Howard C. Wilkinson - "What Did We Celebrate?" (December 26, 1971)
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| Preacher | A prayer of confession and for pardon. | 0:10 |
| Let us pray. | 0:14 | |
| We bless and adore thee oh, Christ. | 0:18 | |
| Son of God yet born of Mary. | 0:22 | |
| Son of God yet our brother. | 0:26 | |
| Eternal word yet a child without speech. | 0:31 | |
| Clothed in glory yet wrapped in swaddling bans. | 0:37 | |
| Lord of heaven and earth, | 0:44 | |
| yet lying in a manger. | 0:47 | |
| We confess unto thee that we have lost | 0:51 | |
| our childlike innocence, | 0:54 | |
| and have not yet attained to holiness. | 0:57 | |
| We have despised, too often, what is tender and pure | 1:02 | |
| and have corrupted ourselves | 1:08 | |
| with worldly operations and ways. | 1:09 | |
| And this Christmastide forgive us, oh God, | 1:16 | |
| and make us like little children in faith | 1:21 | |
| and hope and love, | 1:25 | |
| so that we may wonder and worship at thy manger throne. | 1:29 | |
| Here us, oh God, | 1:36 | |
| and grant us pardon and remission of all our sins | 1:38 | |
| through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. | 1:44 | |
| Amen. | 1:49 | |
| And hear those words of assurance of forgiveness | 1:53 | |
| that's found in one of the Christmas carols. | 1:58 | |
| "God rest ye merry, gentlemen, | 2:02 | |
| let nothing you dismay | 2:08 | |
| for Jesus Christ our savior was born on Christmas day | 2:12 | |
| to save us all from Satan's power | 2:18 | |
| when we had gone astray. | 2:22 | |
| Oh tidings of comfort and joy, | 2:25 | |
| comfort and joy, | 2:30 | |
| oh, tidings of comfort and joy." | 2:33 | |
| So, be ye comforted, | 2:39 | |
| and let us offer unto God together, | 2:43 | |
| our unison prayer of thanksgiving. | 2:46 | |
| Let us pray. | 2:51 | |
| Almighty God, | 2:53 | |
| the giver of every good and perfect gift, | 2:55 | |
| we give you thanks for this day and your love, | 2:59 | |
| we thank you for friends who cheer our souls, | 3:04 | |
| for honest toil which challenges our best, | 3:08 | |
| for parents and home, | 3:12 | |
| for hills, the valleys and the plains, | 3:15 | |
| for the sea that is wonderful in its stillness | 3:19 | |
| and wonderful its storm. | 3:23 | |
| We're grateful for the changing seasons | 3:26 | |
| and all the beauties and mysteries of nature. | 3:30 | |
| We appreciate the joy that heightens our life | 3:34 | |
| and the faith which can sustain us in grief. | 3:38 | |
| We thank you for health | 3:43 | |
| and for courage to be steadfast through illness. | 3:45 | |
| Above all on our Father, | 3:49 | |
| we thank you for the gift of Jesus Bethlehem, | 3:52 | |
| your Son, our Lord. | 3:56 | |
| Amen. | 4:00 | |
| (piano music) | 4:03 | |
| ♪ Sweet was the song ♪ | 5:05 | |
| ♪ The virgin sung ♪ | 5:09 | |
| ♪ When she to Bethlem Juda came ♪ | 5:12 | |
| ♪ And was deliver'd of a Son ♪ | 5:18 | |
| ♪ Lord Jesus was his name ♪ | 5:25 | |
| ♪ Lula, lula, lulaby my joy ♪ | 5:32 | |
| ♪ Sing a lullaby my babe sang she ♪ | 5:38 | |
| ♪ She was deliver'd of a Son ♪ | 5:51 | |
| ♪ Lord Jesus was his name ♪ | 5:59 | |
| ♪ Sweet babe, sang she, my son ♪ | 6:15 | |
| ♪ With love and joy ♪ | 6:22 | |
| ♪ And eke a savior born ♪ | 6:28 | |
| ♪ Who hast vouchsafed from on high ♪ | 6:32 | |
| ♪ To visit us that were forlorn ♪ | 6:36 | |
| ♪ Jesus lullaby, sweet Babe, sang she ♪ | 6:49 | |
| ♪ And rock'd Him sweetly on her knee ♪ | 7:03 | |
| ♪ Jesus ♪ | 7:16 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 7:33 | |
| Let us hear the word of God | 7:54 | |
| as it's contained in the Gospel according to Saint Luke, | 7:57 | |
| the second chapter at the eighth verse. | 8:02 | |
| "And in that region, there were shepherds out in the field, | 8:08 | |
| keeping watch over their flock by night | 8:13 | |
| and an angel of the Lord appeared to them | 8:18 | |
| and the glory of the Lord shone round above them. | 8:22 | |
| And they were filled with fear, | 8:26 | |
| and the angel said to them, | 8:30 | |
| 'Be not afraid | 8:33 | |
| for behold I bring you good news of a great joy, | 8:36 | |
| which will come to all the people, | 8:40 | |
| for to you is born this day in the city of David, | 8:44 | |
| a savior who is Christ the Lord. | 8:50 | |
| And this will be a sign for you, | 8:57 | |
| you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths | 9:01 | |
| and lying in a manger.' | 9:07 | |
