Worship in humility and simplicity, speaking the truth of Jesus - Sermon by Canon James Juhari

 

Christmas Night (24 December 2023)

Readings:

OT: Isaiah 9:2-7

Epistle: Titus 2:11-14

Gospel: Luke 2:1-20

Sermon

My sermon for tonight is a continuation of my sermon this morning where I spoke about God’s blessing.  Tonight I want to speak about a group of people who unexpectedly received God’s blessing that changed their lives forever.  They were the shepherds to whom the angels appeared with the good news of the birth of Jesus.  The interesting things about this story is the fact that shepherds in biblical days were considered the lowliest of the low in society.  And yet they were the first group of people who became the first worshipers and evangelists of Jesus Christ in history.  Hence, I want to speak about how we are to worship in humility and simplicity, and speak truthfully about Jesus others that He has come as the Saviour of mankind.

But is that the reality in many churches today?  Do Christians come to church solely to worship God?  The main reason many people come to church today is not to worship God but to ask for God’s blessing - of wealth, health and personal happiness.  Even though worship is, in effect, giving to God His “worth”, it has been treated as means to getting something from God.  But honestly speaking, I cannot remember someone telling me that he or she comes to church with no intenion, other than to worship God.  But I have heard often Christians generally saying that they are going to church to pray, meaning that they want to ask for something from God.  Or they go to church to give thanks to God for something good that they have already received.  I don’t deny that there are people who come to church solely for the purpose of worshipping God, but many come to church only when they have personal reasons to do so.  So, for many Christians, church attendance is largely all about us; our conveniences and to get God to fill our need and our sense of emptiness.

When our relationship with God is only up to that level, we can’t know very much about Jesus.  We don’t have enough personal spiritual experience of Him to enable us to speak confidently about Jesus to others.  In fact, many of us don’t dare to speak about our faith for fear of exposing our ignorance about Jesus when we talk with people of other faiths.

I am not talking about anybody in particular, but just to highlight the possible state of our spiritual life as we come before God. We must admit we are all in it, for we all have fallen short of the glory of God.  We have to admit we are sick if we want to get healed.  Likewise, we have to admit our failures if we want improvement in life.  And we have to confess our sins, if we want to receive forgiveness from God.  God is more than willing to forgive, to restore, to bless, and take us back into His fold, when we are honest with Him.

Our Gospel reading tonight also tells us about God with whom nothing is impossible.   As a class, shepherds had a bad reputation. First, the nature of their job prevented them from observing the ceremonial law which meant so much to religious people. More regrettable was their unfortunate habit of claiming sheep which did not belong to them as they moved about the country.

The shepherds were considered unreliable and were not allowed to give testimony in the law-courts.  And yet God showed Himself to the shepherds, and picked them to become the first evangelists of Jesus.  My point here is: if God can use shepherds for His honour and glory, He can use anyone of us here.  After seeing Jesus, as the shepherds left the manger, they told everyone in their path of the things that had happened to them.   The story about the shepherds encounter with angels teaches us that God also has a purpose for us.  

Some of you are here because tonight is Christmas Eve, and you feel for some reasons, that you must be in church.  But what you may not know is that God has a purpose other than what you have planned.  As I prepared this sermon I prayed to God that He calls to church tonight those whom He has chosen to bless and use for His honour and glory.

You may want to argue that it cannot be you because serving God at this stage of your life is unrealistic.  But remember what happened to Paul when he was on his way to Damascus to arrest any Christian he found there.  Jesus caught him and made him an apostle.  If you are in church tonight to seek God’s blessing, I pray that you receive that blessing, whether it is the healing of your body, your relationship, or our your personal confidence.  If you are in church because you have great concern for someone you love, I pray too that God will grant you your request and that something is done for the person.  If you come to church to ask for God’s forgiveness, I pray that He pardons your sins, so that you go home as forgiven person tonight.  If you don’t quite know why you are here tonight or because someone brought you here, I pray that God reveals to you His will and purpose.  Or, may be, there are some of you who have been in church Sunday after Sunday, and yet still struggling to find out what Christian life is really about.  

