The Tradition of Celebration

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A Tradition of Celebration

Throughout our Christmas Traditions teaching series we’ve been exploring the spiritual meaning behind many of our most cherished Christmas traditions – in a way that we hope reveals the real Jesus and helps deepen our faith this Christmas.

Today – we are looking at the tradition of celebration. Now, on the Christmas calendar there are feasts and fasts. Times of celebration and times of somberness. Jesus himself says in the Bible that there are times to fast and times to feast. In the book of Ecclesiastes it says that there is a time to cry and a time to laugh…a time to grieve and a time to dance. Life isn’t just all about celebrating and having a good time – but it’s not about crying and grieving all the time either. I know people who live their lives just doing one or the other. Always celebrating – but they don’t know when to mourn. And some always sad – the don’t know how to enjoy the blessings. But the Bible says that there are appropriate times for both.

In some churches, they observe lent. I’ve never observed lent in the “official” way that you’re “supposed” to observe lent. If you’re like me, you might even have questions about what lent is. First, it’s not what you dig out of your belly button. That lint is L-I-N-T lint, and L-I-N-T lint is gross. This other lent is L-E-N-T lent and that Lent is a fast. A fast is where you willingly abstain from or reduce your food and drink, or both, for a period of time. Lent is observed during the 40 days leading up to Easter. For some believers, they make a sacrifice and fast for something - it may not be food or dink at all - for 40 days. It’s a time of somberness.

But Christmas is a feast – a celebration.

Just look at all of the things we do at Christmas to celebrate. We get together with family we don’t see any other time of the year. We eat feasts together. Our favorite Christmas movies nearly always include a memorable Christmas dinner scene. We share presents with one another. Santa Clause comes. We laugh. We hug. We kiss.

One of the truest expressions of celebration on Christmas is singing Christmas carols. The idea is to sing to God out of the joy that is within us at this time of the year. And most of the songs we sing are songs of celebration – like “Joy to the World.” It is praise for our King.

The tradition of celebrating by praising God dates to the very first Christmas.

Luke 2:8–20 NIV

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

So, why were the shepherds and the angels celebrating the way they were at the first Christmas for that seemingly insignificant baby boy? Why do we celebrate at Christmas?

A celebration is a time when you honor someone or something. And if I were to go hang out at the Marketplace today and ask people what it is we are celebrating at Christmas, I bet I would get a lot of different answers. At Christmas we celebrate getting presents and Santa Clause. No. We celebrate family. That’s good, but no. We celebrate good will, harmony and generosity. Good, good and good. But no, no and no. If we are in tune with the real spiritual meaning behind Christmas – we know that none of those is real reason for the celebration.

At Christmas, we celebrate one person: Jesus.

We celebrate Jesus because of the HOPE He gives those who believe in Him.

Look at what the Gospel of Matthew says:

Matthew 12:18–21 NLT

“Look at my Servant, whom I have chosen. He is my Beloved, who pleases me. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally he will cause justice to be victorious. And his name will be the hope of all the world.”

Jesus is the hope of the world. The entire world. The Bible says that the entire world was lost and without hope – completely separated from God because of sin. And no matter what the world tried – there was nothing we could do to overcome that separation from God and the resulting emptiness and meaninglessness of our lives.

But God saw our hopelessness, and out of love came Christmas. God stepped out of heaven and came to earth as an innocent and completely vulnerable baby. And it is through believing in Him that we can have life.

It does not matter how good you have it. How much money, how much family and friends, how much possessions or how good you have been. If you sit here today without Jesus in your life – you are without hope.

And it doesn’t matter how crummy your life is right now. How many things seemed messed up. If you are here today with stress, anxiety, worry or depression. If you sit here today with Jesus in your life – you have all the hope in the world. Because you belong to God, you have hope.

At Christmas we are reminded of the hope that we have in Jesus. And today I am going to share with you 4 practical ways that you can really celebrate the hope we have in Jesus this Christmas.

4 WAYS TO CELEBRATE MY HOPE THIS CHRISTMAS

· H AVE A TIME TO FOCUS ON JESUS .

Let’s revisit a verse we read earlier out of Luke 2.

Luke 2:16 NIV

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

Remember that the “they” in this verse are the shepherds and just like the magi we studied last week, these folks are folks gave their time to come face-to-face with Jesus. Look, here’s the reality of the situation: it’s not like these guys didn’t have anything to do. They were busy working. They had busy lives just like all of us do. But they made a choice to set aside some time to focus on Jesus.

Look, here’s what we have on our plates: some of us still have Christmas shopping to do. Some of us still have Christmas feasts to prepare, some of us still have travel, some of us still have family arriving, some of us still have our jobs to show up for. For this being the most wonderful time of the year, it’s seemingly the most busy time of the year and sometimes that does not feel so wonderful. It feels stressful. Our patience will be running thin and we will be lashing out at the very ones we love the most.

Let’s imagine something for a second. Our shepherds in Luke 2 were in the middle of their jobs. The text doesn’t say that the angels waited to show up until their shifts were over or that they were on a lunch break - do you still call it lunch if you’re working all night? A meal break? Ok, I’ll say it this way, the angels did not wait until the shepherds were on a meal break. The angel showed up and scared these guys, settled them back down with some good news, and then the angel’s buddies showed up to sing some praises about the good news that this angel brought.

