Paul Larsen paullarsen@MEDIAONE.NET

Christmas Eve 2000

One Advent, my friend's family was asked to light the advent candle during
worship. This candle was called "The Presence Candle," symbolizing the
presence of God. Their daughter was only four at the time and she got
things confused. She thought it was the presents candle, as in Christmas
presents.

Actually both would work, for the present God gives us at Christmas is the
gift of his presence. That gift come in the form of the Christ child born
in Bethlehem. Jesus comes to us as the greatest gift ever given. He comes
to be "God with us". Jesus comes to live among us and reveal God to us.
His present to us is that he promises his presence in our lives always.

Henry Carter, a pastor and an administrator of a home for emotionally
disturbed children, tells of an encounter he had one Christmas Eve that gave
him a new insight and perspective into the gift of Christ's presence. One
of the floor mothers came to say that Tommy had crawled under his bed and
refused to come out. Henry followed her up the stairs and looked at the bed
she pointed out. He talked to Tommy as if he were addressing the bucking
broncos on the bedspread. He talked about the brightly lighted tree, the
packages underneath it and the other good things that were waiting for Tommy
out beyond that bed.

No answer.

Henry dropped to his hands and knees and lifted the spread. Tommy was 8,
but looked like a 5 year old. Henry could easily have pulled him out. But
it wasn't pulling that Tommy needed - it was trust and a sense of deciding
things on his own initiative. So, crouched on all fours, Henry launched
into the menu of the special Christmas Eve supper to be offered after the
service. He told of the stocking with Tommy's name on it, provided by the
Women's Society.

Silence. There was no indication Tommy heard or that he even cared about
Christmas.

At last, because he could think of no other way to make contact, Henry got
down on his stomach and wriggled in beside Tommy. He lay there with his
cheek pressed against the floor for a long time. He talked about the big
wreath above the altar and the candles in the window. He talked about the
carols all the kids were going to sing. Then, finally running out of things
to say, he simply waited there beside Tommy.

After a bit, a small child's chilled hand slipped into his.
Henry said, "You know, Tommy, it is kind of close quarters under here.
Let's you and me go out where we can stand up." As they slid out from under
the bed, Henry realized he had been given a glimpse of the mystery of
Christmas.
Hadn't God called us too, as he had called Tommy, from far above us?
With his stars and mountains and his whole majestic creation, hadn't God
pleaded with us to love him and to enjoy the universe he gave us as a gift?
And when we wouldn't listen, he had drawn closer. Through the prophets and
lawgivers and holy men, he spoke to us face to face.
But it was not until that first Christmas, until God stooped to earth
itself,
until he took our very place and came to dwell with us in our loneliness
and alienation, that we, like Tommy, dared to stretch out our hands to take
hold of his love.

With the birth of Christ, God shows us himself and how much he loves us. He
becomes one of us and lives among us to bring us love and joy and peace.
Those presents are ours because of the presence of Christ. Jesus is present
not just as a baby born in Bethlehem, for he is present with us right here
and right now. He has told us, "For where two or three are gathered in my
name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20) Christ has promised us, "I am
with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20). Jesus is
here, in this very room, and we can rejoice in that good news. We can give
thanks for that gift.

A Chicken Soup for the Soul" story tells of Jeannie Williams. The joys of
the Christmas season were alien to Jeannie that year. Because of Her
parents' impending divorce, after 36 years of marriage, she was in no mood
for shopping, but her children needed gifts.

As Jeannie wandered through a store aisle, she came upon a nativity set, its
little characters strewn across the floor. As she stooped to pick it up,
she heard a mother in the next aisle scolding her daughter. Evidently, the
child had picked something up off the floor and popped it in her mouth. The
little girl protested that she hadn't put the object in her mouth; instead,
she was kissing it. "It" turned out to be a little figurine of the baby
Jesus, probably the same figurine that went with the scattered nativity set
Jeannie held in her hands.

Jeannie looked and saw that he little girl and her mother were obviously
poor. The little girl implored her mother to buy the figurine. Suddenly
the mother was on her knees, enfolding her child in her arms and fighting
back tears. The mother tried to explain that she wanted very much to buy it
for her daughter, but they just couldn't afford it this year. Suddenly, the
child's eyes lit up as she said, "Mommy, I don't need the baby Jesus doll,
really. My teacher from Sunday School says that I've got Jesus in my
heart."

As the mother and daughter left, Jeannie sprinted to the front of the store
to pay for the nativity scene. She asked the clerk to catch the mother and
child on the way out and give them the little Jesus doll.

