Why courage is needed at Christmas Part I

Part I

INTRODUCTION

I wonder what are the top virtues that you will associate with Christmas?

Gratitude, yes.

Generosity, yes.

Humility? Peace? Hope?

Love, definitely.

But how about courage?

Where does courage feature?

Does Christmas need courage?

My aim is to persuade you that courage is needed this Christmas

Maybe you don’t need persuading.

Like me. A bit tone deaf.

Carol singing is the moment where you get found out.

Takes courage to sing out loud.

Of course courage is needed.

or maybe it’s that dreaded end of year Christmas party.

courage to engage in small talk for the whole night.

That may be true. but the kind of courage that I’m persuading you that we need goes deeper than that.

so much so that it should be considered as one of key virtues of Christmas.

We cannot have Christmas without courage.

ARGUMENT

Our reading. Classic reading. did you notice? when it was read out. John gives us another angle on Christmas.

John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

another angle on Christmas

Not the Creator God, the one who spoke Sun and Moon into existence, coming into the world as a baby

That’s the story we are used to.

(L) but John gives us another angle.

But as light shinning in the darkness.

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”

(A) The light of life. The light that shines. The light that gives everyone light.

Comes into the world.

(L) but here is the great surprise.

The light shines… in the darkness

The light enters the world that is dark.

(A) Can you imagine being in a place that you are not welcomed?

Article “The terror of wrong-ending at a football match”

Charlie and his brother, Tom. Life long Spurs fans.

Were offered free tickets to watch a derby against West ham. The hammers. Bitter rivals.

The problem? The seats were not at the away stand.

But right in the midst of the West Ham’s ultras.

Their most devoted fans.

Free football tickets? or to put their lives at risk? Which will you chosoe?

Couragously, or some may say foolishly, they went with free football tickets.

Imagine the awkwardness being in a place where you’re not welcomed.

Pretend to groan. When your team is ahead.

Resort to 1 sec celebration when your team scores the 90th min winner.

Ultimately your key strategy: if all else fails: be silent.

You need courage to be in a place where you’re not welcomed.

In the same way, the light was not welcomed in the darkness.

He was in the world. The world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. - he was not welcomed

He came to his own. But his own people did not receive him. - he was not welcomed

Jesus was not welcomed.

So Jesus needed courage to enter the world.

(L) But more than that, Jesus needed great courage

Because according to Charlie and Tom, Jesus had the wrong strategy.

His key strategy was not to be silent but to speak.

Jesus says

“For this purpose I have come into the world,

to bear witness, to testify, to speak about the truth”

(A) Charlie and Tom saying: No Jesus - you need to be silent. Don’t speak in a place that you’re not welcomed.

John records the words of Jesus.

“I have spoken courageously to the world.”

“I have said nothing in secret.”

“I bear witness to the truth”

LAND

Why is courage needed at Christmas?

Not about singing carols when you’re tone deaf

Not about attending that dreaded end of year christmas party.

It is about the light coming into the world

(A) Courage is needed at Christmas because it began with the courage of Jesus

The light shines in the darkness. When the light came, he was not welcomed.

Jesus needed great courage to enter the darkness and to speak the truth

I hope I have persuaded you that Christmas needs courage

But it not just Jesus’ courage.

We, too need courage.

Hear about that in the next talk.

John 1:5 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”