December 25, 2011 (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas: A Sunrise Christmas!

***The following is a draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on December 25th, 2011***

Merry Christmas Sunrise! You know, I cannot think of a better place to be on a Christmas morning than here in God's house...Amen?! There is something special about being in church, spending a few moments celebrating the birth of our LORD and Saviour with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas morning so far. I know for many of you, the morning began much earlier than it usually does on a Sunday morning. What time did you get up? [Allow response]

In spite of the being up earlier than we may have liked, today is a special Christmas because we are here. It is not that often that we have the opportunity to combine our celebration of Christ birth and resurrection. Not only that, we also are able to witness the secular understanding of Christmas and our spiritual understanding. There is a difference.

Did you know that the way we normally celebrate Christmas is a relatively new concept? It has only been within the last two centuries that people have celebrated Christmas with the exchanging of presents and all of the other festivities.

Many of our early American ancestors actually loathed the idea of celebrating Christmas. It wasn't Christ's birth that they had a problem with, but instead it was all the revelry and feasting. They saw it as improper.

Yet, legend has it that in 1822, an Episcopal Bishop from Greenwich Village in New York City bought a large turkey to give to the needy on Christmas Eve. On his way to deliver the bird, he was inspired by his large, bearded Dutch sleigh driver. That night, he took his experience of the day and his knowledge of a godly man of the 4th century and penned these words:

'Twas the night before Christmas andall through the house; not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

Of course we know the author to be Clement Moore and his poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" which we know of today as, "The Night Before Christmas." What you may not know is that Moore did not intend the poem to be published. Yet somehow, it became widely known by Christmas 1823.

It was that poem that gave rise to who?

[Allow response]

Right! Santa Claus - the portly philanthropist of the North Pole who visits all the children of the world in the wee hours of Christmas morning, bringing toys and joy to them all. And that my friends, we experienced earlier in our homes.

But, as I said, this morning is special, because we are here in church, participating in a great celebration of the birth and resurrection of Jesus. This is a tradition that the church has carried out for almost two thousand years. As we look at the word itself:

Christmas, we see that it is actually a contraction of two words

Christ+Mass = the Mass of Christ (celebration of the Eucharist and Jesus birth.)

In each of these understandings though, there is a common thread that runs through. That is the giving of a gift. Of course we understand the exchange of Christmas presents with our loved ones and friends, but while we know this next part, somehow we tend to not appreciate enough that God has given us presents too. So, on the Christmas Sunday, we are going to look, just for a few moments at two of these gifts.

Now some may say, "Why would God want to give me anything?" If we are honest with ourselves, we probably would think that from time-to-time. Think hard about this for a moment. Have you ever looked at yourself and not been happy with what you saw? Not physically, but the real you? Sometimes, when we honestly look at ourselves, we aren't too happy with what we see. We stare at ourselves and the reflection reveals - a person who:

- often let's his/her selfish wants come before the needs of others

- neglects to tell their spouse, children, parents, siblings, ... how much they are loved

- seeks to take the easy way out of a difficult situation rather than the right way

- forgets to give thanks to God who brought him/her through hard times

- lies and steals to feed selfish desires

- relies more upon his/her own intellect and ingenuity than upon God

- is broken by sin

- separated from God

-...the list goes on...

It can cause us to wonder, "Why would God even want to give me anything?" Yet, God does. Because God sees something that we often miss

[Video clip from A Charlie Brown Christmas - Charlie Brown and Linus look for a Christmas tree and Charlie Brown picks the scrawny little tree]

So, here is the first gift:

God Values You

Think about that for a moment - God Values You! In spite of everything we do to mess up and to be most unlovable - God loves us and values us all the same! That is an awesome gift! But friends, it is a gift that is much greater than any understanding of love that we can imagine. Here is the extent of that gift of love:

John 3:16

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

You are loved so much that God was willing to send Jesus, the Son of God, to die in our place so that we would never be separated from God again. That's the first gift.

Here's the second great gift from God:

John 1:12-13a

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

This second gift is that you are not alone! You have a family....God's Family...the Church!

Now some may not see the church quite as a gift, but in it's purest form...how can it be anything but a gift from God?

