Christmas is for Children!
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
Rev. Lou Nyir
John 1:43 - 51
November 28, 2010 (Advent I)

         Preface to Scripture
         We move today into the liturgical season of Advent – our church family and other Christian communities begin today the time of preparation for the coming of the Christ child.
To help us prepare our hearts and homes for this presence we begin today a four part sermon series entitled, Four Views of Jesus’ Coming – today we focus on the gospel writer John’s viewpoint.
So, listen now to familiar words…listen now also with open ears to hear AND to be changed by what God is saying to us today…(read John 1:1-18)

         Sermon
         In 1990 our culture was introduced to Kevin McCallister – the eight-year-old boy who became the man of his house, overnight!
         Accidentally left behind when his family rushes off for Christmas vacation, Kevin took center stage in the box office hit Home Alone.
         Played by the then child actor, Macaulay Culkin, gets busy decorating the house for the holidays. 
         But he’s not decking the halls with tinsel and holly. 
         Instead he seeks to defend his home from two bumbling burglars who are trying to break in, so Kevin rigs a bewildering battery of traps to welcome them!

         Written and produced by John Hughes (101 Dalmatians), this movie is a madcap slapstick adventure featuring an all-star supporting cast which includes:  Catherine O’Hara & John Heard as Kevin’s parents; Joe Pesci & Daniel Stern as the burglars; and John Candy as the “Polka King of the Midwest.”

         It’s an interesting premise for a movie – one that many a child has had at least one time or another in their life – what would…what could I do if I made my family disappear?
         This concept plays itself out early in the movie in an especially comical way – it occurs as Kevin awakes to realize that his final thought from the night before have become reality.
         You see, Kevin believes that he has “made his family disappear.”
         As Kevin plays through his mind the events of the preceding night and how many in the family had insulted him and made him to feel less than welcome in the family he recites to himself,
         “I made my family disappear.”
         He remembers negative comments spoken to him from his family.
         “I made my family disappear.”
         More negative comments remembered.
         One more time – though this time with a double raise of his eyebrows and a devilish smile appearing across his face – Kevin comments, “I made my family…disappear.”

         Then there are several time elapsed scenes which show him running through the house – exploring his siblings rooms and getting into their private hideaways – jumping on his parents bed while eating from a bowl of popcorn (popcorn flying everywhere) – and then it dissolves to the scene of Kevin’s parents in an airplane…

         [9:30 a.m.]  Here is what happens next…SHOW movie clip.

         [8:15 & 11:00 a.m.]  There seated on the plane we see Kevin’s mom with a worried look on her face.  She remarks to her husband how she feels like she’s missing something.  He assures her everything is fine – the anxiety is probably just because they left in such a quick hurry due to oversleeping and nearly missing their ride to the airport. 
         She inquires, “Did I turn off the coffee?”  “No,” he says, “I did.” 
         “Did I lock up,”  “Yes,” he replies. 
         “Did I close the garage door?”  “No.  No we didn’t close the garage door.  That’s it,” her husband assures her, “that’s what we forgot.  We’ll call a neighbor as soon as we land and have it checked out.”
         “No,” she insists “No that’s not it.”
         “What else could it be?” she asks as she begins to rest her head against the seat.

         In an instant, she bolts straight up in her seat and exclaims, “KEVIN!”

         [9:30 a.m. pick back up here]  Now, if you’ve seen the movie, you know that from this point on Kevin’s mom will stop at nothing until she gets back home to her son.
         She even accepts a ride with “The Polka King of the Midwest” (played by John Candy) and has to listen to polka music for countless hours and listen to senseless chatter among the band as she hitches a ride with them to Chicago in the back of their van.

         In the movie, the father tells his wife, “We didn’t forget him.  We just miscounted.”

         Whether you’re a parent who can’t find your child in the National Military Park; in the supermarket or a city park…
         Whether you’re a youth leader who has tried to corral 40 plus youth on a mission trip or day at an amusement park…
         If you’ve ever been in the position when you realize that you are one shy of having everybody present, then you know the panic of this mother.
         You jump into search and rescue mode.
         You do whatever it takes to find the lost one!
         You send anybody and everybody out to look for your child!  - Park Rangers; Neighbors; Passersby; Coast Guard; Honor Guard; Crossing Guards – ANY BODY!  -- Whatever it takes!

