Sermonette: Dec. 25, 2023

Greetings Brothers and Sisters In Christ.

We continue with our Advent story this week. Last week we discussed the four outer candles on our Advent wreath. This week we focus on the center candle, the Jesus candle. The four outer candles, Hope, Peace, Joy and Love are fine all by themselves, each representing great and beautiful attributes. But in the center, the Jesus candle puts them all together. In our Christian lives, none of the other four candles matter if we don’t have Jesus at our center. Jesus is the “Reason for the Season.”

As Christians, the Advent season is one of preparation. We prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth. For many, the preparations we go through have nothing to do with that little baby born in Bethlehem a little over 2,000 years ago. No, the preparations far too many people go through now are mostly shopping, baking, cleaning, decorating and for some, making travel plans. There is nothing wrong with any of those things to be sure. The question is, are they being done for the right reason. Every year we hear many people complaining about the commercialization of Christmas. I agree that it certainly seems we do make it a commercial venture more and more as time goes by. I don’t think it is our imagination that we think retailers begin their Christmas promotions a little earlier each year. The term Black Friday used to refer to the day after Thanksgiving. For many retailers, they go through the year pretty much holding their own. If the bottom line on their income statement number was in red ink, that meant they were losing money. Traditionally, the day after Thanksgiving is the largest, income-wise, shopping day of the year. Retailers would hope the shopping that day would get them out of the red ink and their income statement would show black ink. Now, we see and hear about Black Friday sales a month before Thanksgiving. It has become a buzz word in the retail industry that they are hoping to capitalize upon. Black Friday sales take place seemingly every day. Well, guess what? This will probably shock the daylights out of many of you, but even though I spend Sunday mornings preaching from a pulpit, I’m not so put out about this commercialization as some of those who hardly ever come to church.

How a member of the clergy can make that statement probably eludes many of you. How can I say that about a season when the birth of Christ should be uppermost in people’s minds? Well, as a man of faith, a man who celebrates Christ’s birth for what it truly means, I am also an optimist. My hope is that someday, somewhere, some person will buy a gift for a friend or family member and in doing so, will be reminded of wisemen bringing gifts to honor the baby Jesus. Maybe for someone, receiving an unexpected gift will turn on a light for them. There are Bible story coloring books for kids and grownups of all ages. There are children’s Bibles, study Bibles, books with heartwarming stories about people being reconnected to God, stories of people rekindling their faith. In this commercial world in which we now live, if even one person this year, through making a commercial transaction, can see Christ anew, then my prayer will be answered. It is good, very good, for our little ones to get toys, dolls, trucks, books of adventure, blocks, trains and what have you. There is so much to choose from. I hope that a book of prayers, a book of Bible readings or something similar is on your Christmas shopping list this year. Wouldn’t it be great if by just making a simple business transaction we could bring someone closer to the Reason for the Season? Amen.