Luke 2:8-14
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
No matter how we try and disguise it, Christmas is about giving and getting gifts. Perhaps it shouldn’t be, but Christmas is about presents under the tree. Now there is biblical precedence for the practice. Remember the wise men brought gifts to baby Jesus. So I guess there is some relevance, but let’s face it, we’ve taken that paradigm and have blown it completely out of proportion. So when I thought about what to ask the Lord for this Christmas, I made what I believed was the most humble and respectful request possible. I told the Lord, “All I want for Christmas is you.” That sounds fairly safe right? Wrong. As soon as I framed the words in my mind, I heard what I understood to be a loud sarcastic reply, “Is that all?” Immediately I wished I had phrased the sentence differently.
There’s an old saying, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’. That is to say, when we know a person intimately, there tends to be a loss of reverence and respect as time goes on. I actually think that may be the case with some of us Christians. After serving Jesus for a while we get to know him as a friend. He is our guiding Spirit and closest associate. He speaks to us and comforts us in the middle of our toughest storms. Who else would do that be a trusted ally and friend? But truth is, we should never forget that while Jesus is our friend, he is also the embodiment of the Eternal God and Father.
Though God reduced himself to be perceptible to humankind, he never emptied himself of his power and dominion. The Christ that came to save the world, is one with the Eternal Father and God that created the world and all that dwells within it. He drafted the universe, spoke moons and stars into existence, created humanity and every living thing. That’s God. And that’s the essence of the baby in the manger in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus and God being one. No less friend because he is our God; and no less God because he is our friend. So my ask (though an attempt at humility) was my ask way over the top. Asking for God in totality would be an impossible gift. I could neither contain or maintain his total presence. God is beyond containment.
So I needed to rephrase my initial statement. What I actually want for Christmas is to have the presence of Christ in my life in a more tangible way than I’ve experienced before. Now that’s doable.
Time and time again the Lord Jesus made known his desire that his people deeply love each other. He challenged Peter with the words, ‘if you love me, feed my sheep’. He instructed his disciples to love one another as he did his father in heaven. The central theme surrounding the life mission of the man named Jesus is love.
So I’ll rephrase and refocus this morning. My desire for Christmas is for each one of you. I pray that you are filled with his Spirit. I pray you are anointed, delivered, free, blessed, empowered, healthy, holy, strong, saved and sanctified. My hope for you is that the Lord elevates you to heights unknown.
This is one Christmas I’m not going to forget what mission of Christmas all about. He came to set the captives free, to mend the broken-hearted and t preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
In closing, I do sincerely thank and pray for each and every one of you that have taken the time to fellowship, pray, praise and worship with us this past year. I don’t know how we did it, but all I can say is praise the Lord. And...
All I Want For Christmas is you.
