“Praise and Advent- Hope Turned Into Prayer” Zeph. 3:14-20; Phil. 4:4-7 12/17/06
So sing, Daughter Zion! Raise the rafters, Israel! Daughter Jerusalem, be happy! Celebrate! God has reserved his judgments against you and sent your enemies off chasing their tails. From now on, God is Israel’s king, in charge at the center. There’s nothing to fear from evil ever again! God is present among you. Jerusalem will be told: “Don’t be afraid . Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs. The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate. I, your God, will get rid of them for you. You’ve carried those burdens long enough. At the same time, I’ll get rid of all those who’ve made your life miserable. I’ll heal the maimed; I’ll bring home the homeless. In the very countries where they were hated they will be venerated. On Judgment Day I’ll bring you back home—a great family gathering! You’ll be famous and honored all over the world. You’ll see it with your own eyes- all those painful partings turned into reunions!” God’s Promise. [The Message Zeph. 3:14-20
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries and prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Sometime back Moody Magazine told the story of a guy named George Mason. His life was consumed by his work. He lived alone, which only contributed to his work addiction. Although he had few friends, each Christmas he received several invitations to spend Christmas day with a family. He always declined the offers. This particular Christmas was no exception.
On Christmas Eve, after all his employees left, George Mason went into the office vault to get a little extra cash. To his shock, the heavy door of the walk-in safe shut behind him. Desperately, he pounded on the steel door, but no one as around to hear. Even the custodian had left early to do some last minute Christmas shopping. The lonely miser consoled himself, “I can make it alright until morning.” But suddenly he recalled, the next day was Christmas. No one would be coming in for two days. He panicked as he tried to figure out if there would be sufficient oxygen. Then he remembered: The vault had recently installed and was supposed to have a safety airhole built in somewhere. He felt around in the dark and eventually found the emergency feature in a corner near the floor.
On the day after Christmas, early in the morning, the chief cashier arrived and, as was his routine, unlocked the vault but didn’t bother opening the door. George Mason, exhausted, faint, hungry, and thirsty, exited the human size safe without being spotted. And by the time he went home, showered, dressed, and returned to his office, no one suspected a thing. Life went on as usual-- except for one thing: George Mason had missed Christmas.[i]
There are people who “miss” Christmas year after year. You know what I mean. There are people who buy and receive presents, decorate their homes, go to a number of parties and maybe even church, but miss the opportunity to savor the mystery of God’s love made visible.
The tragic thing in our culture is that there are children who are missing Christmas as well. We live in an age in which even the very name of Christmas is watered down. The schools have traditionally had Christmas concerts. Some have been told to change their name to “Winter Festivals.” There is pressure to take the religion out of Christmas. I read one handout given to my children about how different people celebrate Christmas. It said that some people celebrate Christmas by celebrating Hanukkah. If I was Jewish I would be offended at that, and as a Christian I am offended. We don’t celebrate Hanukkah by celebrating Christmas, and you don’t celebrate Christmas by celebrating Hanukkah. Instead of educating our children, it is confusing our children. Some atheists in our country have even talked of eliminating Christmas as a holiday because it is religious by nature. At least some atheists have it right. Christmas is attacked as religious on one hand and should be eliminated, and it is attacked as a non-religious name for a winter break on the other hand. Many will miss Christmas in our land. In Asheville I asked a group of kids from the projects if any heard the Christmas story and out of fifty there, only four raised their hands. I read the story to them in a Bible school program we had there and again asked if any had heard that before and the same four raised their hands! Last week it was my privilege to teach a history lesson on Israel at one of our public schools. Again I asked the children how many had heard the Christmas story from the Bible. Only about a third of the children raised their hands.
