Lessons & Carols: The True Hope of Christmas

As I said at the beginning of the service,

not only are we glad to see all of you here

who are regularly a part of our church,

but I hope those of you who are visiting,

those of you who are perhaps here from other churches

or here from the city,

but maybe you're not regularly a part of any church

or believing community,

or perhaps you're here from out of town,

all of you who are visiting,

I hope you know how glad we are that you're here.

This is a service that we look forward to for many reasons,

but I'm so glad that we can be here to sing,

to hear these readings,

to see the kids and their parents

sort of perform this pageant.

It's a wonderful time.

And all that being said,

with all the beauty and all the reason for joy,

I don't know about you,

but this has been a very challenging season for me.

If I can be totally honest,

it's been challenging for a lot of reasons,

but I've really had a sense of struggle

and division and unrest

kind of in my life and in the world

in a way that I haven't in years.

I've seen it in my own extended family,

deep hurt

that's not likely to be resolved anytime soon.

I've seen it in the news.

You're hard-pressed to read the news

for any length of time

without coming across

violence and division and unrest.

The terrorist attacks,

the gun violence right here in the U.S.

seems to be another incident

or many such incidents on a daily basis.

The ongoing refugee crisis.

The racial tension that continues to divide

not only our country,

but our city,

our neighborhoods.

So my tendency,

again, if I could be honest with you,

this doesn't leave this room,

but if I could be honest with you,

my tendency is to use the Christmas season,

this kind of coming holiday season,

as a chance to escape.

What I really want to do

is to eat a lot.

I want to drink even more.

I want to spend a lot.

I want to get a lot of stuff.

And I essentially want to become numb

for a few days.

And it's easy to think,

well, with all that's going on in the world

and all that's happening,

surely that would be good

just to escape for a few days.

To kind of escape the darkness

that seems to be in the world.

The problem is,

escape really solves nothing.

That first week of January

comes very quickly.

And you realize that you're just

delaying the inevitable.

The thing is,

the darkness in this world is real.

It's real.

So we need something more

than just a few days of escape.

Now I would encourage you to eat.

I would encourage you to drink.

I would encourage you to celebrate.

But that's not going to solve

the problem of darkness.

We need something more than escape.

We need hope.

We need real,

lasting,

substantial

hope.

Something to hold on to.

And that's actually what Christmas

is all about.

Christmas is

God's response

to the darkness

in the world.

It's God's response

to the darkness

in our lives.

And one of our lessons,

the lesson that comes from

Isaiah chapter 9,

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

shows us why

Isaiah was writing

in the 8th century B.C.

But when Jesus was born,

all of the people

who met him

and got to know him

recognized that

Isaiah was talking about him.

And so,

there's a verse

from Isaiah chapter 9

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

that I want to focus on tonight.

Here's God's response

to the darkness.

For to us,

a child is born.

To us,

a son is given.

The government

shall be upon

his shoulders.

And his name

shall be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

This is a famous

Christmas passage.

We read it every year.

And tonight,

we'll see that

it actually shows us

how the Christmas story

offers us real hope.

And it does that

by showing us

three things

about the birth

of Jesus

on that first Christmas.

First,

it shows us

that Jesus came

as a child.

Second,

it shows us

that Jesus came

as a gift.

And lastly,

it shows us

that Jesus came

to be king.

We'll look at those

each briefly.

Before we do that,

let's pray.

Lord,

many of us have come

from all variety

of backgrounds.

Some of us are here

having followed you

for many years.

Some of us are here

questioning

whether you're even real.

Some of us are here

knowing that you're not,

having decided that long ago.

And Lord,

yet we know

that there is a promise

that you make to us

that somehow

through these written words,

this veritable library

that we call a Bible,

that somehow you can use this

to reveal to us

your living word,

your son, Jesus.

You can speak to us

through it.

Lord,

I desire to hear from you.

We need to hear from you.

And so we pray

that you would speak to us

for our good,

but chiefly for your glory.

And we pray this

in your son,

our savior,

Jesus' name.

Amen.

So the first thing

that we see

in Isaiah chapter 9,

Isaiah 9:6

verse 6,

is this,

is that when Jesus came,

he came as

a child.

When God wanted to respond

to the darkness of the world,

he sent

a child.

And this is something

that we're very familiar with,

but I want to encourage you

to remember

this would have been

shocking,

unexpected,

frustrating,

confusing

to the people

who first read it.