| And suddenly there was with the angel, | 9:11 | |
| a multitude of the heavenly host, | 9:14 | |
| praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, | 9:16 | |
| and on earth, | 9:23 | |
| peace among men with whom he is pleased.'" | 9:26 | |
| Amen. | 9:34 | |
| He here end the lesson. | 9:35 | |
| (upbeat piano music) | 9:40 | |
| The Lord be with you. | 10:26 | |
| Let us pray. | 10:30 | |
| Let us offer first a prayer of intercession. | 10:38 | |
| Oh God, who through thy Son has taught us to make prayer | 10:43 | |
| for all conditions of men, | 10:46 | |
| we would remember them. | 10:50 | |
| We offer our prayers for the trustees | 10:53 | |
| and administration of our university, | 10:55 | |
| that the joy of Christmas may be in them | 10:59 | |
| for any work well done. | 11:02 | |
| For the faculty, that learning and religion, | 11:06 | |
| inseparably conjoined maybe recognized in Jesus | 11:10 | |
| of Bethlehem and Nazareth. | 11:15 | |
| For the students, that they may find joy in their families | 11:20 | |
| and return to us with Christmas gladness in their heart. | 11:24 | |
| For the employees who serve us with graciousness and skill, | 11:31 | |
| that they may know that they belong | 11:36 | |
| to our beloved community. | 11:38 | |
| For those who must spend this season in the hospital, | 11:43 | |
| some in gratitude that a child is born, | 11:49 | |
| some in pain and others in sorrow, | 11:54 | |
| some offering their skill and devotion | 11:59 | |
| as doctors and nurses, | 12:02 | |
| let our hospital be a thoughtful place of love. | 12:06 | |
| At this holy time, | 12:10 | |
| we offer a prayer in particular, | 12:14 | |
| for one who worships here each Sunday, | 12:18 | |
| and whose mother went home to thee on Christmas day. | 12:23 | |
| We offer our prayers for all men and women in all places | 12:30 | |
| that peace may come because of goodwill on earth. | 12:35 | |
| For thy creatures here and everywhere, | 12:42 | |
| we offer this Christmas prayer of intercession. | 12:45 | |
| And let us offer a prayer of supplication. | 12:53 | |
| Almighty and eternal God, | 12:57 | |
| God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, | 13:01 | |
| and in him, our God and Father, | 13:03 | |
| give us at this holy season, | 13:08 | |
| some share in the grace of Jesus Christ. | 13:11 | |
| Let his spirit enter our lives and bless them, | 13:16 | |
| that duty may be touched with beauty, | 13:21 | |
| and justice be gentled by charity. | 13:25 | |
| Let our hearts hear the cry of the needy | 13:32 | |
| and feel love for the unlovely. | 13:35 | |
| Give our hands strength, | 13:40 | |
| not to do great things, | 13:43 | |
| but to do small things graciously. | 13:45 | |
| Let out a gifts be not a sacrifice, | 13:50 | |
| but a privilege. | 13:53 | |
| Let us accept kindness with humility. | 13:56 | |
| Let the Grace of Jesus Christ be in us all. | 14:01 | |
| And let us offer a prayer of dedication. | 14:08 | |
| Oh God, what curious praise is ours for Jesus Christ? | 14:14 | |
| A red tricycle for small and busy feet, | 14:21 | |
| skis for a boy to ride the wind, | 14:26 | |
| perfume for her and tobacco for him, | 14:31 | |
| a check or two or three or 10 for charity, | 14:36 | |
| 200 Christmas cards signed love by hand, | 14:44 | |
| letters to friends long lost in years ago, | 14:50 | |
| much weariness and ribbons and short tempers. | 14:56 | |
| Oh, find in this, oh, find in this, dear God, | 15:04 | |
| our human hearts, | 15:08 | |
| our hope for men, | 15:11 | |
| our praise for thee, | 15:14 | |
| our love for thy Son. | 15:18 | |
| And now as our savior, Christ has taught us, | 15:23 | |
| we humbly pray together, saying, | 15:27 | |
| "Our Father, who art in heaven, | 15:30 | |
| hallowed be thy name, | 15:34 | |
| thy kingdom come, | 15:36 | |
| thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, | 15:38 | |
| give us this day our daily bread, | 15:43 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses, | 15:47 | |
| as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 15:49 | |
| and lead us not into temptation, | 15:53 | |
| but deliver us from evil, | 15:56 | |
| for thine is the kingdom, | 15:59 | |
| and the power and the glory forever. | 16:01 | |
| Amen. | 16:06 | |
| Howard | Contrary to the printed bulletin | 16:29 |
| for today's service, | 16:32 | |
| which you received on coming in the chapel. | 16:33 | |