When it comes to God, things don’t happen for no reason.  I should not be preaching here tonight because my initial plan was to stay on at St. Peter’s Church, Saratok until the end of the year.  But God has a different purpose.  He has a purpose even for those of us who have lost our sense of purpose in life.  The shepherds could have resigned to the fact that they were considered the lowest among the low in society.  They could be just content with seeing the glorious appearance of angels that night and kept it to themselves because they have decided that no one would believe what they said.  No. The Bible tells us that “when the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

If you come to church tonight for whatever reason; whether it is to seek God’s blessing, or healing, or forgiveness, or simply out of curosity, follow what the shepherds did.  Find out what God is really trying to tell you tonight.  Has it got anything to do with what is happening your life right now?   Talk with someone: your priest, your close friend, members of your family, or just talk to God when you pray alone - find out what is He trying to tell you all this while.

The story about the shepherds tell us that worshiping Christ is impossible without serving Christ. Before that fact frightens you, let me explain what I mean by that.  Serving Christ does not always mean working in church or doing some church activities.  Serving Christ means serving Him wherever you are.  It may mean working on a job that is tough, or working with people you don’t even like or who don’t like you.  It may mean living with people who have different values and who don’t share your faith.  When you come to God and ask for help with a tough job, it does not mean that He will make your job easier.  Instead, God may give you wisdom and strength to take up the difficult task.  When you come to God for help because you are having difficulties with some people, God may not take away those people out of our life: instead He will teach you patience, forgiveness and love. You may come to God for help because of your illness; God can give you inner joy and peace in spite of your pain.  You may be in financial difficulty right now; God may not make you rich, but He can send someone or give you wisdom to help lighten your financial burden.   

The shepherds didn’t know that after they had checked out the baby Jesus in Bethlehem, that they would become different persons and that after more than 2000 years we are still talking about them.  These shepherds whom people in those days regarded as untrustworthy, left the place to become the first “evangelists” of the Christian Church and amazed their listeners.  Verse 17 and 18 say, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them”.   In short, they left a lasting legacy.

Tonight, as you hear me preaching about God wanting to bless your life; go and find out what blessing God has in store for you. This morning I spoke at length about what God’s blessing.  When you have received God’s blessing, what are you going to do with it?  The shepherds left a lasting legacy.  Just think about it?  How do you want to be remembered after you are gone from this world?

The shepherds were considered untrustworthy group of people because they would lie to steal sheep that did not belong to them.  They had spent years living ‘lawless’ lives, and trying take as much as possible for themselves. Their encounter with baby Jesus changed that.  Suddenly they knew how to tell something that was true and amazed their listeners.  We may feel that we are better off than those untrustworthy shepherds, but many of us have been living in denial with regard to our Christian faith.  We have not shown our friends, our family members, our neighbours, our colleagues what living the true Christian life is all about.  We have been living no different from the non-believers: we may be just as materialistic, self-centred and selfish as them.  Like them, worship and prayer have never been important parts of our lives.  Our attitude towards God has been no better than the atheists.

We feel that God must be angry with us for being selfish and self-centred, and He should.  But tonight, God sends His angel to speak to us in our hearts, just as he had spoken to the shepherds in the field, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord”. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

You may not find baby Jesus in in a manger tonight.  But the Holy Spirit is showing to you Jesus, who is residing in your heart, and whom you have forgotten and ignored all these years.  Your discovery is going to change you, just as the shepherds were changed from being untrustworthy persons to become the first evangelists.  You are going to be the salt and light, may be not for the world; but for your family, your community, and among your friends and colleagues.  Suddenly it dawns upon you what blessed life is all about.  You discover that life is not all about taking and hoarding everything for yourself, or getting others to serve you; but about sharing and giving, and serving others.  And people will be amazed by a change in you; when they hear your kind words and see benevolent actions.  And your perspective of other people also changes.

Look at what happened to the shepherds. They “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told”.   My hope and prayer is for that to be a reality in each and everyone of us as we leave the church tonight.  Let us pray:

  Jesus, the Light of the World, as we celebrate your birth, may we begin to see the world in the light of understanding you give us.  As you chose the lowly shepherds, the outcasts, and the poor to receive the greatest news the world had ever known, so may we worship you in meekness of heart.

Lord, I thank You for coming to earth so You could redeem me.  You love me so much, and I am so grateful for that love. Without You, I would still be lost and in sin.  But because of everything You have done for me, today I am free; my life is blessed; Jesus is my Lord; Heaven is my home; and Satan has no right to control me. I will be eternally thankful to You for everything You did to save me!  Thank you Jesus.  Amen.

~Can. James Juhari~