Luke 3: 7-14              What Really Matters at Christmas              December 11, 2005

 

     On a game show a contestant was all set to win the final big prize.  All that remained was one last question.  The show’s host opened the envelope and said, “Name two of Santa’s reindeer.”  The contestant, a man in his early thirties, gave a sigh of relief, happy to have such an easy question.  Then he spoke—“Two of Santa’s reindeer are Rudolph and Olive.”  The studio audience started mumbling.  The confused host replied, “Yes, we will accept Rudolph, but the judges would like you to explain Olive.”  The man gestured impatiently.  He was clearly getting frantic.  “You know the song.  Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose.  And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glowed.  Olive, the other reindeer….”

     It is amazing how ignorant people are of what Christmas is all about.  They can’t even get their story straight about Santa.  It is no wonder they do not grasp the importance of the birth of Jesus.  Yet, this was among the most crucial moments in the history of the world.  This morning, I want to see for just a few minutes what really matters at Christmas.

     Leadership guru Malcolm Gladwell has recently written a book titled The Tipping Point. “A tipping point,” he says, “is a magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior

crosses a threshold, tips the scales and spreads like wildfire.” For example, Brittany Spears appeared on stage one night in the l990s with her midriff showing. Within a six-month period, kids all over America had taken scissors to their well-fitting shirts and were showing their navels to aghast parents. Next Shania Twain did the same and belly showing really entered the mainstream of fashion.  It was a tipping point, a watershed moment in the fashion industry.  We have all seen tipping points happen in the lives of individuals, families, churches, and nations.  It is a magic moment.  What seemed impossible before in your life suddenly becomes possible.  What a church could not accomplish suddenly is within reach.  An entire nation is changed to a new outlook.  The birth of Jesus Christ was such a tipping point.  It was the moment in history when our world was invaded from the outside.

     One of this year’s big hit movies was “The War of the Worlds” starring Tom Cruise.  Aliens from outside the earth invade and average citizens like Tom Cruise are forced to make hard decisions.  People have long looked up at the stars and wondered, “Is there anyone out there and what if they came here?”  There is someone out there.  The God of the entire universe.  And 2000 years ago, this one came to our world.  He came disguised.  He came to live as one of us.  He came to give all he has and all he is.  He came in love.  That is the real meaning of Christmas.  The God of love has come to us so that we might know His love.

      The last couple of weeks, we have been looking at John the baptizer as one who comes to prepare people for the coming of Jesus.  Just like Advent prepares us for the coming of Christmas.  In our scripture today, John opens his sermon by calling his congregation a bunch of snakes.  You know, I have often wondered if I could start a sermon calling people names.  I mean, how did John keep these people from walking out.  Of course, probably like most good Methodists, everyone just figured that John was talking about the people in the next pew over.  As John preached to the people about preparing, they eventually asked the key question in Luke 3:10—What then shall we do?  In the movie “War of the Worlds,” Tom Cruise plays an average, even less than average dad, who suddenly must face this same question—What shall I do?  My world is invaded.  What will I do with my life, with my family, with all I have?  Have you asked yourself that question about this Christmas season?   Our world has been invaded.  Not by evil aliens bent on our destruction.  Our world has been invaded by the God of Love who has come to save us from destroying ourselves and to teach us the way of love.  What then shall we do?

       What really matters at Christmas?  It will not be whether you serve ham or turkey this year.  It will not be whether you get all the toys you wanted.  It will not be about where you have lunch or dinner.  What will matter most for your real life is how you respond to the one who has come to us.  What matters is whether you will see that here is the tipping point.  Here is the one who can turn over your life and lead you in new paths that you never thought possible.  Amen