to know?
And then there's what Joseph knows, but can't say. This evocative story from Matthew's gospel only hints at his torment when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, suggesting a long thought process, resolved by his decision to end the relationship quietly -- or as quietly as you can do anything in a small village. His hope not to expose Mary to gossip and condemnation seems a little silly, if well-meaning. No one in the village is going to be able to overlook the baby she's carrying.
Into that emotional storm of distress, seeming betrayal, pain, and fear comes an angel of the Lord, speaking to Joseph in a dream. The angel first addresses Joseph as a "son of David," reminding him -- and us -- of his role as a descendant of Israel's greatest king. The next words are peculiar: "Do not be afraid." Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife; your fears of betrayal are unnecessary. Do not be afraid of what everyone is going to think. Do not be afraid of this complicated relationship with God that will follow you for the rest of your life.
The lectionary leaves out the genealogy in verses 1-17 that connect Jesus with God's hand at work in Israel's history, but reading those verses allows us to see Jesus' birth as part of a larger work of God's, and to know that Joseph and Mary are not alone in this frightening chapter of their lives. Lonely as they may feel, they too are surrounded by a great cloud of ancestors, another unseen level of God's grace at work.
CRAFTING THE SERMON
Curiously, "Do not be afraid" is the first thing angels seem to say whenever they show up, which makes me wonder if we should be afraid. Whatever comes next is always earth-shaking, life-changing, and perhaps unwelcome news. Fear seems like an eminently reasonable response! Maybe we like it better when God isn't speaking to us or showing up in dreams. Joseph's life before the angel of the Lord appears has its pains, but he has the solution neatly settled in his mind.
The genuine presence of the Lord is a fearsome and demanding thing. Our parallel universe of a wildly commercial Christmas and abundant secular symbols allows us to keep our distance from the real thing. The snow people and the Muzak version of familiar carols help distract us from Emmanuel, God-with-us, and all that God might ask of us once we acknowledge the Holy in our midst.
Living in two parallel universes allows us to dip in and out whenever one grows too burdensome or demanding. But Joseph, and the angel of the Lord, remind us that there is really only one level of reality -- the one where God is alive in our world. Our dreams, our lives, even Rudolph and the Christmas cookies and the tinsel, all belong to the God who chooses to be born again and again into our world and our lives. The snowflakes and the colored lights are a reminder that we too might be born anew into this holy reality, as Emmanuel is born again to us.
ANOTHER VIEW
The Righteousness of Joseph
by Kate Murphy
Matthew 1:18-25
"Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly" (v. 19).
It's one of the things we celebrate about Joseph, that even when he thought that Mary had been up to no good, he was righteous toward her. It was his right to publicly expose her, demand she be punished for her sin against him. As his betrothed, her sexuality belonged to him. He'd paid for it, it was his legal property. In the moment he finds his future wife pregnant, the legal transaction between Joseph and Mary's father becomes invalid. Mary has destroyed the value of what Joseph paid for. In a society where land is sacred and passes from generation to generation, a woman's sexuality is serious business. A wife who becomes pregnant by a man other than her husband puts his family's land at risk. In these days before DNA testing, there is no definitive way to tell the paternity of a child. So a woman's sexuality must be carefully controlled. When a woman has sex outside the institution of marriage, the very foundations of an agrarian patriarchal society are threatened. It's no surprise that the punishment for these transgressions is severe -- death by stoning for the woman and the man (if you can find him).
But Joseph is righteous, and so even before he knows what's happened, he knows he's not going to expose Mary. Out of the goodness of his heart, he's going to dismiss her quietly. But what does that mean? Dismissing her quietly sounds a whole lot better than shaming or stoning, but it still would have left Mary extremely vulnerable. It's unlikely her family of origin would have welcomed her back, not pregnant and rejected by her betrothed. It's more probable that she would have ended up homeless. In first-century Palestine, women depended on men for protection and legal status. Without a father or a husband, Mary would have had no legal rights, no way to provide for herself or her unborn child. It seems unlikely she would have survived very long -- and any life she had would have been full of threats, fear, and violence. Yet, Joseph's decision to "dismiss her quietly," presumably to destitution and death, is "righteous."
