YES, We are thankful for God’s loving gift of Christ
Isaiah 9: 2–7
LUKE 2: 8-15
JULY 27, 2025
Merry Christmas!! “Joy to the World … the Lord has come!!”
Once again, we can all be encouraging each other with the celebration of the Christmas season. We can wear Christmas ties and yes, even Christmas socks remembering that special date we have set aside in the month of December to sing carols, put real or fake trees covered with ornaments in our homes, and it is easy to remember the excitement of opening glittery wrapped gifts from family and friends. And COOKIES ah yes, we should have added a CHRISTMAS COOKIE BAKE-OFF to our CHRISTMAS in JULY celebration that would have been soooo good …
And here in July we sang together with hopeful faith the next phrase in that great song of faith … that Christmas carol … “LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING.” If only …
We have heard from the Prophet Isaiah today … “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light! On those living in a pitch-dark land, … LIGHT … has dawned!”
It seems that it often takes the Christmas season to get people focused in on giving and on receiving with joy. The Christmas season’s universality has church going folks and those who would never step foot in a sanctuary of God at least considering the name Jesus Christ … we still do call it CHRIST mas don’t we?
But once that day is over it seems that we again are witnesses to an overly consuming world that pushes a curtain of darkness that somehow and all too frequently diminishes the reality of God’s amazing love gift to us … our mindset is getting or having more and forsaking those who are hungry or hurting or even starving and dying so that some who already have can have more … even much more as others starve with nothing.
“A child is born to us, a son is given to us … He will be named wonderful Counselor … Mighty God … Eternal Father … Prince of Peace.”
We sort of remember those words … at least we do as church attenders … even in the heat of a week loaded with HEAT WARNINGS … but perhaps one of the realities of our lives is that we need to add to our calendar schedules the ongoing words that in December we associate with Christmas … “REJOICE in the LORD” and then repeat it again telling ourselves … “AGAIN and AGAIN REJOICE in the LORD” have joy because God gave us Jesus … an everlasting Christmas gift that does not end in December because that child was “BORN TO US … that SON was given to us.”
To us … to you and to me … out of love but we are also given the choice whether to wrap our arms around God’s gift excitedly and just like children regularly telling all of our friends how much we value and enjoy this gift of God … just like we tell others about the special gifts we receive from family members and friends … or … or we can pack away the Son of God … we can act like we haven’t sensed or seen the great light of Christ or we can even act as if we never received God’s gift at all. Hmm
It does amaze me at times how we can receive signs that God is with us … that God has not abandoned us … signs reminding us that we need to cherish the God gift that actually lasts forever. As I was thinking about today both this celebration of Christmas in July and the start of our Vacation Bible School … I opened up YOUTUBE on my TV to search for a comedy game show that I enjoy watching before going to sleep. What popped up on the SEARCH PAGE last night was a link to the song MARY DID YOU KNOW sung by Kenny Rogers and Wyonna Judd. I don’t know why it was there but …
I immediately thought of Rich and Elaine singing that song so many times here in this sanctuary … I smiled and played the song … “Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water … Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters … DID YOU KNOW that your baby boy has come to make YOU new?”
And, therein lies the reason we need to celebrate Christmas in July … DID YOU KNOW that the baby Jesus whom Mary delivered to the world came to make you new and have you allowed that to happen? Happen to you … with you? Restoring you, refreshing you, and taking you away from the world so that your focus is on God and Christ? Daily not just once in a while.
During the Christmas-tide celebrations did you ever hear the words that followed the phrase “a child is born to us, a son is given to us?” Those words are about receiving a gift … just like one of those 12 days of Christmas oriented gifts … A Partridge in a Pear Tree, Turtle Doves, Lords a Leaping, Maids a Milking and of course FIVE GOLDEN RINGS … 4 calling birds three French hens …
Ah, I can’t wait to get all of you singing that song and seeing your actions to the words … but the Christmas gift of God calls all of us into action not just joyful receipt. “The people walking in darkness HAVE SEEN A GREAT LIGHT … A child is born to us, a son is given to us AND …” yes, there is an AND right there in Isaiah’s prophecy. Perhaps you might consider this as a conditional instruction sheet that recipients need to pay attention to in order for the gift to work properly. It’s not in tiny print … it’s not in a foreign language although you can find this celebration of God’s love … the story of Christmas in any language … it is universal not just for one language nor for one corner of the world … there is an AND, which is perhaps a reason some folks aren’t overly thankful for God’s loving gift of the baby Jesus or the reason why some hold Jesus’ birth as a minimal aspect of their December 25th celebrations.
“A CHILD IS BORN TO US … A SON IS GIVEN TO US … AND AUTHORITY WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS. THERE WILL BE VAST AUTHORITY and ENDLESS PEACE for DAVID’s THRONE and FOR HIS KINGDOM, ESTABLISHING and SUSTAINING IT WITH JUSTICE and RIGHTEOUSNESS NOW and FOREVER.
The AND … the words we need to pay attention to are AUTHORITY WILL BE ON HIS SHOULDERS … VAST AUTHORITY, which means in order to get this gift’s full benefit, which is ENDLESS PEACE there needs to be some attention given to the one with the AUTHORITY, JESUS CHRIST.
And, therein lies the human dilemma … do we want to give up our authority or our choosing the authority of those in the world whose influence and connection we enjoy in order to make this loving gift of God operative? Are we willing to be a member of the collective group of global humans who strive to sustain this loving Christmas gift of God with justice and righteousness, and of course open joy which are the operative directions that Jesus the man will teach humanity over and over again?
Jesus in answering a debate amongst His disciples who were arguing who would be the greatest in heaven called a child up. I am sure that this gained the disciples attention just like the Lord’s angel gained the attention of the shepherds in the field. In a lesson that is a reminder to all of us as we think about Christmas in July and perhaps remember Christmas moments from our past. As we think about VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL that is starting tonight …the kids whose families learned about a week’s connection to God because someone shared the news …
Jesus called the child and had him stand amongst the disciples. Jesus then in a loud clear voice said, “I tell you the truth! Unless you turn around and become like little children you will NEVER (In Greek this negative phrase is very strong, NEVER EVER EVER might be a better translation of ou me) enter the kingdom of heaven! Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a child like this in my name welcomes me.”
Tonight, we start to welcome children in Jesus’ name … to this church … it takes volunteers to do that. These children might only know Jesus from their Christmas celebrations that get fully blended with Santa Claus … when you think about Christmas are you considering Jesus’ authority? Jesus’ directives … He said we must turn around and become like children … perhaps because children embrace special gifts or don’t let the world control their lives. Jesus told us to welcome children in His name.
Jazz musician Chuck Mangione died this week … I have frequently used his song “Look to the Children” in sermons and last night I found his album TOGETHER on e-bay and ordered it. As we consider the authority of Christ … and Christmas in July here are Chuck’s words:
“Look, please look to the children. The children they know. In their eyes are the answers we seek and their hearts feel the way to go. Look, please look to the children, They know more than we. How it feels in this world to be free. Free to love and be loved by all.”
That’s the ultimate Christmas message … feel free to love all and be loved by all.
And, suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE, GOOD WILL toward men. And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven that the shepherds said one to another … let us not go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.”
Merry Christmas … rush to see what God has given to You and embrace the gift like a child would and live your faith as that child showing love for all and appreciation for Jesus authority now and forever more. AMEN