Good evening everyone, it's really good to have you with us at our service this evening.
As Fiona said, my name's Ian, and it's my privilege to think a little bit about the meaning of Christmas.
We've just sung Joy to the World, but I wonder if we look around our world today,
whether that might seem a little bit hollow.
There's a lot of places where there's not much joy.
The BBC on their website today had a news story which had the headline,
Bethlehem is empty of joy, no Santa, no celebration.
And if you read a bit into the article, it talks about how there's no Christmas tree this year,
there are no carols, there is no celebration of Jesus' birth.
Because Bethlehem these days is part of the West Bank,
which is an occupied territory in Israel and is largely a Palestinian people.
And even those who are Christians find it difficult to celebrate Christmas this year
because a lot of them have relatives in Gaza.
Little joy in Bethlehem.
Little joy too, I suspect, in Jerusalem, certainly not in Gaza,
or in Kiev or Kharkiv or Sudan or in Yemen
or in the other places around the world where there is conflict.
Perhaps some of them we hardly read about or are aware of.
Come to our own country and there are a lot of people who perhaps don't have much joy.
Many of us are privileged and we will enjoy Christmas tomorrow.
We will enjoy the giving and receiving of presents.
We will enjoy good food and time together.
But there are an awful lot of people in our country today for whom that's not true.
We have the privilege here of having a food bank.
And on Friday we were able to give out some Christmas goodies and some toys for children,
for those who had children, and to give them something for Christmas.
But there are an awful lot of people for whom Christmas is a really difficult time
and they perhaps are more aware than ever of how little they have.
Next year in this country there's going to be a general election campaign.
I'm fairly sure that none of the parties will be offering us joy in that.
The message will be you won't be as bad under us as you would be under the other lot.
Perhaps for some of us too, Christmas is going to be a difficult time.
A time perhaps when you remember relatives or friends who are no longer with us.
There are empty spaces at the table and that brings sadness.
So can we have joy this Christmas?
And what's the secret of that joy?
Well, I think clearly from the Bible the answer is yes, there is joy available.
And it's a joy that can be despite whatever circumstances we are facing.
It's not dependent on what we have, who we're with,
and what kind of importance or status we have in our world.
Rather it's dependent on our relationship with God.
And we find that joy when we go back to the first Christmas and to Bethlehem.
Bethlehem, which then, as now, was an occupied territory.
It was occupied by the Romans.
And probably a place where there would have been relatively little joy.
The people of Israel felt really oppressed by the Roman authorities.
And they longed for their independence.
They longed for someone who would come and free them from the Romans.
But there was no sign or little sign of that at the time.
And yet, as we read in both Matthew and in Luke,
after the birth of the Lord Jesus, there are two references to joy.
And it's not just any joy.
There's a really strong emphasis in both of them,
of the intensity of the greatness of that joy.
So we see it first in the story of the shepherds around Bethlehem.
The angel of the Lord appears to them.
The sky lights up with the glory of the Lord.
They're terrified.
And the angel tells them not to be afraid
because he's bringing them good tidings of great joy.
Great joy as he comes to tell them about something really exciting
that's just happened not very far from where they are.
The birth of the Lord Jesus.
As we read on what the angel has to say,
I think there are two reasons he gives us
why there should be great joy among all people,
among all nations.
First of all, there's the joy of incarnation.
A baby is born.
We've been blessed in this church over the last few years
that we've had a lot of babies born.
We've rejoiced with parents
as they've had new life come into the world
and into their families.
It's wonderful as a church to be able to see
the young children and the babies who are with us
and to share something of the joy of their parents.
How much more then should we rejoice,
should we have joy over the baby that was born in Bethlehem?
Because this was no ordinary baby.
We've been reading this evening some of the things that happened before Jesus was born.
700 years before, the prophet Micah prophesied that he will be born in Bethlehem.
This was not something that just happened.
This was something that had been foretold many years before.
The angel comes to Joseph and explains the reason why Mary is pregnant
and that the person who is to be born, the baby who is to be born,
is to be the son of God with us.
The incarnation is one of the most remarkable things,
perhaps the most remarkable thing that has happened in history.
We got a bit of a flavor of that from the reading in John, didn't we?
No one has seen God.
God is invisible.
God is a spirit.
We can't see God in our world.
We can see the work that God has done,
but we can't see God.
