The Meaning of Christmas

I was asked to speak at a friend's church about the meaning of Christmas. I've been thinking a lot about it and what would be a good sermon. Christmas is so rich with meaning, beauty, glory, and power. After much thought I decided that at least for this year the meaning of Christmas is sacrifice.

Jesus sacrificed everything to save us, to show us the way, and to destroy the works of the devil. Because he gave up everything we gained everything. The magi sacrificed to travel from the east to see a baby they somehow new would change the world. And they gave that baby gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Why did they give the baby they believed would save the world something used for burial? They must have known and grasped that Jesus would be a suffering servant. He would save us by sacrificing his own life.

When we think about giving things up or sacrificing it tends to leave a bad feeling in our gut. But we're told Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him. The story of Christmas is a celebration. The kingdom of God is so radical because it teaches us to put ourselves at the bottom. The way of the kingdom is to consider others more important than yourself. What if we stopped working so hard to build our own lives constantly defending ourselves, talking about ourselves, spending our money on ourselves, spending our time on ourselves, and started working hard to build up others and not only our friends but even the undeserving. After all can any of us say we are deserving of Christ's sacrifice? What if our attitude was one of sacrifice, one of willingness to give everything for those around us for the sake of God's Kingdom?

Perhaps you've sacrificed in the past and it left you miserable. Perhaps you want to sacrifice because you feel guilty or because you want to win points with God. Those reasons have nothing to do with the Christmas message. What we need is transformation, and our only motivation should be love. God wants to change us so that sacrificing for others is a joy. So this Christmas I'm remembering that the way up is down, that giving is so much better than receiving, and that it's not about me and my rights. It's all about Jesus.