Given To Us On Christmas
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 [ESV]
You know we see those plaques and bumper stickers that say things like: “Jesus, the reason for the season”…
Okay, but should there also be those then that say: “Luther, the reason for the season” for Reformation…?
Or…“Washington and Lincoln: the reason for the season”…in February, I mean…why is it that all those car and furniture retailers have their big sales…and there is a day off from school…?
Why is Jesus the reason for this season?
The retail industry for cars and furniture have given us a new reason…if you are in the market for a new car…or a lazy-a-boy recliner….that is…
Then too, it’s for our kids and teachers to have a day off…which actually is closer to the original reason for that time in February…
To remember and give honor to two great presidents.
But why is Jesus the reason for this season? There are a lot of other reasons today for Christmastide…other than the original reason.
In our text, the angel tells us why plainly: 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Washington helped save this land from the tyrany of the British…and Lincoln had a hand in abolishing slavery.
What did Jesus do?
Having a free country and no slaves is a good thing that lasts…we enjoy them today.
But what did Jesus do?
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Did He? Do we need that? Can we enjoy that today?
Better question is, do YOU need that today? Can you have that gift of Christmas today?
The world has already replaced some of those original holidays with something else.
Washington who?—Wasn’t he third pick for the Chargers in 2002?
Oh, and Lincoln…yeah, that rock band, Linkin Park…or a place in Chicago… right?
Really? They get to have a national holiday…cool!
Well, why not?
Do we really remember the why? Do we care? Do we think about why…I mean really spend the time to honor these whom we can thank for a day off…for a reason to celebrate…to eat and be merry…
For getting a deal on a new truck…?
So… what is your reason for this season?
What is that old saying? If you don’t learn from history, you are doomed to repeat it.
At least for that reason alone, learn your lessons from those who went before us…who fought and worked and sacrificed so that we can enjoy these things…
The Bible says to give honor where honor is due.
But is that all there is in a Holiday…a Holy day…just a day of remembrance?
Yet, even so, we do…and for good reason…yes, we get to experience the benefits and result of what these great men have done. That’s America. That is why I had to learn the Gettysburg Address by heart in fifth grade.
That is why we should. So, we don’t forget…
…so we act in a way that encompassess that respect that helps continue what they have done for us… that keeps it alive in us, so we don’t have to repeat what they helped abolish… to have to pay again… with blood…
What has already been paid for in full!
But is that why we are to memorize the Catechism…and the Bible?
For memory alone…remembrance…and to continue the work of the Baby Jesus?
Yes…and no. It is not like WE can…do a whole lot…but repeat the history…in Words and in practice…
Unfortunately!
Anyway, it is true that what was done by Washington and Lincoln has far reaching effects for us today. Yet this is only for this country and for this time. It is only good for us personally until we die.
Plus, you don’t get punished if you reject Lincoln’s ideas…or if you had not voted for him.
You are free not to…to not to even vote at all.
Yet not so with Jesus Christ born on Christmas day.
He says that you are either for Him or against. There is no middle ground. No abstaining. By not voting, you have cast it against Christ.
Even so with our without you or me “… he will save his people from their sins.”
The eternal God is here—creator of not just the Jewish people. There is nowhere else, on earth, to go.
Are you His people or not? And no, He is not talking about just the Jewish people.
And He is not talking about a one-time deal—a short human life span of 70 years or so.
His people span from Adam and Eve…Able…Noah, Moses…Abraham…David…John…Peter…Augustine …Luther… Washington, Lincoln, and you and me.
So, is He your reason for this season? Are you one of His in whom He has saved from sin—your own personal and real…ugly and true… damnable sin?
Did He take away your sins? Do you want Him to? He has anyway…
Does His life and work—His death and resurrection—effect you this day? Your Life these days?
Can your guilt be taken…can you enjoy forgiveness today as we enjoy the freedoms because of the great men of America? Or must we eventaully replace it with all those other things vying…competing… for that slot on the calendar…or in your life?
Have the effects of Jesus been all used up and no longer matter in this post-Christian…this post-church age we live in?
Joshua said, “Choose this day whom you shall serve. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.”
God did not become human in the person of Jesus Christ just so that we can have a day off…or give a reason for our parents and loved ones to buy us stuff…
He didn’t do all that just so someone would remember Him…for just some brief reflection in a speech to say: “please take this moment to remember our honored dead…a great example to us all…”
No, He came to rescure us from forever replacing—or placing something else—in that spot in our lives where He belongs…
No—it is even more than that—He came to place us in His life…as He wants us completely—every bit of every one of us.
To carry us home….
No, there is no “God is my co-pilot” stuff—He drives all the way, or we end up in the ditch dead.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Your sins. Mine. The hidden ones. The pet ones. The addictions. Yes, each one causes us to crash and burn.
But them all? It requires… well it has to be Divine intervention time!
Rescue. And effective right now.
Sins taken away today…and then again tomorrow…and up until your last breath.
Jesus calls out to us, “Repent, for yes, the kingdom of God has come”…a baby named Jesus of Nazareth. The King of Kings. And where the King is (and He is King of everything, whether you vote for Him or not—it is not a democracy, but…a Monarchy)…where the King is, there is His Kingdom.
So, what is your reason for this season? There is only and ever will be just one.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
We are here tonight not to just honor Jesus, but to get presents from Him.
He is here giving. Huge and the most expensive kind. Life. Liberty. And a true happiness only found in Him.
We don’t even have to pursue it. He pursues us. Yes, we are poor beggars in need. We have nothing to give Him.
What do you give the man who has everything—literally everything…?
Our lives are even His, even if we refuse His gift…
But even so…He is here now to give…
Even if we are not His people yet…even if only we have our sins—He will take them…well, in fact, He already Has…as that is why He came…
He had come… that many years ago…to make us His. He is here tonight to make you His. He is here to tell you He has forgiven you all your sins.
This is why the Angels rejoiced and sang. This is why the shepherds left their flocks to go and tell such news…such GREAT news…the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the God-man… born of a virgin…
…This is Who has come to bring peace and goodwill towards men…by forgiving them…you… all your sins…
And this is the only reason for any season in the church…for us…for He Has saved us from our sins.
Amen.
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