PAST SERMON 2009 #14

by Reverend Judith Alltree, delivered on Sunday December 13, 2009,
at the Church of the Holy Spirit. (Advent III)

Rejoice!

It’s that time of year again: the time when Christians have to get out there and defend themselves against the onslaught. I’m not talking about the millions of people who, for no apparent reason, begin to show up at the mall on December 1. I’m talking about all those people who retreat at the mention of the words “Merry Christmas”. Being a Christian minister, I get a ton of emails about anything that is remotely ‘religious’ in the minds of the sender, from bad jokes to good sense and everything in between, but at this time of the year I am inundated with emails about the use, for better or worse, of the expression “Merry Christmas”. I read all of them, keep very few, but year there is one worth reading, which I will share with you, a bit later on, which speaks to this topic, and which I think you will appreciate.

We had quite the discussion about the “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” controversy at last week’s Advent Bible Study. We are frankly divided on how we should handle it when we wish someone “Merry Christmas” and they snarl “Happy Holidays” in return. We weren’t sure whether to be offended, unhappy, intimidated, or what?  How do we respond? Several things come to mind.

To begin with, Jews, Christians and Muslims are what is sometimes referred to as “People of the Book”, that is, we are all religious communities whose faith is based in the Old Testament, and Abraham is our common religious ancestor. This makes Jews, Christians and Muslims all related to one another in a very profound sense. We share another commonality to our faith in that we all worship the One Creator God.  The main point of divergence for all of us is this: both Jews and Muslims are still waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, while we Christians believe He has arrived, which is what we are about to celebrate, our annual festival of “Christ’s Mass” or Christmas.

It just so happens that this time of this year is also one in which our brothers and sisters ‘Of the Book’ have reason to celebrate as well. At sunset on Dec. 11, the first candle of the Hanukkian (Menorah) was lit in Jewish households throughout the world, in celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Light. And for followers of Islam, the holy time of Ramadan has recently come to an end so Muslim households have celebrated the end of their month-long fast with Ede, the commemoration of God’s faithfulness to Abraham in providing him with a ram to sacrifice, instead of having to sacrifice his son, Isaac. So you can see, there’s a lot going on in the three major faith groups of the world, and it’s all happening over a six-week period this year.

Most importantly for us to consider, we live in the single most cosmopolitan area on the planet. There are more people from other places living here than anywhere else: more cultures, more faith groups, more languages spoken, more countries represented.  Look around this room: when Pentecost comes, we are like the early church with the number of languages that we could hear spoken!  And our little multicultural group here is a drop in the bucket compared with the rest of the GTA. 

So it stands to reason that “Happy Holidays” is a common refrain at Christmastime, especially in this part of the world. It seems to cover all the bases, doesn’t seek to offend anyone, hopes to show that the well-wisher is an open-minded, well-meaning person.  And perhaps in a common setting, that’s acceptable, and perhaps we need to be a bit more gracious about it when we are greeted in this way.

On the other hand, we are Christians, and this is our Christian church. We’ll be putting up Christmas Trees, here and at our homes. We’ll be wishing one another Merry Christmas, and those who call this church and get voice mail over the next two weeks will hear that cheery greeting. We here and others like us, are celebrating not the end of Ramadan or commemorating the brave fight of the Maccabees and the number of nights the oil burned in their lamps, but the beginning of our new covenantal relationship with God through the birth of His Son. And in this country, we are still allowed to do that, freely, openly, and joyously.

So what we need to do is, as St. Paul instructs, rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:4-7) Rejoice.  Hopefully we all remember how to do that!

Another thing to do comes from an email I received this week, which I mentioned earlier. It was entitled “A Letter from Jesus about Christmas”. It was written in the first person, as Jesus, and makes a number of suggestions and comments on this problem of “Merry Christmas”. One suggestion was: “Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1-8.” The passage the writer refers to begins “I am the vine…” I personally plan to take that advice! 

Another piece of advice offered in the email was this: “… if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine. Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest.”

We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, God incarnate.  It’s not what we are called, it’s that we are called!  God has called each of us to be Christians, not just in this place but in our lives, in how we live, not in what we look like, sound like or appear in. Christmas Trees are decoration for us, symbolic of our season, not anyone else’s. But let’s not get so caught up in the window dressing, so to speak, that we forget why we do these things each year: it’s about joy. It’s about the joy we anticipate in the coming of the Christ into the world, and into our lives. It’s about rejoicing!

So when someone says “Happy Holidays” to you, say “thanks!” and smile. God can take care of the rest!

AMEN.

Sermon copyright © 2009 by Rev. Judith Alltree.

 

Letter from Jesus about Christmas

 
It has come to my attention that many of you are upset that folks are taking My name out of the season. Maybe you've forgotten that I wasn't actually born during this time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival. Although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those of you who have been blessed with children of your own. I don't care what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers you that the town in which you live doesn't allow a scene depicting My birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santas and snowmen and put in a small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that there wouldn't be any need for such a scene on the town square because there would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks were. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 – 8**.

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list. Choose something from it:

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the Prime Minister complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and hopeless?  Since you don't know who that person is, try giving everyone you meet a warm smile; it could make the difference.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren't allowed to wish you a "Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn't make so much money on that day they'd close and let their employees spend the day at home with their families

8. If you really want to make a difference, support a missionary-- especially one who takes My love and Good News to those who have never heard My name.

9. Here's a good one. There are individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no "Christmas" tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or receive. If you don't know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a Christian. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence. Let people know by your actions that you are one of mine.

Don't forget; I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work; time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember :

I LOVE YOU,
JESUS

**John 15:1-8

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.  He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.  Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.  Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.