Sermon No. 1

Batteries Included

So many people have wished me a happy season . . . but it isn't my birthday!

So many lovely cards have graced our home . . . but it isn't my birthday!

So many thoughtful presents I received . . . but it isn't my birthday!

Whose birthday is it, anyway?

Someone has quipped that the three phrases which best describe this season are "Peace on earth," "Good will to men" and "Batteries not included."

Well, you do need "batteries" if you are going to make this season meaningful in your life. The batteries are included! They are the spiritual insights that come to those who take the reason for the season seriously . . .

To make this season truly meaningful we need to remember that. Even tho it is not the season when Jesus was actually born, it is a significant celebration of "God with us." It is a time to celebrate the "Word made flesh."

There is a story of a man whose wife asked him to go along to the Christmas eve service. He declined, saying that he didn't really believe all that incarnation stuff.

After she left, he settled in an easy chair in front of the fireplace. Suddenly he heard a thump. Then another . . . and another.

He realized that some birds had attempted to approach the light and had flown into the plate glass window.

The man went out, opened the barn door and turned on the lites in the barn. Maybe the birds would go in out of the storm. But they didn't.

He took some grain and scattered a path into the barn. But they wouldn't come in. He tried to shoo them in. No luck. The more he tried, the more they seemed to evade him.

He tho't, "If only I could talk bird language for a moment, I would explain to them that I want to help them, not hurt them."

Suddenly he heard the church bells! Of course! He dressed and went to church to join his wife . . . and to hear God's message . . . in "people-language."

Today we consider the prose of heaven, in people language. The story of a baby is a story we can understand, because we have babies all around us. We love babies. We understand babies. People language!

On Christmas of 1944, Corrie Ten Boom was in the hospital barracks at Ravensbruck, where the Nazis had killed many thousands, including Corrie's sister Betsie. There was much darkness in her heart. There were Christmas trees in the street between the barracks. Under the trees were the bodies of prisoners. Corrie said that it was the ultimate blasphemy.

Suddenly she heard a cry, "Mommy! Come to Olie. Olie is all alone." She followed the cries and found mentally retarded Olie. Corrie said, "Olie, Mommy cannot come, but do you know who has come to you? Jesus has come." She explained the Jesus story to Olie and they spent Christmas together.

The Christ of Christmas is not some halo-crowned deity, but is a baby just like your baby, a baby who needed a 6 o'clock feeding and who needed to be changed and a baby who had to learn to walk and talk.

The Christmas Jesus is a Jesus who experienced all the hurts and the frustrations and the joys and the temptations that you and I face.

The difference is that he made a masterpiece of his life. The Jesus message is that thru his grace you can make a masterpiece of your life! You can't do it alone, but by the help of God's spirit, under the inspiration of Jesus, you can do it. And that is exactly why he came -- to give us both an example . . . and a source of power.

In 1924 an English artist, William Wolcott, came to New York City to record his impressions of that metropolis. He was visiting a friend, when he suddenly felt an inspiration to draw. He saw a piece of wrapping paper and asked for it.

The friend said, "But that is not sketching paper. That is ordinary wrapping paper."
"Nothing is ordinary if you know how to use it" was Wolcott's reply.

He made two sketches. In 1924, long before our inflated dollar, one of those sketches sold for $500 and the other sold for $1000!

An ordinary manger and an ordinary stable and ordinary people are forever symbols of the masterpiece of heaven -- Jesus, the Christ. An ordinary birth, a masterpiece of humanity/divinity.

Yet the ordinary was in reality extraordinary in disguise! That ordinary baby was the Creator of the idea of babies!

You and I are not divine. We are not gods. But we can be extraordinary. We can make the Christmas story become a model for our lives. That is the challenge he left us.

There is a legend of a king who was lonely. He wanted a queen to make his life complete. One day while traveling in a small town he saw the girl of his dreams! Love at first sight!

