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December 25, 2006

Fred Heard - Christmas Day 06

Christmas Day Sermon 2006
Trinity Parish - Father Fred Heard

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This Christmas, 2006, I invite you to hear the words of Jesus again—the words of Jesus, the man, after he was grown. He said:


The king will say to those at his right hand,

"Come, you that are blessed by my Father,

inherit the kingdom prepared for you

from the foundation of the world;

for I was hungry and you gave me food,

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you welcomed me,

I was naked and you gave me clothing,

I was sick and you took care of me,

I was in prison and you visited me."

Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord,

when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food,

or thirsty and gave you something to drink?

And when was it that we saw you a stranger

and welcomed you,

or naked and gave you clothing?

And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison

and visited you?"

And the king will answer them, "Truly I tell you,

just as you did it to one of the least of these

who are members of my family,

you did it to me."

So people say we should put Christ back in Christmas. Well Christ never left Christmas. More importantly, we should seek Christ in our lives. Is Jesus lost? No—are we?

This last Thursday, I was reading my newspaper and was really struck by the stories that made the news. Tens of thousands have left California because they can no longer afford to live here. Love story hinges on finding a lung donor. Three plead guilty to church arsons. Virginia lawmaker stands by anti-Muslim letter to constituents. Many Latinos lack access to healthy food, study says. Same sex marriage law goes to high court. Sign in controversial Iraq war memorial is vandalized overnight. Strippers pitch in tips to bring Christmas joy to children in need. High court may take up question of Scouts religious status. Girl, 6, victim of random shooting—hit twice inside home. Jury gets case of mom who killed sons.

Where would Christ be if these events had happened in his neighborhood last Thursday? Would he really care if an elected lawmaker took the oath of office on the Koran instead of the Bible or would he be more concerned about the housing and food issues? Would he be more concerned about the state marriage laws or would he be most concerned about the abuse and killings of children? Where is Christ this Christmas? His heart would break with this headline: Christians see little future in little town of Bethlehem. Palestinian uprising and Israeli security have reduced tourism and people cannot support themselves. Unemployment is at 60 percent. A generation ago Christians made up 80 percent of the population. That is now 15 percent.

You will remember Jesus’ anger with the money lenders. He would certainly not have patience as he sees his people starve—as he sees them ill and unable to afford medical care—as he sees them killing each other in war—as he sees religion fighting religion. Jesus loved the people and really did not distinguish between rich or poor or upper class and lower class or sick or healthy. He was there and he touched them and he let them touch him.

When I did Trinity chapel last Thursday—a little boy brought a baby Jesus that he had made out of some scraps of cloth to chapel and he brought a piece of cardboard and that was the manger. Most of the little kids were talking about the birth of the baby Jesus and they understand that is what we celebrate. We closed chapel after they heard and contributed to the story of the Nativity and we sang Jingle Bells and Rudolph because those kids have perspective…even at those tender ages of two, three, and four, they know where Christ is—they are not looking for him because he is truly in their hearts. And then as they came up quite spontaneously and gave me a hug and wished me a Merry Christmas, there were tears in my eyes.

Nobody was looking for Christ that first Christmas and nobody was looking for Christ in Chapel last Thursday on Trinity’s campus. The innkeeper wasn't looking for Christ. The shepherds weren't looking for Christ. They were just taking care of their sheep. The angels brought the good news—"Do not be afraid; for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people; to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

It is easy to get caught up in lesser things at Christmas. We want so badly to get just the right presents for everyone—and to get the perfect tree and to have the house just so.
We run out of money before we run out of friends and we get tired.

Sometimes, we invite Santa to our homes for special family occasions at Christmas and that is all right—but do we invite Jesus to our homes every day of the year? Are we looking for Christ this Christmas? Or is Jesus just a two-thousand-year-old story? Has Christ just come and gone?

Where do we look for Christ this Christmas? The children gave us a clue. If we are doing Christ’s work and truly being his people—he will find us and bless us.

Merry Christmas everyone—Merry Merry Christmas!