Why Do We Suggest People Have A Merry Christmas?
Good Morning Friends,
Today we listen for the sounds of angels that announce the birth of Christ and we sense the boldness and yet it is not too boisterous for there is the cross of Christ to bare the burden. Today we listen for the sound of truth beyond the surface things and look out into the world dangerously for the images of Christ and desire to know more. Today we listen for the sounds and look out for the images of God with us that go beyond the emotions of the season to the very behaviors that bring us the witness of something special. Today we search for the right words to describe the situation that reflects on scripture and tradition and still we ask what may seem obvious and yet we wonder why it is when we must still hope for our sins to be forgiven…why life is so sad as well as happy. So, when we consider all the things we could say about this day, Why Do We Suggest People Have A Merry Christmas?
Scripture: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 (KJV)
Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel! Again you shall take your tambourines, and go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
Jeremiah 31:4 (NRSV)
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.”
Matthew 1:23 (NRSV)
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55 (NRSV)
Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
John 4:46-54 (NRSV)
Message: The reality is that we wish people a Happy Birthday, Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Valentine’s Day, and Happy Easter. But it is always Merry Christmas. Charles Dickens made it part of our culture about the same time that the first Christmas cards wishing people a Merry Christmas came out. But where did they get this idea of Merry. Maybe it has something to do with scripture. What do you think? Then we have this interesting text from Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. It personifies the entire nation of Israel as a Virgin, which might be read as a young woman who is overjoyed as a witness to the everlasting love of God. I trust the juxtaposition of the words merry and virgin do not escape your notice. Maybe that is the idea of merry we are supposed to have this day. It goes beyond the emotion and to the action associated with it in the life of a virgin and her child and a marriage to be. It is exemplified in the life of an official hoping for his son to live. So maybe we should be merry not because the days are getting longer but because of the humility of a Virgin Mary accepting her part in the story as well as and more importantly the redemption made manifest in Christ. Maybe we should be merry because both Mary and Jesus took an emotion, love, and manifested it in their actions and we should too. Really, where would we be without their actions? Where would we be if the Word had not become flesh…if Jesus had never turned the water into wine? So last Sunday we sang hymns of Christmas and yes one of them had a tambourine accompaniment. And last night a wonderful candle light service with strings and songs. And we will be back at church this morning…. Christmas morning putting the emotions of the season into actions that witness its importance. Friends, the whole Christmas experience boggles the mind. Still in hope we always say, “Merry Christmas.” But, in a way, part of us, that catholic part of us, might be thinking Mary Christmas as well for she submitted to invest her love so that it might be returned and magnified through the love of Jesus. And here on the spiritual journey and through the growth of relationships and through prayer magnified by the mystery of God’s sacrifice and love we too celebrate the miracle of life…knowing the birth and death of a child happens not just on December 25 but every hour of the day and every day of the year. Friends, being alive and in love is the greatest gift ever. Celebrate it each day. Celebrate it today.
Pray for the peace found in the harmony of truth. Pray for the sound of the good news to rise above all the other noise. Pray we realize that God will not be defined and limited to our boundaries, or parameters or vocal range. Pray we take action in small ways within the scope of our reality this season as a witness to God’s saving actions and the continuation of those actions though people of faith even today as every day. Pray we rejoice in the Word becoming flesh. Pray we accept our purpose and the peace of Christ manifest in us when we believe. Pray we too are moved by the Holy Spirit and are willing to take action that glorifies God and magnifies God in us. Pray we celebrate because there is a lot to celebrate. Pray we be in the tension of life and death. Pray that we have a desire to invest ourselves in the lives of others so that we might all experience the joy of Jesus being magnified in us for His purposes.
Pray we allow the Holy Spirit within us to convince us that we are heirs to an infinite treasure because of God’s presence everywhere. Pray we come to Jesus. Pray we overcome the obstacles of the world. Pray we take Jesus at His word. Pray our faith grows as we see God at work. Pray we overcome the world’s message of despair and realize that Jesus came to bring us life. Pray that because of the hope and joy and peace and love in the resurrection in us we have a reason for living.
Pray we therefore be a Merry Christmas.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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