“Unto You Is Born a Savior”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. A few years ago in the magazine “National Review” an Orthodox Jew named
Michael Rosen wrote a very surprising article titled, “Why This Orthodox Jew
Loves Christmas Music.” He said: “For me, an Orthodox Jew . . . December
truly is the most wonderful time of the year. . . I really love . . .
round-the-clock Christmas music. . . Yes, I admit it . . . I love Christmas
music. . . While I obviously don’t share the theology they express . . .
Christmas tunes are . . . melodious and tend to evoke intense emotions ranging
from joy to nostalgia. . . I get strange looks from passersby on the streets . .
. when, wearing my yarmulke, I’m whistling ‘O come let us adore him, Christ the
Lord’ . . .”* The story is very much the same with Christmas celebrations in Japan.
Christmas and all its traditions were brought to Japan by the American
servicemen who occupied that country after World War II. In just a few
decades the observance of Christmas in Japan built up to a level rivaling our
own. They have it all: the lights, the trees, the decorations, the gifts.
And since there are no restrictions on the separation of Church and State, in
many ways their celebrations seem to be more religious than ours, with Christmas
carols in the public schools and nativity scenes gracing government buildings.
No “Winter Festivals” for them: In Japan it’s an old-fashioned Christmas all the
way. The odd things is: The population of Japan is only about 3% Christian.
Most of the people are simply mimicking Christian customs without any idea what
it all means. They put up nativity sets and sing Christmas carols and
exchange presents and send Christmas cards and wish each other a “Merry
Christmas,” but they don’t know what it is they are celebrating, what happened
that first Christmas in Bethlehem. It may seem odd that an Orthodox Jew loves Christmas carols, or
non-Christian Japanese celebrate Christmas with more gusto than we do.
But, don’t we often do the same thing? Observe all the customs and
traditions of Christmas, without really considering what Christmas actually
means? Listen to the words of some familiar Christmas carols we’ve all sung
again and again: “Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!” “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see! Hail,
incarnate Deity!” “Come adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the
newborn king.” “Christ the Savior is born! Jesus, Lord at
Thy birth.” If you really think about it, those words are making an astounding
statement: God became a man. You may remember a popular song a few years
ago that asked the question, “What if God was one of us?” Well, that is
exactly what happened, that is what we celebrate at Christmas: God became one of
us. It’s not a myth or fairy tale. Over 2,000 years ago, at a real place and time, “in Bethlehem of Judea
. . . when Cyrenius was governor of Syria,” at that specific point in human
history, so significant we actually number our years by it, God became one of
us, miraculously conceived of a Virgin, and born as a Babe in a stable at
Bethlehem. “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is
Christ, the Lord.” So said the angels to the shepherds the first Christmas
Eve, and 2,000 years later that is still the message and meaning of Christmas
for you: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is
Christ, the Lord.” You need a Savior because you are a sinner, by nature sinful and
unclean, separated from God by your evil thoughts, words, and deeds. The
Apostle John John says, “This is how God showed his love for us: He sent his
only-begotten Son into the world that we would live through him. . . He
loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” What does that mean, “atoning sacrifice”? It means that God’s own
Son made up for, paid for, atoned for, your sin. He fulfilled God’s plan
for your salvation by his life of perfect obedience, his sacrifice on the cross,
and his resurrection from the dead. As the Apostle Paul says in
Colossians, “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and
through him to reconcile to himself all things . . . by making peace through his
blood, shed on the cross.” “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.”
In Dickens’ story “A Christmas Carol,” Scrooge’s nephew says Christmas is “a
good time, a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.” Many people
think that’s the meaning of those words, “peace on earth, goodwill toward men.”
It means that for a few weeks each year at Christmastime men show one another
peace and goodwill. But, the angels’ words “peace on earth, goodwill
toward men” are not about men’s temporary attitude toward one another because of
a holiday, but God’s permanent attitude toward all of mankind because of his
Son. “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” God is not angry with you!
That’s what it’s all about, the lights, the trees, the decorations, the gifts,
the Christmas carols and nativity scenes. We are celebrating the Good
News: God is not angry with you, on account of his Son, born into our world as
the Babe of Bethlehem. “Peace on earth, goodwill toward YOU.” An old preacher was asked by a younger preacher how to tell the same
Christmas story year after year and keep it fresh and appealing. He said,
“Just tell it as though you had never told it before, and imagine that those
hearing it have never heard it before.” Don’t just go through the motions of Christmas. Open your heart
to the real meaning of Christmas. Open your heart to your Savior.
Open your heart to the Good News: “Unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, which is Christ, the Lord . . . Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Amen. Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
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