Skunks, Cracked Stack, and Broken Dishwasher But a Joyful Christmas

 

This week more than one person has said to me, "I just don't feel the Christmas spirit this year."

It got me thinking about what that means for us, and why we have it or don't.

If you think about it, you have to admit that it is a little odd that we are expected to be all holy and jolly this time of year regardless of what is happening in our lives or the world.

I mean what if you are mourning?

What if you are dealing with serious health issues?

What if you are dealing with mental illness?

What if you can't afford to buy gifts or host a meal?

I have been dealing with what seems like one issue after another since Advent started.

It started when we had skunks under the school.

We had to move all the kids over to the church.

I spent a Monday morning at the laundry mat washing blankets and rugs.

Then our dishwasher stopped working.

In the middle of our preparations for our open house.

Then we had a leak in our plumbing at the parsonage.

Today when you come over for the open house you will see the carnage still, as we deal with the issue.

There were some other personal emergencies I had to deal with too.

All of these things are normal life things.

We are always dealing with skunks, plumbing, and things breaking.

But when these things happen during the Christmas season it seems to make it worse.

Because it is Christmas time and we are supposed to be holly and jolly.

This is supposed to be the best time of the year.

 

Just because it is December that mean we are supposed to be happy.

Everything in our cultural celebration of Christmas tells us we have to be.

From the movies, we watch to the music we listen to, to the way people tell us it is supposed to be.

But what if we simply are not in the mood?

Does that mean we are not in the Christmas spirit?

Does that mean that we are doing something wrong?

 

It seems like Jesus' question this morning is a good place for us to start.

"What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?"

Jesus asks this question about John, but also about what people are expecting him to do and be.

What is it that we are searching for?

Are we looking for something soft and easy?

Or are we looking for something more?

For a word that doesn't just fade away when we take down the Christmas tree.

For a word that strikes at what it is, that is really at the core of our unease?

For a word that isn't just about being happy, but about being joyful.

 

Because happiness is always fleeting.

Having fun is about a moment in time.

It is great to have fun and to experience happiness.

And there are moments for me where I have that happiness.

Today will be a happy day.

Having people at our house for the open house is always fun for me.

A couple of weeks ago when we went to Tandy's for Beer and Hymns that was a lot of fun.

I was really happy that night.

But Jesus is right, those things are but the reeds in the wind.

The next day, life is back to being hard.

And for a hard life, we need a message that won't simply tell us that we are having a wonderful Christmas time.

We need a word that will bring us joy.

 

And joy is different from happiness.

It is longer lasting.

It is deeper in our souls.

It is not based on our condition in life.

Joy is what Jesus brings into the world.

 

Joy is what Jesus gives us deep in our hearts.

Because it is true that we might not be in the Christmas spirit, but what we have instead is more important.

We know God's love and grace.

We know God's word given by Jesus Christ.

We know that God walks with us through skunks, broken dishwashers, cracked pipes, and all of the hard things we face in this life.

That is where joy is found, not in songs that tell us to be happy, or store clerks wishing us a "Merry Christmas".

 

I don't know if you are missing the Christmas spirit this year.

I want to give you permission not to have to feel it.

Instead, I want to invite you with me into the wilderness.

Let us go together to hear the prophet's words.

Let us hear Isaiah tell us to "be strong, do not fear!"

Because God is coming to save us.

Let us hear the psalmist remind us that the "Lord lifts up those who are bowed down."

Those are words that bring joy to my heart.

They remind us of what it is Jesus brings into the world.

A world that is hard, but where the blind see, the lame walk, captives are set free, and justice for the oppressed.

Isn't that what we need to hear this Christmas.

We don't need another song about how holly and jolly we should all be, instead, we need a message that has deep roots.

A message rooted in the word of God.

A true message of joy!

 

Because I do believe that Christmas is joyful.

It is filled with so many good things in life.

It is filled with us together right now.

It is filled with food, friends, family, presents, and lights.

All of those things are gifts from God to us.

It is just that we don't have to feel all merry and bright all the time.

We can also be frustrated that things are not going the way we wish.

Or sad that someone we love is no longer hear with us.

Or upset that our kids are not behaving.

Or frustrated that we have to buy so many presents.

Or disappointed that the world is unjust, and so many people are struggling to make ends meet.

Or whatever normal human thing we are going through.

 

Christmas can remind us that our God is not above all those things, but rather that God came to us as a human being.

That God in Jesus Christ walked this earth.

That God wore our skin and knows our sadness, frustrations, and disappointments, and that we get upset.

God knows we are not always in the Christmas spirit.

And because of that, we know that whatever comes our way.

Whatever difficult things we face we are never alone.

We are able to deal with it, and even among all those things still have joy.

Joy in knowing the strong roots of God's love, mercy, and grace.

 

So there might be skunks under the school, and things might be broken.

I may have a broken heart or dealing with something difficult this Christmas season.

I might not be in the mood for Christmas spirit.

But the good news is that is ok.

Because Jesus has come into the world, is coming into the world, and is here now with us.

And with that,

we can face it all.