| The pulpit is not now occupied by Elmer Hall. | 16:38 | |
| Chaplain Hall is probably propped up in bed | 16:42 | |
| in his parents' home at Gibsonville right now, | 16:47 | |
| listening to the Duke Chapel service by way of WDNC. | 16:51 | |
| I am Howard Wilkinson. | 16:57 | |
| And I share your disappointment | 17:00 | |
| that the first cold Elmer has had this winter | 17:02 | |
| saw fit to add laryngitis to its other miseries, | 17:06 | |
| and thus, struck him down just a couple of days | 17:10 | |
| before he was scheduled to preach here. | 17:13 | |
| We have rearranged the schedule | 17:17 | |
| and he is now due to preach that sermon | 17:19 | |
| in this chapel on January 9. | 17:22 | |
| The distinguished minister, also, | 17:27 | |
| who is presiding today is not Chaplain Wilkinson, | 17:30 | |
| as many of you know, | 17:33 | |
| but is indeed Dr. James T. Cleland the Dean of the Chapel | 17:36 | |
| who graciously consented | 17:41 | |
| to be the presiding minister today | 17:42 | |
| when he was expecting to have a well-earned rest. | 17:46 | |
| Now, I do not want you to worry about me, | 17:53 | |
| thinking that I may have toiled all of Christmas day | 17:56 | |
| over what I might preach on such short notice this morning. | 18:00 | |
| Actually, I will be frank and say | 18:06 | |
| that what I decided to do was to update an article, | 18:09 | |
| which I published in a magazine elsewhere | 18:15 | |
| at Christmas time two years ago. | 18:18 | |
| Had it not been for Elmer's cold and laryngitis, | 18:23 | |
| you might never have heard the substance of that article. | 18:27 | |
| You could call this sermon today, | 18:34 | |
| a post-mortem examination of our Christmas celebration. | 18:37 | |
| It will be something like that. | 18:44 | |
| For yesterday, we Christians observe Christmas | 18:48 | |
| all over the world. | 18:54 | |
| However, if history repeats itself this year, | 18:57 | |
| a great many citizens will begin now, | 19:02 | |
| sharply to criticize the fashion | 19:07 | |
| in which a great many of their fellow citizens | 19:09 | |
| did there celebrating. | 19:13 | |
| I'm not sure all of these criticism is valid | 19:16 | |
| for the reason that most people | 19:20 | |
| have only a foggy idea of what it is | 19:23 | |
| they were supposed to have celebrated. | 19:27 | |
| They're vaguely puzzled about | 19:32 | |
| whether the true nature of Christmas is December 25, | 19:34 | |
| Santa Claus, "The Yule Log", a branch of holly, | 19:39 | |
| Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, | 19:44 | |
| four Colly birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, | 19:46 | |
| or a partridge in a pear tree. | 19:49 | |
| Consequently, not being sure, | 19:53 | |
| which is most important, and being vaguely anxious | 19:56 | |
| to celebrate something important, | 20:01 | |
| a whole lot of them pulled out all the stops, | 20:05 | |
| did a general celebration, | 20:07 | |
| and hope that at some moment during the Christmas season, | 20:09 | |
| they may accidentally have hit upon the central reality | 20:13 | |
| of Christmas, | 20:17 | |
| even if only for a few fleeting moments. | 20:20 | |
| What therefore, may be in order on this day after Christmas | 20:27 | |
| is a consideration of what it is | 20:34 | |
| we were supposed to celebrate. | 20:37 | |
| What is the nature of Christmas? | 20:41 | |
| And I raised that question because if we missed it, | 20:46 | |
| if we missed it, | 20:50 | |
| there still is time to find it | 20:53 | |
| and to celebrate it today | 20:57 | |
| for what it really is. | 21:00 | |
| If you don't win the game in the regular time, | 21:04 | |
| in the playoffs, you can have a little extra time, | 21:10 | |
| sudden death playoff and really fine Christmas. | 21:14 | |
| Now, perhaps the best way, or at least one way, | 21:21 | |
| to arrive at a positive answer | 21:23 | |
| to the question of what is the essence of Christmas? | 21:27 | |
| Would be to commence by saying that Christmas | 21:30 | |
| is not this and that and the other, | 21:34 | |
| which many people erroneously think it to be, | 21:39 | |
| just as Columbus attempted to sail to the East, | 21:45 | |
| by turning his ships to the West. | 21:47 | |
| I shall mention a few things Christmas | 21:51 | |
| is frequently thought to be, | 21:53 | |
| and which I believe it is not. | 21:55 | |