Joseph and Mary lived in a broken social system. Perhaps his intended plan was the most righteous option in a fallen world. But one important insight to glean from this passage is that Joseph's righteousness is far inferior to God's. God instructs Joseph to keep his promise to Mary, to make her his legal wife, and raise her child as his own. It's tempting for us to dismiss God's intervention in this relationship as exceptional. Of course that's what God commands Joseph to do, because Mary wasn't "at fault" in her pregnancy and the unborn child was holy -- God's own son, in fact. But do we really believe that if Mary had been an "ordinary" adulterer, God would have watched with approval as she and her child were abandoned to die in the streets? God's intervention on behalf of Hagar and Ishmael comes to mind. God's choice to incarnate Christ as the illegitimate son of a teenager is a revelation. Should it not cause us to forever question our own ability to judge the sins of another? As Christians, should we not forever be mindful of the possibility that God is within the life of another -- even when that other person appears to us to be a worthless sinner? One of the most common complaints from non-believers about Christians is that we are judgmental and sanctimonious. As we celebrate this sacred story, can we pause for a moment and contemplate how close a "righteous" believer came to throwing Christ and the mother of God out on the streets?
Too often, we are content to achieve Joseph's level of righteousness. We only strive to be as righteous as others around us. Yet God calls us to another level of righteousness altogether. God calls us to show compassion to those who are vulnerable, even when their vulnerability appears to be a just consequence of their own sinfulness. God calls us to be righteous, even when others will perceive that behavior as foolish and scandalous. We are righteous, especially toward those who do not deserve our compassion, because we know that we too have received blessings that we do not deserve.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Where's the Line to See Jesus?
Original song by Steve Haupt and Chris Loesch
(various performances available on Youtube)
Christmas time was approaching, snow was starting to fall.
Shoppers choosing their presents, people filling the mall.
Children waiting for Santa with excitement and glee.
A little boy tugged my sweater, looked up, and asked me:
Chorus:
"Where's the line to see Jesus? Is He here at the store?
If Christmas time is His birthday, why don't we see Him more?
Where's the line to see Jesus? He was born for me.
Santa Claus brought me presents, but Christ gave His life for me."
As I stood in amazement at this message profound,
I looked down to thank him; He was nowhere around.
A little boy at the mall might as well have had wings.
As the tears filled my eyes, I thought I heard him sing:
(Chorus)
In the blink of an eye,
At the sound of His trumpet,
We'll all stand in line at His throne.
Every knee shall bow down.
Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
(Chorus)
* * *
Hearing God's Voice
The Bible tells us that throughout our faith history people have received messages from God in different ways and responded to them in different ways.
* Isaiah: "Here am I, send me" (Isaiah 6:8).
* Jonah: "Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord" (Jonah 1:3).
* Samuel: "Speak, for thy servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10).
* Moses: "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face-to-face, just as a man speaks to his friend" (Exodus 33:11a).
* Elijah: "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains... but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind and earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).
In the readings for this Sunday we find two men confronted with the awesome experience of hearing a message from God. In the Isaiah passage, Ahaz tries to avoid it. He isn't so sure he wants to hear what God has to say. In Matthew, Joseph hears God speak through an angel, and later responds obediently. He must have felt a sense of relief at the news the angel brought.
What message is God speaking to us this Christmas season? How are we responding?
* * *
If Christmas is only about presents, we must be very careful about how we give and receive them.
The story goes that a grandfather, not knowing what kind of new gadget or electronic toy his grandchildren could want or use for Christmas, decided to write a check for each of them and enclose it in a Christmas card with the note to "buy your own present." Grandma thought the ideas was too impersonal, but she acquiesced to his wishes.
On the day after Christmas the two were talking about Christmas morning and how they thought the grandchildren seemed a little distant this year. Maybe it was because they were growing up. Who knew how the minds of teenagers worked these days?
Perplexed, they left the breakfast table to begin their chores for the day. That was when Grandpa found the checks he had written still sitting on the desk. He had forgotten to enclose them in the cards.
