Love Came Down

Matthew 1:18-25

December 23, 2007 – ©Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes

God came in person.

Christmas for many people is a time of buying presents because they have to. So they end up buying generic presents – not personal gifts, but something so people know they gave them a gift. After all, “it’s the thought that counts.” But giving gifts out of obligation or duty is not really what Christmas is about.

God’s example of gift giving was quite different. God didn’t give us a gift because he had to. God didn’t give us just any gift. God gave us his Son, Jesus.

As God had promised in Isaiah 7:14, the virgin would conceive and give birth to a son, and they would call him Immanuel (which means “God with us”) [Mt 1:23].

God came to us in the person of Jesus. As John wrote, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” [Jn1:14]. God’s gift was himself – in human flesh so that we could know God.

God’s gift was personal. God’s Christmas gift is perfect for everyone for it comes to each of us, wherever we are, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. It came to one man who had been locked behind the razor-wire fences of a Florida prison for 15 Christmases. Not a joyous place to be at Christmas, especially since he was in confinement (a prison inside a prison).

Unlike people on the outside, there was no holiday music, no last-minute shopping, and no trees with lights.

So Christmas night in confinement, alone in his cell, he read in his Bible about Paul and Silas, who were also inside a prison. Yet they were praying and singing hymns to God while the other prisoners listened.

When the lights went out he stared at the ceiling and wondered if he could praise God in the midst of his circumstances. Suddenly he heard a voice come out of the vent above the toilet. It was Andrew in the next cell. “Merry Christmas, Roy,” he said. “Merry Christmas, Andrew,” he replied. “Do you know any Christmas songs?” Andrew asked. “Yeah, I know a few.” “I’ll sing one if you’ll sing one,” he said. Roy asked, “what should we sing?” “Joy to the Word.” He sang every verse, and Roy sang the chorus with him. Then it was his turn and he chose “Silent Night. The Andrew sang “O Come All Ye Faithful,” and Roy answered with “Feliz Navidad.”

“I have another song,” Andrew said, and sang “O Holy Night.” Silence filled the quad as everyone listened. It was a moment Roy would never forget. It not only reminded him of Paul and Silas, but it made him realize that every day is Christmas when God has arrived. It wasn’t just another day, and he wasn’t alone. Emmanuel was in confinement with him, in his cell, blessing him. [PreachingToday.com, “Experiencing Emmanuel in Prison].

God came in person to Mary and Joseph, to shepherds, to wise men, and God’s gift also comes to us, in person.

God came to each person.

God also came to each person. The angel said to Joseph, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” [Mt1:20b-21].

The name Jesus was the Greek form of Joshua, which means “the Lord saves.” God’s Son came to save his people from their sins, but did mean only the Jews?

Fortunately for us, “No!” Remember John 3:16? “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”

God’s gift is for everyone. No one is left out. Each person is offered the gift, but each person must receive the gift, accept it. Those who do receive Jesus know the true joy of Christmas.

“Everyone who believes” is saved from their sins. Everyone who receives the gift of God’s Son, the gift of salvation. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Rom10:13].

God gave us Jesus to bring wholeness to those who are broken by sin and the struggles of this world.

One very tired dad sat down after work to read his newspaper, but his little boy wanted him to play with him. So the dad took a page from the paper that had a picture of the earth on it and tore it into many small pieces. He gave them to his son and told him to put the world back together–hoping this would give him time to read in peace. However, in a short time the boy came back with the picture all taped together. Amazed, his dad said, “How did you do that so fast?” The boy said, “Well, there was a picture of a man on the other side, and I found out that when I got the man straightened out, the world was OK, too.” Our broken world, shattered by the hammer of sin, can best be fixed by putting broken men and women back together. [INFOsearch, ILLY, “Putting the World Back Together].

That’s why God gave us Jesus, the Savior of the world.

§ He came to give new life to the dying and new hope to the despairing.

§ He came to give healing to the sick and suffering and freedom to the oppressed and imprisoned.

§ He came to give joy to the sorrowing and wholeness to the broken.

God gave us Jesus so that everyone who believes in him can be saved.

God gave us a gift of love.

God came in person for every person. God gave us Jesus to save us and be with us – always.

Because God created us and knows us, God knows what we need. God didn’t make a list and check it twice before giving his Son as the perfect gift. He already knew we are sinners. But God still gave us the gift of Jesus.

It really doesn’t make sense unless you understand the nature of God. In the Psalms King David reminds us of God’s faithfulness, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, holiness, majesty, and righteousness. Yet the one aspect of God’s nature that David speaks of most is God’s steadfast love.

Even the prophets speak of God’s everlasting love for his people. God punished his people for their rebellion against him, but he still loved them.

When the time was right, God sent his son to redeem his people [Gal4:4]. God never rejected those who rejected him. He found a way to show his great love for all people. God’s gift of love was Jesus, his beloved Son [Mt3:17, Mt17:5].

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. … God is love” [1Jn4:15-16b]. Because God is love, and God loves us, he gave us the Son he loved. Jesus is God’s gift of love.

Because of his great love for us, God gave us his Son to save us from our sins and to be with us forever.

Conclusion

You may get lots of gifts this Christmas that make you happy or are special to you. Yet the gift of Jesus is more precious than anything that can be bought.

The gift of Jesus was also more costly than any other gift. In coming to us, Jesus not only gave up his place in glory in the heavens, but he gave up his life for our sins.

This special child was born so that he could die for us.

As we sing “Christmas Has Its Cradle” in preparation for the Lord’s Supper, consider the message of these words.

Christmas has its cradle, where a baby cried;

did the lantern’s shadow show him crucified?

Did he foresee darkly his life’s willing loss?

Christmas has its cradle and Easter has its cross.

Christmas has its cradle, shepherds came to see

little Son of Mary, Lamb of God to be;

had his Father warned him, none would grant him room

save in the Christmas cradle and in the Easter tomb?

[Words by Rae E. Whitney, Music by Stan Pethel, A Covenant Hymnal ©1996 by Covenant Publications].

Let us celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus, God’s Son, who came in love to save us and be with us forever. Amen.

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This sermon is copyright 2007 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes, Immanuel Evangelical Covenant Church, Chicago, Illinois.