What If? Christmas Eve

Have you ever thought what those first few moments must have been like after the angels went back up to heaven? What must it have been like when everything became dark and still and quiet? I wonder which shepherd was the first one to have enough courage to speak up and I wonder what he said? I don’t think the shepherds heard the message of the angels and just got up and ran to Bethlehem. I think it took them some time to just get up. A heavenly host of angels would shake anyone to the core, so after they regained some composure, I think they got together and began to talk about what they had heard and seen and what they were going to do about it. These were not men who were going to be easily swayed. Being a shepherd was a hard job and these were hardened men. They had faced down lions and wolves to protect their sheep. As terrified as they were by the heavenly host, I think they first gathered together and talked about all that had just happened, and I think one of those shepherds must have asked the question – What If?

What if what the angels said is true? What if the Messiah has been born? What if he is right down there in the little town of Bethlehem? What if there is a child lying in a manger? I think it was those question that led the shepherds to go with haste to see if they could find this child wrapped in strips of cloth, and when they found him they not only knew that everything that the angels had said was true, but they also learned that they were the first ones, maybe the only ones to hear about this because when they arrived at the manger, there was no one else there. There were no religious leaders gathered at the stable, there were no priests or scribes or teachers of the law, there were no kings or leaders of nations, it was just them. They suddenly realized that God had come to them above all people and that could only mean one thing – God really did love them and God accepted them as his people and as his children. The Savior was born for them, not for some person far away, not for some holy and righteous person worshipping in the Temple, but for them.

Tonight I want us to enter into this Christmas story and ask ourselves that same question: What if. What if it really was God lying in the manger that night? What if God really did come to us in flesh and blood? What if it really was God in human frailty and humility reaching out to the world with that little gentle hand? What if? What does it mean for us 2000 years later?
Well it means the same thing tonight that it did on that first night; it means that God has come to be with us for one reason and only one reason – because God loves us. God comes to make himself available to us so that we can come to him. The little hand reaching of the manger is an invitation for us to come and enter into a relationship with the living and loving God.

That’s really what Jesus is all about. Jesus is God coming to us in human form so that through Him we can not only learn what it means to live for God, but so that we can also make our way back to God. The bible says that our sin has separated us from God and that on our own there is nothing we can do about it. We can’t live that perfect and holy life that would make us acceptable to God, the bible says no one is perfect, no not one, but we can approach God because 33 years after Jesus was laid in a manger he was laid out on the cross and that little hand that reached out of the manger was nailed to that cross. It is the death of Jesus that takes away our sin. God comes in flesh and blood to take on our sin and to die our death so that we might be forgiven and so that we can live with God forever. It is only through Jesus Christ that a way has been opened up for us to enter into a relationship with God, and that is the gift of love and grace that God offers us this night. God offers to us through Jesus a relationship that can change our lives. Will we reach out and take hold of that hand? Will we allow the love of God to forgive us and fill us with all the hope and the joy and the power that our lives need?

What if? What if there really is forgiveness and grace in that little child who was laid in a manger? What if the cross of Jesus really does take away our sin? Have we accepted this gift and have we allowed God’s grace to heal us. The forgiveness that God offers means that we don’t have to walk around in guilt and shame for what we have done or what we have not done. God does not hold our sin against us. Psalm 103:12 says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our sin from us. So in God’s eyes and in God’s heart our sin simply isn’t there – it’s been wiped away, and if that’s true then our sin and failures have no power over us. We can rise above it all and experience the fullness of life God wants for us. The grace of God means that we can forgive ourselves and experience a freedom that brings peace and joy. One of the carols we sing this season of the year goes, God rest ye merry gentleman, let nothing you dismay, remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas day to save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray, o tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, o tidings of comfort and joy. It is comfort and joy that God offers us because there is new life that is waiting for us in the hand of our savior. What if there really is forgiveness and grace in Jesus Christ?

We will never know unless like the shepherds we are willing to check it out. At some point those shepherds got themselves up and went to find the baby, tonight we don’t need to go to Bethlehem to find Jesus because he is right here, all we have to do is reach out to him in the silence of our hearts and ask him to forgive us and to set us free and to help us live that new life. If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you and bring you this new and abundant life, then do it now and experience the best gift you could ever receive, the gift of freedom, love and life.

If you have never asked Jesus to forgive you, or if you need to do it again, simply do it now: "Lord God, thank you for coming into this world in the person of Jesus, and thank for the forgiveness and grace you offer. Forgive me of my sin, and help me to receive the gift of love and life that you offer, for I ask this in Jesus name. AMEN"

Now here’s the thing, God coming to us in flesh and blood doesn’t just mean that we have a savior who forgives us, it also means that we have to follow the example of Jesus and bring his transforming light and love into our world. So let’s ask this question What if one more time. What if we could come together as one body and follow the example of Jesus? What if we lived the way God called us to live and what if we loved the way God called us to love? What if tonight and in the days to come, we were the hands of Jesus in the world? What if?

If we trust in God and do this, I’ll tell you what would happen; our world would change. There would be more hunger or thirst because there would not be a needy person among us. In Acts 2 we get a picture of what life in the early church was all about when people came together as one and followed Jesus. These were people passionately committed to following the example of Christ and they gave all they had to God and to anyone who was in need and because they gave more and loved all – there was no one who was hungry or thirsty. Everyone had shelter and clothes. Everyone was taken care of and loved.

What if we came together as the body of Christ and followed the example of Jesus? How would our lives and family and community change? For the past month we have been asking ourselves this very question and we have been talking about making three basic changes that would not only change our lives but would change our world. We have been talking about Spending Less, Giving More and Loving all. What if we really did this? What if every day we really did spend less on ourselves and were better stewards of all that God has giving us. What if we really did spend our money in ways that helped people? What if we gave more of our selves and our time and resources to the things that mattered most in life, and what if we loved everyone in the process? What would change? I’ll tell you what would change – we would! If we lived this way, not just for a day, or for a month, but everyday of every month for the rest of our lives – our lives would change. I am convinced that we would experience more peace and purpose and power, and because we would be changed – our community and world would change.

I’m excited to say tonight that these changes have already started to take place. God has started something here at Faith Church. I know many of you have made changes this Christmas season and it hasn’t been easy, but it has been worthwhile. Look at the Christmas trees in the lobby – every ornament you see is a gift of time or money given to the Christmas Dinner, or to our ministry with children and youth, or to the work we do to help others in our community or world. These gifts are not only going to change the lives of others, but they are changing us.

It’s not too late to change your life. It’s not too late to give a gift that can change you and the world around you. Tomorrow, come and give some time and help serve at the Christmas Dinner. If you are still in need of a gift to give to someone (and I know some of you are and you are thinking, OK, what is still open now?), think about making an online donation to a charity in that person’s name and give a gift that can change the lives of those in need.

What if we were willing to give more of gifts of our time? What if we gave all we had to God and to those in need? That’s the gift God offers tonight. The gift of Jesus is the gift of God’s very self and it is a gift of love that meets our need for forgiveness and new life. God offers us a gift tonight that can change us. What if we accept that gift? What if we share that gift? What if?