An Original Christmas Series
The Original Christmas Carol
Luke 2:13-14
[Video Clip - Charlie Brown Christmas – Charlie brings in the little tree. End with Charlie asking, “Doesn’t anyone know what Christmas is all about?”]
SO – just what is Christmas all about?
IF Christmas means family; THEN what does Christmas mean to a person who has just lost a loved one or has no family?
IF Christmas means shopping malls, Christmas trees and blinking lights; THEN what does Christmas mean to a family who lives in a remote village in the hills of Ghana, that has no electricity, let alone a shopping mall and has never seen a Christmas tree…
IF Christmas means the giving and receiving gifts; THEN what does Christmas mean to a single mother of 4 children, working 2 jobs, barely having enough money to pay the mortgage, keep the heat and put food in the refrigerator?
IF Christmas means white snow falling from the ski and covering the ground and bare tree limbs THEN what does Christmas mean to a person who lives in the Arizona desert?
NOW – please don’t misunderstand me… family, trees, lights, food, gifts and snow are all fine and good, and they can be very beneficial - but they are not what Christmas really means…
There are many legends that surround the Taj Mahal in India. History tells us that when the favorite wife of the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan died, he determined to honor her by constructing a temple that would serve as her tomb. He coffin was placed in the center of a large parcel of land, and construction of the temple began around it. No expense would be spared to make her final resting place magnificent.
But as the weeks turned into months, the Shah’s grief was eclipsed by his passion for the project. He no longer mourned her absence. The construction consumed him. One day while walking from one side of the construction site to the other, his leg bumped against a wooden box. The prince brushed the dust off his legs and order the workers to throw the box out.
Shah Jahan didn’t know he had ordered the disposal of the coffin – now forgotten – hidden beneath layers of dust and time. The one the temple was intended to honor was forgotten, but the Temple was erected anyway.
That story may or may not be accurate, but in many ways the same thing has happened to Christmas. This incredibly huge structure has been built around the birth of Christ, originally with the intent of honoring Jesus. But that celebration has not only forgotten the One whom it was intended to honor, in may ways, Christmas has become hostile toward Jesus.
You may have heard about the city fathers of St. Albans, WV – they put up a Christmas display in their city this month, complete with shepherds, wise men, camels, sheep, a building – but left out Jesus, Mary and Joseph – they were afraid of offending someone! Before we are too hard on them, however, I wonder if we realize how much we have removed Jesus from the celebration of His birth?
In this week leading up to Christmas, let me challenge you to do something – try to keep a conscious record of how many references to Jesus you see in the next 7 days. As you receive Christmas cards, drive around town and see the lights, watch the “holiday specials” on the television, try to be aware of the references to Jesus Christ, and His birth. You will find surprising few.
There is still one place where Jesus is remembered and honored in our culture’s celebration of Christmas in the 21st Century, and that is in the Christmas carols. Now, obviously there is plenty of secular Christmas music – Rudolph, Frosty and Santa were not the three wise men who went to Bethlehem. But I find that one of the few places I can find a ray of real truth in a world that has completely forgotten the significance of this holiday is in the music. I can be making my way through some big-box store, surrounded by images meant to distract from Jesus, where the employees are not permitted to say “Merry Christmas,” and hear:
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
Or
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning
Jesus, to Thee be all glory given
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
O Come let us adore Him!
Think about it! The name of Jesus actually heard in public! The word “Savior” attached to Him right there in the Piggly Wiggly check out line, or on the treadmill at the TAG Center, or on a non-Christian radio station! It’s remarkable, and I suppose it’s only a matter of time until someone realizes it and starts efforts to ban any religious music from public places. It may very well be that these Christmas carols are the last public proclamation of this greatest of spiritual truths.
Which is kind of interesting, when you realize that it was a Christmas Carol that first proclaimed the truth. In Luke chapter 2, we have the record of it, and we’re going to revisit that passage this morning.
[Video – Charlie Brown Christmas – Linus reading Luke 2]
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown! It’s about the message of the angels – the truth behind the original Christmas Carol.
Glory to God in the Highest,
Peace on Earth
Good Will Toward Men
The literal translation of the Greek that Luke wrote is this:
Glory in highest places to God
And on earth peace among men of goodwill.
The focus of this original Christmas Carol is God – as it should be. Christmas is not about us – it’s not about our budget, our credit ratings, or our decorating skills. It’s not about how good a host we are when we have people over to the house. It’s not even about the good things we do – it’s not about our generosity, giving gifts to the unfortunate, or giving money to the Salvation Army. It’s not about warm memories of Grandma’s house or having the entire family home for the holiday.
Christmas is about God! He initiated it! It was God who made the first move – John 3:16 tells us that, “He loved the world so much He gave His one and only Son…” He knew our situation was hopeless – we were separated from Him by our sinful nature and our sinful deeds. There is no way we can do anything to impress God or correct the situation – it had to be initiated by Him. God became man – Spirit became human - the infinite became a mortal – the Word became flesh.
