Christmas Comes to the Back Fence

Children’s Sermon

What might be a back fence now? Snapchat? Instagram?

Scripture

Luke 1:39-45 - Not wasting any time, Mary hurried to a town in the hills of Judah, straight to the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Mary greeted Elizabeth and when Elizabeth heard her, the baby in her womb leaped and the Holy Spirit came powerfully upon her. Elizabeth said, loudly, You’re a blessed woman and blessed is the baby in your womb! How am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord visits us? The instant I heard you greet me, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Believe what the Lord told you, you are blessed and everything will happen as the Lord told you!

Engage

This series idea, Advent from the backside, was generated by a professor, friend, and mentor of mine, J. Elsworth Kalas (Picture). I’ve surely mentioned him before. He has graduated to the Kingdom Eternal…but he wrote a series of “Backside” books. Most of this series will not come from sermons in his books, but today is an adaptation of one. He was a wonderful man and a gifted preacher and pastor.

Today I want to start by talking about points of connection…In my house growing up, one of the main points my mom and dad connected to neighbors was through our back fence. HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF ONE SIDE OF IT, THE LAMONS SIDE. I can’t begin to count how many times my mom or dad went to that fence to talk to Bob, or Judy, or both Bob & Judy Lamons, their kids, grandkids, etc…Even in some visits in more recent years, I’ve found myself talking across that fence to Bob or Judy or others.

I fear many people these days have lost the value of the back fence, or other points of connection. Back fences are important. And they’re ordinary...

Encounter

The beauty of Christmas, as Dr. Kalas said, is that Christmas comes at an intersection between that which is uniquely holy and that which is utterly common. Christmas is a key part of the ultimate story of God’s love for the human race and his creation…but it comes to all, in all places…even to back fences, or water coolers, or copy machines, or locker rooms, or what have you.

There are some beautiful portraits of God that come out of our Scripture today and this idea of the intersection of holy and ordinary.

First, I’m reminded that God is ultimately incredibly practical. In other words, yes he’s all knowing, yes he’s all good and can be everywhere at once, etc…but the love story between him, creation, and humanity is ultimately acted out in ordinary places. The idea that anyone can go ONLY to church to meet God is false. Church is a place to WORSHIP together with like minded people…and to work out how to be followers of Christ even when there are differences of age, race, socio-economic class, background, sports teams, etc. I am called to be a church pastor, I dare say nobody holds a higher view of church than I do…but in no way do I believe God only shows up in church. God can show up anywhere. Faith in the fact that God is with you, around you, in that meeting at school or work, with you at HEB or Walmart, and everywhere else you go SHOULD be a great comfort and should energize you and me. Worship and working out our salvations together as believers who gather as St. Luke should help recharge our batteries, so to speak, so that we then go out and splash some Jesus on people…as I said a few weeks ago. There is NOTHING too ordinary for God. He’s not too busy, he’s not too fancy, nothing disqualifies his presence.

The story of Mary and Elizabeth so vividly illustrates these truths for us.

Mary is given this remarkable, startling, definitely unanticipated piece of news…you’re going to bear the Son of God who will save his people from their sins. Wait, what? To her credit, she obeys and accepts. But, undoubtedly, she was anxious and worried. So, what does she do? She goes to the best back fence she knows, if you will. The house of her relatives Elizabeth and Zechariah. I don’t know where they first talked, maybe the kitchen, maybe the yard. But it was ordinary. Here are two women sharing the greatest news there has ever been. If it’d been men, perhaps they’d have met at the barn, or the market, or what have you. But, God chooses women. In an age when women were generally downgraded, seen as less than, not important. Archaeologists have found a 1st century (time of Jesus) letter from an Egyptian workman working out of town, so to speak, to his pregnant wife back at home. “If it’s a boy, keep it. If it’s a girl, throw it out.” Much of the world viewed women in this way then, some still do now. Ah, but God. God does not consider women less than in any way, shape, or form. So Mary rushes to be with Elizabeth, to share her news, to meet at the back fence, so to speak…And then, God shows up as well in this ordinary place. And we get an intersection of uniquely Holy and utterly common. The Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth…and for reasons even our science today can’t begin to explain, baby John in Elizabeth’s womb jumps for joy at the presence of baby Jesus inside Mary’s womb.

Mary sought the company of someone compassionate enough to listen and wise enough to understand. Elizabeth is that person and God shows up to ratify the meeting. At certain times, nothing is as valuable as someone who understands. As disciples of Jesus, we strive to have compassion to listen and wisdom to understand.

Christmas impacts us whoever we are and it’s meant to happen wherever we are. Christian holidays are unique…They have universal impact and also very specific individual impact.

Empower

Where might your back fences be this Advent season? What sorts of unusual places, ordinary places, ordinary people or unusual people, might you meet this season. How might you be able to sprinkle a little Christmas on them? It’s not a secret that with the holidays comes stress for many people. For some, it brings grief as well. Should we as disciples have something to say about all that? Yes! And, we can not just SAY something(s) we can DO something(s). Act a little nicer, catch ourselves, do a self-check everyday, pray the Psalms, give generously, journal, tell those important to us that they are important to us…that sort of thing.

This is a letter written to Admiral David McDonald, Department of the Navy by William J Lederer: (abbreviated by me)

Dear Admiral: This letter is a year late, nevertheless, it is important you receive it. Eighteen people asked me to write to you. Last year at Christmas time my wife, our three boys, and I were in France on our way from Paris to Nice. For five wretched days everything had gone wrong…On Christmas Eve, when we checked into a dingy hotel in Nice, there was no Christmas spirit in our hearts.

It was raining and cold when we went out to eat. We found a drab little joint shoddily decorated for the holidays. It smelled greasy. Only five tables in the restaurant were occupied. There were two German couples, two French families and an American sailor alone. In the corner, a piano player listlessly played Christmas music. Everyone was sitting in stony silence. Only the American sailor seemed happy. He was writing a letter and a half-smile covered his face. My wife ordered our meal in French. The waiter brought us the wrong thing and I scolded my wife for being so stupid. Then, one of the French father slapped one of his children for some minor infraction. A big blonde German woman berated her husband at another table. Then a woman selling flowers came in, one pence each. Nobody bought any.

The young sailor finished and got up to leave. He cheerily wished the flower woman Merry Christmas and bought some flowers. With my permission, he gave my wife one of the flowers. A few seconds later, Christmas exploded throughout the restaurant like a bomb. The piano player played Good King Wenceslas. Everyone began to sing, the Germans ordered wine for everyone, the French ordered Champagne and then everyone sang, “The First Noel.” People crowded in from the street…what started as the worst Christmas Eve ever ended as one of the best ever…You see, Admiral McDonald, because your young sailor had the Christmas spirit in his soul, he released love and joy that had been smothered within us by anger and disappointment. He gave us Christmas. William J. Lederer...

You know what I’m sure of? That the Christmas Spirit that sailor gave was none other than the Holy Spirit. It sure sounds like him…Praise the Lord!

Pray