* * *
Most people don't realize that for many years Santa Claus was depicted in myth and legend as either a mischievous elf or a skinny, foul-tempered old man.
It was not until commercial artist Thomas Nast, inspired by the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (The Night Before Christmas), created an image of Santa to be used in magazine and billboard advertisements for Coca-Cola that we began to see Santa Claus as a large, jolly fat man dressed in red and white fur.
* * *
Number 92 for the Washington Redskins has been dominating the sports news. Albert Haynesworth did not want to be a team player. In his desire play to defense, where he could showcase his skills and be recorded as one of the best defensive players in the history of the NFL, he refused to accept his designated role in the Redskins game plan. His ambitions did not coincide with the Redskins' goal of winning the Super Bowl. Disgruntled, Haynesworth refused to cooperate with the coaches, participate in practices, and even execute assigned plays on the field during games. He even went so far as to say he would not speak to head coach Mike Shanahan. In a radio interview Haynesworth said that his big-money contract ($100 million) didn't mean he was "a slave," and he could protest if asked to play another position. This continued insubordination forced the coach to suspend the player, without pay, for the final four games of the season.
One of the things that always becomes a point of discussion in the birth narrative is Joseph's obedience to God. Though he was bewildered and confused, he obediently followed the instructions of God that were conveyed to him through an angel. Joseph did not understand his role and it was certainly not the one he would have accepted for himself, but he was devoted enough to listen to the game plan shared with him by the head coach. As instructed by the assistant coaches, who came in the form of angels, he remained faithful to Mary, journeying both to Bethlehem and Egypt.
This holiday season and the coming year, are we going to more concerned about flashing #92 before the cameras, or humbly and quietly following the instructed path that leads us to our own designated Bethlehems?
* * *
In an Advent devotional that was printed in our local newspaper, the Reverend Billy Graham was asked: "If you somehow had the ability to eradicate just one problem in the world, what would it be?"
Reverend Graham responded, "What one problem would I try to solve, if I could? It would be this one -- the problem of the human heart. But I can't change the human heart, and neither can you! Only God can change it."
That is the message of Christmas -- that a child, lying so humbly in a manger, came to change the human heart.
* * *
Sylvester Stallone's name was recently added to the roster of the 12-member 2011 class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Museum. He was selected for writing the script for the movie Rocky and portraying Rocky Balboa. Stallone's selection was based on the premise that the movie, along with the 1976 Olympic boxing team, once again brought a sense of pride back to the sport.
In receiving the honor Stallone said, "It has been my privilege to have been blessed with the ability to write about the incredible courage and commitment of the many thousands of real-life Rockys whom we have watched perform honorably in the ring."
Boxing may not be a part of the Christmas message, but courage and commitment certainly are. From manger to cross, Jesus was a witness to both. May we have the same fortitude, so at the end of our journey we can say, "Yo, Adrian! I did it!" Or better still, "Yo, Jesus! I was faithful!"
* * *
The last line of the last entry that Elizabeth Edwards posted to Facebook before her recent death reads: "The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that."
The three wise men each brought a gift to the child in the manger. One gift was myrrh -- an embalming oil -- a symbol of death. This gift would not have gone unnoticed by Mary and Joseph. And if Jesus was told of the gift during his adolescent years, he too would have understood its symbolic meaning. And everyone came to realize its meaning on Calvary Hill, even the high priest.
This Christmas season we do celebrate the birth of a child. It is not just any child, for this is God's beloved Son. We know the story will lead to Calvary Hill, but we also know what follows is an empty tomb.
Elizabeth Edwards understood this story as she died in the season that we celebrate a birth. And as she journeyed to her own Calvary Hill, she did so with dignity and passion, fortitude and strength, love and devotion. May we, knowing our days are numbered, live by her last words? May we, knowing our days are numbered, live a life that emulates Jesus?
* * *
David Hasselhoff, as the shirtless lifeguard on Baywatch, made a name and television success for himself. Discontented at being relegated to relative obscurity for years after the show, he decided to resurrect his career with his own reality TV show. He would be the guardian and manger of the careers of his two daughters. Certainly the opportunity offered by the A&E cable channel would be his new calling for fame and once again propel him as a public media icon.
