“What Does Christmas Mean for You?”
Luke 2:10-11

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Worship for Shut-Ins—December 12, 2019

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

In a few weeks it will be 2020 A.D.; Anno Domini, the Year of Our Lord.  The birth of Jesus Christ is an event so significant that we literally number our years by it.  But, although this blessed birth is a momentous turning point in the eras of human history, its meaning for you is much more personal.

“Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”  What does Christmas mean for you, personally?  Jesus’ coming into the world means that God loves you.  As John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Jesus’ coming into the world means that God forgives you all your sins, on account of His life, death and resurrection.  As Peter says in Acts, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Jesus’ coming into the world means that God is not angry with you, as the angels sang the night of his birth, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”  That is God’s attitude toward you on account of Christ, peace and goodwill.

Jesus’ coming into the world means that God is on your side, as Paul says in Romans, “If God is for us, who can be against us.”  In the troubles of life God is on your side.  He is not ever punishing you, because Jesus went from the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross, to bear your punishment for you, in your place.

Jesus’ coming into the world means that death will not defeat you, but you will defeat death.  “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, even though he dies, yet shall he live.”

Jesus’ coming into the world means that you will live forever in heaven.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms . . .  I am going there to prepare a place for you. . .  I will come again and take you to be with Me.”

That’s what Christmas means for you: God loves you, God forgives you all your sins, God is not angry with you, God is on your side and He is not ever punishing you, you will defeat death and you will live forever in heaven.

“Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

There is a story about a minister who fell into a slumber while he was thinking about the topic he had selected for his Christmas sermon, “What If Christ Had Not Come?”  He dreamed of just such a world, a world into which Jesus had never been born. 

His own home was suddenly stripped of all its Christmas decorations, no tree, no presents.  He looked out the window toward the church next door, but there was no church, with its spire pointing up to heaven. 

The doorbell rang and a child asked him to come visit his dying mother.  When he reached her bedside, he opened his Bible to look for his favorite verse, a comforting promise from Jesus.  But to his dismay, it ended at Malachi, and there was nothing he could say.  Two days later, he stood by the coffin and conducted the funeral with no message of consolation, to promise of resurrection, no open heaven, but only ashes to ashes and dust to dust. 

He realized it was true, Christ had not come, and he burst into tears.  But, then he heard a wonderful, beautiful sound, like nothing else in the dreary world around him in his dream.  It became louder and louder, till suddenly he awoke and shouted with joy as he realized it was the choir at the church next door, singing a song from Handel’s Messiah: “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Anno Domini, the Year of Our Lord, 2020.  It’s been over 2,000 years and we’re still celebrating.  We’re still celebrating this event not because it’s a momentous turning point in the eras of human history, but because of what it means for you, personally: “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord”—YOUR Savior, Christ YOUR Lord.