There is simply no way to express the magnitude of this event! Every other episode in human history dwindles to insignificance next to this! Without God in the mix, nothing else matters. This past week I watched The DaVinci Code movie. I had read the book, but I didn’t go to the movie when it was in theaters. Quite frankly, it was not a very good movie. But without question the primary mission of the film and the book is to remove the deity of Christ. Over and over again the point was made, “would it be so bad if Jesus just a man? Does it really negate all the good He did?”
Well, YEAH, it makes a huge difference! Because a man who does good things cannot be the savior of the world! He can’t be good enough to die for all the bad we do! If you remove God from Jesus – if you take God out of the equation – Christmas has no meaning at all…
But Jesus is God! God in the Flesh! He came to earth as fully God and fully man! He humbled Himself to our level and took on human flesh so that He could pour out his blood as a pure and perfect sacrifice for the sins, failures, bad attitudes, mistakes, selfish motives and every other malady that affects the human condition. It’s all about God! All the glory goes to Him alone!
The angels witnessed this incredible event and were overwhelmed with praise for God – they shout and sing out “Glory in the highest places to God!” The praise and worship of God went right to His throne – the angels who surround His throne joined in the praise – there has never been higher praise or greater worship offered than on that amazing night.
Charles Spurgeon said,
They had seen many a planet fashioned between the palms of Jehovah, and wheeled by his eternal hands through the infinitude of space. They had sung solemn songs over many a world, which the Great One had created. We doubt not, they had often chanted "Blessing and honour, and glory, and majesty, and power, and dominion, and might, be unto him that sitteth on the throne," manifesting himself in the work of creation. I doubt not, too, that their songs had gathered force through ages. As when first created, their first breath was song, so when they saw God create new worlds then their song received another note; they rose a little higher in the gamut of adoration.
But this time, when they saw God stoop from his throne, and become a babe, hanging upon a woman's breast, they lifted their notes higher still; and reaching to the uttermost stretch of angelic music, they gained the highest notes of the divine scale of praise, and they sung, "Glory to God in the highest," for higher in goodness they felt God could not go.
While for us the meaning and significance of Christmas is so often forgotten, or lost in the cacophony of the world, the angels were aware of the magnitude of what had happened, and they were moved to never-before-reached-heights of worship and praise. Oh, that the Spirit of God would so impress upon us the truth of His love and grace that we, too would be so moved! That our singing of the carols of this season would be done at the highest place! That our songs of praise would be from such worship-filled hearts that they would reach the highest places of heaven! May God make is so!
But the angels were not only focused on the source of this amazing blessing – they also focused on the object of His love. They continued…
It is amazing that God has such love for this world – we are the object of His love, and the angels are awestruck. They watched as the earth was created, they interacted with human beings over the course of History. They had seen the legacy of cruelty and unfaithfulness throughout human history – and yet it is the earth that is the target of His love.
Think about it – when Lucifer had led a third of the angels in heaven in rebellion against God, they had been cast out of that place - God had taken no steps to redeem them. Their fate is sealed – they will spend eternity separated from God, with no hope over ever being restored to Him. But the earth – this little planet – is the focus of God’s grace. He created humans “a little lower than the angels,” but is humans that receive His attention, His love, and His grace. It is for humans that He lay aside His glory, humbled Himself and died. And He did it with a purpose in mind.
The goal of it all is peace.
We hear much about peace at this time of year. We get cards with the word Peace in gold foil. Folks with political undertones call for “peace on earth,” primarily in reference to the cessation of hostilities between men and nations.
The Original Christmas Carol was a message of peace sung to a world that had known too much conflict. The famous “Pax Romana” (Roman Peace) had been in effect since 27 b.c. but it was a “peace” that was in place by force. There were no wars, but there was a lot of oppression. The Stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “While the emperor may give us peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy. He cannot give peace of heart for which man yearns more than even for outward peace.”
The peace of the original Christmas carol has nothing to do with war or violence. The goal of Christmas is far more substantial than the absence of war – it is peace with God. God wants you to be at peace with Him. The objective of the miracle of Christmas is you at peace with God.
How is this peace found? The Bible tells us, in Romans 5:1, that it is when we have “been justified by faith, that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In Colossians 1:20, the Bible says that we have “peace through His blood, shed on the cross.” The only way to have peace with God is to be cleansed from the sin that separates us from Him, and that cleansing comes only through faith in the work of Jesus Christ. He was born and He died so that you can have peace - real peace.
Jesus said, “Come to me, you who are struggling and burdened, and I will give you rest.” If this season finds you struggling, burdened, battled on the inside and externally, I pray that you will find the truth that lies in the words of the original Christmas Carol – that you will know peace with God, through His love and grace, and will join with the angels in bringing highest glory to Him in grateful return for his incredible gift.