| First, Christmas is not an emphasis upon yesterday | 21:59 | |
| on the calendar, December 25. | 22:05 | |
| Simply to magnify the importance of that day on the calendar | 22:10 | |
| is not to observe Christmas. | 22:14 | |
| Some people think that if they don't attend classes, | 22:18 | |
| or don't report for work in their office on that day, | 22:22 | |
| that they have thereby celebrated Christmas. | 22:27 | |
| Really, it is extremely unlikely | 22:32 | |
| that Jesus was born on December 25, | 22:35 | |
| and I hope that doesn't shock you too badly. | 22:39 | |
| Nowhere, | 22:44 | |
| nowhere, | 22:46 | |
| does the Bible declared this to be the date | 22:48 | |
| of the birth of Jesus. | 22:53 | |
| Indeed, the Bible does not give us any clue at all | 22:58 | |
| as to when the birth of Jesus might have taken place, | 23:01 | |
| except for one indication. | 23:05 | |
| Luke does say this much, | 23:09 | |
| "And there were in the same country, | 23:13 | |
| shepherds abiding in the field, | 23:16 | |
| keeping watch over their flock by night." | 23:21 | |
| Now, if you will recall that the Palestinian seasons | 23:29 | |
| are roughly the same as ours, | 23:33 | |
| you will see instantly that December 25 | 23:35 | |
| is a very unlikely date for the birth of Jesus. | 23:38 | |
| Some years ago, | 23:45 | |
| we had a student in our undergraduate school at Duke, | 23:46 | |
| Ghazi Qubein, | 23:49 | |
| who came from Bethlehem, | 23:52 | |
| and who lived outside the town near the place | 23:55 | |
| where it is supposed that the shepherds were. | 23:59 | |
| In one Christmas morning, | 24:03 | |
| we had breakfast at our home and Ghazi | 24:05 | |
| was at our breakfast table, | 24:08 | |
| and we said to him, "Where did you live?" | 24:11 | |
| He said, "At Bethlehem." | 24:16 | |
| And I said, "Where?" | 24:19 | |
| And he said, "Just outside the town, | 24:20 | |
| presumably, where the shepherds were | 24:23 | |
| when the heavenly saw the King." | 24:27 | |
| And we were all very still for a little bit | 24:31 | |
| and then he told us that at this time of year, | 24:35 | |
| the shepherds are not abiding in the field, | 24:40 | |
| keeping watch over their flock by night, | 24:44 | |
| it being cold and there being no grass for the sheep to eat | 24:49 | |
| the shepherds have their flocks in the caves or in a fold. | 24:53 | |
| Shepherds abiding in the field, | 24:58 | |
| keeping watch over their flock by night | 25:00 | |
| sounds more like a spring or summer event in Palestine. | 25:02 | |
| So we shall simply have to abandon | 25:09 | |
| our idolatry of December 25 | 25:11 | |
| and admit that Christmas is something other | 25:14 | |
| than a glorification of that date on the calendar. | 25:17 | |
| Now of course, this will mean | 25:22 | |
| that some of our sentimental carols, | 25:24 | |
| and some of our sentimental customs | 25:26 | |
| will have to be revised in honesty. | 25:28 | |
| For example, one carol has for more than a half century, | 25:31 | |
| boldly, announced, | 25:34 | |
| "In the bleak Midwinter, a stable place sufficed, | 25:37 | |
| the Lord, God Almighty, Jesus Christ." | 25:41 | |
| The only difficulty about that Christmas carol is | 25:45 | |
| that it simply isn't believable. | 25:47 | |
| Now what we need to understand, | 25:52 | |
| is that the date on which this celebration | 25:54 | |
| of the birth of Jesus Christ comes | 25:59 | |
| is not the important part of the celebration. | 26:03 | |
| The British have long known the truth of this | 26:10 | |
| as is evidenced by the fact that | 26:13 | |
| the Sovereign's birthday is seldom, if ever, | 26:15 | |
| celebrated on the actual anniversary of his or her birth. | 26:21 | |
| The present Queen of England was born on April 21, | 26:27 | |
| but her birthday was officially celebrated | 26:31 | |
| on June 13 this year. | 26:34 | |
| It may be useful, in this connection, | 26:39 | |
| to comment on the reason why December 25 | 26:41 | |
| was picked as the day on which to celebrate | 26:45 | |
| the birth of Jesus Christ. | 26:47 | |
| Did you know that for more than 300 years, | 26:53 | |
| for more than three centuries, | 26:57 | |
| the birth of the savior was not celebrated at all | 27:01 | |
| in the Christian church. | 27:06 | |
| His death, his resurrection, | 27:09 | |
| celebrated from the beginning of the church, | 27:12 | |
| but not his birth. | 27:17 | |
