How to miss Christmas
Luke 2:1-12
Intro: Ask for important figures relevant to the Christmas story (write down responses)
We forget a prominent figure in the birth of Christ was Herod.
In fact they dynasty began by Herod the Great covers 4 generations of rule in Israel and we are witness to 4 generations in the NT alone.
Herod the Great, who we read about here, ruled from about 47BC to 4AD, and he was nearing the end of his life at this point in Scripture.
His father attached himself to Julius Ceasar’s party to become a Roman citizen and become appointed procurator (or ruler) over Judea.
Herod and his brothers were given government roles but a sibling rivalry led to a decade of battles that eventually brought about Herod being named King over Judea by Rome.
Herod’s rule was know as being brutal and decisive, and he would go as far as punishing or executing his enemies while rewarding his friends.
Yet even with all the power he was able to wield his self-control and control of his family was slipping.
He had married 10 wives and had numerous sons and while they schemed to get their father’s throne their mothers hatched the plots and counterplots.
This led to Herod becoming more and more suspicious and paranoid, going as far as torturing his son’s friends to discover any plots against him.
The old adage of “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” was true here because Herod’s own reputation was that of a plotter and deceiver who would resort to murder if necessary…he was now seeing this in his own family.
Now at about the age of 70 and deathly ill Herod hears about a group of wise men from the area of Persia seeking to worship a newborn King of the Jews…his fears and lack of trust kicked back in.
We know the story, he tried to trick the wise men into going find the Christ child and report back to him the location so that “he could go and worship Him also”…when in fact he wanted to kill the Christ child.
Tonight, looking at Herod from this passage I want us to consider 3 possible ways we too can miss Christmas, just like Herod missed it.
First of all…
1. Troubles, vs. 3
a. Financial
Can’t get past the economy right now.
Every where you turn, you hear something about how much we have and more about how much we don’t have.
We get so concerned about being in the red that it makes us green from being sick…and those are the Christmas colors we should have.
Remember, the real meaning of Christmas is not in the gifts you can give, but in the gift that was given on the first Christmas.
b. Family
I wrote a new beginning to a famous Christmas carol you may relate to:
‘Tis the season to be stressed out, fa la la la la, la la la la
Family’s here we may have to duke it out, fa la la la la la, la la la la la
It is so easy to get stressed out with family at this time of year, or because of family.
I’m going to tattle a bit on us…Brigitte and I were about to need marital counseling yesterday because of cleaning the house in preparation for my dad and her parents visiting.
In fact, I was worried about eating or drinking anything, wondering if she put anything in my food.
Not just that, but you also have to deal with family members at time that…let’s be honest, you have to deal with, not choose to deal with.
There usually is that one (or more) person you are related too that makes you wonder if you were really adopted.
Family is an important part of the holidays, so try not to let the troubles of family cause you to miss Christmas.
5 keys I found from the Families.com website in an article called, “Coping with Christmas and Family Gatherings”
1. Take a leaf from the magazines and be prepared. Make lists of both food and gifts, well before Christmas and purchase what you need as early as possible. Often, stressful situations are exacerbated by tiredness and irritability.
2. Look after yourself physically in the lead up to Christmas. Eat sensibly, get plenty of sleep, and make sure to exercise regularly, even if it’s just a 10 minute walk each day. Make this a commitment to your own personal happiness - a Christmas gift to yourself, if you like.
3. Plan something pleasurable to do on the day after Christmas. This may be as simple as watching a movie you haven’t had time to see, or catching up with a friend you want to see. The thought of this "reward" can sustain you through whatever the relatives may deliver (as opposed to Santa).
4. Try to bear in mind the real meaning of Christmas.
5. If you habitually come away from a Christmas family get-together feeling bad, then look at ways that you can make a difference to someone outside your family this Christmas.
And a final source of trouble at Christmas…
c. Physical (I was close…sounds like “F”)
Winter is a time when we all deal with sickness.
From sinus drainage to colds to bronchitis…or worst.
It can be a trying time for us when we want to be healthy, and we think we need to be healthy, but we’re not.
Somethings we can’t avoid, and sickness is one of them.
My suggestion is focus on getting healthy so that you can do what you think needs to be done, and make that your priority.
I have no problem telling people that they are not doing anyone any good if they are on their back, sick and unable to move…so don’t let yourself get there!
So, the first way to miss Christmas, troubles.
A 2nd way from our passage is…
2. Selfishness, vs. 7
Herod had one priority in his life…himself.
The number 1 thing for him was keeping his number 1 rating.
His main thing was to keep him the main thing…and he did whatever he had to do in order to protect himself alone.
Family…a stumbling block.
Friends…stepping stones.
Enemies…squish them.
While Herod is the extreme on selfishness, it is still easy for us to get to that point at Christmas.
We give and we give and we give and inevitably we want to say “Hey, what about me?”
We need to protect ourselves from becoming self focused, self centered and selfish.
Found an old song last night on YouTube by Lulu Roman (of Hee Haw fame)…called “The Never Ending Shopping List”
Lord I need to talk to you, there’s so much on my heart.
So many burdens make it hard, I don’t know just where to start.
Thank you for your family, your mercy and your love.
Now on to more important things, I’ll give my magic lamp a rub.
Give me this, I want that, bless me Lord I pray.
Grant me what I think I need to make it through another day.
Make me wealthy, keep me healthy, give me what I wish.
On my never ending shopping list.
Lord you’ve been so good to me, how could I ask for more?
But since you said to ask of you, I guess I will.
For what else is prayer for?
The cattle on a thousand hills, they belong to you.
I don’t need any cows right now, but something else will do! (Chorus again.)
God wants to bless you and bless me, but He wants to bless us to be a blessing.
So, ask for God to bless you, but then seek how you can bless others…and most of all bless Him.
We have seen how troubles can cause us to miss Christmas and selfishness, finally I want us to consider…
3. Excuses, vs. 8
Worship used as an excuse.
How often are we guilty of using “worship” or other things of God as an excuse?
Or better yet, blame God for our own bad choices?
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone use “God’s will” as an excuse for their bad decision…I’ll just say my wife may be getting something a lot nicer for Christmas.
Don’t cast blame on God for things that aren’t His fault, and don’t look for excuses to get out of doing the things of God either.
How easy is it to blame the cold for not making it to church?
Or maybe using the economy for neglecting our giving?
Maybe using whatever excuse we can come up with for not sharing our faith.
In Matthew 25 when Jesus says the sheep and the goats will be separated, what do those who are on the left (the goats) do when confronted by the Lord?
They make excuses, don’t they.
I’m a firm believer that excuses tend to come from the pits of hell and are a sure path back there.
ILLUS: We had my dad with us last night, came up to share Christmas with us and the kids.
Like we usually do, we asked him to come to church with us, I tried to bribe him with Brigitte singing and she ruined it by saying I would be preaching.
You know what he did? Gave an excuse about something that happened as a kid that turned him sour on Baptist folks (which should also be a warning to us).
He has been hanging on to that excuse for over 60 years…and this excuse is literally life or death.
Don’t let your excuses at Christmas take the life out of it.
Closing: Herod missed Christmas, it was there for him as well as for the wise men.
All he had to do was believe and receive…just like us.
