Sunday's Message - A Season of Glory

The Christmas Season is special regardless of your age. It's a time both to celebrate but also to meditate, a unique period when we're able to put aside some of our frustrations and disappointments and to enjoy all the sights and sounds that surround us for about a month and a half. Of course, for Christians, it's even more important, because we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And for that reason, we have good reason to experience some very special feelings during this time of year.

And so, with that in mind, for the next seven weeks, we'll look at some of the reasons the Christmas season is special. You see, during what the church calls the Season of Advent and the Season after Christmas, we'll define this time in the following ways:

• November 28 – A Season of Hope (Luke 21:25-36)
• December 5 – A Season of Peace (John 14:23-29)
• December 12 – A Season of Joy (Luke 1:39-55)
• December 19 – A Season of Generosity (Matthew 1:18-25)
• December 26 – A Season of Love (John 15:9-17)
• January 2 – A Season of Glory (John 1:1-10)

During this sixth sermon, we finished the series by looking at Christmas as a Season of Glory.

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John 1:1-10 [Contemporary English Version]

In the beginning was the one

    who is called the Word.

The Word was with God

    and was truly God.

From the very beginning

    the Word was with God.

And with this Word,

    God created all things.

Nothing was made

    without the Word.

Everything that was created

    received its life from him,

and his life gave light

    to everyone.

The light keeps shining

    in the dark,

and darkness has never

    put it out.

God sent a man named John,

    who came to tell

    about the light

and to lead all people

    to have faith.

John wasn’t that light.

He came only to tell

    about the light.

The true light that shines

on everyone

    was coming into the world.

The Word was in the world,

    but no one knew him,

though God had made the world

    with his Word.

A Season of Glory

Well, here we are, January 2nd. Officially, we have entered a new year. And I’ll tell you, unlike last week, today is the final Sunday in this particular season of Christmas. You see, during the service next week, we’ll consider Epiphany, you know, the coming of the wise men, something that, on the calendar, comes the day after what’s called Twelfth Night. And so, unlike last Sunday, you know, December 26, not only is this Christmas done, but before the end of this week, so will this Christmas Season. 

Of course, I don’t think that’s a surprise to anybody here this morning. Let’s face it, everything we started doing a couple of months ago is quickly becoming a distant memory. But that’s just the way it is; it always was and always will be. I’ll tell you, it certainly happened to me when I was a kid. In fact, I remember, when I was growing up, we had this schedule for the Christmas season. For example, two weeks before the twenty-fifth, we bought the tree and put it in the backyard so that it could stand in a pail of water for a few days before we brought it into the house. And on December 15th, the tree was put up in the living room along with all the other Christmas stuff that Dad would bring down from the attic. On Christmas Eve, we always took presents to my Dad’s aunts and on Christmas evening, we went to my mom’s grandmother’s house on Willoughby Spit, something that was really special, because we could take one toy we’d gotten that morning. During the week after Christmas, we went to nightly parties hosted by my mom’s relatives, and remember this was in the 60s, you know, back when children of all ages were exiled to some other room in the house while the adults talked about stuff and drank highballs. Sometimes, as I remember, it was like Lord of the Flies in there. And after surviving that, on New Years Eve, my parents would go out with friends and my brother, sister and I would spent the night with Granddad and Grandmom McClannan. We’d always have Big Boy sandwiches from Shoneys and sleep in my mom’s old attic bedroom, which by the way, was really cold. And so that took us to New Years Day. My parents would pick us up and take us home,  and then we’d start doing one of the most depressing things possible, at least for a kid. We’d start taking down everything we put up on December 15th. The tree, still with some tinsel, would return to the backyard, but this time, no water was involved. And even though the intention was to haul it to the street on garbage day, generally, us kids would rescue all the trees in the neighborhood, set them up in the vacate lot behind Karen Tucker’s house and pretend that we could kept Christmas going for the rest of the year. Of course, it never worked. I’ll tell you, within 24 hours, we’d have to drag all those trees back to our respective houses so they could be tossed on the garbage truck which always came on Thursdays. And so, by January 2nd, we all kind of knew that the Christmas Season was spent.

And you know, it seems like that’s still sort of the case, at least it is for me. What about y’all? I mean, for a month, we’ve got all this stuff going on right up to the big day. And then for the week after, we kind of go through this decompression, right through New Years Eve and New Years Day. You see, the season that started with the Macy’s parade in New York, well, it ends with the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena, doesn’t it? And in a sense, right along with all the ornaments, we sort of pack away the Season of Christmas until next year. And all the excitement and anticipation that we felt about ten days before, these feelings become a lot like those pitiful trees we set up in that vacant lot. In other words, when we actually start using a new calendar, all those feelings we’ve been talking about during our worship services since November 28th, well, they really start to fade by January 2nd.

But of course, that doesn’t have to be case. I mean, we can actually do what Scrooge promised to the Spirit of Christmas still to come: “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” You see, this morning, as we tie up this series, we’re going to talk about Christmas as a season of glory, but more particularly, how we might take that glory beyond one day or a single season and extend it out into the entire year. And I’ll tell you, I think when we do that, everything else we’ve been talking about will come right along with it. Let me explain.

