REFLECTION QUOTES
“Three things go by the name of Christmas. One is a religious festival. This is important and obligatory for Christians; but as it can be of no interest to anyone else, I shall naturally say no more about it here. The second is a popular holiday, an occasion for merry-making and hospitality. If it were my business to have a ‘view’ on this, I should say that I much approve of merry-making. But what I approve of much more is everybody minding his own business. I see no reason why I should volunteer views as to how other people should spend their own money in their own leisure among their own friends. It is highly probable that they want my advice on such matters as little as I want theirs. But the third thing called Christmas is unfortunately everyone’s business. I mean of course the commercial racket.”
~What Christmas Means to Me, C.S. Lewis
“It is hard to imagine Tamar in her desolation after her rape, for instance, writing upbeat songs of joy. Indeed, it would be false if she were to write and sing such songs–unless they were about her ultimate redemption and the wiping away of her tears. Her life in this world was ruined by the wicked act of her half brother, and so, even any songs of joy she might have written and sung would have been full of tears as long as she walked in this broken world.
The character Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings makes a profound statement. He says that there are sorrows in this world so great that their tears are never wiped away in this life… This is the grim reality of our daily existence, a reality that will not change until Christ himself wipes away our tears.”
~Echoes of Eden, Jerram Barrs
“In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!”
~Aragorn, Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
SERMON PASSAGE
Matthew 2 (ESV)
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. 17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20 saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child’s life are dead.” 21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. 23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.
After Christmas
Matthew 2; December 28, 2014; Pastor Ryan Bouton
December 28, 2014 • Ryan Bouton
The Light of Christmas
December 24, 2023 • Don Willeman • John 1:1–5, John 1:9–14, John 3:16–21, John 8:12
QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.” ~Source Unknown “Darkness is only the absence of light. Turn on a light and it banishes the darkness.” ~Terry Pratchett (1948-2015), English author and satirist “There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” ~Edith Wharton (1862-1937), first woman to win Pulitzer Prize in Fiction “The darkness always passes, and the light comes back.” ~Khaled Hosseini in The Kite Runner (2003) “Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” ~Victor Hugo in Les Misérables (1862) “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. in Strength to Love (1963) “The deepest thing in Christianity is God’s love for earth. That God is rich in his heaven is something known also by other religions. That he wanted to be poor together with his creatures, that…he wanted to and did indeed suffer for his world, and that through his Incarnation he enabled himself to prove the suffering of his love to his creatures: this is the hitherto unheard-of thing.” ~Hans Urs von Balthasar (1905-1988), Swiss Theologian “The Bible is God’s anthropology rather than man’s theology.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), leading Jewish theologian-philosopher of the 20th century SERMON PASSAGE John 1:1-5, 9-14; 3:16-21, 8:12 (ESV) John 1 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 3 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 8 12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus, the Gift of a Cure
December 24, 2020 • Don Willeman
REFLECTION QUOTES “We’re in a time where we exclude one major component out of this whole thing called life: God.” ~Kendrick Lamar, rapper, songwriter and producer “We don’t have any control. And so, if you don’t have any control, then maybe everything you have is a gift.” ~Riz Ahmed, actor and rapper, speaking on NPR about the pandemic “The Bible is God’s anthropology rather than man’s theology.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), leading Jewish rabbi and theologian “…the mystery…that Almighty God would come down…in the person of Jesus Christ and became one of us…. There is really nothing like that incredible social inversion of Almighty God coming here and living with us and dying with us.” ~Anne Rice, author of The Vampire Chronicles “That a god should put up with adversity, I could understand. The gods of Hinduism face their fair share…. Adversity, yes. Reversals of fortune, yes. Treachery, yes. But humiliation? Death? I couldn’t imagine Lord Krishna consenting to be stripped naked, whipped, mocked, dragged through the streets and, to top it off, crucified…. [D]ivinity should not be blighted by death. It’s wrong…. The Son must have the taste of death forever in His mouth. The Trinity must be tainted by it; there must be a certain stench at the right hand of God the Father. The horror must be real. Why would God wish that upon Himself? Why not leave death to the mortals? Why make dirty what is beautiful, spoil what is perfect? “Love. That was Father Martin’s answer.” ~ Pi’s response to hearing the Christian gospel in Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi “If you stumble at mere believability, what are you living for? Isn’t love hard to believe?” ~Yan Martel in Life of Pi “Love is divine only and difficult always.” ~Toni Morrison (1935-2019), novelist and college professor “Life is short. Death is sure. Sin the cause. Christ the cure.” ~Source Unknown SERMON PASSAGE Luke 2:8-12 (ESV) 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”