“The Hope of Christmas” – Luke 2:1-20 – December 24, 2007

The Jones family had just finished unwrapping their Christmas presents and Jonny’s mother asked him if he was happy with his presents. “Well, what do you think? Do you like your presents?” Johnny replied, “Well, my Ipod that I got from Santa and my Play Station from you and Dad were wrapped in the same kind of wrapping paper.” Johnny’s mother frowned and looked at him with the look that every child knows is not in his favor. He thought for a minute and before his mother could respond he said, “Tell you what, you and Dad can go on buying me presents and let’s just forget we ever had this conversation.”

Of course not every child gets what they asked for. Sometimes we get a few surprises. When he was in the eighth grade, all Chuck Swindoll wanted for Christmas was a new basketball. His father, who worked in a machine shop had made him an iron hoop for a basket. Chuck practiced until he could sink nine out of ten free throws. One November evening, his old tattered basketball burst. From then until Christmas he dropped numerous hints that he wanted a basketball and did his chores with great enthusiasm. Sure enough, on Christmas morning there was a box, just the size of a basketball and it had his name on it. He could hardly wait to open it. Finally he tore off the wrapping paper and much to his dismay there was a world globe inside. Chuck was disappointed at the time but when he looks back at that gift it reminds him of the fact that God shared His gift with the whole world. A little education didn’t hurt him either.

With God, we don’t always get what we want. Sometimes we are disappointed, but perhaps the gift we received is exactly what we need. The world was expecting a great and mighty king. What the world received was a child, born in a stable and his only well wishers were a bunch of dirty shepherds.

The story of Jesus’ birth takes place in Bethlehem, where Joseph and Mary returned to register. The event was much like our modern day census that is taken every ten years. One time a census taker knocked on the door at the Smith house. Little Becky, who was only five years old, answered the door. She told the census taker that her daddy wasn’t home. He was a doctor and he had to go to the hospital to perform an appendectomy. “My,” the census taker said, “That’s a big word for such a little girl. Do you know what it means?” “Sure!” Becky said, “Fifteen hundred bucks, and that doesn’t include the anesthesiologist.”

Children have a way of speaking truth to life. They are forever challenging our adult world. More importantly, their presence gives us hope. The story of Jesus’ birth is a story of hope. Christ was promised to a world in despair, a world in need of salvation and God delivered. What the world received was not a political, military or corporate leader, but a servant. Jesus came, as Mary his mother proclaimed, “To bring down the powerful from their thrones, to lift up the lowly and to fill the hungry with good things.” (Luke 1:52-53)

Some folks feel that the story of Jesus is overshadowed by the commercialism of Christmas. Santa Claus has taken center stage and he has become the symbol of Christmas. Santa Claus actually evolved from European immigrants in New York City in December of 1773. In Europe Santa Claus was known as St. Nicholas. He was widely known for his goodness, compassion and generosity. Unlike Jesus, St. Nicholas was born of wealthy parents but he used his entire inheritance to help the poor, the sick and the suffering. On three different occasions he gave bags of gold to poor little girls in need of dowries. By doing that he saved them from slavery. St. Nicholas was a servant who modeled his life after the life of Christ. As long as people continue to follow that pattern of unconditional love and live the life of a servant, there will always be hope.

The story of Jesus’ birth is also a story of hope because it reminds us that everyone is loved. The shepherds were a despised people and yet they were the first to hear the good news. God includes outsiders in His inner circle of love. Even those who are considered unworthy are included in the kingdom of God.

A few days before Christmas, four-year-old Mary got caught up in the excitement of the Christmas season. She often stared at the pile of presents that began to grow under the Christmas tree. Each day she would pick up a gift, examine it closely and shake it to try and guess what was inside. One evening as she picked up a box and a big red bow fell off. She picked up the bow and stuck it on top of her head. With a twinkle in her eyes and a big smile she turned around and said to her parents, “Look at me Mommy and Daddy, I’m a present!”

Our children are especially precious. Since God is able to love a bunch of smelly, poor shepherds, God is able to love anyone. Indeed, we are all presents in God’s eyes. This is a story of hope since God loves everyone, even the outcasts of society.

None of us can imagine being born in a stable. Our children are born in sterile, state-of-the-art birthing centers. We tend to forget the crude, imperfect conditions of the birthplace of Jesus. Mary and Joseph did not inhabit a Hallmark world. They lived a world filled with hardship, grief, crises and obstacles.

Dave Russell, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Ames Iowa tells the following story. “A pastor in East Tennessee named Dale told about the time he planned the perfect live nativity scene. He found a stable on a parishioner’s farm. He asked for people in the community who might share their animals, which would star in the nativity scene, and there were plenty of volunteers. Everything was staged just perfectly. The stable was just right. It was a beautiful, pastoral scene. He found a great Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and they had the costumes down perfectly, it looked quite authentic. The whole production looked fabulous and everything was ready for a fantastic live nativity.

But there was the issue of Reuben. Reuben was the donkey, and Reuben refused to cooperate. He made a lot of noise in the stable. Then the sheep kept getting loose and running out onto the highway. The ground had been wet and then had frozen, and on the big night, shepherds, angels, and wise men had all slipped and fell onto the frozen, muddy mess trying to corral the loose sheep. The angels’ costumes were no longer a dazzling white.

Reuben the donkey stood right in front of Mary and Joseph when the lights came on. He was so loud that no one could really hear the Christmas story as it was read over the P.A. system. Reuben would move away occasionally, only to reveal Mary and Joseph covering their noses with their robes.

After the show was over everything was torn down and Pastor Dale left that evening feeling defeated and dejected. He had wanted this living nativity to be perfect, just like the first Christmas. But then he remembered that Mary and Joseph shared the stable with real animals that made real noises and emitted real odors. They also had to deal with all the elements on the night of Jesus’ birth.” We have hope because we worship a God who can be found in the most foul, atrocious conditions.

Sometimes our lives are a mess. We hit rock bottom. We make mistakes and there are times when we fail. Sometimes we just plain stink. None of our Christmases are rarely picture perfect. That is because our lives are not picture-perfect, in fact, far from it. All of us face illnesses and disease and loss and grief. Many are stressed out and overwhelmed. Some are overworked, while others are unemployed. And, there are relationships that are struggling and in need of healing. We also sin and we are therefore in need of forgiveness.

Once, a young orphan girl, despondent and lonely, walked through a meadow and saw a small butterfly caught in a thorn bush. The more the butterfly struggled to free itself, the deeper the thorns cut into its fragile body. Filled with compassion, the girl released the butterfly. But, instead of flying away, the butterfly transformed into an angel. The angel said gently, “To reward you for your kindness, I will do whatever you would like.” The girl thought for a moment, then she replied, “I want to be happy.”

“Very well,” the angel said. Then the angel leaned close to the girl and whispered something in her ear. Many years later, as the orphan girl lay on her deathbed after a full and happy life, her friends gathered around her. “Please, tell us your secret now,” they pleaded. With a labored smile, the woman answered, “An angel told me that no matter where I went in life, I would find people who needed me, rich or poor, young or old, meek or self-assured. She told me that meeting their needs would bring me happiness.”

There is hope as long as people continue to be compassionate and give of themselves to others. More than ever we all need the healing grace of the new born king. We have hope because Jesus, Emmanuel has come. God is with us. As the angels said, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio