From Humbug to Hallelujah
Acts 3 / Luke 1:39 / Luke 2:15-20
[Screen:] “Maysteel to Close Mayville Plant in March.”
-The Mayville News, December 5, 2002
…And a Merry Christmas to you too!
Doubtless we all saw or heard the news this week about the closing of Maysteel in our city. It was a blow of unspeakable proportions to the 180 – plus families who were dependent on that company for their livelihood. But I’m sure it sent a chill down the spine of people all through the city and the surrounding community. Maysteel is, after all, the granddaddy of many of the steel operations in Mayville. From Maysteel three other companies have had their beginning – Mayville Metal, Metalcraft and Rumar each were offshoots of the Maysteel root. At one time over 500 people were employed there, and now those jobs have evaporated into thin air just a little less than three weeks before Christmas.
The employees at Maysteel are not the only ones who are feeling the Christmas pinch this year. Many of us have seen our hours cut, been laid off, or have lost our jobs completely. Those who are still at work are often being pressed to the brink of our productivity limits to help keep our companies profitable. The economy is in a slump, terrorism and international tensions are high, and it just makes us all want to yell out “Humbug!”
In fact, let’s just do it – on three – everyone let out a good, strong, heart-felt “humbug!”
Feel any better?
Probably not. The problems are still there. The bills are still piling up.
HMMMM…
This series is called “From Humbug to Hallelujah,” so let’s all just let out a good, ol’ “Hallelujah” on three…
Feel any better? Maybe a little silly, but maybe not any better. I mean, let’s be honest, changing the word “humbug” into “hallelujah” needs a whole lot more than a cheerleader to make any difference. ANYONE can change the words – but it takes a whole lot more to change the attitude. It takes more than a cheerleader, more than a big bank account, more than a secure job.
This past Thursday I was driving from the school to the church, and I heard a woman call the Clark Howard show on the radio. Clark Howard is a guy who helps people with financial problems. The woman who called had a problem I don’t think he had ever been confronted with before – she had just won 5 million dollars in the lottery! And you know what? She was stressed out about it! She hadn’t turned in the ticket yet, she hadn’t even told her parents yet, because she was so afraid of what might happen when people find out – and she was afraid that she would allow the money to ruin her life like lottery winnings do most of the time. Did you know that the shock of sudden wealth is traumatic enough that about one-third of lottery jackpot winners go bankrupt.[1]
Even wealth won’t turn out “humbugs” into “hallelujahs.” Ebenezer Scrooge himself found that out. In the story, he is taken by the spirit of Christmas past to visit a party he had attended as a young apprentice at Fezziwig’s. Scrooge observes himself in happier days in the clip we are about to see.
[Film Clip]
So at one time there was joy in Scrooges life. Isn’t it kind of strange to see someone named Ebenezer Scrooge dancing, and laughing and in love? We are so accustomed to seeing someone named Scrooge being, well, a scrooge, that we can’t imagine him or her any other way. Maybe you feel like you can’t imagine yourself ever being any other way, either. The stress is so burdensome, the pain so great; the schedule so hectic, that you don’t think you can ever experience joy again.
If I may, I’d like to invite the Holy Spirit to take us on a tour of Christmas past to the very first Christmas to see a couple of dance scenes that I think share the kind of joy that we saw in the film clip.
Luke chapter 1 is the story of the events that happened in the months just prior to the birth of Jesus. In verses 39 and following we read that Mary, after being told she was going to give birth to the Son of God, went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. We read,
39 Now Mary
arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of
Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted
Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of
Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But
why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For
indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe
leaped in my womb for joy. 45 Blessed is she who believed,
for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the
Lord." 46 And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And
my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Do you see it? Everyone in that scene is partying! John the baby Baptist is dancing in Elizabeth’s womb, Elizabeth is crying out with a loud voice, Mary’s praising the Lord – it was a real joyful time!
Then, let’s let the Holy Spirit take us to another scene from that first Christmas – to the shepherds who made there way to Jesus manger in Bethlehem. You might already know that shepherds, at this time, were an oppressed group of people. They were stereotyped as lying, thieving, filthy people. They were not permitted to worship at the temple because they were ceremonially unclean. They drank too much, and couldn’t be trusted. In Luke 2, we find that a certain group of shepherds had been with their sheep in a field, when the heavenly Christmas party ran over into the earthly skies. And the angel told them that Jesus had been born. They immediately went to Bethlehem, saw the baby, and worshiped Him. In verse 15 and following we read,
15 So it was,
when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to
one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come
to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they came
with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now
when they had seen Him, they made widely F9 known
the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who
heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But
Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they
had heard and seen, as it was told them.
Now we see the shepherds partying as they return to their sheep! They are dancing in the streets, telling everyone they meet about what they have seen! Their lowly, scorned position was instantly replaced by a joy that was overflowing into the streets of Bethlehem, and the people were shocked to see any shepherd bringing good news.
Lastly, let’s let the Holy Spirit take us to a scene that may not be one from Christmas past, but is important nonetheless. It is found in Acts, chapter 3. Turn there with me if you would.
It is the days following the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. He has gone into heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit down to fill the believers. The young church has begun to grow, with literally thousands of people coming to faith in single meetings! Peter and John are on their way to the temple to worship when we pick up the story in Acts 3, verse 1:
1 Now Peter and John went up
together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2
And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily
at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who
entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked
for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, "Look
at us." 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something
from them. 6 Then Peter said, "Silver and gold I do not have, but
what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and
walk." 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and
immediately his feet and anklebones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up,
stood and walked and entered the temple with them--walking, leaping, and
praising God. 9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10
Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the
temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to
him. 11
Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people
ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed.
Once again we see a party scene, with laughing, dancing, leaping and shouting people. Yes, the formerly lame man was leading the way, but the text tells us in verse 11 that “the man held on to Peter and John, and all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed.” The party was contagious! Everyone wanted to be part of the action!
Now, you might be thinking, “Um, Bob, you’ve wigged out a little here – this is not a Christmas text! There are no wise men, no shepherds, and no baby in a manger, no angels singing. What’s up?” And you know, in all my life, I’ve never heard anyone speak from this text in the context of Christmas – but how do we know it wasn’t Christmas day? None of us knows which day on the modern calendar would be the anniversary of Jesus birth – there is just as good a chance that this event occurred on Jesus actual birthday as there is that OUR Christmas date of December 25 is correct! But does it matter? The truth behind Christmas is not found on a calendar on a wall, but in an encounter with Jesus.
In each of the scenes of Christmas past we have seen from our Bibles this morning we have potential scrooges. Elizabeth had been unable to conceive a child for her entire life – it upset her, and she was too old to have any hope of having a child – but it all changed with a divine encounter. Mary was a young teenage girl, anticipating a marriage to Joseph the Carpenter, when she was told she was about to become pregnant, and Joseph was not going to be the father. She did not know if Joseph would abandon her or not. In fact, he didn’t believe her and was going to have her quietly put away. But her distress was turned to joy by an encounter with God. The shepherds had little to celebrate. Outcasts, cold, lonely, dirty – they had every right to be a scrooge – but their tears were turned to laughter and their dejected shuffle into dancing when they met Jesus.
The crippled – uh, motivationally challenged man at the temple gate could have taught scrooge a thing or two about humbug. Unable to work, dependent on the meager gifts of a few people at the temple, no hope, no joy. And yet he leaped and danced his way into the courtyard after experiencing the life-changing power of Jesus.
Look at the words that Peter and John said to him as he looked longingly for them to give him some gift. They said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” If they had given him silver or gold, he might have been grateful for a few seconds, he might have had momentary satisfaction, but only until the reality of his situation hit him again. He would not have had joy at all – simply a diversion from the grief and the humbug of it all.
But Peter and John gave him more. So much more – they gave him all they had to give, but it was the most valuable gift of all. They introduced him to Jesus Christ. And not just a passing, “God bless you, friend.” I would guess that thousands of religious people had walked by that man at the Temple gate for years and said those words to him, but none had ever been God’s blessing to him before!
Peter and John grabbed him by the hand, and brought the power of Jesus to bear on his life! Do you see his reaction? He held on to them! He wasn’t going to let go of them! Imagine how he must have felt every time he saw those two for the rest of his life! If they had not brought him that wonderful gift – he would have died out there by the temple gates, poor, hopeless and forgotten. But they brought him life in Jesus! It may not have been Christmas on some 1st Century Israeli calendar, but on that day, Christ was born in that man’s heart, and he danced for joy!
Hey, Scrooge – how long has it been since you danced for joy? How long has it been since you remembered the joy of your salvation? Have you forgotten? Have you forgotten what Jesus has done for you? Has it all just been covered up by years of calloused memories, like Ebenezer in our story?
How long has it been since you marveled in the joy of Christmas that comes not from “gold and silver,’ but from the birth of God in the flesh in Jesus? Or maybe you’ve never experienced the joy of that Christmas past. Has Christ been born in your life? Have you experienced the life-giving gift that surpasses all? Don’t let another humbug Christmas come and go – let the Holy Spirit introduce you to a Christmas Present that will affect all your Christmases yet to come.
Christ was born in Bethlehem,
Is He born within your heart?
When He comes in, a new life begins,
Is He born within your heart?
Christ was born in Bethlehem,
Is He born within your heart?
This very day,
O wont you say,
“Lord Jesus come into my heart?”
Too many of us have become emotionally relationally, or spiritually disabled during this holiday season. And as much as we might try to compensate for our need through money or materialism or busyness, we are unable to stand on our feet. But when we receive Jesus, the Christ of Christmas, Immanuel, God with us, then look out! We will start walking and leaping and praising God in a dance to top all Christmas parties ever held. Discover the joy of His love today!