One could only wish. With ratings indicating only 718,000 viewers for the first episode and even fewer (505,000) for the second episode shown on the same Sunday evening, the show, The Hasselhoffs, was cancelled on the day of its first airing. I guess he needed a Pamela Anderson in his supporting cast.
Joseph and Mary got the same reception as David Hasselhoff for those first 30 years after the birth of their oldest son. For the first couple of years Herod showed some interest along with some astronomers from Mesopotamia. Beyond that, outside of a few family and friends the lives of Joseph and Mary and Jesus went unnoticed. Then, when Jesus received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the supporting cast of John the Baptist, along with Matthew, James, John, and the others, he suddenly was prime-time material.
The question for us is: What does it take for us to "watch" the story of Jesus? Can we be content with the tranquility of a manger scene and a quiet ministry that teaches peace, or do we only sit up and take notice with the vividness of 39 lashes? Let us be sure we watch the entire ministry of Jesus, from the manger to the cross.
* * *
Jim Morrison, the lead singer for the Doors, was arrested and sentenced for exposing himself during a concert in Miami. There are conflicting accounts of the event, and the case was under appeal when Morrison died in 1971, drowning in a Paris bathtub.
Recently Florida Governor Charlie Crist pardoned Morrison of his crime. In doing so, Crist said that Morrison was never afforded an opportunity for an appeal, so as governor he was doing it for him.
One could debate the appropriateness and motivation of the governor's decision. But if the governor is to be taken at his word, the underlying motive was one of grace. Crist wanted to offer forgiveness and reconciliation to a performer who still lacked his day in court.
As we look to the innocence of a child in a manger, who in the same state of innocence will hang from a cross on Calvary Hill, we can see in the birth narrative the story of grace and forgiveness. Let us be slow to judge the Jim Morrisons of the world, as we wish people will be slow to judge us, and let us ever be attuned to allow grace abound.
* * *
For many modern women, the Mary of Christian tradition is at best an irrelevance, at worst one more reminder of the way in which no woman can live up to the image of perfection -- perpetual virgin/perfect mother -- created by centuries of male theologians. What can speak to us, though, is her humanity. Mary shares many women's experiences; her early arranged marriage, her struggle to keep the family together after the death of her husband, her love for her son, and her grief at his death. It is the human Mary who reaches across the centuries to women in every age and every culture.
-- Helen K. Bond, lecturer in New Testament at the University of Edinburgh, in the Guardian, December 19, 2002
WORSHIP RESOURCES
by George Reed
N.B. Some pastors will strictly keep to the Advent season this Sunday, while others will treat this as Christmas Sunday. These resources attempt to serve both.
Call to Worship
Leader: Restore us, O God of hosts.
People: Let your face shine on us and save us.
Leader: Let your hand make us strong.
People: We will never turn back from you.
Leader: Give us life.
People: We will call on your holy Name.
OR
Leader: Come and worship the God who is true.
People: We come to worship the One we can trust.
Leader: In God there is no shadow of turning.
People: God is a rock, a sure refuge.
Leader: The trustworthiness of God is beyond understanding.
People: In God we rest because God's ways are sure.
Hymns and Sacred Songs
"Of the Father's Love Begotten"
found in:
UMH: 184
PH: 309
NCH: 118
CH: 104
LBW: 42
Renew: 252
"Christ Is the World's Light"
found in:
UMH: 188
"I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light"
found in:
UMH: 206
Renew: 152
"Savior of the Nations, Come"
found in:
UMH: 214
PH: 14
LBW: 28
"Joy to the World"
found in:
UMH: 246
H82: 100
PH: 40
AAHH: 197
NNBH: 94
NCH: 132
CH: 143
LBW: 39
"Once in Royal David's City"
found in:
UMH: 250
H82: 102
PH: 49
NCH: 145
CH: 165
"O Come and Dwell in Me"
found in:
UMH: 388
"Dear Jesus, in Whose Life I See"
found in:
UMH: 468
"We Are His Hands"
found in:
CCB: 85
"Shine, Jesus, Shine"
found in:
CCB: 81
Renew: 247
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982 (The Episcopal Church)
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: African-American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer for the Day / Collect
O God who is one in thought and deed: Help us, your children, to bring both our thoughts and our deeds into alignment with you and your great purpose for creation; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We come to you worship you, O God, aware that in you there is no duplicity. Your ways and your thoughts are one. Open our ears, our heads, and our hearts to your word, that we may truly follow Jesus into the way of righteousness. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
Leader: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins, and especially the duplicity with which we live our lives.