         You send out people who will search diligently to fulfill your one and only desire – namely, to find those who are lost and bring them safely home…you’ll do anything to find your lost child!

         Advent – is a time for us to stop…to remember…and to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ into this world and into our lives once more.
         Advent is our Christian refresher course – a time for us as Christians remember – that God, our heavenly parent, never miscounts and will stop at nothing to get back to us…to be reunited once again with us.

         God will stop at nothing to redeem us – to reclaim us – to reunite with us again – and again – and again!

         God will traverse through the course of time to be in relationship with us.

         And God does something remarkable to show us this fact – God becomes one of us!

         “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”  (John 1:14)

         God enters our human story – in the cry of a tiny child – one way I’ve heard it put is that God enters history in His Story…

         In a boy who grows to become a man – Jesus the Christ – in this person we see God’s chosen one who will go to the cross and die that we might live – then rise from the dead on the third day proclaiming to us that nothing…NOTHING in life or in death can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord – now if you’re wondering why we would talk about the resurrection of Easter during our preparation for Christmas it’s good to remember – that as Christians we can never view the manger without seeing it in the shadow of the cross – the two go together.

         The birth – the life – the death – the resurrection – ALL are part of the divine drama – ALL are part of the salvation narrative – ALL are part of what it means to be a Christian.

         Christmas is our chance to remember – to be reminded – that God will stop at nothing – God will do whatever it takes – to be in our lives.
         Because God…does not miscount God’s children!

         A mother stands in her kitchen talking on the phone and making cookies.
         In walks her nine-year-old daughter with back pack slung over her shoulder…with a disgruntled tone to her voice, this child declares to her mother, “I’m leaving!”
         They had just finished a clash of the wills and this child felt it was better to go rather than stay.

         Her mother acknowledges her with a nod of the head and a “just-a-minute” index finger point toward the sky as she continues to talk and bake. 
         Maybe this child had tried something like this before – maybe her mother thought to I’ll be off the phone shortly and then I’ll go outside and talk with her…
         Maybe the phone conversation went longer than expected or maybe she got lost in making sure the cookies didn’t burn…
         Whatever it was, after about 10 minutes the child came back in and tugged on her mother’s shirt tail.

         Looking down at her daughter’s tear stained cheeks this mother heard her child say, “Momma, why didn’t you come after me?  Always come after me.”

         “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”  (John 1:14)
         “The Word,” as Eugene Peterson translates the Scriptures in The Message says, “became hands and feet and moved into the neighborhood…

         Advent reminds us that in Jesus the Christ, God has moved into our neighborhood and that God will always – always come after us.

         Because you see – Advent reminds us that Christmas is for Children!

         And the gospel writer John reminds us that we are all children of God! 
         “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God…”  (John 1:12)

         And as children of God, we have the divine promise that God will seek us out.

         This image of God coming to us – incarnate – in the flesh – is so rich with biblical understanding and interpretation it’s almost mind numbing.

         Probably because it is a glorious mystery – that God should become human!

         I’ve read elsewhere it is comparable to, “Imagine a shoemaker becoming a shoe!”

         And yet, the author now takes up residence among the words of the story He is writing.
         The painter makes room on the canvas as he brush strokes Himself into the picture.
         The screenwriter creates a new plot twist as He makes room in the story for a cameo appearance.

         The Greek word translated “lived” more literally says “to put up a tent” better yet to John’s Jewish readers “to tabernacle” among us.

         It calls to mind the Old Testament picture of the Israelite wanderers who carried their tabernacle – their portable sanctuary – around in the wilderness. 
         There over top of the Holy of Holies – the site where the Ark of the Covenant resided with the laws of Moses contained therein – there above this section, by day was a pillar of cloud and by night a pillar of fire.
         This image of tabernacle recalls for us how God’s glory descended upon the Tabernacle and thereby signified God’s presence among the Israelites.
         God took up residence among them – visibly present in the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night – and when that pillar moved it signified to the gathered that it was time to move as well.

         And now, John tells his readers and John reminds us that God once more takes up residence among his children – in Jesus the Christ.
         God comes into the world – to reclaim the world – to redeem the world – to reunite with us in Jesus the Christ.