| In the middle of the fourth century in the City of Rome | 27:20 | |
| an observance of Christmas began, | 27:22 | |
| but at first, the date celebrated was January 6, | 27:25 | |
| and that date has remained with the Eastern Orthodox Church | 27:31 | |
| from then until now. | 27:35 | |
| The Western church, however, | 27:38 | |
| soon moved to December 25 for two reasons, | 27:39 | |
| neither of which was based upon any historical document, | 27:43 | |
| which pretended that this was the date of his actual birth. | 27:49 | |
| One reason was theological, | 27:54 | |
| the other reason was practical. | 27:57 | |
| The theological reason ran something like this, | 28:00 | |
| the world must have been created on March 25, | 28:05 | |
| since that is the date of the Vernal Equinox. | 28:10 | |
| Jesus Christ was God's new creation. | 28:17 | |
| First creation, now, the second creation, | 28:25 | |
| and surely this must have come at the winter solstice, | 28:29 | |
| hence, December 25. | 28:35 | |
| That's the whole thing. | 28:39 | |
| And whatever you and I may think of that line of reasoning, | 28:41 | |
| that at least was their theory. | 28:43 | |
| The practical reason for choosing that date | 28:47 | |
| was suggested by Dean Cleland in his sermon last Sunday. | 28:51 | |
| The reason for choosing that date was, | 28:59 | |
| that it was the alleged birthday of the pagan god | 29:02 | |
| of the Mithraic religion, Sol Invictus. | 29:05 | |
| And there was a big pagan celebration on that day. | 29:10 | |
| So, if the birth of Jesus was celebrated on that day, | 29:15 | |
| this would give the Christians | 29:20 | |
| something spiritually significant to do | 29:22 | |
| while the pagans ran wild. | 29:25 | |
| Today, it's a bit difficult | 29:29 | |
| as one observes the typical December 25 celebration | 29:32 | |
| in America, | 29:36 | |
| to determine whether a given person | 29:37 | |
| is celebrating for Jesus or for Sol Invictus. | 29:39 | |
| So, Christmas must not be thought of | 29:45 | |
| as any glorification of December 25, | 29:47 | |
| in all historical and piety honesty. | 29:50 | |
| Okay? | 29:56 | |
| A second thing which Christmas is often thought to be, | 29:58 | |
| but actually is not, | 30:01 | |
| is an emphasis upon the infancy of Jesus. | 30:03 | |
| The assumption that when we observe the birthday of Jesus, | 30:13 | |
| we are to magnify the details of his babyhood | 30:16 | |
| has led to a whole rash of fairly irrelevant practices, | 30:22 | |
| which when combined have the effect | 30:28 | |
| of diverting our attention | 30:31 | |
| from the true purpose of Christmas, | 30:33 | |
| which has to do with the total impact | 30:36 | |
| which Christ made upon the world. | 30:42 | |
| Now consider how we celebrate the birth | 30:46 | |
| of other great people. | 30:48 | |
| On Lincoln's birthday, | 30:51 | |
| do we talk about what a sweet little baby he was, | 30:54 | |
| how he cut his first teeth, | 31:00 | |
| speculate on whether he sucked his thumb or not? | 31:03 | |
| No. | 31:09 | |
| We recall his labors for emancipation of the slaves, | 31:10 | |
| his great concern for the unity of America, | 31:15 | |
| and his dedication to freedom. | 31:18 | |
| We recite his "Gettysburg Address", | 31:22 | |
| and we rededicate ourselves to the ideals of Lincoln | 31:24 | |
| on his birthday. | 31:28 | |
| When we observe the birthday of Washington, | 31:32 | |
| very little is said about his infancy, | 31:35 | |
| a great deal is said about him as the father of our country. | 31:38 | |
| I recall personally, | 31:45 | |
| nothing about the babyhood of Washington, | 31:47 | |
| but I remember vividly that on previous celebrations | 31:51 | |
| of Washington's birthday, | 31:54 | |
| my parents and my teachers spoke | 31:56 | |
| of how Washington prayed at Valley Forge. | 31:58 | |
| And I was required in school to memorize | 32:02 | |
| that portion of his farewell address, | 32:04 | |
| in which he warned that America as a nation | 32:07 | |
| must be a religious nation | 32:11 | |
| or it cannot possibly survive. | 32:14 | |
| Washington's birthday and the celebration of it | 32:22 | |
| was an occasion when we gained inspiration | 32:27 | |
| for purposeful living by recalling | 32:29 | |
| the total life and work of the man | 32:32 | |
| who was born on February 22nd, | 32:36 | |
| so it should be with Jesus Christ. | 32:41 | |
| And while we especially celebrate his sacrificial death | 32:45 | |