We have to understand

that Isaiah's writing

to people

who live in a tiny nation,

a powerless nation,

and they're surrounded

on all sides

by much larger,

more powerful nations

who mean them harm.

They're surrounded

by powerful enemies.

And they're crying out

to God

and they're longing

for a warrior,

a champion

who will come

and who will have

the power

and the might

to overthrow

their enemies.

And they're desperate.

And Isaiah says,

here, finally,

is God's answer

to your prayer.

Here's God's solution

to the darkness,

this looming threat

on the horizon.

Here's the answer.

To us,

a child is born.

And you can imagine

the response.

That's not what we were

really looking for.

A child,

surely you can do

more than that.

You're the God

of the universe.

Here's the thing,

that they think

that the source

of the darkness

in their lives

is out there.

They think the source

of the darkness,

the real threat,

the real problem,

is across their border.

They think that it's

over there.

And if they could just

have a champion

strong enough

to defeat their enemies,

then the darkness

will end

and the good life

will ensue.

This is really

what we need,

they said.

And I believe that

actually we're the same way.

If you're anything

like me,

you tend,

your default,

your default assumption

is that the darkness,

the darkness in this world

is caused by

those people.

It's caused by

those circumstances.

It's caused by

those things out there.

It doesn't matter

who you are.

We all have someone

or something out there

to which we can

point our finger.

It's the conservatives.

It's the fundamentalists.

They're the problem.

It's the liberals,

the activists.

They're the problem.

It's the media.

They twist everything.

They're the problem.

It's the politicians.

They never get anything done.

They never follow through

on their promises.

They're the problem.

It's the one percenters

hoarding everything.

They're the problem.

It's the 99%

who don't appreciate

all that the one percenters

do for them.

They're the problem.

Right?

But we always have

someone to blame.

And in our own relationships

it's the same way.

Why is there darkness?

Why is there darkness

in my life?

It's really my dad's fault.

He was too emotionally distant.

He wasn't there for me.

It's my mom's fault

because she did this

or that.

She was bitter.

She wasn't there for me.

It's his fault.

It's her fault.

It's their selfishness.

It's my family.

It's their closed-mindedness.

That's the real problem.

That's what's wrong

with our family.

That's why we don't have

peaceful Christmases together.

Why we always fight

over Christmas dinner

is because they're

so closed-minded.

It's my family

and how darn open-minded

they are.

Why don't they just

believe something?

Are they afraid

of commitment?

That's why we always fight

around Christmas dinner.

It's the stubbornness.

That's what it's

really all about.

And it goes on

and on and on and on.

And all along,

we think,

if I could just

change that person,

if I could just

change that

the way they think,

if I could just

say it right

and have the breakthrough,

then the darkness

would be dispelled

and the good life

would ensue.

Peaceful Christmas

for everybody.

But this is not

how God responds.

God's way of responding

to a world in darkness

is not to come in power.

He doesn't look across

the border and say,

you're right,

they really are a problem

and bam,

conquest.

He comes in weakness.

Total weakness.

He becomes soft.

He becomes

completely vulnerable.

He comes as an

utterly helpless

infant,

flailing,

looking for his

mother.

He's born into

a very poor family

in a very,

very small,

out-of-the-way

backwater town.

He remains poor

his entire life.

He's virtually homeless

his entire

adult life.

He eventually

allows himself

to be arrested.

He allows himself

to be tortured

without speaking

a word

of protest

and ultimately

he allows himself

to be executed

like a common

criminal.

And you realize

when you look

at the life

of this Jesus,

this solution,

as Isaiah would say,

to the darkness,

it's painfully obvious

that he didn't come

to be a revolutionary.

He didn't come

to be a champion.

He didn't come

to be this great warrior.

He didn't come

to conquer,

in fact.

It's painfully obvious

that he came

to be killed.

And the reason

is simple.

It's because

the problem

with the world,

the darkness,

the problem

isn't just

out there.

It's

in here.

It's in here.

In here.

The problem

isn't that

some people

out there

practice injustice.

The problem

is that

I'm selfish.

At the end

of the day,

most of the time,

all the time

if no one's looking,

I want to do

what benefits me

even if it's

at your expense.

The problem

isn't that

everyone out there,

there are some

people out there

who are racist.

