The People Who Missed Christmas

THE PEOPLE WHO MISS CHRISTMAS Spring Valley Mennonite; December 6, 2020; Matthew 2:1-8, 16; Luke 2:7 It is a sad fact that in America most people miss Christmas. Obviously I don't mean the "cultural Christmas" that begins about Mid-October and goes through the after-Christmas sales; that level of Christmas observance is inescapable. But it is my belief that the real meaning of Christmas is completely lost to the majority of people, buried under myth and empty traditions. This was demonstrated by what happened in a major West Coast city before Christmas one year. A major newspaper conducted man-on-the-street interviews on "what Christmas means to you". Two whole pages of the newspaper were devoted to the comments they gathered. The views were varied, some were sentimental-"Christmas is a family time"; "a time for children"; and so forth. Others were more humanistic in tone: "Christmas is a time to celebrate love for our fellow man"; "a time to demonstrate the wonderful spirit of giving", and that sort of thing. Still others were grossly self-indulgent, viewing Christmas as a season for partying. And while the editorial bias of the paper might be showing, not one person mentioned that Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ or the miracle when God became man. So, I still maintain that many in America miss Christmas. Really, not much has changed in the 2000+ years since that first still Bethlehem night. Most people alive at that time also completely missed the first Christmas. Consider with me this morning several people or groups of people who missed that first Christmas, for they do have counterparts in our culture today. We need to be sure we don't fall victim to their shortcomings. The first person I would point out is found in Luke's Gospel, chapter 2, verse 7. This person is: I. THE INNKEEPER While scripture doesn't specifically mention the innkeeper, we must assume his existence. I would point out that there exist many assumptions and traditions regarding the Christmas story, and we must beware of "Christmas Card Theology". However, I think it is safe to believe that an innkeeper existed. On that eventful afternoon or evening in Bethlehem a very concerned Joseph inquired at an inn about a place where his wife could rest, for she was very near her time to give birth to their first child. The three-day journey from Nazareth would not have been easy for Mary. I have no doubt that Joseph and Mary were aware of the prophesy that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, a fact that made the trip necessary even though Mary was 9 months pregnant! Upon their arrival, the Bethlehem Innkeeper offered little help, and we only assume that it was his stable that was offered as shelter. That is only an assumption, for scripture is silent. It is just as likely that the stable belonged to someone other than the Innkeeper. Nevertheless, the innkeeper missed Christmas. Verse 7 makes a point about the loneliness of the birth. Mary gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths and she laid Him in a manger. We also assume that Joseph was there, but if he was like most first-time fathers, he probably wasn't a lot of help. I'm sure he and Mary hadn't taken any birth-preparation classes, or that he knew anything about breathing exercises. Only within the last 40 years have fathers in our culture had anything to do with "birthing babies". I doubt whether Joseph was much help. It was a lonely birth: no grandmother, aunts or sisters, no midwife is mentioned; Mary took her newborn, wrapped Him securely and laid Him in a feed trough. One positive note however: the stable was private. Inns of that day did not have private rooms, but a common room in which patrons spread out. We know none of the details regarding the innkeeper, except his inn was full. We do know that he missed the honor of having the Messiah of Israel, the very Son of God, born in his establishment. He missed the first Christmas because he was preoccupied. The whole province of Judea was bustling with activity because of the Roman census. Many people needed to travel, and that is a good time for an inn to make money. Today retail establishments count on making between 50 and 70% of their yearly revenue during the Christmas buying season. This innkeeper was too busy to pay much attention to one humble peasant couple and their need. There is no indication he was antagonistic, just preoccupied and busy. He was exactly like millions of people today, perhaps ourselves. Such lives are filled with activity, not necessarily sinful things, but many things that keep them too busy to take time to observe the birth of the King and Savior of the Universe. Although this year is unique with social distancing and avoiding crowds, even so we do tend to get busy: decorating, sending out cards and letters, online shopping: doing things that compete for our