We as churches, and I am claiming guilt in this too, have been so concerned about people not having “Christmas.” Someone called me up crying desperately that their 18 year old handicapped son would not “have a Christmas.” We tried to help her. But after I hung up I wanted to say, “What makes Christmas real?” Do you miss Christmas if you don’t get anything? I contend we miss Christmas if we leave Christ out! Have you ever thought about what puts the panic into Christmas versus what puts the peace into Christmas? The panic in Christmas is put in by the buying, the shopping, the parties, and the secondary things. These are good things. I love these things that help us to celebrate the season. But they add no peace into Christmas. What puts the depth, the meaning, the peace into Christmas? I believe part of it is family— though even family gatherings can sometimes be raucous and even argumentative at times. Even more important is spending time with the Prince of Peace. The shepherds left their flocks- their work to worship. The wise men left their homes and traveled to worship. In the slavery hymn, “Rise Up Shepherd and follow” the slaves remind themselves, “If you take good heed to the angels words you’ll forget your flocks you’ll forget your herds.” But today many make themselves slaves to work.
The State Newspaper last week in its headlines pointed out that many stores were complaining that they have limited hours on Christmas Eve, because this Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. They might miss thousands of dollars if they have to limit their time. I remember not too long ago that the only place you could buy things on Christmas Eve in the Columbia area was Taylor Street Pharmacy. I remember that because I had a neighbor who always waited until Christmas Eve to buy his presents. He was wealthy and his kids always got the best that Taylor Street Pharmacy had to offer. I feel for the young people who are making minimum wage who are being coerced to work on this Sunday, missing family reunions and Christmas Eve worship services. The law technically says no one can be forced to work on Sunday, but everyone knows if you make the employer mad in a right to work state, they can find another reason to fire you.
The state chamber of commerce admitted that no one, in the ten years since the law was enacted, had complained about being forced to work on Sunday. We truly value work and money over rest, health, family and worship—even on Christmas Eve.
I hear every year people who say there is absolutely no evidence that Jesus was born December 25th. But December 25th was actually one of the earliest dates proposed, and it was proposed in writing by 221 A.D. (by Africanus) over fifty years before the Roman Emperor chose the date as the Festival for the Invincible Sun (the pagan festival that supposedly Christians chose to replace with Christmas- instituted in 274 A.D.). Part of the reason December 25th was proposed is the annunciation to Mary was proposed for March 25th. If you follow my reasoning, then listen. March 25 is the traditional date for the annunciation, not just because of its association with the vernal equinox, but because it is six months after Zechariah’s priestly order was on duty, and the Bible says that when the angel spoke to Mary he said that Elizabeth (Mary’s cousin and Zechariah’s wife) was already six months pregnant. March 25th is a pretty good date for the annunciation, and it is nine months to the day before December 25th.
Will the world come to an end if we miss Christmas? No. But that is not the important question. George Mason’s world did not end. The important question is are we better off by not taking seriously the day that the majority of people say God came to earth- the greatest gift, the greatest fulfilled hope this world has ever known. If we treat Christmas as just another day. I believe we need to listen to the songs that tell us to come and worship- for God’s glory, but also for our joy. We need to heed the words that call us: “O Come Let Us Adore Him.” I still believe what we are truly missing in this society is a sense of wonder, of the mystery of life. We do not find that wonder or the joy of life by buying or shopping, or pushing ourselves to make a larger bottom line on our profits. We need to stop and adore, and praise, and put a deep, non-shallow song in our heart. We need to say with Zephaniah- “Sing daughter of Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, The King of Israel, is with you.” He is Immanuel- God with us! That is worth our time, our worship, our souls.
According to one executive search firm, professionals are working 10-15 hours more a week than 10 years ago. If you neglect your soul for your work, the world will not care. Lee Iacocca, the one who came up with the Mustang for Ford and who saved Chrysler from bankruptcy, said, “When you die, no one will have on their tombstone, ‘I wish I had worked just a little more.’” As one person put it, “Don’t just do something stand there!” Don’t be a George Mason. Don’t allow work or money to enslave you. Come and adore and sing to Him.