Have You Ever Dreaded Christmas

Happy Sunday, and Merry Christmas! Have you ever dreaded Christmas? I heard someone say that the other day. We were at a graveyard, and they just said goodbye to a loved one, and they were not in the Christmas spirit.

Sadly, there are people who allow their circumstances to overshadow the Great greatest gift of all. Many people are guilty of counting their blessings on their fingers and counting their burdens on their calculators, forgetting the good and just harping on the bad. Life can be hard, I know that. However, we should be filled with joy regardless of our circumstance.

Jesus came to this world to save us and to give us a life worth living, so Christmas should give us hope. It should to drown out our sorrows. 700 years before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote with great expectation and great need and great hope these words. They're in chapter nine of Isaiah:

"This time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of zebulun and neptali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the Sea, will be filled with Glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a Land of deep Darkness, a light will shine."

Later on, in chapter 64, it seems that Isaiah is begging for the Messiah, as that chapter begins with these words: "Oh, that you would burst down from the heavens and come." As you know, the prayer was answered. The Messiah has come. Matthew tells us this in chapter 1:

"Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to Public Disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'"

Now, this may sound sound a bit odd, but you need to know this: you know more than Isaiah did, more than Moses, more than any great Wise Old Testament hero or Prophet. You know the story of Jesus. You know that he was born and that he died for your sins and that he rose again. You have the New Testament that the Old Testament prophets never knew.

The point is, we should always live in the light of Christ's coming. God came down and walked among us, and our difficulties should pale in comparison to that great news. Our faith enables us to walk through the valley of dark experiences, and we should never decide to camp in that Valley.

All of us need to remember what the angel told Joseph: "For he will save his people from their sins." Those sins include my friend at the cemetery that was dreading Christmas. I know life can be hard, and some days are just brutal. As I wrote this sermon, I thought of all the people who are reeling from Hurricane Helen. And there are also believers who live in areas of this world where war is tearing up their Villages and their homes and their families.

No matter what you were going through, do not let the sin of Doubt or fear eclipse the fact that Jesus has come to all who are depressed and hurt. I love how the angel began when talking to Joseph: "Do not be afraid." Do not be afraid, Christ has come. I pray that you're able to celebrate this month, and really every day.

Perhaps your church will do a Christmas play this year with the children. Those are always so special. I remember one year a little girl played the role of the Star of Bethlehem, and her mother was asked asked her, "Exactly what will you be doing in the play?" And the little girl responded, "I just stand there and shine."

May God give us the strength to do just that. I pray that all of us shine as a result of our connection to God. This world sure needs people who shine. Remember these words I read earlier from Isaiah chapter 9:

"There will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the Sea, will be filled with Glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a Land of Darkness, a light will shine."

That was prophecy. We live and result in fulfillment of that prophecy. Jesus has come. The Messiah is here. Merry Christmas! Thank God today that you have seen the light, and may the light of Jesus Shine in all of us.

Pray with me. Father, this month help us to not get so busy or so caught up or so depressed or so anxious or so filled with Melancholy that we miss the greatest event of all: you coming for us. I pray for my friend at the cemetery, that she can have joy amidst her sorrow. And thank you for the joy that can never be taken from us. In Jesus name, amen.

God bless you. Merry Christmas.