[Video clip from A Charlie Brown Christmas - the gang fixing up the tree]

God's first gift is loving even a messed up person like you and me and saving us from our hell-bent desire of self-destruction. Then God gives us the second gift - family who loves us and helps to bring out the beauty that God sees in us. Brothers and sisters, those aren't gifts that you can buy from Wal-Mart, Belk's, Macy's, or Saks. Yet, they are gifts that are freely given to you by a God who knows you the best and loves you the most.

[Communion]

December 18, 2011 (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas: The Peace of Christmas

***The following is a rough draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on Dec. 18, 2011***

Good morning Sunrise! We are rapidly approaching that point of time when, ready or not, Christmas is here. That's what this season of Advent helps us to understand. Most people think that Advent is a season of preparation because Christmas is coming, but in reality, it means it is upon us, it is at hand, and for all of our pretenses today, it is next week! Are you ready?!

As some of the last minute and final touches that we are putting on our spiritual and theological understanding of Christmas, we are finishing up a Advent series called, (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas, in which we look at some clips form the classic Christmas movies that most of us will sit down and watch at some point during this holiday season. In most of these films, if you look, it's not too hard to take from them a bit of the gospel truth.

It is amazing to me how many people will envision what they consider a perfect Christmas. They tend to daydream that they can live out scenes from Norman Rockwell's illustrations, but there is a problem with that though - it involves other people, other messed-up, opinionated people.

(Video Clip from Christmas Vacation shown - inlaws arrive)

Yet, year after year, idealists from all walks of life still dream and strive for that Christmas to be the best, the most memorable Christmas. But you know what? You don't have to be an idealist or to have your heads in the clouds to want to have a meaningful Christmas. I truly believe that most people do. That's why each year, most of us worry about how we are going to get to Bethlehem this year. Most pastors will fret over what methods and means will we employ to make fresh a story that most know well, albeit distorted for some. But this is not a problem that only pastors face. Anyone who yearns to deepen their faith in Jesus will ask in some fashion, "How are we going to once again encounter that moment where God broke forth and broke out to be known as, Immanuel, God with us?"

The problem is that for whatever reason, many will tend to emphasize the decorations of Christmas rather than the baby. Many folks will point to the movies, the Christmas functions, the parties, the presents, and while not forgetting, will basically ignore Jesus. Think about many of the songs that are played on the 24-hour Christmas music stations.

My all-time least favorite Christmas song is Last Christmas. You know the one I'm referring to? If you aren't familiar with this song, I'm sorry, but I don't believe I can stomach any more of it. You may ask why I loathe this song so much, to which I reply, Really? No, I think I probably have vested upon it all of my frustrations with the world missing the point of Christmas. I mean think about it, you could change in the song the word "Christmas" to any other day and it would not change the intent of the song.
Last Friday, I gave you my heart.... Last Groundhog's Day, I gave you my heart...

So, this morning, I want us to take just a moment to look beyond all of that to the crux of Christmas. We'll find it in the Gospel According to Luke, chapter 2:8-14

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
[Prayer]

Luke probably has the most well-known birth narrative of Jesus. When churches present their Christmas pageants or nativity scenes, they usually base them mostly on Luke's rendition. It is filled with images that we hold near and dear: Mary, Joseph, the newborn baby lying in a manger, angels, and shepherds (no wise men though - that's Matthew's version). When you think of Jesus birth, you can thank Luke for giving us the images of which we envision. Although this story of the shepherds evokes a positive pastoral image for those of us who read and hear the story today, in the first century it caused quite a shock.

No, it wasn't the scandal of the unwed mother, virgin or not. It wasn't the angels proclaiming the birth of a new king. The shock simply came about because of the shepherds. Shepherds were considered to lowly, shiftless, and dishonest people who grazed their flocks on other people's land. These were not people that any good Christian man, woman, or child would associate with. Yet, it was to this group of people that the birth of Jesus is announced.

I think that's why I love Luke for including this scene in his gospel, because it dramatically revels God's intention with Jesus. It underscores that Jesus is for everyone - not just for the rich and powerful, nor just for the poor and outcasts. How easy would it have been for the upright religious people to say that Jesus came just for them. Then again, the outcasts could have exclaimed that God only cares for them because Jesus was born in humble conditions and the first to come to worship were shepherds. But he familiarity of theses words should not prevent us from overhearing that, first and foremost, the birth of Jesus is a sign of God's abundant grace. That sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? A God who loves the poor and the rich, the powerful and the despised, the faithful and the wretched...Maybe, just maybe, that could be the source of some of the wonder and mystery that the world embraces during the season.