How should he get her to become his queen? He could simply send for her . . . but then she would marry him simply because he was her soveriegn and she would be a queen.

He could invite her to come to the palace, then ask her . . . but then she might marry him simply for the position, the honor, the money! That was not what he wanted.

Finally, he had his coachman take him to the edge of the small town and leave him there. He wore the simple dress of the peasants. He worked along side of them. He wooed the girl he wanted. Not until she had agreed to marry him did she know that she would be a queen!

The King of the universe wanted to win the hand of his beloved -- you and me. He came here as a peasant, worked along with the other carpenters, lived and ate and slept with ordinary people.

Only by saying "Yes" to the poor Jewish rabbi can you become a prince . . . a princess.

Eternal life, a place of honor in the Kingdom, status as a brother of Jesus and a son of the Most High is the reward of those who accept and follow the poor Jewish rabbi of old.

I pray that this season will indeed inspire each of us to become masterpieces of our King's artistic transformation. God is able to change us, of course, but he will not make any changes without our permission and our cooperation. That is what human freedom is all about.

I have 7 questions to ask you:

1. Have you given as much to the Baby from Bethlehem as you have to your friends and loved ones? It is his birthday we celebrate, after all!

2. Have you spent as much time contemplating the reason for the season as you have spent enjoying the pretty scenery?

3. Have you done as much to pretty up your spiritual life as you have to pretty up your physical environment during this season?

4. Have you shared the good news of Christmas with others this season? Good news to some is food or shelter or clothes or friendship.

5. Have you visited any sick or shut-ins or imprisoned this season? That is why he came, you remember!

6. Have you made significant progress in your understanding of the Christ-child this year? The better you know someone, the more fun it is to celebrate that one's birthday!

7. Are you proud of your life at this point? Do others enjoy a better, happier life because they know you?

Think about those questions, and about your answers . . . The questions are your "gifts" and the "batteries included" are your answers!

Merry Christmas -- Happy Hanukkah . . . and God bless us one and all.

Let us pray . . .