The problem

is that

the seeds

of racism

are right here.

that I feel

as though

I am hardwired

to trust people

and like people

who look like me

more than I trust

and like people

who don't look like me.

Our deepest

problem

is that

we are

sinful,

what the Bible

calls sinful.

Really,

it just means

we're addicted

to our own glory.

Like people

badly in need

of rehab.

We're addicted

to our own glory

and that's destroyed

our relationship

with God.

It's obliterated it

and it also hurts

our relationships

with other people.

My addiction

to my own glory

hurts my relationships

with the people

I love most.

This is why

when the Times

asked the writer

G.K. Chesterton,

what do you think

is wrong with the world?

Would you write

and tell us

and write in our paper

what do you think

is wrong with the world?

Chesterton replied

with two words.

I am.

So we don't need

a conqueror,

we need a savior.

Someone to deal

with the darkness

not out there

but in here.

And I want you

to imagine

those of you

who are here tonight,

some of you

are here

and maybe

you believe this.

You believe this

about yourself

and about God

but some of you

maybe you're

not so sure

and I want to just

encourage you

whether you believe

this or not

to imagine

the difference

this would make

if you did believe it.

What would your life

look like

if this is something

that you believed?

I'm talking to you

skeptic,

seeker,

non-Christian,

other faith.

I'm also talking

to you,

Christian,

who've really

forgotten this.

If we continue

to think that the

problem is out there

then we're always

going to have

someone to blame.

We will never

run out of scapegoats.

We will always

have somewhere

to point the finger.

But when you believe

that the darkness

is in here,

when you believe

that this is the source

of the darkness

in the world

and that we all

need a savior,

it's profoundly

humbling.

It's profoundly

humbling.

And what that means

is that whatever

relationship there

is in which you

struggle,

whatever the

circumstances may be,

you know that

you're at least

partially to blame.

Imagine if

you thought

of a

troubled,

tense relationship,

maybe one,

somebody that

you're going to

face over the

Christmas holiday

at some point

and you don't know

how it's going to

go.

Somebody with whom

you cannot seem

to make any

progress at all.

Imagine if the

next time you saw

them you said

simply that,

you know I've

been thinking,

I've been reflecting

and whatever else

has come between

us,

I know that

I'm partly to

blame.

Will you forgive

me?

Those of us,

by the way,

who are

Christians should

always be the

first to admit

our sin.

We should always

be the first to

admit,

I'm at least part

to blame for

this.

So this is the

first thing,

God comes as a

child not because

he knows that we

don't need a

conqueror,

we need a

savior and so

he comes in

weakness to give

his life to

reconcile us to

God.

This is the first

thing we see in

Isaiah,

the first reason

that Christmas

offers us true

hope for dealing

with the darkness

of this world.

The second thing

we see is this,

that when Jesus

came,

he came as a

gift.

He came as a

gift.

You know,

this stood out to

me this week.

I was reading

and I just,

I never really

recognized that it

says for to us a

child is born,

to us a son is

given.

And what this

really means is the

coming of Jesus is

God's gift to the

world.

It's like the

ultimate Christmas

present is Jesus.

So let me ask you,

what makes a gift a

gift?

You know,

like when you're at

the grocery store and

the cashier hands you

your groceries and the

receipt, is that a

gift?

No,

because you paid for

it, right?

Probably paid a little

too much for it.

You earned it,

right?

Your paycheck,

your salary,

is that a gift?

You know,

does your employer say,

hey, just from the

bottom of my heart,

because I'm such a

generous person,

here you go.

No,

you earned it,

you worked for it,

probably way too

hard.

Knowing many of you,

when you win an

award,

is that out of the

goodness of the

judge's hearts?

No,

you outperformed other

people and so you've

earned that award.

These are not gifts.

By definition,

a gift is something

that somebody gives you

free of charge,

something that you

perhaps didn't earn,

maybe something that

you don't deserve,

maybe something that

you can never repay.

It doesn't,

in other words,

reflect your goodness,

it reflects the

goodness of the

giver.

I'm giving this to you

purely as an act of

grace and love.

No repayment

necessary.

So when the Bible

says,

for to us a son

is given.

This is the reality

that sets Christianity

apart from the other

religions of the world.

This is the thing that

makes the Christian

gospel unique.

There was an interview

with Bono,

the lead singer

of a band called

U2.

Some of you may have

heard of them.

They were before most

of your time.

But this band,

U2,

there was an interview

back in 2005

between Bono

and a French music

journalist.

