I’ve Got Nothing

By Rev. Jim Gascoine, Associate Pastor

Here it is, just a few days after Christmas, and I have this blog to write.  And after all the celebrations for this Christmas holiday, I have come to this conclusion: I’ve got nothing.

I am drawing a complete blank.  What more can be said about Christmas?

It dawns on me that this is the 39^th year in a row when I have had to come up with some message to preach/teach/write concerning the story of Christmas.  And keep in mind that for every one of those 39 years it was four Sundays of Advent, multiple Christmas Eve Services, and the Sunday after Christmas.  Add in a few bible studies and plenty of Sunday classes over the years.  Oh, and did I mention all the newsletter articles?

How many times can I tell the same story and keep it fresh?  Yes, it is an engaging and wonderful story.  But it is just a half a chapter in the Gospel of Matthew and two chapters in Luke, and a limited number of characters.

I’ve probably either written or spoke on every character and every theme a dozen times over.  Yes, I am feeling it: I’ve got nothing.

I could try to focus on some minor point.  For instance, how many Magi (Wise Men) visited Jesus?   (PS: If you said three, go back and read Matthew 2:1-12 carefully).

Or what year was Jesus born?   Did you guess 5 or 6 B.C?  That is the correct answer.  (Yes, I see the disconnect: how can Jesus be born 5 years Before Christ?  But that is a whole different blog!   Ask me about it next time you see me).

But unless you want to win Bible Trivia or enjoy historical minutiae, this is not really worthwhile.

Ah, but an idea springs to mind!  We could focus on the “un-Christmas Story.”  How about a Christmas story with no angels, no shepherds, no Mary and Joseph, no manger, no Wise Men, none of the traditional trappings of the Story?  Yet still a story as compelling as the one we usually read.

Pick up your bible.  Turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 1. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke focus on the actual story: the narrative, the characters, the sequence of events.  But the Gospel of John focuses on the meaning and significance of Jesus’ coming.

According to John the Son of God is also God the Son.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  So, John tells us, Jesus = God.

John goes on to tell us, “The Word became human and lived for a while among us.”  

This amazes me.  God was willing to become one of us, share our life, share our joys and our hurts, walk with us through our struggles and our successes.  God, in the person of Jesus, so identified with us, so much wanted to reconcile us to God, that in Jesus “The Word became human.”

And if you don’t mind if I look a little ahead in the calendar, keep in mind that the Cradle led straight to the Cross.  That is how much God loves us.

The next time the brokenness of this world intrudes into your life, keep in mind a central message of Christmas:  Jesus came so that you and I could be reconciled with God.  Jesus came so that you might be renewed, remade, restored, healed and forgiven.  You are loved, treasured, valued in ways beyond understanding.  So, Merry Christmas!  And let’s get ready for an amazing New Year.