December 18 (4th in Advent, candle lighting)

1^{st
Congregational Church
of Redwood City, UC=
C}

Carol Barri= ger

Sunday, December 25, 2005

Christmas D= ay

Luke 2:1-20=

“Opening Gifts”

I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people… = (Lk 2:10)

&nbs= p; Merry Christmas! How good it is tha= t you all took time from your family celebrations to be here – to celebrate with THIS family, the community of the church. Christmas does not come on Sunday = very often so this is a special occasion! Do you know that some churches, notably big megachurches with thousa= nds of worshippers, decided to cancel Sunday services today? Maybe they figured that worship is= a weekend duty, and people did their duty last night. One church created a worship DVD distributed to their parishioners so they could watch it in the comfort of their living rooms. But worsh= ip is not a weekend duty – worshipping God is something that we do 24 hours= a day, 7 days a week, by the way that we live, the way we treat others, by the way we work for a better world. I think people should be flocking to church today. But … here are a few reasons= given by churches that are closed today, along with my reasons why I think they a= re wrong-headed…[1]

1. The church is supposed to be reach= ing out to people who think church has nothing to offer them. If they won’t come on a regu= lar Sunday, they are even less likely to come on Christmas

Excuse me, what about t= hose people for whom Christmas may be one of the few days of the year they choos= e to connect with church? The chur= ch doors should not be closed when they show up. We should be here for them, with j= oy overflowing out the doors. Referring to those who attend church only at Christmas and Easter, o= ne pastor said, “You’re losing half your opportunity to touch their lives.”[2]

= 2. The church should support families, and Christmas is a time for family, not for having to come to church. Chi= ldren will resent being taken away from their home celebration. (For “home celebration,” read gift extravaganza.)

Excuse me, what better = place for a family to be together than in their church, remembering the spirit th= at lies behind this day? We even explicitly invited you to be here in your pajamas so you would feel right at home! This is part of = the celebration – one that you don’t get to do every year.

= 3. Last time Christmas fell on a Sunday, people didn’t come.

Excuse me, last time I led a Sunday Christmas worship service (1994), there were 100 people there. That’s 100 people for whom p= art of the love of Christmas was gathering with their extended church family, and = we all felt special for it.

= 4. Getting help that day with things like setting up for worship, ushering, counting t= he offering, and so forth – all that will be hard and isn’t worth = the effort for the low turnout.

Excuse me, since when do we demote even one p= erson to being “not worth it?” What message are we sending? If one person is here to unlock the doo= r, that’s all it takes. Wo= rship is not an organizational task – it is the work of a heart in love with God.

&nbs= p; So, these are terrible, cop-out excuses. They are not reasons for the church to be closed on Christmas Day and deprive people of this gift of celebrating today – instead of some “off-Christmas” day that comes 1-6 days in advance. What’s next? Closing on July 4^th bec= ause people go away for the weekend? Or Super Bowl Sunday because they have to stay home and make guacamole dip at 10am? Think of the precedent = set by staying home on Christmas Sunday (of all days!) – children learn that adults see faith as a convenience instead of a commitment.

Sure everyone wants to open presents – this is the biggest gift-giving day of the whole year. Be honest now, don’t some of= you feel a little cheated by not being home drowning in wrapping paper right now? Guess what? The best gift is right here, waiti= ng to be opened. Today there is a b= irth – and like every birth, it symbolizes possibility and hope. This is a huge gift, both now and = in the future. That’s why we g= ive presents, to celebrate that possibility … not because Macy’s, Target, and Best Buy are having sales, and we have been seduced by all the advertising.

So let’s talk about t= hose gifts at home!

Who has already opened their presents? What did you get?

&nbs= p; Were you happy about that? Did you= r gift make you happy?

Is that what you wanted? Did it fulfill a wish or desire?