(Video Clip from Christmas Vacation is shown - supper scene when Clark announces Santa's sleigh has been spotted)

You have to love Eddie's response there, "You serious, Clark?" Could fantastic tales of Christmas be true? Familiar as it may seem, for the most part, Christmas often seems to be just a bit more than a fairy tale, a wonderful story that provides us with a brief escape from the chaotic world we live in and face day after day.

The world of two millennia ago, in which we read about, progressed each day under the guidance and auspices of Caesar Augustus, who was hailed as the great bringer of peace. But on a night when the world was not expecting anything special or out of the ordinary, real peace, God's peace was birthed to a transient family, in the small and trifling town of Bethlehem. The Peace of which we embrace today is knowing that God has not forgotten anyone. God has not abandoned us to the brokenness we have created. That's the Peace of Christmas.

December 11, 2011 (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas - The Joy of Christmas

*** The following is a draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on December 11, 2012)***

Good morning Sunrise! Here we are, just two short weeks until Christmas Day. Can you believe that?! Man, when I was young, it seemed like it took forever to get from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but today, it's just two paychecks.

One of the ways that we are using this short time period of Advent here at Sunrise is in a series of messages called (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas. In it, we are looking at some video clips from some of the Christmas movies that you are bound to see over the next couple of weeks and finding some of the biblical truths that they hold.

Before we get to that though, I want to share some interesting pieces of trivia about Christmas that I came across over the last few days. But in this season of festivities, let's make a bit of a game of it.

True or False:

- Scientists have diagnosed the cause of Rudolf's red nose - True (Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph's red nose may be the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.)

- Christmas was the first national holiday established. - False (Congress actually was in session on 12/25/1789. Didn't become an official national holiday until 1870)

- Black Friday is the busiest shopping day of the year - False (Friday and Saturday before Christmas are)

- The abbreviation 'Xmas' was created by a group of atheists who wanted to take Christ out of Christmas - False

- Two weeks before Christmas is most popular time for couples to break up - True (Xmas day is the least popular though)

- Highest suicide rates occur around Christmas - False

Some of these facts came as a surprise to me. Back when I was a paramedic, we were taught that Christmas that, nationally, the suicide rate soared at Christmas. But now I found out that that statistic has no basis whatsoever. This study conducted recently by NYU actually conluded that if anything, the suicide rate drops slightly during the Christmas holiday season.

So, if this study is true, then why would we continually believe otherwise? It is probably because of another statistic, a true one, associated with Christmas

- Christmas season is the most stressful time of the year

- Financial - 60% of American report yearly that spent considerably more on Christmas shopping than they had planned or saved for

- Time - Most people feel that they become overly busy during the season, with shopping, attending parties and get-togethers, school and church functions, while still trying to close up a year at work

- Family - Family expectations tend to overtly cause a great amount of stress - from making sure to visit as much family members as possible and to try to have a civil reunion with persons you have less and less in common with

- Bereavement - each year the chances of celebrating a major holiday without a loved one dramatically increases. Christmas is normally the holiday when the lost is most felt

- Looking back - Christmas, being one of the last holidays of the year, offers people a time to reflect on the past year and realize that most of the hopes, dreams, and goals went unrealized over the course of the year.

All of these factors, and others, add to a level of stress that is normally not experienced the other eleven months of the year. So, many people sink into a pit of desperation.

In Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, the main character, George Bailey, has such an experience. But instead of just showing a clip, I thought I might put it in a slightly different perspective.

(Video Clip 1 - collage of George in distress)

That's a different way to look at it, isn't it? But yet, that's exactly the way many people experience the Christmas season. The world says to be of good cheer, yet life says something totally different.

As I look at the advent candles lit today, especially the one lit for the first time today, I have to ask, "Where is the joy of Christmas?"

To find the answer, we need to look beyond the season of Christmas, beyond the manger, beyond Bethlehem, back some five centuries before the birth of Christ - back to a time of a prophet named Isaiah who spoke these words

Isaiah 61:1-2

1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor

[Prayer]

The prophet who spoke these words initially was addressing a group of God's people in Judah who had endured a long and harsh life of exile. Though they were now back in their homeland, they remain discouraged because their city of Jerusalem and the Temple are still in ruin. Their way of life, the life they longed to return to was in shambles. Though they were no longer enslaved and cast out, there was little to celebrate. Yet, in the midst of all of the desolation a prophet stands to say:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

Many of you will also recognize that Jesus announces his public ministry by quoting these same words in his hometown of Nazareth.