And yet God came into our world through his son in human form,
living among us as a normal human,
miraculously conceived but born naturally,
and living a life where he needed food and drink and sleep
and everything else that we need.
And he came to show us what God is like.
He came to show us God's glory.
And how marvelous it is,
how much joy we should feel,
that the God of heaven cared enough for us
to send his son to be with us.
That God took on human flesh
and became like us in every way,
except that he was sinless.
And the joy of incarnation is one of the things
that should really thrill us as we think about Christmas.
That the baby in Bethlehem was not just an ordinary child.
He was, he is the son of God.
But the angel says more than that to the shepherds, doesn't he?
He says he's born a baby in Bethlehem,
and he says he is a saviour.
He is Christ the Lord.
And the joy we can have at Christmas
is not just the joy of incarnation,
it's the joy of salvation.
A saviour has come.
As I said earlier,
the Jews were looking for a saviour.
They'd look for many years for a messiah
who had been prophesied.
But they were looking for a saviour
who would free them from the Roman authorities.
They were looking for someone
who could liberate them,
who could save them
from the burden that they experience
through being occupied by a foreign power.
But that wasn't the saviour who was born.
That wasn't the purpose of Jesus coming into the world.
The son of God took on human flesh
not to be a great ruler of his people at that time.
Not just to show us what God is like
and to demonstrate the power and the wisdom of our God.
The son of God came into the world
to be the saviour of the world.
The angel said to Joseph,
we saw it in our reading earlier,
that his name would be Jesus.
God saves because he would save his people
from their sins.
And so we celebrate salvation at Christmas.
We celebrate the fact that it's not just a baby born in Bethlehem.
And that part of the story,
the end result of the story that begins on Christmas Day
is the Lord Jesus going to the cross at Calvary
and there dying for us,
taking our place,
dying for our sins
so that we could be forgiven
by a God who is just
and would recognize
that the punishment has been taken
for those who trust in the Lord Jesus.
There's a remarkable verse in the book of Hebrews.
Hebrews chapter 12,
it says this of Jesus,
for the joy set before him,
he endured the cross,
scorning its shame,
and sat down at the right hand of God.
For the joy that was set before him.
What was that joy?
Well, to some extent,
I think the passage implies
that the joy was in the reward
that he would receive afterwards.
That he would sit down at the right hand of God.
That he would receive the acclaim of heaven
for the great sacrifice that he'd made.
But I think more particularly,
the joy that the writer is thinking about here
is that the joy that Jesus had
in being able to save us from our sins.
In being able to do
what was otherwise impossible
and to reconcile man and God together.
To do what we couldn't do.
In our sin, in our failure,
we are not able to restore
our relationship with God.
Our best isn't good enough.
But what Jesus did on the cross
as he took our place there
is enough.
And it can bring us back
to our relationship with our God.
And Jesus, I'm sure,
rejoiced in that.
That was part of the joy
that was before him.
As he took that awful journey
to the cross.
As he suffered the mockery
and the torture
before being crucified there
and being separated
from his God.
Our salvation,
if we know Jesus,
is a course of great joy
that can help us
through all the difficulties of life.
And all of us can know that joy
this Christmas
as we think about the Lord Jesus
and what he's done for us.
But I said there were two passages
which talk about joy.
And the other one is the second story
that we read about,
the one in Matthew,
about the wise men
coming to see the infant Jesus.
You remember they saw his star
in the east.
And they made their way
to Jerusalem.
And when they got there,
they asked at the palace
because they'd come to find
the king of the Jews.
They asked at the palace
where the king of the Jews was.
Threw it into some kind of turmoil.
Particularly Herod the king.
And we're told
because the wise people there
could look back
in the Old Testament
as we have this evening
and see that it was prophesied
that the Messiah
would come from Bethlehem
in Judea.
And so they left the palace.
I wonder when they left the palace
whether they were
maybe a bit down.
They'd come with this great news
there's a king being born
in Israel.
And what did they get?
They got a king who is there
who is trying to appear
enthusiastic about it
but I think fairly obviously wasn't.
And would very soon afterwards
instigate a murderous campaign
against the children
in the Bethlehem area.
And they had the scholars there
who just didn't care basically.
He was a problem for them.
Where is the Messiah to be born?