| on Good Friday, | 32:49 | |
| and his glorious survival of death on Easter, | 32:52 | |
| at Christmas, we should consider the total impact | 32:57 | |
| of the incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth, | 33:04 | |
| who was born presumably, in Bethlehem. | 33:09 | |
| This is why Handel's, "Messiah" is so great for Christmas. | 33:13 | |
| Handel's, "Messiah" places the birth narratives | 33:21 | |
| concerning Jesus in the context | 33:25 | |
| of the total ministry of the Redeemer. | 33:28 | |
| If you still have your program | 33:32 | |
| that was given to you when the "Messiah" was sung | 33:35 | |
| earlier in December, read the text again. | 33:38 | |
| That is an adequate and beautiful and meaningful | 33:44 | |
| and correct celebration of Christmas. | 33:48 | |
| The interpretation of Christmas | 33:57 | |
| as an emphasis upon the babyhood of Jesus, | 34:00 | |
| diverts our attention from this total impact. | 34:04 | |
| In the 16th century, a writer composed a carol | 34:10 | |
| which asks us to consider | 34:13 | |
| while we gather around and watch the little baby Jesus, | 34:18 | |
| the author pretends to be watching the cradle, | 34:23 | |
| reporting to us. | 34:26 | |
| He tells us first that Jesus is now taking his milk, | 34:29 | |
| and next he is sleeping, | 34:34 | |
| and finally, we get the great news | 34:38 | |
| that he's not sucking his thumb now. | 34:40 | |
| Well, I suspect that the baby Jesus did suck his thumb | 34:44 | |
| at some time or other, | 34:48 | |
| but whether he did or not has nothing to do | 34:50 | |
| with the basic nature of Christmas. | 34:52 | |
| Now, to be sure, there is, there is, a value | 34:56 | |
| in considering the birth narratives | 35:02 | |
| at Christmas time or any other. | 35:06 | |
| They do give emphasis to the fact | 35:09 | |
| that Jesus was an historical person, | 35:11 | |
| not a mythological person. | 35:15 | |
| He was born into human life at a certain time in history | 35:19 | |
| and at a certain place, | 35:24 | |
| and he fully shared and shares our humanity. | 35:26 | |
| Second value is that the birth narratives emphasized | 35:32 | |
| the possible grandeur of lowly and humble circumstances. | 35:35 | |
| The worship of a Christ who was born in a cow barn | 35:43 | |
| is good medicine for our sick pride and our silly vanity. | 35:48 | |
| We have a tendency to ignore humble people, | 35:55 | |
| humble events, humble circumstances. | 35:59 | |
| But essentially, Christmas is not properly | 36:05 | |
| an emphasis upon the babyhood of Jesus. | 36:08 | |
| Third and finally, Christmas is not | 36:12 | |
| a holiday for getting, | 36:16 | |
| but a holy day for giving. | 36:20 | |
| Consider, if you will, | 36:24 | |
| that all human beings mentioned in the Christmas story, | 36:25 | |
| affirmatively, were offering gifts, | 36:30 | |
| not receiving gifts. | 36:34 | |
| The owner of the stable offered | 36:38 | |
| his only vacant accommodation, | 36:39 | |
| the wise men brought gold and valuable spice, | 36:43 | |
| the shepherds brought the adoration of their hearts, | 36:47 | |
| Mary brought the priceless gift of motherhood, | 36:51 | |
| Joseph brought the paternal protection, | 36:55 | |
| tender care of a strong and loving man. | 36:59 | |
| In contrast to this holy day of giving, | 37:04 | |
| many people think of Christmas as a holiday for getting. | 37:07 | |
| If someone fails to send them a Christmas card, | 37:11 | |
| or does not return gift for gift, | 37:15 | |
| they cannot have a good time. | 37:19 | |
| For these people, Christmas was spoiled yesterday, | 37:22 | |
| merely if the cranberries didn't taste as good as usual, | 37:26 | |
| if the Turkey was not cooked to perfection, | 37:31 | |
| it mattered little to them | 37:34 | |
| whether Jesus was born in Bethlehem. | 37:36 | |
| The nature of Christmas is to give, | 37:41 | |
| just as the nature of fire is to burn, | 37:44 | |
| and however much we may have rejoiced | 37:48 | |
| when we received a present, | 37:51 | |
| we should rejoice even more | 37:53 | |
| when we have an opportunity to give. | 37:55 | |
| Well, in approaching the answer to our question | 38:00 | |
| of what is the true essence of Christmas? | 38:05 | |
| By stating the negatives, | 38:09 | |
| we have outlined some aspects of the nature of Christmas, | 38:11 | |
| and in closing, let me now point briefly, | 38:17 | |