Because what we go out to see is not all merry and bright, but the truth of God's word.

The promises of God's redemption and saving.

So, we can have joy deep in our souls.

 

May all of you have a joyful Christmas, and remember the promises of God are with you always.

Amen

 

 

I Need John the Baptist This Year

 

Is it just me or does it seem that Christmas is coming fast this year?

It is always a challenge when Advent starts right after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve is on a Saturday.

It means a shortened Advent season.

And that means that all of our preparations have to speed up.

Not to mention that this is the first time in a long time that we are having a more "normal" Christmas.

We are doing all of the things we did before the pandemic again this year.

I mention it this morning because I am always a little worried that our preparations for the Christmas season will drown out our preparations for Christ to come again.

That is preparing for gifts, parties, and time with family, we will forget what it is we are doing this season.

 

I don't like these two weeks of Advent when I have to preach on John the Baptist.

But this year I need John.

John is the one who comes to prepare the way for Jesus.

He comes in the wilderness to preach about repentance for the forgiveness of sins, to call us back to God.

John reminds us that we can't merely rely on our religious beliefs.

We can't pretend to say that we have Abraham as our father.

Or that we have Jesus and all is well.

Our faith compels us to a continued life of repentance and forgiveness.

 

We have to admit that it all seems a little out of sorts.

I mean where is there time or energy for that this season.

We have so much to get done.

We have to buy gifts.

We have to bake cookies.

We have to cook the food.

We have to attend the parties.

We have to watch Christmas movies.

Where will we find the time to confess our sins?

What does that have to do with Christmas?

Why do we have to even consider it?

 

At Thanksgiving, my aunt was talking about all the Christmases that my family had when I was growing up.

My aunt would be there most Christmas eve with us.

We were marveling at all the work my mom put into those times.

The meals that she prepared.

The way she created this perfect feel of what Christmas was supposed to be.

I have such wonderful memories of those times, and so did my aunt.

And Christmas was always about more than the presents and the food.

We went to two Christmas eve worship services most years, or at least my parents would.

We would read the Christmas story before opening our presents.

My point is that one did not take away from the other.

They were intertwined.

Our lives of faith are not divorced from the lives we live.

It isn't just that we went to Church.

It is that Christmas was a holy time.

It had everything to do with Jesus coming into the world.

Even the food and the presents.

Those things were just symbols of love.

They were symbols of the love that we shared as a family and the love that we were given by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.

We can't have Christmas without going out into the wilderness to confess our sins, any more than we can have Christmas without whatever way you celebrate it.

We can't have it without some contemplation on what it means for us.

There is nothing wrong with wanting our Christmas time to be wonderful and joyful.

There is nothing wrong with wanting our family to be together and happy.

In fact, that is a huge part of this holiday season.

I think that what we are asked by John to do is think more deeply about why those things matter.

 

They matter because they are symbols of greater love.

John tells us today that he is not the final word.

That there is fire coming into this world.

We need the fire.

We need to be set ablaze so that our hearts are centered on what God asks of us.

John is setting up what is coming in Jesus Christ.

And the question that is proposed to us in Advent is are we ready?

Not for Christmas eve, because let us be honest none of us is ready for that this year.

But are we ready for Christ to come?

 

One of the things we have been doing in our house to get ready for Christmas is clearing the clutter.

We have to move things so we can put up our tree.

We have cleared out old things so there is room for people to come and have a good time at our house.

We need this not only physically but also we need this spiritually.

We need to clear out all of the things in our lives that are holding us back from being who God has called us to be.

We need to be ready so that when Jesus comes we can accept his love for us and the world.

 

I know that one of the things I am trying to rid myself of this Advent is my propensity to be pessimistic.

I am trying to clear it out so that I can be surprised by God, the world around me, and other people.

I think it is healthy to not have too high of expectations for people.

People are simply people.

They are complicated and sinful.

They do things that don't always make sense to me.

However, I am trying to carve out some room for God to do things with people that I don't expect.

I am making room for hope this Advent season.

Hope that God will bring new things to our world.

Hope that people's hearts will be changed by God.

Hope that we can learn to really love each other.

Hope that we learn to say what is true about ourselves and others.

Hope that we will know the grace of God.

 

That happens to us when we confess our sins and hear the promise of God's forgiveness.

We begin to hope.

Hope that our lives will change, that the world will change, and that things will be different.

That is why it is so important not to skip over it this Advent.

It is why we need to go out into the wilderness and once again confess our sins.

Because all of the things we do to make this season special for our loved ones are dependent on that.

It is vital for us to be able to know God's love in order to share it with others.

We know that love is by being forgiven, and by allowing God's grace to work its way through our souls.

 

Christmas may be coming soon.

We might be feeling the crunch of time.

But it is not too late to take some time to go out into the wilderness and listen to John the Baptist tell us to repent.

And in that repentance to receive the wonderful words of God's grace.

There at that moment, we experience the wonderful hope that this season has to offer us, and that we can give back to others.

 

May repentance be part of your Christmas season.

May the fire of Christ be in you, so that you might know the hope that Jesus brings to you and the world.

Amen