Appreciate God’s Christmas Gift

Dear Christian Friends,

Over the past couple of hours families have gathered together at their homes for the much-cherished Christmas celebration.  In its special place there was likely a Christmas tree all decorated with lights and ornaments that have been gathered over the years.  Looking at the beautiful tree says, “It was all worth it to add to the beauty of the scene.   Above the fireplace, end table or on top of the piano is the manger scene.  The Nativity Scene tells the story of the first Christmas celebrated on earth—Baby Jesus with Mary and Joseph, the shepherd & animals, wise men and camels, and an angel looking down with glory and peace.  Then under the tree are all the beautifully wrapped packages with color paper, ribbons and bows and all sorts of sizes.  You can’t help but think how beautiful all those gifts look under the tree and it almost seems a shame to open all the presents because it all makes such a beautiful picture.  But, then it happened.  The packages were opened to the delight of everyone in the room.  I would imagine this scene took place in practically every home last night or early this morning.

However, for all of you who are here on Christmas Day we all recognize another Christmas Gift.  To you this gift is priceless and so precious.  You recognize the perfect gift that has come down from the Father of heavenly lights.  It is the gift that brings happiness, peace and joy today and every day.  It is the gift that St. Paul is talking about to the Church in Corinth when he says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” Today we join Christians throughout the ages to visit Bethlehem with a great appreciation for this wonderful, divine blessing.  On this Christmas Day may the Holy Spirit led us to

Appreciate God’s Christmas Gift!

Admiring the Wrapping

It is our custom to wrap a gift for someone we love with care before we present the gift to the person.  The wrapping causes wonder and anticipation for what’s on the inside.  There would be something lacking if the gifts under the tree were simple placed there without any wrapping.  God also presents all people with a beautiful, attractive and carefully wrapped Christmas Gift.

The story begins with Mary and Joseph living in Nazareth.  History would not have even noticed this engaged couple due to their common appearance.  Joseph a carpenter and Mary a young virgin waiting for the day of their marriage.  There was nothing special about their journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem that stands out.  It would have been a long and difficult journey for them to make in order to return to the home of the ancestor King David.  We can well imagine Mary wasn’t the only expecting mother on this journey expecting her first child.  We get a sense of the difficulty when upon arriving at overcrowded Bethlehem they found themselves with the difficult task of finding a place to stay.  When I think about that inn-keeper I think about a businessman.  No doubt there were the Roman officials, along with the wealthy, staying in the best rooms.  It is easy to picture Mary and Joseph canvassing the entire village trying to find a place to stay.  No matter where they knocked on doors they were met with the sad news, “There is no room for you in the inn.” There was no room.  And do you suppose the contractions were beginning?  Their lives were being wrapped in disaster!  But, then we are almost relieved to hear the news that the innkeeper offered for the couple to make use of the stable.  You can see the humble wrapping, the quiet night except for the lowing of sheep and cattle.  In these surroundings Mary’s child was born.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and quietly laid him in the manger.   Admire the Wrappings and understand their purpose!

This is the Christmas Story!  In our time there have been so many movies filmed, so many songs written. Think of all the people who have heard this story over the years and have been so moved by it.  How many other famous kings and religious leader have been born over the years, yet can you tell me the story of how any of those people were born?  Why?  I think it is because of the wrapping selected by God for his gift to all people.  God arranged these surroundings and circumstances exactly in this way to make certain people would never forget this event.  We also know that God’s purpose was to cause such wonder and amazement in the minds of people that they would look to unwrap this story to discover the Real Gift from heaven inside.  It is not all about Mary and Joseph, the innkeeper, the stable, the shepherds or the wise men.  It is all about the Child!  And just like so many Christmas gifts come with instructions, so the Christmas Gift from heaven came with a Bible full of instructions.  It says, “Come close to the manger and while looking inside hear the beautiful words of St Paul, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9).   Kneel beside the manger and Admire the Wrappings to truly Appreciate God’s Christmas Gift to you. When you stop to Admire the Wrappings, then you will also be

Amazed By the Gift

There are so many heaven questions I have for Mary and Joseph.  Up to this point the only people recorded in the Scriptures to have known who was born in Bethlehem was Mary (the angel Gabriel had told her), Joseph (also informed by Gabriel) and Zachariah and Elizabeth (and John the Baptist in her tummy).  Did Mary and Joseph remember what the angel told them the night Jesus was born?  You remember, don’t you?