And the two men,

the topic of religion

comes up in various

religions and then

the topic shifts

to Christianity.

And Bono begins to

talk about what makes

Christianity different.

And he says this,

he says,

you see,

at the center of all

religions is the idea

of karma.

He says,

you know,

what you put out

comes back to you.

An eye for an eye,

a tooth for a tooth,

or in physics.

In physical laws,

every action is met

by an equal

or opposite reaction.

He says,

it's clear to me

that karma

is at the very center,

at the very heart

of the universe.

I'm absolutely sure

of it.

Karma is at the heart

of every faith.

And he says,

and yet,

along comes this idea

called grace

to upend all that

as you reap

so you will sow stuff.

grace defies reason

and logic.

Love interrupts,

if you like,

the consequences

of your actions.

And then he says this,

he says,

I'd be in big trouble

if karma was going

to finally be my judge.

He says,

I'm holding out

for grace.

I'm holding out

that Jesus took my sins

on the cross.

And here's the main thing.

He says,

he's holding out

for this because,

he says,

because I know

who I am

and I hope

I don't have to depend

on my own religiosity.

And that's really

the difference.

Here's the thing

we need to be clear on.

Christians are not

the morally upright.

They're not

the morally superior people.

In fact,

it's often the opposite.

Christians are not

the religiously inclined people.

They're not often

the good people.

I know many,

many,

many people

who are not Christians

who are far better people.

And the reason is simple.

Christians are people

who say,

I know who I am.

I know the truth

when I look at the mirror

and I hope to God

that this all isn't

hinging on my religiosity.

I hope to God

that this doesn't all

hinge on my goodness.

Because if it does,

I have absolutely no hope.

That's what a Christian

sees when she looks

in the mirror.

When he looks

in the mirror.

I'd be in big trouble

if karma was my judge.

So Christians are people

who recognize

that their only real hope

is God's free gift

of salvation in Jesus.

Something that they

didn't earn,

don't deserve,

and could never repay.

And again,

I just want to say this.

Whether or not

you believe this,

whether or not

you subscribe to this,

imagine your life

if you did.

Just imagine

the shift

that that would make

in here.

Because when you know,

when you know

that you deserve nothing,

and yet God

has given you

everything,

when you know that

in your heart of hearts,

it means that

your entire response

to life

is one of gratitude.

it means you recognize

that gifts

aren't only

at Christmas

and on birthdays.

You will begin

to see

every moment

of your life

as a gift.

All of the good stuff

in your life

as a gift.

Many of the bad things

in your life

as a gift.

Every day

a gift,

every breath

a gift.

Imagine how transformative

that would be

if gratitude

was the foundation

of your response

to your daily life.

So on Christmas,

God responds

to the darkness

in this sort of crazy,

counterintuitive way.

He sends Jesus

who comes as a child

because we need a Savior.

So he comes

in weakness.

Jesus who comes

as a gift

purely as an act

of God's love

and grace.

Not because we deserve it.

Not for just certain people

but for everybody.

And then the last thing

we see

is that he came

to be king.

Though Jesus

chose to come

as a child

and chose to come

in weakness,

the remaining portion

of this verse

shows us

his true identity.

Don't be fooled.

It's as though

Isaiah is saying

don't be fooled

by the weakness.

This is who he came

to become

in this world.

And Isaiah gives us

four titles for Jesus.

And when you see

multiple titles,

when you see this

before a king's name,

you know,

all of the titles,

it's a way of saying

you can't understand

this king

unless you understand

all of these titles.

They're all meant

to be taken together.

Four kingly titles.

He says this king,

King Jesus,

is a wonderful counselor.

That actually means

supernatural.

The word wonderful

means supernatural.

In other words,

he's a supernatural

source of wisdom.

He's the one,

the only one

qualified

to tell us

what it means

to be human

and what will make us

flourish as human beings.

He's the only one.

He's a mighty God.

Jesus isn't just

a man of God.

He is God

in the flesh.

There's a clear claim

this is no merely

human king.

Thirdly,

everlasting father.

It's saying here

that Jesus,

as a king,

loves his people

like his own children.

And then lastly,

that he's the prince

of peace.

That Jesus is the king,

the only king

who willingly,

willingly endured

the violence,

the violence of the cross

in order to bring

an end to all violence.

He's the prince of peace,

the source of peace.

peace.

