First Sunday after Christmas - Carol Sunday

December 30, 2007

"Symbols and Songs of Christmas!"

Multiple Scriptures and Songs

Preached at Providence Lutheran Church in Holland, Ohio

By Pastor Dennis R. King

The Grace and Mercy of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you all. Amen.

Christmas is filled with symbols. The Christmas symbols of the world are Santa Claus, tinsel, Christmas trees, snow, sleigh bells, holly, mistletoe, presents, roasted turkey, cranberries, and recently shopping, vacations, special movies and Christmas music have been added to the list. Why does the world have Christmas symbols? The world has Christmas symbols because of the love of children, nostalgia, a remembrance of times more peaceful, love of family, fun, greed, a time to make money, escape, some spend Christmas "running away." The world has its own reasons.

Christians have their unique symbols, that is, shepherds, manger scene, kings, stars, the Baby Jesus, angels, music and musicals, giving to the needy and a special time to praise and worship the Lord for the birth of Christ. God loves symbols because He uses them to remind us of Himself. The broken bread reminds us of His broken body. The cup at the Lord's Table reminds us of His blood. A tithe of our money reminds us all our money is His. Being baptized in water is a picture of our death, burial and resurrection with Christ.

Today we look at the symbols and songs of Christmas.

Read Isaiah 60:1-6.

The Star was a symbol. It was a directional symbol. It guided. It told of a King. It pointed to the future. It was a symbol of encouragement and hope. God created the stars. "The eye can see 4,000 stars. The Hubble telescope can see 400 million stars. It is interesting to note that the Bible associates the stars with wisdom. "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." Daniel 12:3

There are two kinds of heavenly bodies. There are the stars that shine of their own energy or light. Stars like our sun that burn brightly, giving off their light for billions of light years in distance. Some heavenly bodies on the other hand only reflect the light of stars. They have nothing in themselves, no light in themselves at all. This is like our moon. Christians are like this type of heavenly body. We only reflect the light of Christ to the world. We should certainly shine for Him letting His light shine in and through us not our own light. Christians must hold out the light to spiritually blind people so that they might be saved. Christians should shine the light of Jesus Christ as the star did that night in Bethlehem. The star leads to Jesus. So we too can shine and direct people to Him. We can come to the place where Jesus is located, and when we do; others will follow or find Him.

The Song: "The First Noel" LBW 56

Read Matthew 2:1-9

The wisemen no doubt stirred up the whole city of Jerusalem. Many have called these men "kings." Kings were in the habit of giving gifts to other kings at their birth or on their birthday. The expense of the gifts assumes those giving the gifts were wealthy. But we have learned that those who were scholars, or teachers or wisemen were usually not wealthy.

These wisemen were followers of the star. They did not just gaze at the Bethlehem star, nor did they take extensive notes about the star, they followed the star. Today, wise men still follow the star to Jesus. Wisemen were diligent in their search for Christ. They asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" This is an excellent question for every person in the universe to ask. Today, wise men still search for Jesus. Wisemen approached Jesus in the right manner. Today, wise men still come to Jesus with the right heart attitude. Wisemen teach us to be unselfish with our gifts. Today, wise men still bring gifts to Jesus. Wisemen worshipped Jesus. Today, wise men still worship Him.

Carol "Silent Night" LBW 65

Scripture Reading Luke 1:25-38

The angels give the message of salvation. When we see angels we know God is working. Angels are messengers of God. They are sent by God to minister to those who are heirs of salvation.

When you read about angels in the Bible, they are doing God's work in the world. At the first Christmas, angels are singing, bringing a message about Jesus. They are bringing joy. The Christmas angels were beautiful, but their appearance scared some who saw them. Zacharias was afraid, so were the Shepherds. The angels greeted people, "Fear not."

The angel announced to Zacharias that his wife would give birth to a son when she was too old to have children. The angel announced to Mary that she would conceive a child and His name was to be called Jesus. The angel announced to Joseph that the child Mary had conceived was of the Holy Spirit and that he should take Mary as his wife and call His name Jesus. When you see an angel on a Christmas tree, or angels on Christmas decorations, remember angels are messengers of salvation.

The Song: "Angels We Have Heard on High" LBW 71

Scripture Reading Luke 2: 8-18

The shepherds are a symbol of witnessing. They learned from their sheep to have patience, gentleness, longsuffering, self-control, goodness. Some of God's greatest leaders learned to lead people by leading sheep - David, Moses, Jacob, were all shepherds. Shepherds were faithful. They were working at night. God was looking for people who worked faithfully to represent His message faithfully. The shepherds were responsive. They immediately said, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see...." They did not study it, pray about it or seek God's will to do it. They just did it. They immediately got up and went to see Jesus. The shepherds were responsible. Since the angel had told them a message, they felt responsible to do something about it.

So when you see shepherds under a Christmas tree. Remember the shepherds were faithful witnesses. When Christ came the first time, He found faithful shepherds. When Christ comes the second time, will He find faithful shepherds?

The Song "Go Tell It On the Mountain" LBW #70

The Scripture Reading Matthew 2:10-11

Gifts are a symbol of honor and love.

What do you think about when you receive a gift? Love Appreciation, Something Good

I heard about an employer who stopped giving Christmas bonuses because the employees complained and were ungrateful. The workers didn't understand gifts. Gratitude is the least remembered of all virtues, and is the acid test of character. The wisemen presented Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

What should we think about when we see gifts under a tree. Let us see them as a means of honor and love.

The Song "We Three Kings of Orient Are"

The Scripture Reading Luke 2:11-12

The manger is a symbol of an unlikely place. When you hear the word manger what do you think of . . . stable, animals, no room in the inn, something other than a nice hospital room, humility? A manger was an unlikely place to lay the newborn Babe. However, when you think He was the Lord of the universe and the God of the Ages no place is worthy of Jesus Christ. Neither the finest hospital or manger in an inn is worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the Lord Jesus Christ could not come into a stable, where else could He come? Into your heart? "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God." John 1:12 Into your home? Into your problem or sinful habit. A stable is not a clean place. If Jesus could come there, He can come into your situation. He could come into your filthy place and clean it up. When you think about the manger in the nativity scene, think about the unlikely places in which Jesus comes.

The Song "Away in a Manger" WOV #644

The Scripture Reading Matthew 1:18-23

The Virgin is a symbol of the sinless Son of God.

In Seattle when children in school were asked "What is a virgin?" They answered, "A girl who had a baby." That's not right. Mary asked the angel, "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man" Luke 1:34

A virgin is a girl who holds herself pure for a particular man who she is going to marry. By a virgin birth, the eternal Son of God became flesh. The greatest statement in all the world is, "The Word became flesh among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father" John1:14 When you see the virgin in a nativity scene think of the entrance of the sinless Son of God into the world.

The keyword is sinless. He had no sin, he did no sin, In Him was no sin. He was not born with a sinful nature and he did not commit sin. Why? Jesus had to be sinless, to become sin for us that we might be made righteous before God.

The Song "What Child is This" LBW #40

So in conclusion may we remember what these symbols of Christmas mean to us.

The Star - - - Guides us to Jesus.

The Kings - - -Wisemen still seek Him today.

The Angels - - - Give out the message of Christmas always.

The Shepherds - - - Are faithful witnesses calling us to do the same.

The Gifts - - - Remind us to Honor and Love

The Manger - - - Reminds us of the unlikely place into which this Jesus comes

The Virgin - - - Reminds us the entrance of the sinless Son of God into the world.

Amen.