Sunday's sermon at Red Bank UMC: "Living Out the True Meaning of Christmas"

I had the opportunity to preach for the 2nd time at Red Bank UMC this past Sunday. I chose the lectionary passage from Colossians.

Below is the transcript of the sermon, recognizing that things are added or left out in the moment.

The music was beautiful and worshipful. I appreciated that the musician played the 12 days of Christmas as part of the postlude. It was fitting as it was the 5th day of Christmas.

Sermon:

“Living Out the True Meaning of Christmas”
Colossians 3:12-17 (CEB)
December 29, 2024
Red Bank UMC
1^st Sunday of Christmastide (White)
5^th day of Christmas 

Good morning! It is good to be here with you today on this 5^th day of Christmas, the 1^st Sunday of Christmastide.

Yes, you heard that correctly. The season of Christmas began on the 24^th and goes through Epiphany, January 6^th, when we celebrate the gifts Jesus received from the wise men. I know. Some of you were done with Christmas the day after. But since it’s still the Christmas season or Christmastide, let’s explore what it means to live out the true meaning of Christmas, based on today’s passage from Colossians.

As you hear the Scripture today, listen for what words or phrases stand out to you.

Colossians 3:12-17 (CEB)

¹² Therefore, as God’s choice, holy and loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Be tolerant with each other and, if someone has a complaint against anyone, forgive each other. As the Lord forgave you, so also forgive each other. ¹⁴ And over all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. ¹⁵ The peace of Christ must control your hearts—a peace into which you were called in one body. And be thankful people. ¹⁶ The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.

GOD IS STILL SPEAKING.

THANKS BE TO GOD.

What word(s) stood out to you?

As I reflected on this passage, I couldn’t help but consider that this passage helps us live out the true meaning of Christmas. Throughout the Advent Season our focus was on the coming of the Christ Child and we focused on hope, peace, joy, and love. Now that we are in the Christmas season, we begin to look at the teachings of Christ and others to be reminded of what it means to follow the Christ child.

Here are some of the words and phrases that stood out to me:

*put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 

*¹³ Be tolerant with each other

*forgive each other

*¹⁴ And over all these things put on love   

*¹⁵ The peace of Christ must control your hearts

Over all the things listed: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and forgiveness, put on love. Love is the outerwear, the first part of us that people come in contact with. Then they will experience our compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness.

I don’t know about you when you study Scripture, but when there is a command form of the verb “put on”, then I start to wonder how I might do that. Other English versions use “clothe yourselves”.

What would it look like if we were to dress ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love?

What would we look like? What would we BE like? How would we respond or react to others?

I spent some time with my great niece Christmas Day. She will be three in January. She is so proud of her princess dress and wanted to show it off. She can put it on by herself. In fact, she showed me that she can put on all her clothes herself. It made her happy to show me that she could do that. As I reflect on that, I wonder if I might could take some of what she has and apply it to putting on these things here in Colossians. Now, it’s not a literal princess dress or pajama bottoms or socks, etc. But, if I intentionally think about putting on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and love, then maybe, just maybe I’ll live them out.

These are the virtues that we are told to live into.

I brought my Jesus therapy doll with me today. I learned about him in the 2 year Academy for Spiritual Formation that I attended from 2011-2013. One just like this one was present in our worship space and in our learning space. His clothing changed for different worship themes… from remembering our baptism, etc. When I had the opportunity to get one, I did. He travels with me to Emmaus Walks, to hospitals. His typical clothing is not a tie dye shirt with a heart on it. But, as I was preparing this sermon, I realized that Jesus offers us the best example of putting on love.

Jesus put on love on top of everything else. If we are going to follow Christ, then we too will learn to love.

We are encouraged in this passage to sing hymns. There is a hymn “Love Came Down at Christmas” by Christina Rossetti in our UMC hymnals-- #242.

1 Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas
star and angels gave the sign.

 

2 Worship we the Godhead,
love incarnate, love divine;
worship we our Jesus
what shall be our sacred sign?

 

3 Love shall be our token,
love be yours and love be mine;
love to God and neighbour,
love for prayer and gift and sign.

 

As we continue our journey through these 12 days of Christmas toward Epiphany, how will we live out the meaning of Christmas?

