John 3:1-20 Getting Christmas Right Sermon preached Dec.

22, 2013 Opening Christmas pageants are great - even when things go wrong. Robert Fulghum tells about one such Christmas pageant. Trying to outdo previous years they decided to rent a live donkey for Mary to ride on. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The day of the pageant arrived. The congregation sang beautifully some Christmas carols and the angel choir, complete with haloes, got through their first big number "almost on key and in unison." The time came for the grand entrance of Joseph and Mary, with Mary riding on the donkey. Then it happened. The donkey made two hesitant steps into the sanctuary, took a look at the whole scene... and locked his legs. The donkey would not move and the entire procession came to a halt. Tugging on his halter had no effect. Neither did some wicked kicks administered by the Virgin Mary. Then the president of the trustees, seated in the front row and dressed in his Sunday best, rose to the rescue. The floor was polished cement. With another man pulling the donkey's halter, the president of the trustees crouched at the stern end of the donkey and pushed, slowly sliding the rigid beast across the floor, inch by stately inch. The choir director chose that moment to turn on a tape recorder, which blared forth a mighty chorus from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. This scared the donkey who began hee-hawing and bucking and jumping. By this time everyone was laughing. Organizers vowed never again to put on a Christmas pageant. The memory of the laughter outlives the memory of the hassle, Fulghum writes of the experience. And hope - hope always makes us believe that this time, this year, we will get it right.1 Getting Christmas right usually that means we vow, this year, were not going to let the season wear us out and instead of the season to be jolly, becomes the season of grim exaustion... means that we vow, this year, were not going to drive ourselves into nearbankruptcy buying presents; means we vow, this year, were not going to stuff our faces so much that we have to follow Christmas with a New Years resolution to lose 20 pounds. 1

But I suggest, to get Christmas right, we have to read and hear and take into our hearts and minds, this scripture reading. And its an odd scripture for a Christmas season sermon, maybe - no angels or shepherds or a pregnant Mary on a donkey traveling to Jerusalem, no baby Jesus in a manger. But I would argue this scripture, is what Christmas is all about, this scripture, is the heart of Christmas. Because its the story of what God gave us God is a giver And what did God give us? Gave his only son. Our gift giving at Christmas, derives from the very first Christmas gift - Gods gift of his son. Why did God give his son? Because, as John says, for God so loved the world. And this makes perfect sense. Loving leads to giving. When you love someone, you like getting them gifts. It brings you joy. And its so much fun - thinking of just the right gift and then going shopping for it - and especially when its a surprise - something you know the other person will just love but they dont even know its coming. For a milestone birthday that Susan had a few years back - I shall not share her age on that birthday - I went looking for a nice ring for Susan. We had received an unexpected financial blessing, Id never been able to buy her jewelry before so I go shopping and look in a lot of jewelry stores and in one, I find just the right ring and I wrap it up and give it to her and she was totally surprised, and just like in the commercials she puts her hand on her chest and gives a little gasp and I get a big hug and smooch. Loving leads to giving. And when you really love someone, the best gift you can give is yourself. Your time. Your attention. Your heart. And so what John tells us here makes perfect sense - for God so loved the world...that he gave his Son - his very substance. Love expresses itself, in the giving of self. God is a giver, says John Ortberg. And thats something a lot of people dont understand. They think, God is a taker...who demands worship and obedience...but those things, are responses to Gods generosity, to the gifts God gives. God, fundamentally, is a giver. And this shows us the difference between human religion, and God revealed in Jesus Christ. In human religion, the god or gods are always takers. The ancient Mesopotamian gods for example - in the creation stories from those 2

cultures, the gods created human beings to serve them, to be lackeys for them - to bring them offerings of food or whatever they needed - because they had needs. But by contrast, the story of creation in Genesis - there is not a hint of God creating out of need - as one of my professors put it, God is no more with the universe, and no less without it. Gods creation of the world and of human beings is a free gift - like God creates the universe and says to us - take care of it and enjoy it. And Gods giving - is continual. Every day. Every morning, God is saying, Did you like that sunrise yesterday? Here's another one. Here is food for your body. Here is air for your lungs. Here is beauty for your eyes. Here is music for your ears. Here is strength for your needs. Here are friends for your heart. Here is a purpose for your day. Here are thoughts for your mind. God is a giver...all day long, all the time. God giving his son And Gods supreme act of giving - was at Christmas - God giving his son - his very own being. Christmas, is not about God tossing some kind words our way - Christmas, is about God giving the deepest and most precious parts of himself. This year our children and grandchildren are giving us the best Christmas present they could possibly give us - theyre all going to be here for Christmas. That is a hassle for them - packing up their children and all the Christmas stuff, driving up here - but what a gift to us. The best gift, is someone giving themself.