Is it what you expected?=

&nbs= p; I don’t know what you thought, but when I hear the Advent song “C= ome, Thou Long-Expected Jesus” I think to myself, “Jesus keeps showi= ng up in my life in un-expected ways.&= nbsp; There is nothing expected about the gift of Jesus at all.” Have you ever opened a gift, glimp= sed something unexpected in the box and thought, “Oh my goodness, what am= I going to say?” Sometime= s we don’t know what to express when a gift is presented. Maybe it wasn’t what we asked for. Maybe it doesn’t e= ven feel like a gift. We have to = stay open to possibilities.

It’s a bit like praye= rs. Sometimes the prayer that is answe= red is NOT the one we lifted up. We = may have to live into the answer that we got.&= nbsp; We may have to live into that gift that seemed to be not much of a present. It could be a book t= hat looks really boring. But pick= it up one day in April when there’s nothing else around to read and discove= r a deep message there for you. O= r how about the sweater you know you will never wear, … but which is the perfect thing for= a neighbor child who shows up at your house cold and shivering because they a= re locked out.

&nbs= p; We have to open our gifts with that sense of possibility. How do you open your gifts? There are many approve= d, and unapproved, methods for gift opening. How many of you …

&nbs= p; --Shake the box and try to guess what’s inside?

&nbs= p; --Rip through the paper, ribbons, and boxes as fast as you can to get to the pres= ent inside?

&nbs= p; --Unwrap carefully, folding up the paper and bows for use next year?

&nbs= p; --Stop and make conversation with others in the room while you are in the middle of opening your package and everyone is waiting to see what it is??

&nbs= p; --Open gifts at the same time as other people in the room?

&nbs= p; --Go around the room opening packages one at a time?

&nbs= p; --Pass presents around after they have been opened, so everyone can see them?

&nbs= p; --Let the room get knee deep in paper and boxes?

&nbs= p; --Bring in a garbage bag and pick up everything as you go along?

&nbs= p;

&nbs= p; The whole process is about delicious possibilities, isn’t it? While it’s a splendid rush to receive something you really wanted, our prayer on this day is for something else. It is that opening gifts releases in your hearts that incredible sense of possibility; of openness to the unexpected; of sheer happiness. May we remember that the hope, love, joy, and peace of God are not wrapped in boxes. They do not arrive by UPS. These are the = gifts of grace showered upon us every day. They come through the hands and hearts of friends and family – including our church family. That’s why we are here.

There is a message about gi= ft opening the in Christmas story. The angel announces the gift: See I am bringing you good news of great joy f= or all the people.. (Lk 2:10= ) And it isn’t perfectly appar= ent in a world that wanted, expected, and needed a political and military deliverer that a baby was much of a gift. Another mouth to feed; another Judean caught in grinding poverty to = die an early death. Another perve= rse example of God’s way with humans.&nb= sp; But the shepherds, at least, in this story, gave themselves the privilege of a little amazement – and so should we. And Mary, well Mary treasured all these words = and pondered them in her heart. (2:19).&nb= sp; She was patient. She k= ept the possibility. The gift had= been opened; its fullness was yet to be revealed.

May the gifts you receive t= his day continue to delight you and fill you. May they be opened and re-opened many times in your hearts. And may you pass on the true gifts= of Christmas – peace, hope, love, and joy – to all, whether they m= ade it to church today or not.

Amen.

= ;

Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days a d= ecree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. =

3 All went to their= own towns to be registered.

4 Joseph also went = from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to t= he city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended fro= m the house and family of David.

5 He went to be reg= istered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.

6 While they were t= here, the time came for her to deliver her child.

7 And she gave birt= h to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 In that region th= ere were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 Then an angel of = the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they we= re terrified.

10 But the angel sa= id to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:

11 to you is born t= his day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

12 This will be a s= ign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly the= re was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, <= /span>

14 “Glory to = God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” <= /span>

15 When the angels = had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us= go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 So they went wit= h haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.

17 When they saw th= is, they made known what had been told them about this child;

18 and all who hear= d it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.

19 But Mary treasur= ed all these words and pondered them in her heart.

20 The shepherds re= turned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.