In each instance, this proclamation is a clarification of a call that is already underway. God was already in the process of restoration when the prophet and Jesus uttered them. Yet, in each instance, the prophet and Jesus were fulfilling their God-given call with God's Spirit present and active within them.

Now some may say, "That's great! But, I don't see what that's got to do with me though?" Let me try to paint a picture here: On the arch of an old Saxon church in England, there is a hand reaching up as if in supplication with the word "God" above it. But to one side of the hand are the words "I Can" and to the other "I Will."

You see, this call was not exclusive to the prophet, not to Jesus. It is our call as well. I know this because Jesus said,

John 14:12

12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Now, we read our focus scripture for the day in the NIV translation. But I want to look at part of it in the older version of King James

...the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek...

Preach good tidings...good tidings...where have you heard this phrase before?

[Allow responses]

Right! The announcement of Jesus birth to the shepherds. And who announced it?

[Allow responses]

Right! An Angel

(Video Clip 2 - Clarence introduces himself)

Here we see Clarence, the angel, the way Hollywood likes to portray angels. Clarence is on a mission to help George see the value of his life and in return earns his wings. But again, that's Hollywood's interpretation. As we see in the Bible, angels are much more. Yet, for today, we look at angels for one of their functions - as messengers from God.

One of the popular titles that some people bestow on others after they have done a good deed is something like this, "You're such an angel!" Have you heard someone say something like that before? Most of the time, if we are called an angel, we may quickly denounce it saying that we're no angels. But, friends, in a sense, we can be.

You see, as we live into our call to: preach the good news, bind up broken hearts, proclaim freedom, and release those in darkness, we become messengers from God! Because these are messages of and from God! It is not about our wisdom or from our understanding of situations. The Good News is never advice, or explanations of current events - it is the announcement of what God has done through the grace of Jesus Christ.

(Video Clip 3 - George pronounced rich)

In a time when many people feel a crippling level of stress and anxiety, God is sending messengers out to preach the Good News, to bind broken hearts, proclaim freedom, release those in darkness, and proclaim the year of God's favor. That, my friends, is the Joy of Christmas.

December 4, 2011 (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas - The Way of Christmas

***The following is a draft of the message fro Sunrise UMC on December 4th, 2011***

Good morning, Sunrise! It's good to be in God's house here on this second week of Advent. If you remember from last Sunday, this season that we are in, Advent, derives its name from the Latin word adventus, which literally means, arriving - not just coming, but more urgent than. The way I often think of it is with that old song, "She'll be coming around the mountain, when she comes." Within the context of Advent, she's not just going get here when she gets here, but you can hear the hoofbeats of those six white horses.

To help us make some last spiritual preparations for Christmas, we here at Sunrise are using this theme (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas. By looking at some clips from the classic Christmas movies that you're bound to see over the coming days, we see that even in a capitalistic culture, there are glimpses of truth to be found.

So, as we get started on this second Sund...Oh my gosh!!! I just realized that today is Dec. 4th. That means Christmas is three weeks from today! Twenty-one days! No,....more urgent than that - twenty shopping days. But considering that my family is starting to get together on the Friday before, that leaves me with about eighteen good days to shop. No...not even that with some of all the other things I've got to do...Geez, I probably only have hours!

Well, sorry about this, but this may be short today - I have got to hurry up. I got to get all this preparation stuff "out of the way."

Alright, let me think through the list...

- Katie - check

- Emily - check

- Kevin - check

- Karen - check

- Kellie, Will, Patrick, Kermit, Barbara...

Still have Jonnie, Rich, Shelley, Michelle, and Oh, and some of the in-laws (I don't know why...yeah I do, because they always get us something)

Geez. I hate Christmas! No, I really don't. I just get uptight about all the pressure that comes from buying gifts for people. But as you know, that's important...isn't it?

The Grinch (Video Clip 1 - Where Grinch claims presents are garbage)

It's easy to get caught up in all of the stuff associated with Christmas, isn't it?

