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IMMANUEL EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH

Town of Clayton, Neenah, Wisconsin

Christmas Day – December 25, 2012

Sermon by Pastor Paul M. Meier

“SHINE LIKE THE CHRIST CANDLE”

11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good.

-- Titus 2:11-14

In the name of Jesus, the Light of the world, fellow Christian candles:

Christmas was going to be different this year. The father called a family conference and challenged them to be more disciplined in the management of their time during the busy Christmas season and to curtail excessive spending on gifts. He talked about better relations between visiting relatives and a more congenial atmosphere around their home. He brought his speech to a crescendo with his final rally cry, “Let’s make this the best Christmas EVER!” His little second-grade son countered the big motivational speech by noting, “But Dad, I don’t see how we could ever improve on the first Christmas.”[1]

We certainly can’t improve on what happened that first Christmas, but we can improve on the way we celebrate it today. As we light the Christ Candle on our Advent wreath, we can be like Christ in four ways, which St. Paul enumerates to young pastor Titus in our text.

Be gracious

First of all, we can be gracious, that is, filled with God’s grace. Our text begins, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (verse 11). This verse teaches us that the universal saving grace of God literally “appeared” when Jesus Christ was born. The incarnation of His Son was God’s greatest visible act of love to a fallen world. For if grace and truth had not come through Jesus, there would be no salvation for anyone.

In Louisa May Alcott’s novel, Little Women, the girls are trying to decide what to get each other for Christmas. This year, however, their father is away at war and funds are limited. The girls finally decide that they will each buy a gift for their mother instead of gifts for each other. However, Jo grumbles, “Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents.”

My dear friends, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without Christ. He’s the greatest gift we didn’t deserve. That’s what grace is: a present, a gift. And we can be gracious to our Lord by being filled with His grace.

Be godly

Secondly, we can be godly. That saving grace of God also enables us and teaches us how to live as Christians. Our text continues: “It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (verse 12).

God’s grace teaches us what we should not do. It teaches us to reject the godless characteristics of the unbeliever and to refuse the sinful world’s temptations which wage war against faith in Christ.

But God’s grace also teaches us what we should do. The “self-controlled” Christian is one who strives to bring every aspect of one’s life under control, realizing that unbridled thoughts and words can lead to sinful actions and spiritual death. The one who accepts that God has already dropped all charges against us is the one who lives honestly. God’s grace is not a blank check in which we can revel in a free-for-all lifestyle with little thought of consequence. To be “godly” means to truly appreciate the great lengths God went to to save us from our sins. To be “godly” means to live every day as an act of worship to our gracious God.

According to a legend, Satan and his demons were having a Christmas party. As the demonic guests were departing, one grinned and said to Satan, “Merry Christmas, your majesty.” At that, Satan replied with a growl, “Yes, keep it merry. If they ever get serious about it, we’ll all be in trouble.”[2] Well, my dear friends: Get serious about Christmas. It is the birth of the Baby Jesus. It is the coming of God. It is the intervention of God’s presence among mankind. In response to such grace, we can be godly.

Be hopeful

Thirdly, we can be hopeful. The Christian life is not only repudiating what is evil and clinging to what is good. It is also a life of waiting in eager anticipation for the great and final coming of our Lord. Our text continues: “While we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (verse 13).

Christian hope is not a vague wish such as “I hope we have a white Christmas” or “I hope the Badgers win the Rose Bowl.” Christian hope is intimately connected to faith. The writer to the Hebrews connects faith and hope when he writes, “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Christian hope is confidence that something will happen in the future because God’s promises are sure. What will happen is the wonderful and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In a Dennis the Menace comic strip, Dennis rushes into the room holding a big box in his hand. His mother is standing there with her mouth agape as he says, “We’d better tell Santa Claus to forget about the train set I asked for. I just found one on the top shelf of Dad’s closet.”[3]

Dennis knew he was going to get a train set for Christmas. Likewise, we can know that we’re going to get the best present of all at the Christmas to end all Christmases. Therefore, the return of the Savior is something the Christian eagerly anticipates. For when Christ comes back we will see Him shining in all the fullness of His divine glory. And we, too, will experience the glory of our Savior’s kingdom. That truly is a “blessed hope,” for when it becomes a reality we will experience God’s everlasting heavenly blessing. And so we can be hopeful.

Be certain

Finally, we can be certain of God’s grace because the final verse of our text gives us the reason why our blessed hope is confident and joyful. Our text concludes: “[Jesus Christ] gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good” (verse 14).

The redemptive mark of Christ was accomplished through the fact that He “gave Himself for us.” On our behalf, in our place, Christ “became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8). Everything that we are and do which violates the perfect standard of God’s law and makes us deserving of God’s eternal wrath and punishment is that from which Christ has paid our ransom.

Several years ago a barber told his pastor what he and his wife used to do at Christmastime when their kids were small. He said, “We had the most curious kids in the world. And we knew no matter what we did, they would find the gifts. So we had a deal with our neighbors. We would keep all the neighbors’ presents in our closet, and we would give all of our gifts to the neighbors. Naturally the kids would peek, but we acted like we didn’t know about it. And then on Christmas Eve, when all the kids were asleep, we would swap and wrap all the gifts.” He concluded his tale with the remark, “You should have seen my kids when they looked out in the street and saw bicycles being ridden they thought they were gonna get for their Christmas!”[4]

What an awful thing to do, raising their kids’ hopes up and then dashing them to the ground! But I guess you could say the children got what they deserved for snooping.

God would never do an awful thing like renege on salvation, even though we don’t deserve it. Why we can be so certain about grace is the proof that the Christ Child lying in a wooden manger would one day be the same God-Man hanging on a wooden cross for us.

With His birth, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ makes us gracious, godly, hopeful and certain. Like the Christ Candle, we can flicker and flame and glow with love, lighting the world around us. Amen.

[1] Humorous Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes, Leslie & Bernice Flynn (1973) p27.

[2] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart. W Publishing Group (1998) p82.

[3] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart. W Publishing Group (1998) p82.

[4] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart. W Publishing Group (1998) pp81-82.