Christmas Eve:

Despite what the commercials and songs say, this Christmas we only need one thing.

The fifth and final candle of the Advent Season is the Christ candle.  Today, we celebrate the arrival of the King that occurred in Bethlehem, and look forward to his return in the future.

As a general rule, I put a lot of effort in seeking out Christmas gifts to give my family.  When I ask my kids what they want for Christmas, they invariably say something like cash or gift cards.  But I steadfastly refuse to give in to these requests.  There’s something distant about giving the gift of money.

Even when my wife gives me her wish list, I have a hard time using it.  I mean, what effort does it take to check off a wish list?  “Got her a book, gloves, and sweater.  Budget met, gifts acquired.”  It’s too easy.

My deep desire is to discover a gift that, when opened, causes their eyes to widen as they give an involuntary gasp, to see a smile to spread across their face.  This gift wasn’t on any list.  They probably didn’t even know they wanted it.  But as soon as they open it, they love it. 

I picked it out especially for that person, because I know who they are. And I love to give my loved ones good gifts (even when they didn’t ask for it).

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

-          Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13

The final celebration of Advent is about the joy in receiving and opening the gift our Father sent to us. 

As we’ve walked through this season of Advent, it’s been a little dark in places.  We began by investigating the silent times, where we are waiting to see God.  To get through those times, we have to have hope to anchor our souls so that we aren’t adrift in the currents of the world in which we live.  But what happens when the reality doesn’t match the hope, when our expectations are disappointed.  How do we hold on to joy?  By holding on to the truth, by holding more tightly to the God who loves us.  Isaiah 43 puts it this way:

“I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.”

-          Isaiah 43: 4 (MSG)

We are loved and pursued by an abundant love, a Father who will stop at nothing to help his children. But we don’t always believe it.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Or which one of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?

-          Matthew 7:7-10 (ESV)

We look at these verses and it makes us doubt. We have all asked for things, and didn’t get them.

You asked for healing, but your loved one died.

You asked to keep our job, but you were fired.

You asked for a restored marriage, but it ended in divorce.

The disciples thought Jesus was the one they asked for, the one who would free from them the oppression of Rome.  But he didn’t.  Soon after Jesus left, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed.  The gift the Israelites hoped for did not appear.  It seemed like a serpent in the form of Roman armies was the response to their prayer.

In the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey experienced this.  He’s at Martini’s bar, at the end of his rope, praying to God for help, for some kind of sign.  What does he get?  A punch in the face.  “That’s what I get for praying.”

We have a wish list of gifts that we asked for, good things, but we feel like God denied us.  And if He denied us, He must not love us.  But Jesus didn’t say that if we ask for bread, we will actually get bread.  He just said we won’t get a stone.

And despite our doubts, fears, and wandering, God still pursues us with an overwhelming love.  When we question the gifts, He still gives them.  When we think it’s a stone or a snake, He smiles and asks us to trust Him.

Despite what all the commercials and songs say, this Christmas we only really need one thing.

Jesus. Emmanuel—God with us. The greatest gift of all, unexpected.  The Jews thought they needed freedom from the Roman oppressors.  Jesus came to give them the freedom they really needed, freedom from their internal captivity.  The pain of sin, shame, and death that still haunt us today.

Christmas is about the coming of Christ.  The long-awaited Savior.  A gift is sweeter the longer you have had to wait for it.  Imagine the overwhelming joy these people felt who saw and met the Promised One.  When they gazed into His eyes.  When His hands healed their bodies, and their hearts.  Oh, what joy John felt as he exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!”

He’s here!  He’s finally here!

And while we look back with thanksgiving and joy at the birth of Jesus, our heart yearns for something more.  We too find ourselves in a dark time, longing for a coming King.  When every tear is wiped away.  When death and sorrow are no more.  When everything lost has been restored, and the world is made new.

And we will gaze on the face of Jesus as He welcomes us home.  We will feel the warmth of His embrace, the touch of His hands as our tears are wiped away.  And we will say, “He’s here!  He’s finally here!”

Friends, brothers, sisters: as we close this Advent season with the joyous celebration of Christmas, remember there is more.  Our faith is bigger than a baby in a manger two thousand years ago.  It didn’t end on a cross, or when Jesus returned to life.  Our King reigns today, and He will return to make things right.  Let’s celebrate the coming of the King. 

This is our Hope. 

This is the Promise.

This is our Joy.

Merry Christmas!

Prayer

"Father, I thank You today for sending your son Jesus so that I could know You. Jesus, I thank you for coming, living with us, dying for my sin.  You are now raised to life and reigning in heaven until Your return.  Holy Spirit, I thank You for your life in me, connecting me with the Father and the Son.  God, bring your Kingdom to earth.  Your will be done.  I love you, I worship you, I adore you.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus.  Amen"

Daily Reading

Friday (12/24)  - Matthew 2:1-18; Revelation 19:11-16

Saturday (12/25) - Luke 2:1-20; Revelation 21:1-5, 22:1-5

Advent isn't simply remembering the birth of Jesus, it is also looking ahead to the return of the King.  All Things New, by John Eldredge, is a wonderful vision of the hope of the coming Kingdom. 

Songs for the Week

Pick a song to listen to that draws you closer to God.

Joy to the World

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Hallelujah Chorus

Movie to Watch

Take some time to watch A Christmas Story. Observe how Ralphie works so hard to get the gift he thinks he wants, the gift that will make him a hero. But when he gets what he asked for, he injures himself in the process. Despite the gift he thinks he wanted, what Ralphie really gets is a father who sees him and loves him (very clear in A Christmas Story: The Musical if you get the chance to see that).