Christmas Through God's Eyes
a sermon based on Isaiah 63:7-9
by Rev. Randy Quinn

Elmo Saves Christmas.

It's a Sesame Street Christmas special that aired this week on PBS, starring the muppet character, Elmo.

I don't know how many of you know the story.  In the beginning of the show, Elmo saves Santa, who is stuck in the chimney.

By doing that, he saves Christmas for everyone.

So Santa gives him a magic snow globe and allows him to make a wish.  Elmo wishes that Christmas could come every day of the year.

The rest of the show is sort of like Dickens' Christmas Carol.  One of the reindeer takes him around and shows him what it's like when Christmas comes every day.  By the end of the year, people are hoarse from singing Christmas Carols every day.  The stores are being sold because they haven't been open for a year.  And the people -- or monsters -- who went to visit family are missed by those who didn't get to go anywhere for Christmas.

So Elmo asks to make another wish . . . this time he wishes that Christmas would come only one time a year, so it would be special when it came.

And so Elmo saves Christmas again.

Here we are a few days after Christmas, and most of us are glad it's over.  There are still undelivered presents to get to, but we're not in the mood anymore.  Most of the wrapping paper is spilling out of recycling bins and garbage cans.  And it won't be long before all the lights and trees will be down, too.

And yet, we all find ourselves wishing with Elmo that Christmas would last more than just one day.  We enjoyed singing songs.  We enjoyed giving gifts.  We enjoyed gathering together with friends and family.

I know I enjoyed reading the cards I received from friends I haven't talked to in several years.

Without Christmas, I know we would lose track of friends we've made over the years.  Even if I didn't have time to write my own notes in their Christmas cards this year, it's nice to keep in contact, and Christmas gives us the excuse to do so.

And we when we look back, we realize it really was a good Christmas.  In some ways, it's too bad it's over.

But Isaiah reminds us that Christmas isn't over.

Christmas is about God coming to live with us.

Christmas is about God's love for us.

Christmas is about God.

And God hasn't changed.

We're the ones who have changed.

We're the ones who are leaving Christmas behind.

We're the ones who have forgotten what God has done, what God is doing and what God has promised to do.

                Read Text:  Isaiah 63:7-9

Isaiah wants us to take time, here and now, to recount the blessings we have received.  If not in the context of Christmas, at least in the context of the end of the year, it's an exercise that can be good for all of us.

In December, our worship services have looked at Christmas from a variety of perspectives.

We saw it from Matthew's perspective when we read the genealogy of Jesus.  His perspective reminded us that God comes to us as a King, as one who includes outsiders as well as insiders.

We saw it from Mary's perspective as Harriet helped us see what it meant for Mary to treasure in her heart the little things that make up the story of Jesus' birth.

We saw it from the Joseph's perspective as he claimed the role of father, despite what he knew about the baby.

Today, I want to reflect with you on what it meant from God's perspective.

God.The one who sent Jesus into the world.  Not because we deserved it.  Not because we might proclaim him as King and set him on a throne.

God.The one who loved us enough to come to us.The one who cared about us and wanted to experience life with us.  The one who, as Isaiah says, "lifts us up and carries us" (v 9). 

From God's perspective, Christmas was an incredible risk, a risk taken out of love, a risk taken because God had already claimed us as "children" (v 8).  It's the risk that parents take when they wait for the results of their son's driver's license exam.  It's the risk that parents take when they put their daughter on a bus or a plane and send her off to college.  It's the risk that parents take when adopt children and take them into their home.

No one knows how those stories will end.  And so there is incredible risk involved.

We have the experience of other parents, perhaps, on which we can rely.  We have our own life experiences on which to reflect.

But God had no precedent.  The closest experience God had was sending prophets who were rejected.  And out of that framework, God sends Jesus to dwell among us.

There were no guarantees that the child would survive childhood.  What if Joseph had ignored the warnings and not fled to Egypt?  What if the baby contracted a deadly disease?  What if . . . ?  What if . . . ?

Into the unknown future, God sent Jesus.

Certainly, there are those who will argue that God knew the future.  God knew what would happen.  In their minds, there is no risk.  It's a guarantee.

My own understanding is that God knew the possibili­ties, ALL of the possibilities:  the one that became history as well as all the other "what if" scenarios we can imagine.  And God took the risk, not knowing how free will would affect the outcome.

Sending Jesus to be born is evidence of God's consistence.  It was consistent with calling Moses from the burning bush.  It was consistent with leading the people through the wilderness.  It was consistent with speaking to King David.

God didn't change.  And God hasn't changed.

If we have left Christmas behind, it's because we have forgotten what God has done and what God is doing.  God is still the same.  God hasn't changed.

God continues to offer love to us.  God continues to call us his children.  God continues to bring salvation.

All we have to do is look and see.  "Count your blessings," and you will "see what God has done."

It's a great way to start a new year.  It's a great way to carry Christmas with us throughout the year.

When Elmo wished for Christmas to come every day, he didn't understand that it would make Christmas just another day.  What I'm suggesting is that from God's perspective, Christmas makes every day a special day.

Thanks be to God.

Amen.