| to three positive aspects. | 38:19 | |
| First, an old Testament prophecy, | 38:22 | |
| which Christians have always associated with Christmas | 38:26 | |
| is found in Isaiah 42:7. | 38:29 | |
| And when viewed in this context, | 38:33 | |
| it describes the purpose of Christ coming as follows, | 38:36 | |
| to open the blind eyes, | 38:41 | |
| to bring out the prisoners from the prison. | 38:45 | |
| We scarcely need to say, | 38:53 | |
| I guess that the recent prison riot at Attica | 38:55 | |
| was not necessarily, a manifestation | 38:59 | |
| of the Christmas spirit. | 39:02 | |
| The prisons which Christ came to open | 39:05 | |
| are far more deadly and more confining | 39:07 | |
| than the one at Attica, | 39:11 | |
| and the prisoners are much more in need of liberation | 39:15 | |
| than those. | 39:20 | |
| All who were imprisoned by their greed, | 39:23 | |
| their prejudice, their selfishness, their anxiety, | 39:25 | |
| are more in need of deliverance | 39:28 | |
| than those who are behind bars. | 39:30 | |
| Christ came to deliver the self-centered man | 39:35 | |
| from his self-centeredness, | 39:37 | |
| the prejudiced man from his prejudice, | 39:40 | |
| the anxious woman from her fears, | 39:43 | |
| and to open the eyes of all who cannot see God at work | 39:46 | |
| redemptively seeking to win the world. | 39:51 | |
| Second positive clue to the nature of Christmas | 39:57 | |
| is furnished by the angel's song quoted in Luke, | 40:00 | |
| which was read by Dean Cleland. | 40:04 | |
| "Glory to God in the highest." | 40:07 | |
| Think about that. | 40:15 | |
| The coming of the divine in the life of the human, | 40:18 | |
| brought and brings glory to God. | 40:22 | |
| Because although, he would have been justified | 40:27 | |
| in allowing us to perish | 40:30 | |
| in and because of our sins, | 40:32 | |
| he manifested his love toward us | 40:35 | |
| by sending his son to offer pardon, | 40:38 | |
| righteousness, redemption. | 40:42 | |
| That this brings glory to God is a fact so undeniable | 40:48 | |
| that it challenges our limits of our imagination. | 40:52 | |
| Isaiah, shout for joy, has been identified | 40:58 | |
| with the birth of Christ in this connection. | 41:01 | |
| "O, Zion that bringest good tidings, | 41:05 | |
| get thee up into the high mountain. | 41:08 | |
| O, Jerusalem that bringest good tidings, | 41:11 | |
| lift up thy voice with strength. | 41:15 | |
| Lift it up, be not afraid. | 41:19 | |
| Say unto the cities of Judah, 'Behold, your God.'" | 41:22 | |
| Christmas leads us to behold our God | 41:29 | |
| in the majesty of his redemptive power | 41:32 | |
| and to give glory and honor unto him | 41:38 | |
| because of it. | 41:41 | |
| It is a shout of joy, | 41:44 | |
| a claiming of redemption, | 41:47 | |
| when we didn't deserve it. | 41:50 | |
| Third, it is a well-known fact | 41:54 | |
| that Christmas signifies the goal of world peace. | 41:57 | |
| In that it is the celebration of the coming | 42:02 | |
| of the Prince of Peace. | 42:04 | |
| West Pakistan, East Pakistan, | 42:09 | |
| Bangladesh, India, | 42:13 | |
| Israel, Egypt, Vietnam, | 42:17 | |
| where else? | 42:23 | |
| Not only are the angels represented | 42:27 | |
| as declaring at the birth of Jesus, | 42:29 | |
| on earth, peace, goodwill toward men, | 42:33 | |
| but the passage in Isaiah 9:6 | 42:38 | |
| which Christians have identified with Christ, | 42:40 | |
| names him as the Prince of Peace. | 42:44 | |
| "For unto us, a child is born, | 42:47 | |
| unto us a son is given, | 42:50 | |
| and the government shall be upon his shoulder | 42:52 | |
| and his name shall be called the Prince of Peace." | 42:55 | |
| Surely, this peace bringing prince | 43:04 | |
| was born into the right world. | 43:07 | |
| We need his presence here. | 43:10 | |
| This war-torn earth desperately must have a new birth | 43:14 | |
| of his spirit, | 43:17 | |
| giving it a Prince of Peace | 43:20 | |
| to replace its many princes of war. | 43:22 | |
| It is impossible adequately, to describe our plight. | 43:27 | |
| We have not suggested it even | 43:32 | |
| when we say that some Duke students during this period | 43:34 | |
| could not go home, to their real home, | 43:39 | |
| because of what war has done. | 43:44 | |
| War has robbed them of parents, of friends, and home. | 43:47 | |
| We have not suggested our need of the Prince of Peace | 43:54 | |