- the excitement of Christmas

- in the madness of Christmas

- in the celebration of Christmas

- in the goodwill of Christmas

- in the guilt of Christmas

Really, in doing just what we think is best. But we are not the first to fall in the trap of missing the point.

Back just before Jesus began his earthly ministry, the religious leaders of the time thought they knew what was the right thing to do. They had set up rules were supposed to help people remain holy, but the problem was that the rules actually became the focus rather than pointing to God. Problems arose as the Pharisees and Sadducees began judging who was being faithful to these rules.

Then along came a man named John, who was unlike anyone else. He dressed differently, ate differently, and spoke with boldness that began to upset the status quo. Let's look at his story.

Matthew 3:1-12

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.' " 4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Wow. That's a Merry Christmas speech, isn't it? It make you wonder why would anyone read that as a way to prepare for Christmas? I mean, it doesn't say one thing about peace, love, goodwill to one another. What is its gist? Repent.

Now there's a word that can make us a little uneasy. Normally, the only time we see this word outside of church is on the sign of someone who most consider religious nuts. But what does that word really mean? Repent - must change our direction of our lives.

Why must we repent? Because:

- We want the wrong things.

- We go after the wrong things.

- We believe the wrong things.

Although we want better lives and change so that we can, we only manage to dig ourselves deeper into the mess we are already in.

But here is something that you need to know about repentance. Repentance isn't about doing something else; repentance is about quitting doing some things. It means to quit trying to save ourselves. We can't save ourselves, so stop trying to be God.

This year has been rather difficult for me. The year began with both of my parents being gravely ill. Then in mid-January, my father died. Seven weeks later, my mom died. My life went into flux. I knew that I needed to be different, to get back to the way I used to be, back to my normal self. I tried to force myself to be normal, but I couldn't do it. I finally learned I had to stop trying to be normal. What used to be normal was a thing of the past - I have a new normal now.

Until I learned (and am still learning) to repent, I became grumpy. Or in the context of the day, I was an unintentional Grinch

The Grinch (Video Clip 2 - where the Grinch finally realizes that Christmas is something more)

"Maybe Christmas means a little bit more." It would be hard to find a truer statement. But then again, not just about Christmas, but about Christ himself. Jesus is more than we often visualize him to be. But not just us! Do you remember John, whom we read about earlier. Look at what he said about Jesus just eight chapters later"

Matthew 11:2-3

2 When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?"

- Jesus did not fit the expectations John had of the Messiah

Now, let's think about this for a moment. Matthew could have left John's story out of his gospel account out, but he didn't. He could have written his gospel in a way that John's theology fit exactly with who Jesus was, but he didn't. Matthew could have also written his good news book to where Jesus could have fit John's interpretation. But he did not. He chose to write it where there is some contention, some misunderstanding, some room for growth. I believe that's Matthew's point, that our Christology, that is our understanding of Christmas of Jesus must be interpreted in light of Jesus' advent.

So, what can we take from this? Maybe it is simply this: Instead of trying to force our expectations onto the Advent/Christmas season, maybe we must allow ourselves be transformed by the season. Instead of looking for how it doesn't fit with our perception of how it's suppose to be (because that's how it's always been done), we just allow Advent, Christmas to come to us and open our hearts and minds to what God is doing today. For his name is Emmanuel - God with us. And that, my friends, is the Way of Christmas.

November 27, 2011 (I'll Have a) Blu-ray Christmas - The Hope of Christmas

****The following is a draft of the message for Sunrise UMC on November 27, 2011****

The Christmas season is filled with many family traditions. One of the newest traditions that many families have acquired is watching some of the myriad of Christmas movies that we have at a whim's notice. But for other than pure entertainment, can these flicks help remind us of some eternal truths? Today, we look to find The Hope of Christmas.


This morning is the first Sunday of Advent. The name Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means arrival or approaching. So, while the actual season of Christmas doesn't begin until sunset on December 24th, it is upon us, rapidly approaching. So, this season is one to help us prepare for it, Christmas.

Now, let me ask you, "How do you prepare for Christmas?"

[Allow responses]

In all of this activity of getting ready, what is the driving factor behind it?

