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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2007

THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

John 1:1-18 (Giving thanks for gifts we cannot exchange)

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TODAY’S SERMON THEME:

The curtain is coming down on the old year. And a great many people are frantically trying to exchange -- or dispose of -- the gifts they received this year. Without question, we live in an "exchangeable" and a "disposable" society. But now, on this first Sunday after Christmas, we need more than ever to give thanks for the gifts we can never exchange. At this time of year, an attitude of gratitude is most appropriate.
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1. A newspaper cartoon a few days before Christmas seemed to sum up a prevailing view about the holiday season in our nation. In the cartoon, a man with a perplexed look on his face was admiring a beautiful nightgown in an elaborately decorated women's store. After several moments of reflection, the man decided to buy the nightgown for his wife. A smiling young sales clerk asked him this question: "And what SIZE do you want?" The man responded quickly: "Oh, ANY SIZE will do." The sales clerk was astonished, and she asked this important follow-up question: "Well, don't you want the RIGHT SIZE?" And the man hung his head and replied: "Nah. My wife will be exchanging it a few days after Christmas, anyway."

2. Well. That's not a very accurate picture of this holiday season. Or is it? I dare say, that if we were to visit a few stores over the next few days, we would find the lines very long at the RETURN and EXCHANGE counters. And if we were to check out the dumpsters and trash bins behind a few houses, we might be surprised at the things that people are throwing away. It happens every year. As a matter of fact, it is becoming more and more evident that WE LIVE IN AN EXCHANGEABLE AND A DISPOSABLE SOCIETY.

(1) If one thing doesn't work out, just exchange it for something else. Or get rid of it entirely. How does THAT sound for a modern-day slogan? It seems accurate to me. But even more than that -- I noticed last week, even before Christmas -- that people were returning and exchanging gifts at several local stores. Last Christmas, in fact, I overheard a conversation between a young woman and a sales clerk. (I know. I should NOT have been listening!) But the young woman was returning an ornate, frilly, multicolored sweater. She was LAUGHING as she handed it to the clerk. And she made a few off-color comments about her husband's taste in clothing. She also said he enjoyed watching professional wrestling on television. If it doesn't work out, just exchange it. Or get rid of it.

(2) Unfortunately, the same type of logic these days refers to relationships -- even marriage relationships. If one thing doesn't work out, just exchange it for something else. Or get rid of it. Unfortunately, I have far too much information about this. Over the last two decades, I have talked to scores of people -- maybe even hundreds of people -- who are so caught up in our "exchangeable" and "disposable" culture that they bounce from one relationship (and one marriage) to another. They keep thinking that the next move, the next exchange, the next relationship, will be the RIGHT one.

(3) I even spoke with a man a few years ago, in Houston, who called me out-of-the-blue and asked me to officiate at his wedding THAT WEEKEND, AT MY PARISH. AT 2 PM ON SATURDAY. (I had never spoken to this man before, and I had no advance notice about this “wedding.”) Anyway, I asked a few questions -- and found out that he did not attend any church, but that he grew up in the Episcopal Church. So, in his mind, he had the RIGHT to be married in my parish. I asked another question. Was this his first marriage? No, he replied. So I explained that canon law requires that I receive permission from the bishop before I could officiate at his wedding. And not only that, but I would need to meet with him and his fiancée four or five times over a three-month period for the required premarital counseling. At that point, he BLEW UP. "Counseling!" he shouted. "What KIND of counseling?" I explained that it would focus on marriage, on the spiritual aspects of marriage. The man began cursing. "I don't need any blankety-blank counseling about marriage!" he screamed. "I know all I need to know about marriage. Heck, I've been married FIVE TIMES!" Well . . . Needless to say . . . I did NOT officiate at marriage number six.

3. Here is the main point I want to emphasize this morning: The curtain is coming down on the old year. And a great many people are frantically trying to exchange -- or dispose of -- the gifts they received this year. Without question, we live in an "exchangeable" and a "disposable" society. But now, on this first Sunday after Christmas, we need more than ever to give thanks for the gifts we can never exchange. At this time of year, an attitude of gratitude is most appropriate. At this time of year, it is SO IMPORTANT for us to focus on the most important things in life, the most important aspects of our existence, the most important components of our lives. The things we can NEVER exchange. The things we can NEVER abandon or dispose. The things that come directly from God.

4. And there is no better place for us to start than in the Gospel lesson appointed for this morning -- the Prologue to the Gospel of St. John. These are amazingly important words for us to consider as we bring down the curtain on the year 2007.

(1) First, there are only two books in the Bible that begin with the words “in the beginning” -- the Book of Genesis and the Gospel of John. (The Gospel of Mark begins with the words “The beginning of,” just slightly different.)
The Book of Genesis tells us: “BERESHI’T BARA’A ELOHIM RAI’T HA’SHAYMAYIM RU’HAIT HA’ARETZ.” “In the beginning, GOD CREATED the heavens and the earth.” And the Gospel of John tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” These two verses, written 15 centuries apart, tell us that from the beginning of time, GOD HAD A PLAN. And God’s plan included us. He created us in His own image, as the crown jewel of creation.

(2) God thus has a tremendous investment in US. We are precious to Him. We are unique to Him. And we have a unique and a beautiful place in His heart.

(3) God’s love for us is so pervasive, so definitive, that He sent His only Son to us -- to be born among us in time, to live as one of us. He became as we are so that we might become as He is. John 1:14 says: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. And we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father.”

(4) This same LOVE took human flesh and came in human form to SHOW US the ways of God -- teaching us and leading us according to the eternal PLAN of God. But the Son of God came to do more than just show us and teach us: He was born to BE THE WAY FOR US TO FOLLOW, from this life into eternity. For all who believe in Him will NOT perish, but will have everlasting life (John 3:16-17). “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him, might be saved.”

(5) Because of Jesus, the Love of God saves us. This Love also defines us. This Love permeates us. This Love inspires us. This Love infuses us. And this Love makes every day that we live A GIFT from our Heavenly Father. A gift that cannot be exchanged. A gift that cannot be returned.

5. During this season of exchange-craziness, let us SLOW DOWN for a moment and give thanks to God for His gifts -- gifts that cannot be exchanged or disposed. While all around us are tossing things aside and exchanging one thing for another, let us give special notice to the GIFTS of God that are priceless -- gifts of His special love for us:

(1) Our lives. None of us asked to be born into this life. None of us selected our parents, our families, our heritage.

(2) The time in history in which we live. Of all the times in history, we live in a time of great blessing and abundance.

(3) The place in history where we live. Of all the places in history, we live in a place of great freedom and great opportunity.

(4) The nation in which we live. Of all the nations in history, we live in a land of blessing, abundance, opportunity, and inspiration.

(5) And the most precious gifts of all -- the most indescribable gift, as St. Paul calls it -- the gift of God’s mercy, His forgiveness of our sins, and the gift of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.

At this holy time of year, we have the opportunity to see God’s hands at work in our lives. And the prologue of John’s Gospel shows us the full extent of God’s love for us -- and the full measure of His commitment to us.

And for these, and all His other mercies, Dear Lord, please give us grateful and thankful hearts.