I say Christmas, you say "Christ"mas ...

(By Erik)

On Christmas Eve (a couple of days ago) I gave the afternoon sermon at Tealridge, an assisted living facility next to the campus of Oklahoma Christian University. In case anyone's interested, here are my sermon notes. (I apologize for the broken sentences and bad syntax.)

Matthew 9:1-8 (New International Version)

1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."

3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. This is the day I always liked best as a kid. Couldn’t get to sleep the night before Christmas, would wake up at 4 a.m.

I was actually relieved when I came to an understanding about the truth behind Santa Claus — that my parents played a bigger role in his existence than they had first let on. (I have to be careful how I phrase that in case there are any young readers out there.)

I had always been bothered by the concept that a guy in a red suit from the North Pole was in charge of my Christmas order. I was afraid that somehow he’d mess it up. Knowing my parents were in charge of the situation was quite comforting.

I knew I was getting older when I started looking forward to Christmas dinner more than Christmas presents.

I grew up in a church that wasn’t comfortable with the notion of Christmas as a religious holiday. That was seen as the stance of the “denominational” world and we didn’t want to single out the birth of Christ as something to be celebrated once per year. Some members of the church I grew up in wouldn’t even say the word “Christmas.” Our church hosted “holiday parties.”

At the time — the late 70s and early 80s — there was a movement in America to “secularize” Christmas, to limit references to Christ in public displays and school performances. And members of my church found themselves in the awkward position of supporting the secular elements of our society — who didn’t see Christ as important.

Today we’ve moved almost 180 degrees from that standpoint. There’s a large effort throughout the country to put Christ back in Christmas. It’s a kind of backlash to what we saw up until the late 1990s, I think. Anyone who tries to secularize the holiday is pounced upon by angry masses of Christians. Sometimes I’m afraid we Christians come across as being intolerant of anyone who doesn’t believe as we do. I’ve even heard a few people this year who are taking to calling it “Christ”mas.

What would Jesus say about all of this? I imagine he’d tell us that the manner and date of his birth aren’t nearly as important as the manner of his death, burial and resurrection. Instead of debating about whether or not to celebrate his birthday on Dec. 25, Jesus tells us to remember his sacrifice regardless of the date. That’s what we just did with the Lord’s Supper.

When believers get wrapped up in debates — debates about anything — we miss the point of Christ’s message. The older I get, the more I’m convinced that the central message of Jesus teaching is “you’re missing the point.” In fact, that seems to be a recurring theme throughout the entire New Testament. Look as the epistles written after Christ’s resurrection and you’ll see the apostles addressing a number of problems in the young churches. Always their message is the same — “you’re missing the point. Concentrate on the things that matter.”

When Jesus heals the paralytic in Matthew 9, what does he say first? “Take heart, son. Your sins are forgiven.” How would the paralytic young man react? “Well, thanks, but I’m here because I can’t walk.” And what’s the reaction of the teachers of the law? “This fellow is blaspheming!” No man has the authority to forgive sins? Only God can do that.”

But who was Jesus? Jesus was God. Remember the words of the first chapter of John:

John 1:1-2 (NIV)

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.

John 1:14 (NIV)

14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,[d] who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

And how does this man — this Word who put on flesh, the son of God — how does he respond to the religious teachers? “Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk?'” What’s more important — forgiving sins or healing infirmity? If you think it’s more important that this young man walks, you’re missing the point.

He teaches us a similar lesson as he calms the waters of a terrible storm. Look at Mark 4:36-41

Mark 4:36-41 (King James Version)

36And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

What is Jesus telling his disciples? You’re missing the point. You’re focusing on the wind and the waves and forgetting that the “master of ocean and earth and sky” is right here in the boat with you. Focus on what’s important. The storms of this life will pass — and I won’t let you drown.

It’s so hard to focus on Jesus — on what’s important — when there’s so much grief and pain in the world. Our nation is at war, and a lot of our soldiers in the Middle East will be spending Christmas away from their families. We’re even talking about sending more troops overseas, and it seems that we’re facing war without end.

The Bible class my wife and I attend at Memorial Road is called the Just Starting Out class. It’s a class for young married couples and in recent years it’s been the congregational baby factory. One of these couples is foremost on our hearts today because their baby — a 6-month-old girl — is in the pediatric intensive care unit downtown at the University of Oklahoma hospital. The baby started having seizures about two weeks ago and hasn’t stopped. It’s been an especially intense experience for me because my wife, Jeanie, is one of the doctors treating this child. Right now that’s where she is. The baby’s family and my wife are going to spend Christmas Day in the hospital.

Sometimes I think we squabble about Christmas, or “Christ”mas, as a way of drowning out the real problems that we have in this life. We focus on minute details because we have real suffering, real pain that we’re trying to block out. But Jesus reassures us that he is the master of all, and most importantly that there is a life after this.

And what happened in that manger more than 2,000 years ago grants all of us eternal life. It’s so hard to focus on that through all the “noise of life,” but sometimes we find that sorrow and war are the very things that help us focus on what is important.

I want close by reading you a short piece written by Steve Valentine. Recently we did a story for The Christian Chronicle titled “Worship in a war zone.” We asked soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell us what it’s like to attend church services in the military. We discovered that there are at least six Churches of Christ meeting in the Baghdad area.

Sgt. Valentine, an Army reservist, served for 15 months in Iraq and worshipped with a church in Taji, a city about 20 miles from Baghdad in the volatile Sunni Triangle you’ve probably heard about on the news. He wrote the following account:

(Read Sgt. Valentine's account here — it's worth clicking on this link promise!)

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.