 The
Work of Christmas What comes to mind when you read,
"The Work of Christmas?" For most, I suspect, it’s
things like shopping, wrapping presents, decorating,
cleaning the house, buying groceries, baking sweets,
and cooking Christmas dinner. It’s getting ready for
all the guests. It’s making sure the gifts are ready
and everyone is receiving something they wished for.
It’s going to church on Christmas Eve and taking
family pictures and just working through this list
already has my head hurting. That’s a lot of work.
For some, it’s even more challenging. Because of
illness or recent loss, Christmastime can be some of
our hardest days, full of grief, sadness, and
depression. For some, the work of Christmas includes
dealing with emotions of hurt, loneliness, and
disappointment. This would make any holiday "work."
I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if on Christmas
Day, after the gift giving, after the meals, after
the dishes have been done, and the guests leave,
there’s a collective sigh of relief that our
Christmas work is done. But what if it’s really not?
In Luke 4, Jesus has returned to hhis hometown of
Nazareth—His birth place. There he is asked to read
from the scroll in the synagogue service. Jesus
reads from the prophet Isaiah. It’s a section
regarding what the Messiah would come to do. "The
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor, set captives free,
restore sight to the blind, rescue the oppressed,
and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke
4:18-19).
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This is a beautiful prophecy regarding the work the coming Messiah
would accomplish for mankind. This is the work of Christmas. This is
what Jesus was coming to do. Once Jesus read this, he closed the
scroll and announced, "Today, this scripture is fulfilled."
This Christmas, our sermon series will be greatly different than
the old telling of shepherds and wisemen, of angels and inn keepers,
of Joseph and Mary. We’re going to unpack how amazing this
announcement was, not only for Ancient Israel, but also for us
today. This is the good news of Jesus’ birth. This is the Work of
Christmas.
[Ron Otto
Lincoln Christian Church]
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