Christmas

I am preaching a meditation at our 6:30 PM Christmas eve service at Hempfield COB. We are playing a video called "He Came" right before my meditation which is called "He Came...Why?" In it I look at 2 reasons why Jesus came to earth. In my research I realized that we could probably do half a year of Sunday's on just that very question...from coming to seek and save the lost, to die on the cross to redeem us, to the redemption of all of creation (of which we are a part), and the list goes on and on. The two that I am focusing on are John 10:10.. "I came that they may have life and life to the fullest." and Luke 4:16-21
"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."^[e]

20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

So when we boil it all down....the shepherd's, the angels, the wisemen, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus....Christmas is all about mission. I found the perfect poem, the perfect ending for my sermon/mediation.

"When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with the flocks,
then the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make a little music with the heart…

And to radiate the Light of Christ,
every day, in every way, in all that we do and in all that we say.
Then the work of Christmas begins.

So my prayer for each of us this Christmas is that we will incarnate Jesus into our lives, into our celebrations, and incarnate him in the world. Be a blessing this Christmas season.