They could look back
and find in the Old Testament
yes it's in Bethlehem
but they showed no inclination
to go there themselves.
They solved a nice problem
and they move on
to the next thing.
And so the wise men
come out of the palace
and what do they see?
They see the star
that had been there
in the east.
At some point
they'd lost sight of the star.
Whether they had to follow
on the way to Bethlehem
we don't know
or Jerusalem rather
we don't know
but certainly one way or another
the star had gone.
And then they come out
of the palace
and they see the star
and Matthew said
they rejoiced with great joy.
Different translations
put it different ways.
They were overwhelmed with joy
is probably as good
a translation as any.
These men who had come
all this distance
who perhaps had thought
well are we going to see
this king that's been born
and suddenly they get
the sign again from God
that the king is there
and there's a star
they can follow the stops
right over where Jesus is.
And there's joy there
and I suggest
that's the joy of anticipation.
of recognising
that they are about
to see something
that is very wonderful.
It doesn't say later on
that they rejoiced
when they saw the crowd
they worshipped
and I'm sure
they rejoiced as well.
But they rejoiced
when they saw the star.
A lost joy of Christmas
I think is in anticipation
particularly for children
as they look forward
to getting their presents.
Our grandson Archie
who is nine this year
decided quite early on
he only wants one present
for Christmas
and parents
and grandparents
and uncles and aunts
have all clubbed together
and he's going to get
a VR headset tomorrow.
And he's the kind of age
he doesn't express it too much
but I'm sure he's really
excited about that
and most of the day tomorrow
probably he'll be
in another world
and quite oblivious to us.
But a lot of children
are like that aren't they?
Maybe we as adults too.
We look forward
to what we're going to get
at Christmas.
We anticipate
the celebration
the joy
that there's going to be
and that anticipation
in itself
brings us joy
in our lives.
And that's what the wise men
are experiencing here.
The joy of anticipating
their visit to Jesus
being able to worship him
being able to give him
the gifts
that they brought
being able to be
among the first
to see
this special king
that's been born.
And laying aside
what happened before Christmas
Christmas also I think
should be a time
of anticipation
for us.
We look back
to when Jesus
came into the world
in Bethlehem
as a baby.
but we can also
look forward
and we can anticipate
the fact
that the Lord Jesus
is coming back
again.
That one day
he'll return
not as a baby
but as a king
and recognized
as a king
that every knee
will bow
before him.
That all the evil
in the world
will be overcome
and he will rule
in righteousness.
And those of us
who know him
those of us
who have trusted
in him
we will see him
we will be like him
we will be with him
forever.
And that's a great
source of joy
I think for us
too
at Christmas.
And if our
situations
are difficult
if there are
things in our lives
that we say
well that brings us
sadness
we are going
through situations
which are
really
hard
then the anticipation
of Jesus
coming back
and of going
to be with him
is something
that can give us
joy and hope
even in that.
Peter in his letter
says that God
has given us
new birth
into a living hope
into an inheritance
that can never
perish
spoil
or fade.
And then he says
in all this
you greatly
rejoice
though now
for a little while
you may have to
suffer grief
in all kinds
of trials.
So for many of us
this Christmas
is a time
of joy.
It is a time
when we can
look back
and see
the child of Bethlehem.
When we can think
about the salvation
that we have
through the Lord Jesus.
When we can look
forward
to the day
when the Lord Jesus
will return
or when we go
to be with him
through death
and when the
sufferings
and trials
of this life
are behind us.
Let's make sure
our trust is in him.
Let's think
of him
over this Christmas.
Let's rejoice
with great joy
of what the Lord
has done for us
through Jesus.
Let's pray together.
our Father
we thank you
that even in a world
of sadness
of trouble
of sorrow
where there is so much
that would
cause us grief
yet there is
joy available
for us.
We thank you
that that joy
comes through that baby
born in Bethlehem
born as God
with us
God incarnate
born to be
our saviour
and one day
returning
and returning
to reign.
We thank you
for the prospect
that many of us
have of going
to be with him
and to be with him
forever.
Help all of us
to have our trust
in him
help us to think
much of him
help us to rejoice
in him
this Christmas day.
We give you thanks
for this time together
we thank you
for the privilege
of singing these carols
of thinking
of your words
and we commit
ourselves to you
in the name
of the Lord Jesus.
Amen.