Yeah...Hope. I mean, think about it, who goes about making all these preparations without investing in a bit of hope? That would be silly. It would be like not giving a least a little clue as to what you would like to receive as a gift. Take a look at what you may end up with:

[Images of bad Christmas gifts projected here]

You see, there is an importance in asking. One of the opening stories of the Gospel of Luke tells of a priest, name Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, who were childless and pretty old. Yet, one day, while Zechariah was in the temple, the angel Gabriel came to him and announced that God had heard his prayers and that his wife would give birth to a boy and they would call him John. Of course, Zechariah, being an old man and knowing his wife was well beyond child-bearing years, questioned, "How can this be?" Basically, Gabriel's response is that nothing is impossible with God.

So, here we see an instance where someone received what he asked for. But, what if you got something that you weren't prepared for...like a child you didn't know you had?

[Scene from Elf where Buddy first meets his father shown here]

Okay, that's one way to react - with total disregard because it just doesn't even seem in the realm of possibility. But, there is another way to react, even when it still seems to be to fantastic to believe.

This next story falls right on the heels of the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. At first, it seems to be furthering their story, but we come to discover it is really about an even greater miracle. This passage comes form Luke 1:26-38.

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

(Prayer)

There are quite a few similarities between these two pregnancy announcements, but there are also some stark contrasts.

In both of these incidences, the angel Gabriel appears and proclaims, "Don't be afraid." You know, one of the most profound theological assertions I have ever heard is that when Gabriel shows up and says, "Don't be afraid," you can bet that someone is going to be pregnant.

But, there is something else that I found very revealing about God, something that really warmed my heart. It was the geographical placement that was described here. Take a look at what I mean:

- God sent Gabriel to Nazareth

- a town in Galilee

- to a virgin

- engaged to a man named Joseph

- a descendant of David

- Mary

It's like God is narrowing down all the possibilities, narrowing it down to this one young girl, named Mary. There could be no doubt of who God had in mind. It was this Mary.

Right now, my family (extended family) is debating whether or not if we will continue carrying on the tradition of exchanging gifts. As the family has grown and as our parents have now passed on into Glory, we are trying to figure out if we want to continue doing as we have since my sisters and I were little or let Christmas be a time of just enjoying being together. We have also though about just exchanging gag gifts or playing "Dirty Santa" with some generic gifts, but you know, I just can't get into that. The reason why is because of the name, not "Dirty Santa" but the name of the recipient on the gift. That's special! Having a name on a gift means that for just a brief moment, the giver actually thought about the person they are buying the gift for. That makes it special and I personally would rather not exchange gifts than to make it impersonal. Gifts, by their very nature, are personal. They tell the recipient, by name, that they were thought of. Here, in this text, God addresses the gift, exclusively to Mary, engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David, in a town in Galilee, called Nazareth.

Yet, we also see that there is a huge difference in these two stories. In the case of Elizabeth's pregnancy, it is the answer to prayers. But in Mary's case, it is totally unanticipated, not to mention, (at the time) biologically impossible.

Maybe that's the point of comparing and contrasting these two stories. The first diverts some attention to that of an old and barren woman while the second alludes to a young virgin. But in each, the central figure is who?....God.

I love initial pronouncement Gabriel says to Mary, "The LORD is with you!" That sounds vaguely familiar to me though...where have I heard something like this? Oh, right...over in Matthew's rendition of the birth story.

Matthew 1:20b-23

20 "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. 21 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." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."

Immanuel - "God with us." Think about that for a moment - That's the very point of Christmas! God with us. Even that thought can make us want to echo Mary as she utters out of apprehension, "How can this be?"

[Scene from Elf where Michael comes out with Santa's list is shown here]

Hope is often relegated as a wishful fantasy. We may say, "I hope the Panthers win." "I hope toothache gets better." "I hope my stocks go up." ""I hope I make a good grade." But that's not the kind of hope that Christmas avails itself for. No, the Hope of Christmas affords a much greater miracle.

The Hope of Christmas says that if a barren woman can give birth, then a virgin can conceive. If a virgin can conceive, then God can come in flesh. If God can come in flesh, then a tomb can lead to resurrection. And if a tomb can lead to resurrection, then a church empowered by the Holy Spirit can transform the world.

Brothers and sisters, the Hope of Christmas says to you and to me, there is hope, there is a new day, and despite who you are, there is a God who loves you and calls you by name. It announces that nothing is impossible with God. That is the Hope of Christmas.