“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Luke 1:31-33

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:20-21

Parents are amazed when their children are born and about all they know about their newborn child is if it’s a boy or a girl.  Mary and Joseph had their child and unwrapped this gift from God knowing exactly who he was!  This was God who took on human flesh!   This child was born to save all people from their sins!  Without a doubt Mary and Joseph were filled with appreciation as they held the amazing Gift of God’s own dear Son in their arms!

You also look at the manger through the eyes and faith and see much more than a cute baby and an amazing story.  You see the fulfillment of Isaiah 9! “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Think about it.  God was not satisfied to unwrap this amazing gift from heaven to Mary and Joseph.  Out on the hillsides around Bethlehem were the shepherds watching over their flocks that night.  There are some discoveries about these shepherds.  Evidently these shepherds were responsible for watching over the sheep that were often used for sacrifices at the temple.  Doesn’t that make you wonder how many times they remembered King David’s Psalm 23?  “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”  These men were chosen by God to be the first ones to learn about the birth of the Savior.  I love imagining the angels in heaven around God’s throne after Jesus was born and God saying, “Who wants to go and share this news with some shepherds?” and watch the angels climbing over each other to get the privilege to say,

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:10-12

Then the shepherds arrive at the manger to kneel at the Amazing Gift of their very own Good Shepherd.

What Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men experienced, we get to enjoy as well.  St Paul says, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  Is it indescribable because you can’t retell the story?  No.  Is it indescribably because it is too amazing to understand?  No.  It is indescribable because of what you know.  You can look past the wrapping of the Christmas Story and be amazed by the Gift of God’s own Son because you know the most amazing part of it all.  This Jesus is true God and True Man.  You know why Jesus had to be true man.  He needed to be true Man in order to do what you can’t do.  God demands that you love and honor God above all things—but we fail every day.  God commands that we use his name to honor, serve and obey him, not to curse, swear or use his name carelessly.  God insists that we take time to gather around his Word and sacraments regularly to have our soul and faith fed, but empty pews or people sitting in pews but disengaged from worship tell the story.  God demands perfection—that means no more excuses, no more cheating, no more abusing God’s blessings with sinful addictions.  No more excuses!  God demands perfection!  Now, look into the manger and tell me what you see!!!!  You see perfection wrapped in human flesh.  You see your perfect Substitute that kept God’s demands perfectly in your place.  But, look again, for what you see is also True God.  This is our Almighty God from all eternity to all eternity, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent who took on human flesh in order to have blood powerful enough to pay for the sins of the whole world. God came down from heaven, moved only by his love to poor and lost sinners.  He came to put an end to all our sorrows, all our hurts, our battle against Satan and free us from the power of death and hell.  That is the gift that is lying in the manger.  This is his underserved love in action for sinners.  Jesus, your Savior, is born!  Amazing!  Thrilling!  And so comforting.

This is why Paul exclaims, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  This is more than just saying, “Thank you.”  To St Paul it meant that he would use the Gift of God, Jesus, and serve him faithfully. Let’s see if I can make this easy to understand.  Let’s say one of the kids received a bicycle for Christmas.  They can say, “Thank you,” over and over again, but you know how thankful they are by the way they take care of their bike, how they ride their bike, and how they are willing to ride to the store to do an errand for you.  We can also give thanks to God for his indescribably Gift by how we use it!  It is more than just being here for Christmas Day service and singing hymns.  We give thanks properly when we display the Gift of the Savior to others, when we pray to him in every need, and like the shepherds, we are compelled to tell others the good news that Jesus Our Savior Is Born.

I’m sure your families have enjoyed time together over the past few hours gathered around your Christmas decorations and unwrapping those gifts.  But, we are here to proclaim, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” The greatest gift, the indescribable gift in the manger, is God’s grace in the flesh.  To everyone’s delight here this morning, you know this is Jesus Christ our Savior.  Let’s not leave this gift under the Christmas Tree wrapped, but eagerly share this amazing gift with the world, our friends, relatives, acquaintances and neighbors.  Let them experience a blessed Christmas so they can declare with us, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”  Amen!