Text: Isaiah 9:2-7
Theme: "Gifts Not Under the Tree"
THE
FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF OUR LORD
December
24, 2013
First
Presbyterian Church
Rev.
Paul R. Dunklau
+In
the Name of Jesus+
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
3 You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
4 For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
If
being a bit old-fashioned is a crime, then there is enough evidence to convict
me. Case in point: I do
love the great old songs of Christmas. I
learned many of those carols, odd as it may seem, from listening to the
long-playing albums that companies like Firestone and Goodyear put out all
those years ago.
One
of the joys of being a Christian is that you meet fellow believers that, were
it not for the church, you likely would not meet. One such friend of mine is named Doug Hill,
now a retired commercial airline pilot.
We shared a love of those old Firestone and Goodyear albums, and we
compared notes. He took my old records
and his. Then he re-recorded them in
digital format. A few years back he gave
me a gift-wrapped stack CDs of those old classics, and I've enjoyed them ever
since.
My
favorite this year is a Christmas song sung by Petula Clark called
"Happiest Christmas":
The
happiest Christmas is a homecoming Christmas
With
the snow fluttering down til the world seems new.
Bright
candles burning; old friends returning;
The
wishes of children coming true.
And
the happiest wishes are just old-fashioned wishes.
May
your days be merry; your sorrows be small.
May
the ones you love be near you.
That's
the happiest Christmas of all.
Once
again, we've heard the age-old story from Luke, chapter two: "Unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord." That first Christmas may not have been the
happiest Christmas -- ala' Petula Clark, but it was the greatest. It's message of salvation and redemption in
the Christ-child has held the world in its warm embrace for over two thousand
years.
Following
that great gift of God's Son at Christmas, Christians and people of good will
all through the world have followed in that tradition of giving gifts. Tonight and tomorrow, all throughout this
land, gifts under countless Christmas trees will be handed out, opened, and
enjoyed.
As
I reflected on our text, this great Christmas prophecy of Isaiah, it occurred
to me that this ancient seer, so to speak, unpacked Christmas gifts that no one
will find under the tree. But you will
find them in the pages of God's Word.
Let me identify these gifts and set them before you in our time together
this evening.
The
first gift is LIGHT FOR YOUR DARKNESS.
"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light" is
the first verbal salvo from Isaiah. The
difficulties and struggles we all face are like darkness. We're stuck; we don't know where to
turn. But Christmas declares you have a
light for your darkness.
The
second gift is the JOY OF BELONGING.
Isaiah says that God has enlarged the nation and increased the joy. By the grace baby Jesus came to bring, you
are part of that nation, a citizen of that kingdom. You belong.
While
there may be something of a lull tonight and tomorrow, the day after Christmas
we will likely be reminded that live in a world where there are wars and rumors
of wars. With this in mind, the third
gift is the PROMISE THAT WAR SHALL CEASE.
Again, Isaiah: "Every
warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be
destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire." And with God, a promise made is a promise
kept.
The
fourth gift is this: YOU WILL NEVER BE WITHOUT FAMILY. For unto you a child is
born, and unto you a Son is given.
The
fifth gift is this: GOD IS IN
CHARGE. The "government is on His
shoulders," says Isaiah.
The
sixth gift is this: YOU HAVE SOMEONE YOU
CAN ALWAYS TURN TO, for you have a "Wonderful Counselor." His great counsel is in His Word, and that
can be at your fingertip any day or any night.
The
seventh gift is this: YOU HAVE
POWER. Isaiah says that this child, this
Son that was born unto you is the mighty God.
He's not a statue or an icon. He
is the One who spelled the end of everything that sin, death, and hell could do
to you. But His power is made perfect in
weakness. Who would have thought that
this helpless baby shivering in a manger was the mighty Creator of the ends of
the earth? You get the arms of your
heart and mind around that, and you are on your way! It changes everything!
The
eighth gift is this: YOU ARE NOT AN
ORPHAN. You never have been; you never will be.
You may not have earthly parents.
But you have an "everlasting Father," says Isaiah, a heavenly parent.
The
ninth gift is PEACE AT THE CENTER. St.
Paul, inspired by God, once declared:
"Nevertheless, it is not I
who live but Christ who lives in me."
When Christ lives in you, you nod your head at Isaiah's word that the babe
of Bethlehem is the prince of peace. As
the Scriptures declare, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far
away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace... ."
The
tenth gift is A DIVINE GUARANTEE. All
the previous gifts are good to go; they cannot wear out; they will never cease;
they shall always be yours to enjoy and share.
These are the gifts that came into the world on that first and greatest
Christmas! They will always continue to
be given out as the Spirit of the
Christ-child, the Holy Spirit, does so
through the Word of God and the blessed sacraments. And what makes this so? What makes it happen? Isaiah answers: "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will
accomplish this."
A
quick review of the gifts not under the tree:
LIGHT FOR YOUR DARKNESS
THE JOY OF BELONGING
THE PROMISE THAT WAR SHALL CEASE
YOU WILL NEVER BE WITHOUT A
FAMILY
YOU HAVE SOMEONE YOU CAN ALWAYS
TURN TO
YOU HAVE POWER
YOU ARE NOT AN ORPHAN
YOU HAVE PEACE AT THE CENTER
All of the above come with a
DIVINE GUARANTEE
So
we can revisit that old song by Petula Clark with fresh perspective. The happiest Christmas IS a homecoming
Christmas. For, at that first and
greatest Christmas, God left His home to come to ours, so that we, one day,
could go home to His.
And
the happiest wishes are just old-fashioned wishes:
may
your days be merry; your sorrows be small.
May
the ones you love be near you.
That's
the happiest Christmas of all.
Amen.
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