Keeping Christ in CHRISTmas Day #17 Which Will You Celebrate?...Scroogemas, Grinchmas, or CHRISTmas?

Keeping Christ in CHRISTmas - Day #17

Which Will You Celebrate?...Scroogemas, Grinchmas, or CHRISTmas? (Matthew 2:1-11)

Matthew 2:1-11, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.”

Christmas is a time of giving. At no other time in the year are we so kind, thoughtful, and generous. It was no accident that old Scrooge in Dickens' A Christmas Carol was changed from a miser into a generous person at Christmas. His heart, as cold as a winter's night, was warmed by the generosity of Christmas. He was so different from the person they had known that the townspeople laughed at him. Dickens says of him, "His own heart laughed; and that was quite enough for him." In Dr. Seuss' famous book, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch was a bitter, grouchy creature who lived on a mountain outside of Whoville. As Christmas approached year after year, he could never handle hearing the noisy festivities that were going on in Whoville. The Grinch’s idea of Christmas was, “Stink, stank, stunk”. We are all familiar with the story, one year on Christmas Eve, he decides to steal Christmas. He dresses up as Santa Claus and steals all the presents, food, and decorations from Whoville. On Christmas morning as he is about to toss everything down into an abyss, he hears the Whos singing and celebrating Christmas even though he had taken all their stuff. He then realizes that Christmas must be more than just presents, Christmas trees, decorations, and feasts.

Giving took place on that first Christmas ever celebrated. Matthew, in his story of the birth of Jesus, told of the wise men's search for the Christ child. When they had found Him in Matthew 2:11, they "fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh ". Christmas is a time to be generous. They were expensive gifts. There was nothing cheap and gaudy about them. And they were appropriate gifts since they told something about who Jesus was and what He would do. Gold was a gift for a king. Frankincense was used as incense and, therefore a gift for a priest. Myrrh, used in one of the most ancient of arts, embalming, was a gift for one who must die. They were looking for a king, and Jesus was a King but radically different from what the wise men expected. When Jesus was standing trial before Pilate, Pilate asked Him in John 18:37, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth ". Yes, he was a King and more wonderful than the wise men could know. They gave better than they knew. Frankincense would rise as sweet incense from an altar presided over by a priest. A priest is one who represents people to God, and as suggested by William Barclay, is a bridge builder who spans chasms that separate people from God. And it was Jesus who spanned that great chasm of sin and alienation that keeps us from God. No other priest could do that. So, Jesus was a priest in a more wonderful sense than the wise men could tell. Once more, they gave better than they knew. Myrrh was an appropriate gift to Jesus for He was a person who must die. He would die near where He was born, both in terms of time and distance. He would be put to death at the age of thirty-three on the outskirts of Jerusalem, which is fifteen miles from Bethlehem, the place of His birth. His death would be redemptive and reconciling in a way other deaths could never be. He would accomplish more in His death than the wise men could ever understand. So, once again, they gave better than they knew. Yet, it was God's gift, not those of the wise men, that gave us Christmas. The wise men only celebrated God's wonderful gift. It was at Christmas that God, so loving the world, gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God gave with unsparing love, and He gave unconditionally. He didn't say to our world, "If you will grow up, get better, become wise, and reform yourself, then I will give you my Son." What He said in effect was, "I know how childish, broken, sick, and sinful you are. I'm going to give you My Son anyway." And He did! Christmas tells us the meaning of grace. God has made a gift beyond our worthiness to merit our ability to achieve. Real life begins when we come to God in our shattered pride, confessing that all our goodness is like filthy rags. We come with empty hands, wishing that we had some moral coinage to give God. God does a wonderful thing. He looks at our poor, empty hands and says, "You don't need to bring anything. You couldn't buy my salvation if you had all the wealth in the world. It is a gift. It is of grace. I have given my Son for your salvation."

You may ask, "How could the Grinch steal my Christmas?" As illustrated in the story, the Grinch cannot steal the real meaning behind Christmas. He cannot take away the birth of our Saviour. But if your view of Christmas is in the giving and receiving of gifts, the decorations, time spent with family, or food, you will soon find that you have lost the reason for the season. Your food and gifts can be stolen, the decorations will all come down, and your family can have its quarrels, but Jesus was born to bring you salvation that can never be taken. It's not wrong to look forward to time with family, the excitement of exchanging gifts, or the traditions your family has in celebrating Christmas. During our celebration, we want to make certain we don’t forget God. In this fast-paced society it can be easy to allow our heart to grow small and to lose our heart for God. Just remember that Jesus is the Reason for the season. Spend time today reading the Christmas story in Luke 2, then thank God for all of the blessings He has given you starting with the gift of His Son.

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