Christmas
Day 2018
“The Glory of Christmas”
When
you think about the glory of Christmas, what comes to mind? Angels?
Spectacular light displays? A
beautiful, snowy, moonlit night? Tearing
into those colorful packages underneath the tree?
In
Southern California where I grew up, there was a famous production called “The
Glory of Christmas” at the Crystal Cathedral in the city of Garden Grove. The Crystal Cathedral was the huge glass
church where the well-known TV evangelist Robert Schuller was pastor and from
where he broadcast his weekly show, The Hour
of Power.
“The
Glory of Christmas” was a huge production, with a massive choir, angels flying
in on wires and harnesses, Roman soldiers on horseback, camels and donkeys
plodding down the aisles. Yes … real
live horses, camels, and donkeys! I was
teaching school at the time and one of my colleagues, an English teacher and
choir director, played Joseph in the production one year.
But the
Crystal Cathedral is no more. Therefore,
no more “Glory of Christmas.” Schuller
and the leadership of the church were charged with misappropriation of funds,
forcing them to file for bankruptcy in 2010.
The building was eventually sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange
County and next year it will become their cathedral, the seat of the bishop.
But
what really is the glory of Christmas?
Is it all the shiny things? All
the excitement surrounding the holiday?
Lively entertainment … like productions of the ballet The Nutcracker, or maybe popular movies
like Christmas Story, or Elf, or even Home Alone? Is it about
tearing into all the colorful packages?
Is it the bright lights and snowy nights? This is all wonderful, for sure. But the luster and shine of what we think is
the glory of Christmas is tarnished by the way we have misappropriated all the
gifts that God has given to us. Not the
ones that come in wrapping paper. But
the ones right in front of us and the ones within us. We have misused and abused our
responsibilities as God’s people. We
have failed to appreciate and properly care for the gifts of our families and
friends. We have neglected to use our
gifts and talents in God’s service.
The glory
of Christmas is that God loved you so much that he sent his Son into the world
to save you and to forgive you for the ways you have misused and abused or refused
to use the gifts he has given you. Although
we do not deserve to be rescued from our sins, the Son of God came down from
heaven and entered into this world through the Virgin Mary to do just that. Jesus is God in the flesh, God become a
Man. He is the Word, co-creator with God
the Father, the source of life and light and the enfleshed revelation of the
Father and his infinite love for you and me and all humanity.
John
says, “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full
of grace and truth.” What glory did John
see? Is he referring to Jesus’
miracles? Changing water into wine,
walking on water, knowing exactly where a big catch of fish was waiting,
calming a storm, making the deaf hear, the blind see, the lame walk, and the
dead come alive? That’s part of it. But that might not be what John means here.
Is
he talking about the Transfiguration?
That moment when John along with Peter and James were on a mountaintop
with Jesus and saw his divine glory shining through his human nature, flanked
by Moses and Elijah? Possibly. Still, I’m not sure that’s what John means
here either.
So
what is the glory of Christmas? Is it
the angels? Not everyone got to see
them, only the shepherds.
Is it the
star? Although others may have seen it,
only the Magi recognized its significance.
The glory
of Christmas was wrapped up in the swaddling cloths in the manger. There, the glory of God was seen, veiled in human
flesh.
The glory
of Christmas culminated in the glory of Good Friday, where the love of God was
veiled under pain and suffering and blood and death as our Lord Jesus paid the
price for the sins of the world and earned forgiveness for all who trust in
him.
And the
glory of Good Friday found its fulfillment in the glory of the empty tomb … proof
that Jesus’ death was sufficient for us, that he truly gained the victory over
sin, death, and hell for us.
God
himself took up residence in human flesh and was laid in a manger. That’s the glory of Christmas. And today, the glory of Christmas is seen in
the fact that the very same Christ Child of Christmas comes to you in the
manger of the Holy Scriptures and in the bread and wine that is laid in your
hands and in your mouth, his body and blood that was given and shed for you for
the forgiveness of all your sins.
The
glory of Christmas is right here … right now … for you. That’s the grace and truth of Christmas.
Amen.
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