| even after we have counted a small part | 43:57 | |
| of the financial cost, staggering as that is. | 43:59 | |
| Listen, this may give you some idea. | 44:03 | |
| Recently, I received from the office of Raymond Wilson, | 44:08 | |
| an analysis of the cost in our federal budget, | 44:12 | |
| in this one country, in this one year. | 44:16 | |
| Just one country, just one year. | 44:22 | |
| The analysis shows that 71% of the billions | 44:28 | |
| appropriated by Congress for one 12-month period, | 44:34 | |
| will go for swords, | 44:39 | |
| and only 29% for plowshares. | 44:43 | |
| 71% of your taxes go for swords, | 44:50 | |
| and 29% for plowshares. | 44:55 | |
| The sum that is to be spent within this one 12-month period | 45:00 | |
| for past, present, and future wars, | 45:04 | |
| would, by itself, if used for this purpose, | 45:07 | |
| build 2 million homes for American people | 45:11 | |
| at a cost of $20,000 each. | 45:16 | |
| And after those homes have been built, | 45:20 | |
| there would be enough money left over | 45:22 | |
| to construct 3,500 hospitals, | 45:24 | |
| 3,500 hospitals at a cost of 4 million each. | 45:28 | |
| And there would still be enough money left over after that | 45:35 | |
| to construct 4,000 schools at a cost of $4 million each. | 45:38 | |
| Just on the money we were spending in one year for swords. | 45:47 | |
| So the Prince of Peace came to the right place. | 45:56 | |
| He was born into a world which still needs him. | 46:00 | |
| His birth brought and brings glory to God, | 46:03 | |
| and his spirit is still opening the eyes of the blind, | 46:06 | |
| bringing out the prisoners from the prison. | 46:10 | |
| Let us therefore, ask ourselves | 46:14 | |
| if we missed the true nature of his coming | 46:16 | |
| by idolizing December 25, | 46:20 | |
| or becoming preoccupied with the swaddling clothes | 46:24 | |
| or the straw in the manger and the cows around it, | 46:27 | |
| or by the worship of Santa Claus, or the reindeer, | 46:30 | |
| or the tinsel, or the glitter of a pagan festival? | 46:33 | |
| Did we? | 46:36 | |
| Were we so obsessed with the thrill of receiving | 46:39 | |
| that we missed the blessedness of giving? | 46:43 | |
| If we did, there is still time today, | 46:48 | |
| properly, correctly, to worship the Christ. | 46:52 | |
| To rededicate ourselves to his ideals, | 46:59 | |
| to the total impact of his purpose in coming to the world | 47:03 | |
| and to claim him as Lord and savior | 47:08 | |
| and acknowledge him and his way | 47:13 | |
| as the Prince of Peace. | 47:17 | |
| Let us pray. | 47:20 | |
| Oh God, in the highest, | 47:23 | |
| we ascribe unto thee blessing and honor, | 47:24 | |
| glory and power. | 47:28 | |
| We praise and magnify thy holy name | 47:30 | |
| because of thy mighty work in Bethlehem long ago. | 47:33 | |
| We now pray that the true nature of that Christ | 47:38 | |
| shall not only be born in us, but may grow in us | 47:42 | |
| throughout our lives. | 47:46 | |
| Amen. | 47:48 | |
| (upbeat piano music) | 47:52 | |
| (piano music) | 51:27 | |
| ♪ There is a child ♪ | 54:00 | |
| ♪ Who dwells on earth ♪ | 54:03 | |
| ♪ Each year he comes ♪ | 54:05 | |
| ♪ Rejoice in his love ♪ | 54:08 | |
| ♪ He comes from far ♪ | 54:22 | |
| ♪ He hides our hearts ♪ | 54:24 | |
| ♪ Bringing the world ♪ | 54:27 | |
| ♪ His father's love ♪ | 54:30 | |
| ♪ Let's all rejoice ♪ | 54:38 | |
| ♪ In perfect grace ♪ | 54:41 | |
| ♪ When Christ Lord Jesus ♪ | 54:44 | |
| ♪ Amen Amen ♪ | 54:47 | |
| ♪ For Christ I want ♪ | 55:23 | |
| ♪ To reach and pull ♪ | 55:25 | |
| ♪ To hold and pride ♪ | 55:28 | |
| ♪ Jehovah's perfect love ♪ | 55:30 | |
| ♪ Give him your tithes ♪ | 55:44 | |
| ♪ And see his grace ♪ | 55:46 | |
| ♪ Lord Christ ♪ | 56:03 | |
| ♪ Behold your name ♪ | 56:17 | |
| (upbeat piano music) | 56:36 | |
| Preacher | Our Father, God, | 58:06 |
| who has given us thy dearest gift in Jesus Christ. | 58:08 | |
| Accept these, our gifts | 58:14 | |
| as symbols of our gratitude to thee | 58:17 | |
| and of our love for him. | 58:21 | |
| May God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, | 58:29 | |
| shine every morning in your hearts | 58:34 | |
| to give the light of the knowledge of his glory | 58:38 | |
| in the faith of Jesus Christ our Lord. | 58:43 | |
| (soft piano music) | 58:51 | |
| (bell rings) | 59:19 | |
| (upbeat piano music) | 59:40 |