         In a very real, a very tangible way – God sends us another light to follow in Jesus the Christ.

         “[for] What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  (John 1:3b-5)

         I don’t know if you had opportunity to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year.
         It is a tradition in our family.  We gather around the TV and watch as the floats and performers pass along the parade route.

         This year as we watched we saw Arlo Guthrie (son of famed folk lyricist Woody Guthrie). 
         As we watched him perform, we wondered to ourselves what songs were attributed to him.
         So, we did what anyone would do, we pulled out our smart phones and Googled Arlo Guthrie.
         Did you know that along with many songs, Arlo Guthrie also has some quotes attributed to him.
         He says, “If you’re going to have a light…You got to have a dark to stick it into.”

         A little later in the parade we saw Jimmie Falon – star of a late night talk show and formerly a cast member on Saturday Night Live – he was performing with his late night band Roots – they were singing an old song (at least it’s old to me) – they performed “Do They Know It’s Christmas Time At All” – the opening line in that song goes,
         “At Christmas Time we let in light and we banish shade.”

         I have a card in my office which my eyes return to often which has proven to be an anchor point in my life.  Printed on this card are the following words written by Landrum P. Leavell (Lee+vell):
         “Have you ever thought that light is aggressive? – It is. 
         When you open a curtain in a lighted room to the outside darkness,
         the light spills out ~ darkness does not spill in. 
         Light pushes back the Darkness.”

         The following words come from a song we sing at contemporary worship, written by Tim Hughes’, the song is, Here I Am to Worship, and the opening lines are:
         “Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness…opened my eyes let me see.
         Beauty that made this heart, adore You … Hope of a life spent with You.”

         In the movie, The Hurricane, Denzel Washington plays Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a man who, in the prime of his boxing career finds himself wrongfully convicted of murder.  Sentenced to life in prison, Carter’s published memoir, The Sixteenth Round, inspired a teenager from Brooklyn and three Canadian activists who believed in the truth, to join forces with Carter to prove his innocence. 

         The fight though is not without its share of disappointment and despair. 
         There are setbacks along the way. 
         In an especially moving scene, Rubin Carter has received word that one of the many appeals filed on his behalf has been rejected.  Carter phones his friends and in a hushed conversation informs them that “he can’t do the time anymore.”

         [9:30 a.m.]  This is what happens next…SHOW CLIP.
         [8:15 & 11:00 a.m.]  The movie’s next scene depicts Rubin Carter receiving a phone call from one of these four.  He’s told to look out the window and asked if he can see the light across the way.  When he looks out the window he sees a room with a light that is blinking on and off.  There across the way, Rubin Carter sees three silhouettes waving and jumping up and down…

         He asks, “What are you all doing here?
         “We’re here.  We’ve moved down here.”
         “For what?”  Carter asks.
         “We’re in this thing full time…until you walk out of there.”
         “We’re all in this together,” he’s told by another of the four, “and we’re not leaving until we all leave.”
         “We’re gonna take you home,” they tell him.

         [9:30 a.m. picks back up here]  Their extraordinary efforts ultimately secure Rubin Carter’s release.  Summing up his 20 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Rubin “Hurricane” Carter simply said,
         “Hate got me into this place, love got me out.”

         Light moves into our neighborhoods and declares...that while things like:  hate and sin and all that is dark in this world…while these things seemingly rage on around us…and while it might appear as though they are having the final say…our Christian faith declares something else…

         Darkness does not overcome light…rather, light spills out…light pushes back darkness.
         Light steps down into darkness and illumines our lives that we might see…
         Light steps down into darkness that we might experience the HOPE of life spent in relationship with our loving God…

         In Jesus the Christ, we remember, how the light shines into the darkness and the darkness did not [and will not] overcome it…
         In Jesus the Christ, we remember how the word became flesh and dwelt among us [hands and feet and moved into the neighborhood]…
         In Jesus the Christ, we are reminded that Christmas is for Children!

         And that we are all God’s precious, precious Children! 
         Dearly loved…
         Never forgotten…
         because in Jesus the Christ, God declares to the world:

 “We’re in this thing full time.  We all walk out together.  We’re gonna lead you home.”

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