everything lost, we'll find

only at christmas time

A sermon about Jesus' presentation at the Temple:

Today we see past the edges of all those Christmas cards out there.

And if you sent or received any Christmas cards at all this year, you know exactly what I mean. Christmas cards always portray the event as peaceful, warm, and well lit. 

Now, we know moments such as that exist. And God bless them. But we also know moments such as that are far too few and far between, too. Don’t we?

Yet, Christmas cards only depict the holy family as nestled in the manger and the animals crowding around them to lend their warmth. And o’er it all, the angels sing sweetly, as the Christmas star shines benevolently upon them. 

However, Christmas cards rarely, if ever, show the inevitable moments that follow. Like when an ox shifted its weight and stepped on a lamb, causing it to bleat. And wake the infant Jesus. Causing him to cry! And after the night they had, Mary and Joseph were by no means the pictures of holy restraint. They probably bickered a little over whose turn it was to rock Jesus back to sleep.

Which is what life is like for us TODAY, too. Isn’t it? Christmas Eve has come and gone. With any luck, we had a moment worthy of the best Christmas cards out there. BUT now there’s all the cleanup. The empty house. The suddenly shabby looking tree. The grief that seems to set in after Christmas. And the short tempers that always come with too many weeks full of too many to-dos and too little sleep. 

…The first weekend after Christmas is called “The First Sunday of Christmas” in the church. But more colloquially, it’s called “low Sunday.”

This occasion has earned the nickname because usually, on that first Sunday after Christmas, the rest of the world has moved on. Attendance is typically lower. And the sermon is often a little less well-produced, too…

That’s how it always is after the big events. That’s how it was in today’s scripture. Mary and Joseph weren’t in the temple for any big festival. They weren’t there because the bigwigs invited them down for an elaborate ceremony in Jesus’ honor. No, they were there for a routine ritual that day, an offering for their first-born son. 

…Only, what happened was anything but routine!

Now, Simeon and Anna were at the temple because they had nowhere better to be that day. It wasn’t just the temple the world moved on. Simeon and Anna were past their prime. And the world had moved on them, too. As the rest of the world got back to business, Simeon and Anna got left in the dust. 

BUT when the rest of the world had moved on, Jesus moved in! An empty sanctuary was just perfect for Jesus to fill with his glory! A couple of old-timers past their prime were prime suspects for Jesus and his redemption!

…And so are you TODAY, too!

This service is about the consolation for those of us who have nowhere better to be today! By now, the candlelight has faded, and so has the echoes of those lovely Christmas hymns. Yet, our lives have continued. And on days like this it’s easy to feel like we’ve been consigned to the edges of the Christmas cards. Isn’t it?

Maybe you’re here because Christmas didn’t meet your expectations this year. Maybe you caught a glimmer of something on Christmas Eve, and you’re on the hunt for more of it. Or maybe life has been just a little too much edges of Christmas cards, and you want some of that peace, goodwill, and joy that’s always neatly printed across the center of them. Whatever it is, though, here you are. And that’s a good place to be.

Even though the half-life of Christmas has set in and he hum of holiness that was practically tangible Christmas Eve is all but gone. Because it’s days and places like this that are ideal for Jesus to give the likes of us who are run down by the daily grind MORE than a little of his daily grace!

That’s right where those two old church-rats were when they hit the jackpot!

And that’s right where you are today, too! So get ready…

The Christmas message isn’t that anyone made their way up to heaven. Or that the world finally cleaned up its act and became a hospitable place for Jesus. No, it’s that Jesus, and the whole host of heaven along with him, came down HERE! And not for one picture-perfect moment, either. But for the long-haul! Through it all!

Those edges of the Christmas cards are not beyond Jesus’ reach! He hasn’t left us to ourselves this first Sunday of Christmas! And he won’t on our last, either! When the rest of the world moves on, Jesus moves in! 

Even now, Jesus is taking you in his arms. And he’s giving you something so much better and something infinitely more real than sepia-toned memories. He's giving you every one of his last blessings!

So now, you can go in peace. The peace that can only come from the assurance that Jesus is with you. Still with you! Through it all. Those holy moments. And those not-so holy ones, too. 

And that is why a mischief* of church-rats like us can leave from here knowing we’ve hit the jackpot on today of all days. 

Merry Christmas. It isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

*Mischief is actually what a group of rats is called. How great is that?!?