Thats what God did in Jesus Christ at Christmas. What does God want in response to this gift? We start, by accepting the gift of Gods own self in Jesus Christ. You and I have to say yes to it too. You have to accept that you are so broken and needy that the Son of God would travel from heaven to earth to save you; and you have to accept that you are so loved, that the Son of God would travel from heaven to earth, to save you. And accepting love, can be hard. Few years back, the church I was serving decided to bless me by having the members write me notes and letters of love and appreciation and they surprised me one Sunday by giving me a gym bag filled with those letters. And I went home and read them over the next few days...wonderful notes and letters with messages of love, telling me how Id helped them and made a difference, telling me how much I was appreciated...and I had a really hard time with that. I kept feeling I wasnt worthy of this love...Im not good enough to deserve this. I put them aside for a while and then could only read them in small doses. A lot of people have decided along the way that they are not really loveable. And in so doing they keep other people who really do love them at arms length. Its ironic and counter-intuitive, but its people who really want to be loved the most, who are often most resistant to it. Because they dont think they deserve it. Well, you dont deserve Gods love, in the sense that you personally have earned it - but God loves you simply because love is the core of Gods being - and what God wants from you and me, is simply to take that love into us. Brennan Manning - Do I really believe the good news of Jesus Christ? Do I hear his word spoken to my heart: Shalom, be at peace. I understand your fears, your failures, your brokenness. I dont expect you to be perfect. I have been there. All is well. You have my love. You dont have to pay for it, and you cant deserve it. You only have to open and receive it. You only have to say yes to my love - a love beyond anything you can intellectualize or imagine. Example of our response Anne Lamotte wrote this great book titled Traveling Mercies about her awakening to faith. At one point in the book, she was addicted to alcohol and drugs, and just had had an abortion. The following passage is pretty rough, be prepared - but in it she describes something that happened to her that finally led her to faith:

(After my abortion) I stayed home, and smoked dope and got drunk, and tried to write a little, and went for slow walks along the salt marsh....On the seventh night, though, very drunk and just about to take a sleeping pill, I discovered I (had complications)...I thought I should call a doctor....but I was so disgusted that I had gotten so drunk one week after an abortion that I just couldnt wake someone up and ask for help....I got in bed, shaky and sad...I had a cigarette and turned off the light. After a while, as I lay there, I become aware of someone with me, hunkered down in the corner...the feeling was so strong that I actually turned on the light for a moment to make sure no one was there....But after a while, in the dark again, I knew beyond any doubt that it was Jesus. I felt him just sitting there on his haunches in the corner of my sleeping loft, watching me with patience and love...Finally, I fell asleep, and in the morning, he was gone.2 Meets us precisely at our lostness Say yes to him - and say yes in knowing that we are loved not at our best, but precisely at our worst. For God so loved the world, says John. What do you think of when you hear the word, world? Maybe the famous picture from Apollo 8 called earth-rise - a picture of the earth rising over the horizon of the moon. Maybe the smell of honeysuckle or the sight of fresh-fallen snow or a cheetah at full run - and the world is full of wonder and beauty. But the word world in John doesnt mean the beauty of the world - it means the world in all its lost, broken and idiotic rebellion against God. God so loved the world...of Auschwitz and Buchenwald and the killing fields of Cambodia. God so loved the world - where young girls and boys are trafficked into human slavery. God so loved the world - at its very worst. And like God comes to the world at its worst, he comes to us at our worst too - he comes to the worst neighborhoods in town, he comes to the worst parts of our hearts, to save us. What is worst and most broken in you? Is it:

Depression Scars from abuse that cripple you but you wont, cant tell anyone Hatreds that you feed and nurture to keep them alive... Addictions and behaviors you think youre hiding... Or something you did years ago that no one knows about and when the memory leaks out you slam that door shut fast, youre so horrified by what you were capable of Whatever is darkest and vile about you; whatever is broken, weak and flawed about you precisely there Jesus Christ meets you. And then giving of self to those around us So two things we need to do to get Christmas right. One, open our hearts, way down deep into the darkest recesses and let the gift of Gods love fill us up. And then the second thing...what if our hearts were so filled with the love of God - that it started to spill over? That love started to bubble up out of us like water from a spring? What would that look like in your life, in my life? Maybe your marriage has gone cold. What if you made it your mission to rekindle that love by doing something loving every day for your spouse? By looking for what is good and loveable in him or her? Maybe theres a crabby but lonely neighbor - I know its kind of a Christmas cliche - whom you invite over for Christmas eve, Christmas dinner? Maybe theres a broken relationship in your past - youre still angry but know you need to move towards forgiveness - what if this Christmas, you took the first step on that journey, maybe just write that person a card? Or maybe theres simply someone who wants more of you. Your time, your attention, your love. But youre always distracted - by work, by worries, by whatever. Maybe you just start paying attention, start listening. We can do this. If we open our hearts to the love of God in Jesus...we can do this. And if we do, we will really get Christmas right.

Closing Back during World War II, four young American soldiers who had been on the front lines of battle for some time, were sent back away from the fighting to a small French village for a little R & R. When they arrived safely in the village, they suddenly realized that it was Christmas Eve. They began to discuss how they would like to spend Christmas. One of the soldiers said, You know, as we were coming into town earlier today, I noticed an orphanage on the outskirts of the village. Why dont we go there in the morning and take some Christmas joy to those children? The others liked the idea and the more they talked about it, the more excited they became. So they went out and bought all kinds of toys and candy and clothing, food and books and games, and early the next morning, they showed up at the front door of the orphanage with wonderful Christmas presents for all the children. The orphanage director was pleased and all the children were delighted as they opened their gifts. All the children that is, except for one little girl who stood quietly off to the side. She appeared to be 5 or 6 years old and her face looked so very sad. One of the American soldiers noticed that she was not participating, and he asked the orphanage director about the little girl. O, bless her heart, said the director, We just got her last week. Both of her parents were killed in a car wreck. There was no one to take her in, so we brought her here. The soldier went over to the little girl and gently he said to her, Its Christmas morning and we have wonderful Christmas presents here: toys, clothes, candy, food, books, puzzles. Which would you like? What do you want most for Christmas? And the little girl said, I want somebody to hold me. Endnotes 1. Robert Fulghum, It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It, pp. 52-53. 2. Anne LaMott, Traveling Mercies, pp. 49-50. New York: Anchor Books, 1999.