time and attention. And in this busy-ness, we are in danger of becoming so preoccupied that we miss Christmas. So the innkeeper missed Christmas, as did all the other inhabitants of Bethlehem. Another one who missed it was: II. HEROD THE GREAT Matthew 2 tells his story. (Matthew 2:1-8) Herod pretended he wanted to worship the newborn Jesus, but he was only being protective of his throne. In the visit of the Magi, we observe foreign dignitaries looking for the newborn King of the Jews. Now we understand that Herod was not Jewish, but rather he was a descendent of Esau (remember Esau was the twin brother of Jacob); these people were called Edomites. Herod had been appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in late 40 B.C. He was given this title as a reward for defeating a Jewish uprising against Rome. Backing this Jewish rebellion was the Empire of the Parthians, who ruled the former Persian Kingdom. The Parthians were rivals of the Romans. By the way, the Magi were Parthians. We can thus understand Herod's concern when these Parthian Magi came looking for a newborn King of the Jews. Herod had done his best to eliminate any threats to his throne. His wicked and ruthless nature appealed to the Romans who liked his merciless efficiency in extracting taxes from the people. He had already murdered three of his own sons because he thought they might try to take his place as King. One of his ten wives had a brother, Aristobulus, who was the Jewish High Priest. In a fit of paranoia, Herod had both Aristobulus and his own wife killed. Herod was universally hated and feared among the Jews. Knowing his reputation, it is not difficult to understand Herod's brutal response to the rumored birth of a new King of the Jews. When he learned the wise men had quietly departed Bethlehem without telling him of the whereabouts of the infant, he had all the babies around Bethlehem slaughtered. God had already warned Joseph of the danger and the family had fled to Egypt. Herod missed Christmas because of fear-jealous fear. You might wonder about Herod's counterpart in our society but consider: his fear was that someone would take his throne. Lots of people are like Herod in that they won't consider letting anyone or anything interfere with their career, their position, their power, their ambition, their plans, or their lifestyle. These people are not only corporate-CEO types, but they can be the farmer, the homemaker, the school teacher, the student-they can be you or me. They can be anyone who will not allow anyone other than themselves to be the king of their life. Jesus is seen as a threat to their independence, so jealous fear makes them miss Christmas. Such people do like the Christmas season. They might even call on Jesus in times of crisis. They many even see no problem in adding Jesus to their agenda for an hour on Sunday morning, but the moment He begins making claims upon their lives as King-then Jesus becomes a threat. They are as fearful at losing their self-determination, the control of their lives-they are as fearful as Herod was of losing his throne. In Luke 19:14, the people at Jesus' trial screamed out to Pilate "We do not want this man to rule over us". Millions of people live under the same kind of jealous fear of God as did Herod. These people miss Christmas. In addition to the innkeeper in his busyness, and Herod with his jealous fear, there was another group who missed Christmas because of their indifference. I speak of the: III. JEWISH RELIGIOUS LEADERS Although the religious leaders are mentioned only in passing in the context of the inquiry of the Magi, they played a major role during Jesus' ministry and death. These were scholars who knew the Old Testament so thoroughly that they had no trouble informing Herod and the wise men of the exact city where the Messiah was to be born. Isn't it curious and revealing that none of these religious leaders bothered to investigate whether the Messiah had actually been born? Bethlehem was only a few miles from Jerusalem. It wouldn't have taken much time to check out the story. These men were the elite-the intelligencia, the theologians, the minds, the religious aristocracy of Israel. The coming of the Messiah should have been eagerly anticipated by these ones who studied the Holy Scriptures. It was the Messiah who would lead Israel back to world leadership and prominence. It was He who would vanquish all their enemies. Why were these men so disinterested? It was because if indifference. That was the reason they missed Christmas. The Messiah was not really important to them. They felt they really didn't need Him. They were already righteous in their own eyes, and felt they were perfectly keeping the Law. Perfect in their own eyes, they were filled with pride. The root of indifference toward God is always pride. The religious leaders saw no need for change in their lives. They had no time for anything