If you were ever to visit the Williams' household at Christmastime, you
would see on their mantel a lovely little nativity scene that is missing its
star attraction, the figurine of the baby Jesus. You might think it's
incomplete in some way. But if you ask Jeannie Williams where Jesus is, she
will be quick to tell you that he is in her heart.

Jesus is present in our hearts also. That is God's present to us. God has
given us the gift of himself. He has come into our world to live with us.
He has come to die for us so that we might live in his presence in heaven
forever. He has come to give us the strength, peace and courage we need to
face whatever comes our way in life. He has come to dwell in our hearts and
our lives so that we can share that good news of great joy with others.

That is something we can do right now. We can tell someone tonight that we
love them. We can let someone know that we forgive them and that we want to
restore our relationship. We can do something for someone else that will
help them to see the presence of Christ in our lives so that they also
receive him as a gift.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said,
"Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it is called the present."

This time, this present moment, this day is also a present from God and we
have the opportunity to use it for God's glory. Sometimes we can get so
hung up on what has happened in the past or so worried about what might
happen in the future that we fail to live in the present. Sometimes in the
busyness of Christmas that we lose sight of what is really important about
this season.

There is the story of a woman so caught up in the Christmas rush that she
suddenly realized she had not sent out any Christmas cards. She immediately
raced to the store and was overjoyed to find a lovely card that she really
liked. It had a beautiful, peaceful picture portraying Bethlehem and the
manger. She was grateful that such great cards were still available. She
quickly signed them and mailed them out. When she got home from the Post
Office she noticed that she had one card left over. She had purchased 50
cards and actually mailed out 49. She picked up the card and studied it more
carefully. To her horror she saw something she hadn't noticed before. A
small inscription down in the corner read, "A gift is on the way!"

Mary and Joseph received a message from God that a gift was on the way.
That gift was the Messiah, the savior, the holy one of Israel. They
received that gift with great joy and gratitude when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem.

We have come today (tonight) to celebrate that gift. However, it is not a
gift that is on the way, it is already here. The angels announced to the
shepherds, "Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great
joy for all people; to you is born this day in the city of David a savior,
who is the Messiah, the Lord." We already have the present of Christ's
presence. And that is good news of great joy. We rejoice in knowing that,
"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever
believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16).

We can also rejoice in knowing that God takes such joy in us. God finds
great joy in each of us. Heaven rejoices over us. Jesus tells the parable
of the lost sheep. The shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in the wilderness and
goes and finds the one that is lost. When he has found it he rejoices.
Jesus concludes the parable saying, "there will be more joy in heaven over
one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no
repentance." We know that we are sinful people. We know that we need
forgiveness. When we repent and come to God asking for forgiveness God
gives it to us as a gift and heaven rejoices over our return to the fold.
We are so important to God that God sent his own son into the world to save
us. That gives reason for us to rejoice.

We can rejoice because God gives us the present of his presence.
We can rejoice because God gives us the gift of God's forgiveness and love.
We can rejoice because God gives us the gift of the present moment.

We can get so busy in life that we do things that are even dumber than the
woman who sent out those Christmas cards saying "a gift is on the way." We
can get so busy that we fail to live in the present.

Anna Quindlen has written a book entitled ‘A Short Guide to a Happy Life."
She encourages people to get a life - a real life. She urges us to embrace
the present and live in the moment. She reminds us to notice the beauty
around us, to spend time with the people we love and to do something for
others each day. She quotes what a friend once wrote to Senator Paul
Tsongas when the senator had decided not to run for reelection because he
had been diagnosed with cancer. The friend said, "No man ever said on his
deathbed, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.'" She also quotes a
note sent to her by her dad, "If you win the rat race, you are still a rat."

God gives us the present of Christ's presence in our lives. God also gives
us the present of the present moment. We are called to use that gift wisely
and well. Hug your child.
Kiss your spouse.
Tell your parents or your brother or sister that you love them.
Tutor a struggling student.
Serve at a soup kitchen.
Call or visit someone who is alone or lonely.
Smell the roses.
Stop and enjoy the view.
Today truly is a gift which we should use wisely and well, for this present
moment will never pass this way again.

Ann Weems has a wonderful poem in her book "Kneeling at the Manger."
"When the song of the angels is silent;
When the star in the sky is gone;
When the kings and princes are home;
When the shepherds are again tending their sheep;
When the manger is darkened and still;
The work of Christmas begins --
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among people
To befriend the lonely
To release the prisoner
To make music in the heart."

My friends, God has given us the present of his presence. We can reach out
our hand and receive that gift, knowing that Christ will always be in our
hearts.
God has given us the present of the present moment. We are free to let go
of the past, stop worrying about the future and embrace the now.
Let show our gratitude by doing the work of Christmas and using God's
presents in a way that is a gift to God. Amen.