 

Howard Thurman wrote “The Work of Christmas” in 1973.

 

When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among others,

To make music in the heart.

The last verse of today’s passage is this: ¹⁷ Whatever you do, whether in speech or action, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus and give thanks to God the Father through him.

What are you doing to live out your faith, to live like Jesus, to love like Jesus?

 

Will you pray with me?

 

God of Christmas, God of unspeakable grace,

forgive and renew us all,
that our lives may declare
the wonders of that Holy Love
that has called us out of darkness
into glorious light.
Amen!

Adapted from Bruce Prewer, http://www.bruceprewer.com/DocC/C06xmasd.htm.

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Preaching is one of those life giving things for me. I enjoy the preparation and the actual preaching. 

Maybe there is a word for you here, whether in the Scripture passage itself, in the hymn listed, from Dr. Howard Thurman's writings, or from something I wrote. Who knows how the Divine Mystery might be working?!

Peace, 

Rev. Deb

Service at Red Bank UMC 12/29/24:

Are You Ready to Praise? -- today's sermon at Fairview UMC

Today I had the honor and privilege of preaching at Fairview UMC on Big Ridge.  It's a small church on a two-point circuit with Grace UMC.  The pastor, Clair Sauer, was out of town with family and had contacted me several weeks back to see if I would be available for today.  My calendar was open, so I said "yes". 

Today there weren't as many folks as normal in attendance, but that is typical for the Sunday after Christmas.  Folks are still traveling, with family, maybe just taking the day off because the regular pastor is gone... ☺  I didn't count, but a "guess-timate" would be about 20-25 folks in attendance.

The church is white on the outside with an intimate sanctuary.  It has a "homey" feel to it.  I've preached once before there and have been there for Bible Studies when our church was a sister church with them.

Our church, along with Fairview and Grace, share in the Mustard Tree Ministries meal once a month on a Thursday evening.

Because of the Bible Studies in the past, having served some of those meals, and having preached once before there, I have met some of the members of Fairview.  It was good to re-connect with folks today.

Our worship time together went well.... from the songs to the Advent candle lighting to the offerings to the special sharing by a member, Eunice.  I can't speak for the sermon from their point of view, but from my point of view on delivery, it seemed to go well.

I had picked Psalm 148 from the lectionary when Clair first asked.  It has been sitting with me and the sermon below is what came out.  I didn't time it this time, but I imagine it was around 15 minutes.  My preaching class this past semester required a 10 minute sermon and I preached another 10 minute sermon this past semester, so I've been used to shorter sermons in the recent past. ☺

What I shared with the congregation isn't exactly what is written below because I added some things during the sermon and probably left out some things too.  But, you get an idea of what the sermon covered.

Are You Ready To Praise?

Psalm 148

Fairview UMC

December 29, 2013

Today is the 1st Sunday after Christmas on the Christian calendar, the 5th day of Christmas.  Can you believe that Christmas is finally here?!?!  After all the waiting of the four weeks during the Advent season, Christmas is here! 

For some, Christmas has already come and gone.  But in reality, Christmas has only just begun.

A quote about the Christmas Season: "Christmas holds the key to unlocking the deepest mysteries of our lives: Who are we, where did we come from, is there meaning to our lives, and where are we going?" (A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, page 47)

Because we have journeyed through the waiting time of Advent, awaiting the coming of Immanuel, God-with-us, what could be a better Scripture to focus on today than one of the Praise Psalms? 

Let's look at Psalm 148, found on page 550 in your pew Bibles.

NRSV

¹Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
    praise him in the heights!
² Praise him, all his angels;
    praise him, all his host!

³ Praise him, sun and moon;
    praise him, all you shining stars!
⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens,
    and you waters above the heavens!

⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for he commanded and they were created.
⁶ He established them forever and ever;
    he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

⁷ Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
⁸ fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹ Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
¹⁰ Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹ Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
¹² Young men and women alike,
    old and young together!

¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.
¹⁴ He has raised up a horn for his people,
    praise for all his faithful,
    for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

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The praise in this Psalm is unending.  It goes throughout all creation, including everyone and everything.  Nothing, no one is left out of the opportunity to praise the Lord.  All of creation is called to join in to praise the Creator of creation.

