“Messiah – God’s Gift to Earth”

Scripture: Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20

During our journey through Advent, the truth of Messiah has been laid out for us in such an obvious and marvelous way. The prophets had clearly proclaimed it for the people, but since it didn’t suit their desires, they created their own version of Messiah. But God has never been bound by our plans, and his perfect way would be revealed centuries after these announcements were given.

Jesus Christ would be born to the world in the most human way – as a Baby. But not as just any baby – he would have ultimate authority over the entire world. He would be our “Wonderful Counselor” and our “Mighty God”, he would be the descendent of David (Isaiah 9:6-7) who would continue the reign of the “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22-23). He would bring the truth and love of God to the people of earth, and he would be the means to gain freedom from the burden of our sin, (Isaiah 61:1-3).

And it would all come about in the most miraculous way.

Read Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20

Jesus would be known as the “Son of God” (Acts 9:20) and the “Son of Man” (Acts 7:56). For many, this doesn’t make much sense – after all, how, or even why, would God want to limit himself by letting humanity become part of him? In the Lord’s way, things seldom seem right, but then, we read that God’s ways are never like ours, that they are higher than ours, and that his thoughts are grander than ours could ever be (Isaiah 55:9-13). And later in that passage, we are told that when the Lord speaks, his word “will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” And this purpose? To show us the way to eternal life!
And in the Lord’s wisdom, the fullness of that truth could occur in no other way than through a joining of the loving power of Almighty God and the faithful obedience of a human woman. Making sense? It does to our Lord, so why don’t we just trust it, and not worry about the “sensibility” of it all?

But the “why” of this Gift giving is still vitally important for us.
WHY would God submit himself to our experiences? Our emotions, our physical limitations, our restricted lives, our temptations to sin, dominance and oppression by worldly authorities – there isn’t a single one of these that God would, or even should, accept for his own way! But the reason for Jesus is so simple – we are deeply and completely - LOVED! The Lord loves us so much that he wants us to be with him for eternity, but our human lives are so fragile and so uncertain that he had to create a whole new life for us – a life that mirrored his. But he also wanted it to be a life that we choose, and not one that was forced upon us.

Christmas is a time of giving. For some, though, the details of Christmas consume all of their time and resources, and the purpose of Christmas tends to be lost along the wayside. How much effort do we put into preparing meals, decorating our homes, buying gifts, attending parties, sending cards, buying and setting up trees, baking cookies, and a myriad of other tasks that seem to take on an overriding importance in our lives.
And how much time do we spend reflecting on, and rejoicing over, this great Gift of God, and all that he had to go through to make that gift possible? Instead of letting Christmas become a season of giving, why not let it become a time of heart-felt caring and loving? After all, love is what God put into Christmas!

So what is this LOVE of Christmas all about? What does it involve? What does it mean for our lives? How do we know?

There’s a hymn that we used a few weeks ago in Advent worship – “Love Came Down at Christmas”. Here are two of the verses.
“Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love divine; Love was born at Christmas; star and angels gave the sign.
“Love shall be our token; love be yours and love be mine; love to God and all men, love for plea and gift and sign.”

Before the birth of Jesus, love, apparently, was not only incomplete, it was misunderstood. Think about all of the insinuations that the word “love” holds for us – “I love my job.” (OK – that one might be a stretch for a lot of us!); “I love spaghetti.”; “I love the snow” (probably need to young, or at least young at heart to agree with this one!); “I love my dog (or cat, or whatever..)”; “I love my kids”; “I love my family” – now we’re getting closer to what the Lord intended when he brought love “down at Christmas”.
In John’s gospel, we read “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12-17) And at the conclusion of that passage, Jesus tells us “I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.”

He never said that he loved any of the things of this life – he came to show us that love for others is the truest form of love that we will ever know.

But what does that include? How is it exhibited? How do we know? 1 Corinthians 13, sometimes known as the love chapter, shows us exactly what a Godly love is. The first 3 verses tell us how Godly love interacts with, and completes, the activities that seem to demand so much of our time and energies. These are the things that we believe are our expressions of faith, while God tells us that without his way and his passion, they are meaningless (Matthew 7:21-23).
The next 4 verses defines how our love is to be shared with others – remember those words from John 15 – “love one another as I have love you.” Without a Godly form of love in our life, all of our efforts - regardless of how many people we reach out to, regardless of how many cards we send out, regardless of how many meals we may serve to the homeless, regardless of all that we do for others – unless we are sharing the same love that the Lord has shown to us, our life is for nothing. So what does this form of love look like?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love “is patient” – it doesn’t rush, it isn’t impatient to see the results, it takes the time to appreciate those we share it with.
Love “is kind” – it cares about others, it’s sympathetic for the struggles that others are going though, without condemning them for the life they live.
Love “doesn’t envy, it does not boast, it is not proud” – it has nothing to do with our own glorification, and everything to do with raising others up above our own position in life. It’s about letting them stand on our shoulders, and rejoicing that they do.
Love “is not rude, it is not self-seeking” – it is a opportunity to be polite to others, not to push them out of the way so that we can move to the front of the line!
Love “is not easily angered” – it is peace and compassion!
Love “keeps no record of wrongs” – it doesn’t keep score, it isn’t used to tell if we have done enough, or if we need to do more for others, because it can never be enough!)
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth” – this is how it should be, but this isn’t about the truth that the world knows – it’s the truth that Jesus brings.
Love “always protects” – it puts the safety and needs of others ahead of our own.
Love “always trusts” – faith in all that God has taught us is worthy of our trust.
Love "always hopes” – the world’s hope is no better than a desire, but hope in God is a certainty.
Love “always perseveres” – never, never, never give up loving in the way of our Almighty God.

And when all else fails us - when our efforts in the ways of earth fall flat, when our striving for success falls apart, when our offerings of socially acceptable attitudes no longer have any significance for us, the Passion of God will still be there - loving us, enabling us, encouraging us, teaching us, changing us into a Godly reflection for the people around us.

This is the love that is so foreign to the people of this world, for “God’s ways are not our ways”, and they never will be. But by faith and love in Jesus Christ, our Babe of Bethlehem, the great Gift of our Almighty God, the love that came to earth on that dark and lonely night so long ago, the same love that bathed the shepherds on that plain of Israel, the same love that led the Magi for hundreds of miles and through months of faithful searching, the same love that led the holy family to safety in Egypt and then back home to Nazareth, the same love that led the Savior of the world to Calvary and held him close, even in death, and the same love that not only enabled the crucified Son of Man and Son of God to cheat the death of this world and to rise from the tomb of earth into a new and glorious life with the Father, this same love has been offered to each of us as the greatest of all Christmas presents.

But this, as with all gifts, is a gift that has to be received, accepted and embraced, and not just admired from a distance. If anyone here has yet to rejoice in this Gift of God, and has a desire to receive him tonight, I encourage you to bow your head and repeat this words after me right now:

Lord Jesus, God’s Gift to the world, you are the hope and joy that I have searched for all my life. I don’t deserve your extravagant love, but you know just how much I need it. Lord Jesus, my Messiah, my Redeemer, come down from heaven tonight, and fill my heart with your way, your truth, and your glorious life. Lord, change my life from one of worldly hope, and into the divine blessing of eternal life with you.
Lord, I give my life to you this day, and always. In Jesus’ Holy Name. Amen.