O Holy Night

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"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable to you, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."

"O Holy Night"

(Hebrews 1:1-5)

INTRODUCTION:

      Here we are on the holiest night of all.  The night our Savior was born.  Through scripture and song, we've heard that age old story of God's great love for us and God's great gift of grace to redeem us.  That gift of grace came in a very unexpected way.  Who would have thought that the King of the Angels, the Lord of Creation, the Savior of the world would come as an infant born to a carpenter and his wife.  They didn't even have a decent place to deliver the the child.  They were forced to used an old stable and lay the baby in a manger.

      Everyone was surprised at this unexpected turn of events.  But then God is in the surprise business.  God always surprises us when we least expect it.  Or when we try to box God in with our own limited vision and expectations. That's sort of what this night is all about.  Looking beyond our limited vision and opening our eyes to God's expectations.

      Let me give you an example.  There was a church which held a live nativity every year. They'd done it for years and would run the week before Christmas. The church was located in a busy part of town. Lots of travelers passed by, many of whom would stop to enjoy the live nativity.

      Every year the live nativity got bigger and better. A bigger stable was built. More live animals were added, instead of just sheep they added chickens, calves and a donkey. One year they even rented three camels from the local Shriners. More and more people wanted to be part of it, so more characters were added every year. The innkeeper's wife now had a couple of children by her side. More shepherds were added.  One year they even had servants following the three wise men. More angels were added. It literally became a host of angels as fifty voices sang of Christ's birth. One year there were seventy-five people involved in this week long live activity.

      The committee in charge worked hard trying to improve it every year. These folks knew what had to be done and planned nearly a year in advance. One year they decided to advertise to see if more folks would drive past and maybe even stop. There was a retired painter in the congregation, so the pastor asked if he would design and paint an advertisement on a billboard near the highway. Everybody thought is was a great idea. Thousands of folks would see it. The committee was in total agreement. The painter agreed to paint the billboard, he'd always wanted to do something special for the church and now that he was retired he had the time. But he had one request, he didn't want anyone to see it until it was complete.  They all agreed.  Everyone thought this would be their best ever.

      When the billboard was completed half the congregation and a bunch of people from the community came to see it unveiled. The junior high band was playing Christmas Carols. The mayor stood alongside the pastor. There was a live remote from one of the local television stations. It was one of those magical evenings as the mayor addressed the crowd that had gathered.

      As the moment approached, everyone joined in singing "Away In A Manger."  One of the Junior High kids gave a drum roll and the painter signaled for the cloth covering the sign to be dropped.              People started applauding and then the music stopped. At first there was just a quiet murmur that rippled through the crowd, then people gasped.  That was followed by a din of wonderment which grew into what sounded like a roar of disapproval. They couldn't believe what they were seeing! It looked nothing like their  nativity.

      Instead of the traditional nativity scene, the sign painter had painted a simple cardboard shack with a contemporary Joseph and Mary who looked very much like the street people who lived in the park a few blocks from the church.  Baby Jesus was wrapped in rags and lying in a tattered disposable diaper box. There weren't any shepherds or wise men.  There weren't any angels with gold tipped wings. There was only a bag lady and a cop on a horse.

      Some of the members were upset and even embarrassed. That wasn't the way it was supposed to be. They wanted to know who  approved such a sign. They had to be crazy, that wasn't the way it was supposed to be done. After all, they were a respectable church with respectable members.

      The next day the tape in the answering machine was full and the phones were ringing off the hook. The church secretary was kept busy most of the day just answering the phone. People were calling from all over to the area, to say: how much they loved the billboard.                    Others called to say how meaningful it was for them.  Reporters called from around the state.  Disc jockeys wanted to find out more about this unusual advertisement. By Thursday this retired sign painter was a celebrity. He had appeared on two national talk shows.

      And maybe the most amazing thing of all was that on that next Sunday the church was filled to overflowing. (1)   

CONCLUSION:

      God always surprises us in ways we can't even imagine. That's the miracle of Christmas. God is full of surprises.

      As Bill Murray says toward the end of the movie "Scrooged", "For a couple of hours out of the year, we ARE the people we hoped we would be!"  I think you can see that in the mound of blankets under the tree.  In our concern for one another.  In our general feeling of good will toward even the stranger.

      In those couple of hours, I think we become the people God created us to be, and that fill us with hope and a vision far beyond our own limited vision, all because God surprised the world by stepping out of heaven and into a manger on this holiest of night so long ago.

This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

____________________________________________________

1.    Adapted from LECTIONARY STORIES, by John E. Sumwalt, "This Will Be A Sign," 1991.

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