Here we are, at the start of a new Christmas season. I wonder if the Christmas season ever feels a little bit like “Groundhog Day?” I'm referring of course, to the Bill Murray movie, where he plays a self-centered news reporter, who hates his small-town life and his go-nowhere career. One day, after feeling miserable all day and being nasty to everyone around him, he finds himself trapped in an Alfred Hitchcock'ish time loop. No matter what he says or does, no matter how he lives, he keeps waking up on the same miserable day, at the same miserable time, to the same miserable alarm. He's trapped in Groundhog Day!
Christmas can feel kind of repetitive, kind of hollow, just like Groundhog Day. We so easily fall into our Christmas rituals around Thanksgiving. How many of you begin decorating before Thanksgiving? First, the stores start changing over. Then our favorite radio station begins changing. Hallmark Christmas takes over the TV. Then preparation for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday. Then we fill our calendars with customary parties, travel, and family gatherings. We cook and bake more calories than any human should ever consume! If you are a church leader, you cue up familiar Bible stories, passages, and services.
The great irony of Christmas is that the million things we do to celebrate Christmas can just as easily distract us, as center us, upon the reason for the season. A few weeks ago Lara and I saw the movie “The Christmas Pageant.” I have to confess, on the surface the movie didn't sound interesting at all. The movie is about a church making preparations to do the same old children’s Christmas Pageant that’s scheduled every year, at the same time, in same place, at same church, using the same worn-out decorations and volunteers… using the same music, and Bible story, and verses and characters…
The question is… how can we break the Script? Break out of the monotony, and really taste God's goodness in a new and fresh way this Christmas season? Even harder, how can we help people far from God taste God's goodness in Christ?
In the Bible, Jesus offers some compelling invitations. Jesus' single greatest invitation was “believe on me" and “believe on the Father who sent me.” For God so loved the world he sent his One and Only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Believe indeed! Alongside the sea of Galilee Jesus invited Peter, James, and John to leave their nets, to “Come and Follow me.” This is Jesus' call to be disciples. Much later Jesus invited these same men beyond discipleship into disciplemaking with the invitation “be with me.” In the upper room Jesus invited his disciples, “Abide in me, in my words… remain in me.”
Speaking of movies, the biopic on Dietrich Bonhoeffer is in theatres. Dietrich was a young German pastor, with a brilliant mind. He was alarmed at the rise of Nazism in Germany in WWII. He struggled profoundly over what is the Christian’s Civic Duty in face of evil government, society? If a maniacal leader has gone rogue, what is the obligation of the Church? Is it to merely pray and sing? Is it to merely preach? Is it to merely do good works of love and tolerance? Dietrich labored most intently over Jesus’ invitation to “come, follow me, take up your cross, come and die.” For Dietrich, come and die is the high call of the Christian life. In fact, he wrote a little book about this called “The Cost of Discipleship.” The Cost of Discipleship was one of the first books I read in Bible College. It wasn't required… but I was fascinated by Dietrich's faith, and understanding what Christ demands of us as his people.
But long before Christ bid his disciples “come, die" he gave a far more simple invitation. His invitation was “Come and Look.” The Greek word for “look" is pronounced “blepo”. If you are a doctor, and your patient is lying there, you are anxiously looking for any sign of life, even the tiniest blip on the EKG screen. If you are an air traffic controller, you are scanning the dark screen for the tiniest blip, that shows incoming aircraft. Everyone these days looks so intently into screens of all sizes. In the Bible the father of the prodigal son looked upon the horizon for the tiniest blip, that his son might be returning.
This whole Christmas season is really a season of “looking.” On Black Friday we scouring the ads, looking for the best values. On Cyber Monday we’re scouring the Internet. It’s amazing how all consuming “looking" is. Perhaps “looking,” should be a spiritual discipline in itself (just like fasting, prayer). Think about this. Looking is one of the most spiritually formative activities we do as humans, for better or worse. In Matthew 6:22-24 Jesus warns not to estimate the spiritual potency of the eye. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!”
What if this season Jesus could captivate our eye? Might he also then captivate our hearts? What most captivates our eyes during this season of looking? Such a spectacular array of decorations, colors, and lights. Such a spectacular array of “delights.” Might we be in danger of missing the eternal if were not careful to heed Christ's first invitation, “Come and Look”?
In The Christmas Pageant, some really obnoxious, unruly, unchurched children take over the pageant. Though the Pageant script was presenting Jesus in a safe, pastoral, softened, overly-religious way… these children are struck by the overwhelming darkness surrounding Jesus’ birth. Indeed, their own lives were filled with darkness and fear. That God loved the world so much, he would send his Son into the world, mesmerized them.
If you are looking for God to become real this season, I'd invite you to let Jesus once more captivate your attention, your eyes. Come and Look! In Matthew and Luke's gospel… were invited to “Look Back" over the generations of man, clear back to Adam and Eve, to see God's hand at work in history, in the lives of real people, and a real nation, and a real world to bring about salvation. When an angel appears to Joseph in a dream, explaining how the Son of God was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and his fiancée Mary was now with child… the angel invites Joseph to “Look Back" In Matthew 1:22-23 the angel says, “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” Look! See! Behold!
In Matthew 2, we read about the wise men who come searching for Jesus. We can take it on authority that these men were likely astrologers, or star gazers, not unlike Abraham in the Old Testament. These men spend their lives peering into the dark night sky looking for any BLIP of hope, any BLIP of life, any BLIP of truth. When did the Universe begin? When might it end? What is its purpose? Who or what created all things? Who or what (someone person like a God or gods, something impersonal) sustains, governs, is sovereign over all things? As these shepherds Look Up… they notice a BLIP. In their own words they come seeking Jesus. Matthew 2:1-2, “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”
In Luke's gospel the shepherds are looking over their flocks at night. Imagine how terrifying the job of a shepherd would be—looking for the slightest blip of a prowling lion, or bear, or wild animal setting upon them. But to their surprise… Luke 2:12-15… consider Luke’s account: “In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch [look out] at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.”
“13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors! 15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Luke also tells us how Anna and Simeon lit up in praise as their eyes looked upon the savior of the world. In Luke 2:28-32 tells how Simeon, “Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, 29 Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation. 31 You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.”
Luke says of Anna, in Luke 2:36-38, “She was well along in years, . . . and was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. 38 At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about [Jesus] to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” And of course, we would be remiss not to mention John Baptist’s bold invitation to the masses longing for redemption, “behold… look… the lamb of God who takes away the sin of world.”
What can we do this Christmas, to explore the wonder of Christ?
Look Up and explore the hope God offers our world in Jesus.
Look Back at the marvelous history that culminated with his birth.
Look Deep Into the face to Jesus and receive His gift of eternal life.
Look Forward to life change, that comes to all who believe, through the mighty working of God’s Holy Spirit.
Look Out and make the unfinished business of God's Kingdom your life mission, your personal business. Invite and change a life!