		Batteries Included
		So many people have wished me a happy season . . . but it isn't my birthday! So many lovely cards have graced our home . . . but it isn't my birthday! So many thoughtful presents I received . . . but it isn't my birthday! Whose birthday is it, anyway? Someone has quipped that the three phrases which best describe this season are "Peace on earth," "Good will to men" and "Batteries not included." Well, you do need "batteries" if you are going to make this season meaningful in your life. The batteries are included! They are the spiritual insights that come to those who take the reason for the season seriously . . . To make this season truly meaningful we need to remember that. Even tho it is not the season when Jesus was actually born, it is a significant celebration of "God with us." It is a time to celebrate the "Word made flesh." There is a story of a man whose wife asked him to go along to the Christmas eve service. He declined, saying that he didn't really believe all that incarnation stuff. After she left, he settled in an easy chair in front of the fireplace. Suddenly he heard a thump. Then another . . . and another. He realized that some birds had attempted to approach the light and had flown into the plate glass window. The man went out, opened the barn door and turned on the lites in the barn. Maybe the birds would go in out of the storm. But they didn't. He took some grain and scattered a path into the barn. But they wouldn't come in. He tried to shoo them in. No luck. The more he tried, the more they seemed to evade him. He tho't, "If only I could talk bird language for a moment, I would explain to them that I want to help them, not hurt them." Suddenly he heard the church bells! Of course! He dressed and went to church to join his wife . . . and to hear God's message . . . in "people-language." Today we consider the prose of heaven, in people language. The story of a baby is a story we can understand, because we have babies all around us. We love babies. We understand babies. People language! On Christmas of 1944, Corrie Ten Boom was in the hospital barracks at Ravensbruck, where the Nazis had killed many thousands, including Corrie's sister Betsie. There was much darkness in her heart. There were Christmas trees in the street between the barracks. Under the trees were the bodies of prisoners. Corrie said that it was the ultimate blasphemy. Suddenly she heard a cry, "Mommy! Come to Olie. Olie is all alone." She followed the cries and found mentally retarded Olie. Corrie said, "Olie, Mommy cannot come, but do you know who has come to you? Jesus has come." She explained the Jesus story to Olie and they spent Christmas together. The Christ of Christmas is not some halo-crowned deity, but is a baby just like your baby, a baby who needed a 6 o'clock feeding and who needed to be changed and a baby who had to learn to walk and talk. The Christmas Jesus is a Jesus who experienced all the hurts and the frustrations and the joys and the temptations that you and I face. The difference is that he made a masterpiece of his life. The Jesus message is that thru his grace you can make a masterpiece of your life! You can't do it alone, but by the help of God's spirit, under the inspiration of Jesus, you can do it. And that is exactly why he came -- to give us both an example . . . and a source of power. In 1924 an English artist, William Wolcott, came to New York City to record his impressions of that metropolis. He was visiting a friend, when he suddenly felt an inspiration to draw. He saw a piece of wrapping paper and asked for it. The friend said, "But that is not sketching paper. That is ordinary wrapping paper." "Nothing is ordinary if you know how to use it" was Wolcott's reply. He made two sketches. In 1924, long before our inflated dollar, one of those sketches sold for $500 and the other sold for $1000! An ordinary manger and an ordinary stable and ordinary people are forever symbols of the masterpiece of heaven -- Jesus, the Christ. An ordinary birth, a masterpiece of humanity/divinity. Yet the ordinary was in reality extraordinary in disguise! That ordinary baby was the Creator of the idea of babies! You and I are not divine. We are not gods. But we can be extraordinary. We can make the Christmas story become a model for our lives. That is the challenge he left us. There is a legend of a king who was lonely. He wanted a queen to make his life complete. One day while traveling in a small town he saw the girl of his dreams! Love at first sight! How should he get her to become his queen? He could simply send for her . . . but then she would marry him simply because he was her soveriegn and she would be a queen. He could invite her to come to the palace, then ask her . . . but then she might marry him simply for the position, the honor, the money! That was not what he wanted. Finally, he had his coachman take him to the edge of the small town and leave him there. He wore the simple dress of the peasants. He worked along side of them. He wooed the girl he wanted. Not until she had agreed to marry him did she know that she would be a queen! The King of the universe wanted to win the hand of his beloved -- you and me. He came here as a peasant, worked along with the other carpenters, lived and ate and slept with ordinary people. Only by saying "Yes" to the poor Jewish rabbi can you become a prince . . . a princess. Eternal life, a place of honor in the Kingdom, status as a brother of Jesus and a son of the Most High is the reward of those who accept and follow the poor Jewish rabbi of old. I pray that this season will indeed inspire each of us to become masterpieces of our King's artistic transformation. God is able to change us, of course, but he will not make any changes without our permission and our cooperation. That is what human freedom is all about. I have 7 questions to ask you: 1. Have you given as much to the Baby from Bethlehem as you have to your friends and loved ones? It is his birthday we celebrate, after all! 2. Have you spent as much time contemplating the reason for the season as you have spent enjoying the pretty scenery? 3. Have you done as much to pretty up your spiritual life as you have to pretty up your physical environment during this season? 4. Have you shared the good news of Christmas with others this season? Good news to some is food or shelter or clothes or friendship. 5. Have you visited any sick or shut-ins or imprisoned this season? That is why he came, you remember! 6. Have you made significant progress in your understanding of the Christ-child this year? The better you know someone, the more fun it is to celebrate that one's birthday! 7. Are you proud of your life at this point? Do others enjoy a better, happier life because they know you? Think about those questions, and about your answers . . . The questions are your "gifts" and the "batteries included" are your answers! Merry Christmas -- Happy Hanukkah . . . and God bless us one and all. Let us pray . . .