People: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We take our place in worship as followers of Jesus, and yet out in the world we are likely to follow the leadings of the world. We talk of the great love of God, and yet the world perceives us as being full of hostility and hatred. We claim to be sisters and brothers of the one who ate and shared with sinners, but we are careful to not allow such persons to get too close to us. Forgive our double-mindedness and cleanse us with the power of your Spirit, that we may truly reflect our Creator and our Redeemer. Amen.
Leader: Know that God desires nothing more than our wholeness. God grants you forgiveness and the power to live in harmony with God, others, and yourself.
Prayers of the People (and the Lord's Prayer)
We praise and worship you, our God of Salvation, for you are the One who comes to us with no deceit. You are who you say you are, and you act out of the integrity of your being.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. We take our place in worship as followers of Jesus, and yet out in the world we are likely to follow the leadings of the world. We talk of the great love of God, and yet the world perceives us as being full of hostility and hatred. We claim to be sisters and brothers of the one who ate and shared with sinners, but we are careful to not allow such persons to get too close to us. Forgive our double-mindedness and cleanse us with the power of your Spirit, that we may truly reflect our Creator and our Redeemer.
We give you thanks for all the blessings you have bestowed on us. You have given us your great creation, your love, and your Son. We are truly blessed. During this season we are reminded once again that you are always with us, in us, and among us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We bring to you the cares of our hearts. We offer our prayers, our love, and our lives, that all might be used in your great work of salvation. Empower us to be your physical presence among the broken and hurting of our world, that they may find wholeness in you and rejoice, with us, in your love.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray together, saying:
Our Father... Amen.
(or if the Lord's Prayer is not used at this point in the service)
All this we ask in the Name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
Children's Sermon Starter
This might be a good time to tell the children about the candy cane -- white for the purity of Jesus (this would be the main tie-in for the theme), red for the blood, shaped like a shepherd's crook for the Good Shepherd, and upside-down forming the letter "J" for Jesus.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The Best Presents
Matthew 1:18-25
Objects: a Christmas ornament or a figurine from a nativity scene depicting the baby Jesus, and one depicting Santa Claus
Good morning, boys and girls! Look what I've got here. Who is this? (display figurines -- let the children respond) Of course, this is the baby Jesus. How about this one? Everyone knows who Santa is. Now, let me ask you a question. I want you to think about the answer before you speak, and I want you to be honest. Here's my question. Who gives the best Christmas presents, Santa Claus or Jesus?
Santa gifts are lots of fun! Trucks, cars, dolls, tea sets, video games, stereos, new clothes, all kinds of stuff to play with! Santa gifts are great, but what about the gifts that Jesus gives?
What kinds of gifts does Jesus give us? (let the children respond -- direct their answers if necessary) Jesus gives us hope, peace, love, strength, rest, joy, and all the things that really matter in life. Jesus can give us what we need to live a happy life.
What happens to the Santa gifts after we play with them for a while? (let the children respond) The batteries wear out, or we get tired of them and toss them aside, or they break and don't work like they're supposed to any more. But the gifts that Jesus gives never break down. They don't need batteries and they will last forever.
There really is no contest -- Jesus gives the best presents. We all like the Santa gifts and they are fun to get and to give, but they don't compare to the wonderful, life-changing gifts that Jesus Christ gives. I hope you enjoy your Santa gifts, but I pray that you treasure your Jesus gifts!
I hope you have a blessed Christmas season. God bless you.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, December 19, 2010, issue.
Copyright 2010 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