You see, during this new year, if we want to experience the glory of Christmas, I believe we can do three things, the first being this: we can remember the story, the story of how, according to Luke, “Mary was engaged to Joseph and traveled with him to Bethlehem. She was soon going to have a baby, and while they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in baby clothes and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the inn,” [Luke 2:5-7, CEV] and how, according the passage we read from John just a little while ago,

In the beginning was the one

    who is called the Word.

The Word was with God

    and was truly God.

From the very beginning

    the Word was with God.

And with this Word,

    God created all things.

Nothing was made

    without the Word.

Everything that was created

received its life from him,

and his life gave light

    to everyone.

The light keeps shining

    in the dark,

and darkness has never

    put it out. [John 1:1-5, CEV]

Now, this we can remember. But of course, that’s not the whole story, Jesus was a lot more than just a baby born in Bethlehem and his significance was a whole more concrete than light coming into the world. I mean, just listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote:

Christ was truly God.

But he did not try to remain 

    equal with God.

Instead he gave up everything 

    and became a slave,

when he became

    like one of us.

Christ was humble.

He obeyed God

and even died

    on a cross.

Then God gave Christ

    the highest place

and honored his name

    above all others.

So at the name of Jesus

    everyone will bow down,

those in heaven, on earth,

    and under the earth.

And to the glory

    of God the Father

everyone will openly agree,

    “Jesus Christ is Lord!” [Philippians 2:6-11, CEV]

Now this is the story that we can remember during the entire year. 

And I’ll tell you, when we do, when we remember the entire story of Christ, I think we’ll be better able to have hope, in other words, to trust that Jesus will return and to recognize that our world is temporary and to become the kind of men and women who offer hope to others. In other words, I believe we’re going to experience a glorious sense of hope when we intentionally remember the story. And that’s one.

And second, during this new year, I believe we can experience the glory of Christmas by also claiming the presence, and right now, I’m talking about the presence of God that was made real in Jesus Christ, something that both John and Paul mentioned in the scripture we’ve just read. And you know, it’s interesting, that’s really what glory meant to the Jews. I mean, just listen to how the writer of Exodus described what happened on Mount Sinai:

When Moses went up on Mount Sinai, a cloud covered it, and the bright glory of the Lord came down and stayed there. The cloud covered the mountain for six days, and on the seventh day the Lord told Moses to come into the cloud. Moses did so and stayed there forty days and nights. To the people, the Lord’s glory looked like a blazing fire on top of the mountain. [Exodus 24:15-18, CEV]

You see, in the Old Testament, God’s glory referred to God’s presence. And where can we find God’s presence right here and now? Well, just listen to part of the Christmas story found in the Gospel of Matthew:

While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, “A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.” [Matthew 1:20-23, CEV]

You see, it’s through Jesus Christ that God is present with us, and I’m talking about right here and right now.

And you know, when we claim that presence, I’m telling you, I think it will change our lives. I mean, just trusting that Jesus brings the presence of God into our lives, well, I believe that makes it a whole lot easier for us to experience peace, and to accept it is a gift from God and to claim it as a lifestyle and to pass it on to others. And right along with that, I believe we’ll also be able to experience the kind of joy that we can know when we decide to accept joy as another gift of Jesus Christ and to thank the Lord who gives it and to share the glory of the gift and giver with others. You see, I believe we’re going to experience a glorious sense of peace and joy when we intentionally claim the presence, the presence of God. And that's two.

And finally, during this new year, I believe we can experience the glory of Christmas by living the challenge, and I’m talking about living the challenge that the child of Bethlehem and the light of the world left us. And you know, that challenge isn’t all that hard to find, not if we’re willing to look. For example, according to the Evangelist Matthew, Jesus was very clear about how the nations will be judged. Remember, he said:

“When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.

“Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” [Matthew 25:35-36, 40b, CEV]

And again from Matthew, in his last conversation with his disciples, this is what Jesus told them to do:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world. [Matthew 28:18b-20, CEV]

Now that’s what Jesus said, and these are just two examples. You see, over and over again, he challenged those who follow him to put themselves last rather than first and to serve rather than to be served.

And you know, when we decide to live this challenge, I think both our generosity and our love will grow and expand. I mean, as soon as we take up this life-style, I think we’re going to be whole lot more generous with not just our talents, but also with our time and money. And as it relates to love, I believe we’ll be better able to accept it from God and more willing to show it to others. You see, I believe we're going to experience a glorious sense of generosity and love when we intentionally live the challenge, the challenge presented by Jesus. And that’s three.

Now, I think we all agree that not only is Christmas in the rearview mirror but that the whole Christmas season is coming to a close. But before we just move on to other things, let’s remember that the glory of this time of year doesn’t have to end today. You see, we can remember the story so that we can better experience hope. And we can claim the presence so that we can better know both peace and joy. And let’s live the challenge so that we can better show generosity and love. I’m telling you, this we can do, something that will extend the season of Christmas glory throughout the entire new year.