Mary gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger \u2013 there was no place for them to stay in the inn. Luke 2:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the movie The Christmas Box, a woman asked her handyman a question, \u201cWhat is the first gift of Christmas?\u201d Now, you need to know that these two persons didn\u2019t hit it off at all. In short, they didn\u2019t like each other. And when she asked a question, she was usually trying to teach him something. \u201cWhat is the first gift of Christmas?\u201d His first response, a \u201csmart answer,\u201d was, \u201cA tie.\u201d The woman looked sternly at him, and insisted he be serious, so he tried again, more earnestly: He said, \u201cThe first gift of Christmas is love.\u201d She told him that that was a good beginning, but only a very small part of the answer and that he should take time and think it through. A lot of time passed. He had many experiences and dreams. Finally, thanks to his own child and some close brushes with angels, he got it: \u201cThe first gift of Christmas is a child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can almost hear the murmur across the church and across this community. I can hear it across the nation. \u201cSo what\u2019s new? We always knew that the first gift of Christmas is a child. Isn\u2019t that why we buy toys? Isn\u2019t that why we put up Christmas trees? Isn\u2019t that why we build manger scenes and put the baby at the center? Don\u2019t we always say that Christmas is for children? Isn\u2019t that why we spend what we do not have to make them happy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the question is not, \u201cWhy do we celebrate Christmas?\u201d or, \u201d To whom does Christmas belong?\u201d The question remains, \u201cWhat is the first gift of Christmas?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes we give theological responses to that question. \u201cWe have been given One who will be known as `Wonderful Counselor,\u2019 `Mighty God,\u2019 `Eternal Father,\u2019 `Prince of Peace.’\u201d And we even quote from Isaiah, \u201cHis royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David\u2019s successor, basing his power on right and justice.\u201d And all that is true, but when all the theologizing is done, when all the philosophizing and romanticizing is done, we must admit that the first gift of Christmas is a child \u2014 a real, human child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mary gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger \u2013 there was no place for them to stay in the inn. Luke 2:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But gifts are given with the hope that they will be well received and accepted. Gifts are given with the hope that they will be found useful. Gifts are to be enjoyed. Gifts are oftentimes personal, even though sometimes they are given to a group, a community or a nation. The child Jesus was given to all of creation as the first gift of Christmas. However, even the bearer of the gift, his mother, was not ready for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mary and Joseph did not have a place for the birthing of the child, neither did they have clothes for him. And for whatever reason, the Hotel manager or the Inn keeper could not or did not find them a room. Here would be a good place to do some rationalizing. Did the Inn keeper realize that this woman was close to delivering a child? Was that an appropriate place for newborn children? Was the Inn crowded since so many out of town folks were in Bethlehem? Or was it that there was just no place FOR THEM to stay in the Inn? Wherever you come out on this, the fact remains that there was a lot of unreadiness for Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, I was helping a woman secure rented space for her and her three-year-old son, and to my dismay, I realized how difficult it is to rent an apartment to families with children, and how almost impossible it is for a single woman with a child to rent. Like the woman, I began to experience the roller coaster of emotions. One moment my heart shouted, \u201cYes!\u201d when the manager of the apartment complex told me that they had a one-bedroom apartment available. That \u201cYes!\u201d took me to the top of the ride of hope, but soon my heart and stomach were gasping for air as I felt the downward fling: the manager said, \u201cSorry, did you say she has a child?\u201d What moments of desperation we felt! What desperation Mary and Joseph must have felt! No room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our culture claims to love children. Look at the advertisements on television. Most of them are geared to children. All cereals are made for children. Look at the children in the vans as they are advertized. What about those jeans? Our children are a source of revenue. When they are no longer economically viable and satisfying, they are dropped. We might say that this is what the commercial world does, but unfortunately, many of our homes and households are not inclusive of children. Let\u2019s go home for a moment. We bathe our children, dress them and make them look pretty. But we do the same for our house plants and our pets. Do we honestly accept children as members of the family with privileges and responsibilities? Children, how do you feel? Do you feel like a real person? Do adults spend time with you and listen to you? Can you do some of the things that you want to do with adults? Lean over and whisper your answer into the ear of the adult nearest you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Christmas story, however, does not end on a note of hopelessness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather, it is dripping with hope. The angel\u2019s first words to the shepherds were, \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people.\u201d A child IS the good news. And the story goes on to tell how the shepherds went to Bethlehem to \u201csee this thing that has happened, which the Lord\u201d told them. Then the shepherds returned to their homes \u201csinging praises to God for all they had heard and seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christmas offers America and the whole world another opportunity to go visit and welcome the child. Welcome our gift. Christmas says that children are good news. Christmas says that children must take a central place in the nation\u2019s heart. Christmas says that children will come, even if no room is made for them. Christmas says, \u201cAccept, respect and receive children as God\u2019s own people, made in God\u2019s own image, and sent as a sign of hope.\u201d It is a hope that guarantees the continuity of humanity, the ongoing care of creation and the balance between memory and prophecy, anticipation and reflection. This is a hope that guarantees our very salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Christ child, God becomes vulnerable. God\u2019s care is left up to human persons! Likewise, as the baby Jesus is seen again and again in each child, we cannot help but shudder with awe, realizing the great responsibility and trust which God has placed into our hands \u2014 our very own individual hands, our families\u2019 hands, our communities\u2019 hands, and our nation\u2019s hands. Let us therefore do all we can to honor children as God\u2019s own people, making a place for them in the culture and in our households, lifting them up, singing praises to God for all we have heard and seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sermon was written by Howard K. Williams<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mary gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger \u2013 there was no place for them to stay in the inn. Luke 2:7 In the movie The Christmas Box, a woman asked her handyman a question, \u201cWhat is the first gift of Christmas?\u201d Now, you need to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16,43,52,3],"tags":[466],"class_list":["post-511701","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christmas","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-christmas-eve"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":16,"label":"Christmas"},{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":466,"label":"Christmas Eve"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3476389,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511701\/revisions\/3476389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}