I looked back at several of my old Christmas sermons, and it seems I started the same way every year. I still have this sentiment, even in retirement. Many sermons I’ve listened to, and books I’ve read keep me going down the same path year after year. It starts with sentiments like, “This year, I’m going to focus my attention on the real meaning of Christmas.” OK, that’s a great sentiment, but I’ve done that just about every year in one way or another. It’s surely got to feel like a “been there, done that” experience for people around me. I apologize to the readers. Here we go again! As Luke tells us, Christmas is about Immanuel. God is with us. The response of the angels to Christmas, as the King James Bible tells us, was “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Most modern translations, like the ESV, translate this passage as “peace on earth, goodwill towards those with whom God is pleased.” Recognizing that Hebrews teaches us that only “faith” pleases God. Christmas is a great celebration for all who believe!
I like what J. L. Wilson wrote about this. He says, “It might be impossible to get to the real meaning of Christmas because we always have Christmas during the Christmas season. Don’t get me wrong; Christmas is a wonderful time of year. The main complaint I have about Christmas is that I’m always too busy with the Christmas season to enjoy Christmas. Whether it is activity at the church or family responsibilities, something usually keeps me busy. I look for Christ at Christmas, but the tree, wrappings, and lights block my view.” He goes on to talk about how he decided to have it in August instead of waiting for the regular season. I like the idea promoted by the Washington County Minister’s Association of “Christmas in July.” Every year, they do something in the summer to celebrate faith instead of just celebrating it in December. Well, that’s a great idea, but it doesn’t touch the mandated activity of schools, businesses, stores, and entertainment that will crown into the Christmas season anyway. Celebrating Christmas other than at Christmas is a bit unrealistic for most of us, so we have to follow the crowds, the school schedules, and the work routines, and all do the best we can not to lose the true meaning of Christmas in the mad rush of the season.
In the excellent little collection of his favorite illustrations, Hershel Hobbs says, “Christmas is more than tinsel and toys, trees and toddies, gifts and greetings. It is not merely a word of goodwill lightly spoken and soon forgotten in the raucous cries of conflict. Christmas is a message of peace on earth among men who are pleasing to God. It is Immanuel, God with us. It is God bending low to lift men up out of the sin and mire of a world which has forgotten God and His will for lost men. It is God in a cradle, the Eternal in a tender baby’s flesh and form. But Christmas does not stop in Bethlehem. It reaches beyond to Calvary, to the empty tomb, and to the throne where the Savior sits, waiting for His enemies to become his footstool. It is the good news of salvation to all men who will receive it. As the shepherds came to the manger, saw the Christ child, and went forth to tell the glad tidings; as the Wise Men came from afar to worship and give gifts to him, so should the faithful today bow before Him in worship, praise, and consecration; and then go forth to declare the gospel to a lost world. That is what Christmas is all about!”