Luke 2:15 NASB95

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

That’s what the text tells us. The essential information. But can you imagine the conversation leading up to this decision?

<Skit Guys Video>

In the middle of this next busy days, make sure you have a time set aside to focus on Jesus. This is beyond asking the best Christian in your family to say the prayer for dinner. This is time that you set aside for you to focus on Jesus. Maybe that’s reading God’s Word, maybe that’s spending some time with him in prayer, whatever it is, it should be time that you set aside so that you can focus on Jesus.

· OPEN MY EYES TO THOSE HURTING AROUND ME .

Guys, not everyone around you is as good looking and as wealthy and as healthy and as blessed and as anointed as you are. There are people around us who are hurting and Christmas can be a very difficult time for them. Maybe they can’t be near their family the same way that you can. Maybe they can’t afford anything for their children this year.

Philippians 2:3–5 NCV

When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves. Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others. In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

Proverbs 14:21 NCV

It is a sin to hate your neighbor, but being kind to the needy brings happiness.

Guys, this isn’t about making you feel guilty. This is about thinking and acting like Jesus. Be the salt and light and make a difference for someone who is hurting this year. It may not mean that you’re having to open your wallet, Ebeneezer, but it could mean that. I’m not saying how you need to love, but I’m pretty sure the verses tell us that we need to love.

A 3rd way to celebrate the HOPE you have in Jesus this Christmas is to…

· P UT TOGETHER A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP .

Here’s the Good News of Christmas: When we receive God’s gift of Jesus, we are reconciled and made right with God. Our broken relationship with God has been put back together again. Our broken lives are put back together again. That’s what Christmas is about. It’s about the reconciliation of humankind to God. Putting together a broken relationship.

And when that happens - listen to this - God then puts in our lives the desire and ability to reconcile with otherd - the desire and ability to make things right with others.

You see, if you have received God’s gift of Jesus and He is in your life…then broken relationships are hard for you. If you are a follower of Jesus, then God prods you to make things right with the other person.

And Christmas is a time for reconciliation. It's a time to break down barriers, to build bridges, to restore relationships that have been broken and damaged. It’s a time to say, "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Matthew 5:23–24 NLT

“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

You know what this verse means. It means you can’t truly celebrate the real meaning of Christmas if there is a broken relationship in your life that you should make better. And yes…there are some relationships you can’t or shouldn’t do anything about. A formerly abusive one – stay away. Someone who won’t reconcile even if you want to – walk away.

But, let’s be honest for a moment, if we think about it, most of the relationships in our life that are messed up, we can put back together. They are with our family and friends. Arguments over something stupid. Hurt feelings that you just won’t get over. One person won’t say I’m sorry. And so you both suffer. Your relationship with that person is broken – and as a result…your relationship with God isn’t right either.

For many people, Christmas is a very tense time because it means dealing with family you have unresolved issues with. Some of you are thinking, "But you don't know what they did to me. I could never forgive them."

That's why you need Jesus. Human forgiveness and human love run out. That's why you need God's love in your life. It never runs out. You say, "God, I can’t love this person on my own. So, I need your help. Help me to make things right."

God stepped out of heaven and came to earth at Christmas to reconcile our broken relationship with Him. What will you do this Christmas to reconcile a broken relationship you have with a friend – or someone in your family?

Maybe there are some of you here today…who have a relationship that’s not right. With a parent. A relative. A friend. A co-worker. Don’t let this Christmas go by without reaching out and making it right. Make a phone call today. Write a letter. Send an e-mail. God’s gift to you is a right relationship with Him so you can also have right relationships with others.

Colossians 3:12–13 NLT

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

I want to be straightforward with you here. You can’t celebrate Christmas with a pure heart if there is a relationship in your life that is broken that you know you should put back together. So do that this Christmas.

Finally…the 4th way to celebrate the HOPE you have in Jesus is to…

· E NJOY GOD’S BLESSINGS .

I shouldn’t have to tell you this…but don’t forget to enjoy Christmas this year. Have a good time. Celebrate. Be with friends and family. Feast. Take time to be thankful for all of the good things that are in your life and all of the ways God has blessed you over the last year. This is a time when you don’t have to feel guilty about not thinking about work or school or the difficult things over the last year. Have fun.

And above all – be sure to give thanks to the one who has given you every good thing you have. Especially eternal life through Jesus.

Colossians 3:16–17 NLT

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

As I mentioned earlier – there will be a time for fasting. Jesus in fact told his disciples that. There will be a time for sacrifice and self-denial. But not now. Christmas is a celebration. A time when we feast and give thanks.

This Christmas, Have some time set aside for Jesus. Open your eyes to the hurting around you. Put together a broken relationship. Enjoy God’s blessings.

The HOPE that is in Jesus Christ is truly a reason to celebrate!

If you don’t have that hope, if broken relationships are easy for you, would you visit with God today? Would you be brave enough to make that next step?

Prayer