that would distract them from their own self-importance. When Jesus began His public ministry, these men became His principle adversaries. Jesus challenged the "statis quo" and their positions of authority. Indifference is a sin against Christ, but sadly, it is one of the most common responses of man to God. It is typical of religious people who see no need for a Savior. Such people think they are alright just as they are. After all, they can point out so many people who are less righteous than themselves. Jesus said, "I do not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Those who are self-righteous and indifferent do not respond to His call. Many religious people in America ignore Christ because they do not see themselves as sinful. There are probably more people who ignore Christ seeing themselves as upright, productive citizens than those who reject Him because of openly sinful lifestyles. Such people do not oppose Christ; they simply ignore Him. I fear the Church pews of America are full of such indifferent people who ignore the Savor. They don't care for the remedy because they don't think they have the disease. They too miss Christmas. In addition to the innkeeper, Herod, and the religious leaders, there were several... IV. OTHERS WHO MISSED CHRISTMAS How about the whole city of Jerusalem, which was only a few miles from Bethlehem? The people of Jerusalem slept as the King and Savior of the world was born. Out of all the people in the vicinity of this great Jewish Capital City, God passed over all the inhabitants of the Holy City and picked some humble shepherds in the fields to receive the Divine Birth Announcement. The humble shepherds were the only visitors that came that still, quiet night to visit the newborn King of the Universe. Only the lowly shepherds did not miss Christmas; all the rest of Jerusalem did. Why did they miss Christmas? One word: Religion. Jerusalem was the hub of Judaism. The Temple was in Jerusalem and the people had access to the Temple at any time. The people were so busy with religious ritual that they missed the reality behind the ritual. Another word for religious rituals is tradition. They were busy worshipping the right God in the wrong way. Religion can be a deadly trap: ritual, rules, and traditions make people feel spiritual when they are not. Can it happen right here in our church? Church attendance, singing the songs, reading the Bible, attending a Sunday School class, putting money in the offering plate-Now, I am not saying we shouldn't do such things, BUT such things do not necessarily make you spiritual, and such activities certainly will not make you a Christian. Don't let treasured Christmas traditions mask and overwhelm the true meaning of Christmas. Religion made the people of Jerusalem miss Christmas. The Romans also missed Christmas-their problem largely was idolatry. They already had their own gods, and saw no need for another. One of the titles that Octavian, the Caesar Augustus of Luke, took upon himself was Potifus Maximus-highest priest. The Caesars actively promoted Emperor worship in the provinces. While paganism has a stranglehold on many people around the world, I believe there is pervasive in our American society a more subtle paganism, a hidden type of idolatry. What are the false gods worshipped in or society? You might think I've stopped preaching and started meddling! Consider sports, entertainment, personal recreation or material possessions? Anything that comes between me and God, anything more important than God is an idol. Those who "worship" such things, as demonstrated by their preoccupation by them to the exclusion of God, will miss the Christ of Christmas. I have always thought it sad that the families of Mary and Joseph, as well as all their friends back home missed the excitement of Jesus' birth. The people of Nazareth missed the Christ of Christmas, and when Jesus began His ministry in His home town, He was prevented from doing many miracles there because of the unbelief of the town. Their problem was familiarity. We all have heard the Christmas story many times, and it is very familiar to us. Will familiarity keep you from catching a fresh glimpse of Jesus this Christmas? God wants no one to miss Christmas. We don't have to yield to the innkeeper's preoccupation, Herod's jealous fear, the prideful indifference of the religious leaders, Jerusalem's religious ritualism and tradition, the idolatry of the Romans, or even the familiarity of those who thought they knew everything there was to know about the Messiah. We can set all these hindrances aside and focus on King Jesus, Lord of Heaven and Earth, Our God and our Savior. It will take concentration and intentional effort to keep Jesus foremost in our minds and give Him the proper honor He deserves. May we all seek a fresh understanding of Jesus' birth and humbly come as did the shepherds to worship the King. 6