The last point

I want to make

is this.

Do you realize

how different

this is

from what most

of us believe?

Christians,

non-Christians,

Buddhists,

Muslims,

do you realize

how different

this is

than what most

of us believe?

There was a sociologist

named Christian Smith

who did an enormous

amount of research.

He interviewed Buddhists

and Muslims

and Christians

and atheists

and agnostics

and across the board,

and he wanted

to get a sense

of what do people

really believe

on the ground

functionally

in their daily life?

And he said,

you know,

we have all these

differences,

but functionally,

most people fall

into the same category.

He says,

most people believe

what he terms

moral therapeutic deism.

Moral therapeutic deism.

Moral,

it's really just about

being a good person,

good people go to heaven,

that's really what

most religions teach.

Therapeutic,

the point of life

is really to be happy

and to feel good

about ourselves,

so do what makes

you feel good.

Deism.

God really isn't involved

in our day-to-day life,

but he's there

if we need him.

Moral therapeutic deism.

He says,

most people functionally,

this is what we believe

in this country.

He says,

this is the religion

of America.

Moral therapeutic deism.

If you think about it,

this is absolutely,

really kind of reaches

its zenith

in the story

of Santa Claus.

Santa Claus

is the archetypal

moral therapeutic

icon,

right?

Santa Claus,

he doesn't bother us much,

he just comes by

once a year,

right?

Santa Claus,

whose whole job description

is giving us stuff

that will make us happy,

right?

And Santa,

whose entire

moral ethical framework

is summed up in,

be good for goodness sake.

This is moral therapeutic

deism on steroids.

And what we need to see

is that the Christmas story

is the utter antithesis

of this.

It's the complete

opposite of this.

It's not about

just being good

for goodness sake.

Christmas tells us

we're so broken

that it took nothing less

than the death

of God's son

to give us hope.

Christmas tells us

that it's not just

about feeling good

and doing what feels right.

That God has given us

himself as a free gift

and we're actually

called to love other people

with that same

sacrificial love.

Often you have to choose

between your own happiness

and loving others

that way.

And then lastly,

God is not some

distant being

who only checks in

now and then.

He's actually come here

in the flesh

to be our king.

There's a scene

in Tolkien's

Lord of the Rings series

in the last book

of that trilogy,

The Return of the King,

where Aragorn,

who's the rightful king,

he's been laboring

in total obscurity,

in total poverty,

he's been fighting battles

on behalf of his people,

he's been risking his life,

and finally at the end

he's preparing to enter

the great city

for the first time

as their king.

And the steward

cries out

his royal pedigree

as he prepares to enter.

He says,

Here is Aragorn,

son of Arathorn,

chieftain of the Dunedain

of Arnor,

captain of the host

of the west,

bearer of the star

of the north,

wielder of the sword

reforged,

victorious in battle,

whose hands bring healing,

the elf stone,

Elessar of the line

of Valendil,

Isildur's son,

Elendil's son of Numenor.

All these titles

and then the question comes,

Shall he be king

and enter this city

and dwell here?

Christmas is the story

of another king

who dwelled mostly

in obscurity,

was poor his entire life,

was fighting unseen battles

on behalf of his people,

and he ultimately gave his life

for those he came

to serve.

And so Christmas

confronts us

as we tell the Christmas story,

we are like the stewards

crying out into the world,

Here is Jesus,

the son of man,

son of God,

the Christ,

the second Adam,

the bright morning star,

the Alpha,

the Omega,

the incarnate word

whose hands bring healing,

the wonderful counselor,

mighty God,

everlasting father,

prince of peace.

shall he be king

and enter our lives

and dwell there?

This is the question

each of us must answer

for ourselves

because friends,

the darkness in this world

is real

and we need something

more than escape,

we need something

more than Santa,

we need hope,

real,

lasting,

substantial hope.

And so hear,

hear the hope

of Christmas.

For to us

a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government

shall be upon his shoulders,

and his name

shall be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Let's pray.

Our Father,

for many of us

these are familiar

ideas,

for some of us

they may not be.

I pray that you

would illuminate,

kindle,

and ignite

our hearts

to see the beauty

of this

as though

for the first time

that it would pierce us,

that we would see

the reality

of our need

the reality

of our spiritual

poverty

and the grace

and the truth

and the love

of your son Jesus.

I pray this

in your son's

holy name.

Amen.