The following was preached at Hillsboro UMC on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009.
As you probably know by now, tomorrow is Christmas. Christmas is probably one of the most anticipated times of the year. You can’t walk around a retail store these days without seeing Christmas decorations by the end of October. Many people make their lists, plan out their routes and get up at hours no person should see just to go Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. I’m sure many who have decorated their houses for the holiday did so a few weeks ago. In the church, we get ready for Christmas with the season of Advent, which is the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.
This year, we took a look at the messages of the prophets of Israel who were also gearing up for the promises of Christmas. Of course, their idea of that first Christmas was significantly different than what we think about when we think of Christmas. The people of Israel were looking forward to the coming Messiah, the one who would save them from their oppressors and return Israel to its rightful place on a world stage. The last thing they expected was a little baby boy born in a livestock shed and placed in a feeding trough. Isn’t it amazing how sometimes the most expected thing can happen in the most unexpected way?
But somehow, somewhere along the way this expected, anticipated thing got confused and misunderstood, and I don’t just mean that is was misunderstood by the first century Jews; we have our fair share of misunderstanding as well. I want to tell you about one Christmas that I will always remember. Rather, about something that happened one Christmas that I’ll never forget.
One year, I got a book for Christmas. I know it doesn’t sound very exciting, but I was really pumped to get this book. It was one of those little mass market books, and it had nearly 400 gripping pages, and I didn’t want to put it down. It had to have been something because, as a 12 year old, I read it in less than 36 hours. I took it with me to Christmas at grandma’s, sat on the couch and read a good bit of it there. My parents had to tell me to put it down and go play with my cousins. I’m pretty sure I even snuck in some reading while we were opening the presents. As you can imagine, it was a fantastic book.
Earlier that year, a blockbuster movie was released. It ended up winning three Oscars, and captured the imaginations of millions. It brought in $357 million here in the United States, and another $557 million worldwide. It stands 14th on the all-time list for money brought in by a movie. I have seen it several times since it came out, played its theme song in middle school band, and I still am amazed at the amount of work that had to have gone into making the props for this movie. This blockbuster was based on that same book that captivated me later that year.
The movie was Jurassic Park. But the book was so much better. There were parts and entire characters in the book that weren’t in the movie, there were people that died in the book that don’t die in the movie. In short, apart from a few characters names, the overarching theme and the title, the book and the movie were nothing alike. I’m sure you’ve had this experience in your life as well. How many have ever read a book, and then see the movie and are totally disappointed? Sometimes, things just don’t get translated right, and the finished product is nothing like the original.
Jurassic Park is by no means the only book to fall prey to this hideous beast, though. Katie and I went to see Prince Caspian shortly after she finished reading the book by C.S. Lewis. I spent a good part of the movie listening to how outraged she was by Hollywood’s version of the classic children’s tale. Things that don’t happen in the book happen in the movie. I think we could go on and on and on, but let’s not. We have all had that experience at some point in our lives when it comes to books and movies.
But what about when it comes to books and real life? How often do our lives fail to live up to the book that we have been given? How often do we fail to be an adequate representation of the people of God? How often do we come up short in our own lives? How often do you miss the important details of the Christian faith, and use a bit of artistic license like Hollywood? If you are anything like me, it’s pretty often. More often than you’d like to admit. And perhaps there is no part in our lives where we have done it as often as when it comes to the Christmas story.
When I look around at how we celebrate Christmas as a society, I can’t help but wonder where we went wrong. And I’m not blaming American society because how can we expect non-Christians to act like Christians? But what is the emphasis on Christmas these days? If we catch people in a good mood, they might say that Christmas is about spending time with family and giving to those we love. But actions certainly speak louder than words. Christmas has become a multi-billion dollar industry, and it is an industry that only briefly acknowledges its source.
On Thursday nights, Katie and I turn our TV to NBC and watch their full line-up of sitcoms. A couple of weeks ago, we were watching them, and afterwards, Katie said something along the lines of, “There sure was a lot of Jesus bashing this week, wasn’t there?” And in reality, that is kind of what was going on. The message that was being portrayed was that we can’t talk about Jesus on Christmas because we just might offend people of other faith persuasions. Is that what we’ve come to these days? We can’t talk about Jesus on the holiday that was instituted specifically to remember him? But it’s not just television.
Take a look at the stores. Do you know how many Santa Claus junk is out there? My personal favorite is the Santa on a Harley giant blow-up thing. I’m just waiting for it to have a sidecar with Frosty the Snowman sitting in it. Did you know you can buy a pink flamingo lawn ornament with your Christmas decorations? That way, you can have a flamingo next to your polar bear, penguin and reindeer. Because nothing says Christmas like a pink flamingo.
What about the movies? I came across a couple of lists that had the top Christmas movies of all time on there. Here’s a taste of what the movies have to offer in this area: The Polar Express, Gremlins, The Santa Clause, Die Hard, Elf, Scrooged, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Story. I’m not saying don’t watch these movies. I’ve seen all of them. I like to watch them. They are fun movies to watch. But do any of these movies have anything to do with Christmas, really? If we just watch these movies, then we can assume that Christmas is all about Santa Claus, and elves, and a Red Rider BB gun.
How about the Top 25 Christmas songs, as determined by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers? Surely, there is something on that list that would help remind us of the true meaning of Christmas, right? Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Little Town of Bethlehem? Nope, none of them are on the list. The only song on that list that is even remotely connected to the Christmas story is the Little Drummer Boy. And, I hate to spoil this one for you, but there’s no little drummer boy in the gospels. Do you want to tell me how I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus makes it onto a list of the most popular Christmas songs, and not a single hymn is on that list?
It happens because Christians don’t share their faith with others. It happens because Christians are more concerned with making sure Sears employees say “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Holidays,” than they are with making sure they are telling others about Jesus. It happens because Christians have grown complacent and have bought into what society says is most important about Christmas. We’ve forgotten the story.
But here’s the kicker, the book is so much better than the movie. The story of a young virgin, scared out of her mind, but willing to submit to the will of God to carry a child that will bring salvation to the entire world. The story of man whose bride-to-be is suddenly pregnant, not by anything that he did, but he takes her as his wife anyway. He takes her as his wife, even though he could have just as easily called the whole thing off. The story of shepherds tending their flocks at night, only to get interrupted by the angels of heaven and told of the birth of the Son of God.
We forget that story. It gets drowned out in all the noise that we let into our lives. And we forget about what happens next. We forget that Jesus Christ was born. We forget that Jesus Christ lived a life in full obedience to God, and that his death and resurrection made it possible for us to be in a right relationship with Him. We forget that we are charged with the task of sharing this message of hope and deliverance to all the world. And then we wonder why the world doesn’t know the message. We wonder why the world cares more about Santa Claus than Jesus.
Enjoy your Christmas. It is a time when we can enjoy fellowship with our friends and families. It is a time of giving and receiving. But it is also a time of remembrance. It’s a time for us to remember what it is that God has done in our lives. It is a time for us to remember the story of Jesus. A baby boy was born on that first Christmas, and this baby boy would bring salvation to the entire world. Remember the story and share it with those around you.
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