This includes us today.  Especially during this Christmas season when we celebrate Christ coming to be among us as God with us, Immanuel. 

Rueben Job, a Bishop in the United Methodist Church, writes: "Jesus Christ came and was clothed in human flesh to let us know who God is and what God is really like.  In Jesus Christ we see that God is approachable, and to a degree knowable by creatures like us.  God can understand our condition because God has made us.  We can know God because God has been revealed in Jesus Christ."  (A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God, page 49)

THIS is reason to PRAISE GOD!

Praising God isn't something we do out of our own emotional tank.  If that were the case, there would be many times that we simply wouldn't feel like praising God.  Our praise isn't based on how we feel.  But rather it is based on who God is and what God has done and is doing. 

Looking back over the verses of Psalm 148, we see that the call to praise is because

• "he commanded and they were created" (v. 5)
• "He established them forever and ever" (v. 6)
• "his name alone is exalted" (v. 13)

The praise isn't based on anything but what God has done and who God is, both of which call for the praise of all creation.

Yet, the circumstances along the journey don't always make it easy to praise.  There are difficult times and situations.  What do we do in these times?

We strive to keep a proper perspective and focus on the One who has come to be among us, the One who Created all for us.

You may have your own situations or stories of this...  Some friends of mine have been going through a very dark and difficult time these past 4 weeks.  The husband contracted a blood disease and has been fighting for his life in ICU.  He has had several surgeries, been on ventilators and dialysis and in a coma.  The wife has been waiting in the ICU waiting room.  While waiting, she has been praising God the Creator, lifting up praise for the progress and prayer for continued situation.  As Advent moved into Christmas, my friend has made some significant progress, but remains in ICU.  He opens his eyes now.

I have two other friends battling cancer, getting their dosages of chemo, both of them fighting like superheroes, both of them continuing to praise God throughout the process.

These aren't easy situations... Yet, because of who God is to each of these persons, they are praising God through their circumstances.

Whether we are at the heights or in the depths, we are called to praise.  Today's praise Psalm takes us on a praise journey throughout all of creation.

Sometimes it helps to look at a different version of the Scripture to get a different view of it.  There are also Psalm Prayers that have been written based on the Psalms by different people.

Listen to this Psalm prayer of Psalm 148 by Jerry Webber (Fingerprints on Every Moment: 40 Psalm-Prayers in Contemplative Voice).

Alleluia!

 

Praise to You, Lord God, from the heavenly heights;

Praise to You from the unseen spiritual world;

Praise to You from the angel hosts.

 

Shine your praise, Brother Sun;

Glisten your praise, Sister Moon;

Sparkle your praise, far-away stars;

Burst your praise, distant constellations;

Thunder your praise, storm-clouds and winds.

 

Receive praise, Lord God,

     the praise of all You created above,

     everything made to offer You praise!

 

Praise to You, Lord God,

     from the earth below,

Praise from ocean depths and swimming creatures,

 

Burning, freezing, raining, misting praise,

     windy praise we feel but cannot see;

Mountains and hills that praise You in stillness,

     waving harvest fields that praise You by bearing fruit,

 

Trees that praise You in growing through the cold mid-winter,

     household pets and wild creatures in the woodlands,

     crawling things and flying things,

All praise You in their being;

The world's leaders and all her peoples,

     young and old,

     all with a heart's-bent to praise You.

 

Receive our praise, You who alone are God.

     Your beauty and renown stretches beyond

     the heaves and the earth,

     recognized by all.

 

Give us, Your people, the will to praise You always,

     to weather each season of life in praise,

     to find in You a peace that never falters.

Alleluia!  Praise to You, God!

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As we leave here today, how might we continue to live into this Christmas season these next 7 days of Christmas with an attitude of praise?

Let's pray.

Closing prayer:

Psalm prayer by Judy Holloway, #367 Upper Room Book of Worship

O God, creator of the universe and worlds beyond,

     we lift our praise to you.

You bless your creation with faithfulness,

     and you desire only the goodness of harmony and peace.

May we carry your praise into the world

     so that all creation is blessed by your goodness.  Amen.

Benediction: Go now in peace and praise and may the God of Creation go with you.

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Blessings on your journey,

Debra