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Christmas Upside Down

Christmas, Upside Down

December 10, 2006

Text: Romans 5:15-17

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

NRSV 

      At Christmas time, I often look to people who can embody the spirit of the season. I look to these people for inspiration, as they demonstrate what the holiday time is all about. That’s why my patron saint is this kindly man…

      Recognize him? Ebenezer Scrooge, as famously portrayed by Alastair Sim in the 1951 movie version of A Christmas Carol.

      That face sort of embodies a person who SHOULD go around singing a two-word carol: “Bah, HUMbug!”

      Now, we don’t use the word “humbug” very often, do we? When was the last time you said, “Dear, would you like a humbug cup of coffee?”

      So, I did some research.

      This Scroogian term has two definitions.

      The first is,

  Nonsense; rubbish.

            http://www.answers.com/topic/humbug

      And if you’re honest with yourself, don’t you feel like saying this from time to time, as the season wears on?

      There are cards to send, and gifts to buy, and parties to go to, and travel plans to make, and food to prepare, and houses to clean, and people to entertain, and charities to support. In the midst of all this, there’s year-end stuff to do at school and at work—exams to take, reports to file, and sales numbers that have to be bigger than last year’s. The worries, the pressure, the stresses all mount up, with each day approaching December 25^th.

      With all this, don’t you want to go, “HUMbug—rubbish! Let’s get past the holidays, or ignore them, until we can get back to the normal, less stressful, “business as usual”.

      And here’s a second definition of humbug.

   Pretense, deception.

      It’s like this Christmas thing is a pretense to make a buck.

      You’re being deceived! Do you think that joy, happiness, generosity, love underlie this world? Do you think that there will be peace on earth, good will to all?

      Let’s get real. This Christmas thing is a good marketing tool.

      “Joy to the world!” “Peace on earth!” So let’s send Christmas cards, and support Hallmark. Let’s buy gifts, and support the economy. Let’s max out the credit cards, and take months to pay them off—if we do.

      You know, if Scrooge were with us today, I think he’d point to the Christmas tree as the ultimate symbol of “humbug-ness.”

      Think about it.

      These things, whether artificial or not, are dramatically over-priced—that’s because the retailers know that either your kids demand one, or you’re sentimental—“Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree, won’t be the same dear, if you’re right here with me.”

      If you buy a real one, you get sap all over your hands, which will come off sometime in the next millennium…you get pine needles all over the car and the carpet…you have to keep the thing watered, and you’ll still get needles everywhere…and you have to pay extra to dispose of the thing.

      If you buy an artificial one, like we did at the church, you could break your neck putting it up.

So you have to hire someone to put it up and take it down, and that’s an added expense to our church budget.

      So join me, will you, and let’s all sing Ebenezer’s carol,

      “Bah, HUMbug!”

      A couple of weeks ago, I sat down to get spiritually fortified for this holiday onslaught. In my devotional reading, I came across something that startled me. I went down to the computer, googled the phrase, surfed the web, and was surprised by what I found.

      These are Christmas trees…upside down!

      They range from $300 to $600, and the people who sell them have a difficult time keeping them in stock. There are a number of reasons for their popularity, not the least of which is that it’s easier to stack gifts under them.

      But for me, the image was simply startling. It was like a message,

“Weeks, stop the humbugging. Look at Christmas from a different angle. Don’t look at Christmas through the lens of your self-imposed stress. Turn the holiday upside down, then take a look, and make a smile from a frown.”

      Seeing that upside down Christmas tree was a revelation for me…sort of like the revelation that the Grinch had. The Grinch had stolen all the presents of the townspeople, thinking it would spoil their Christmas. But when they were still laughing and enjoying each other without the gifts, it made the Grinch stop and think.

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?" "It came without ribbons! It came without tags!" "It came without packages, boxes or bags!" And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! "Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!"

--Dr. Seuss, "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas"

      So, Grinch Greg used his puzzler. Does Christmas mean “a little bit more” than all the layers we put on it—layers filled with sugary sentimentality, or filled with stress, layers that push “HUMbug!” freely off our lips?

      Where can I find the real meaning of Christmas? The movies? Elvis Pressley carols?

      Well, how about the Bible?

      I opened it up, and my eyes weren’t drawn to the Christmas story. I’ve heard that so much that its radical message is sometimes covered up. No, my eyes were drawn, of all places, to an obscure passage Paul wrote in Romans.

      In these verses, he takes all our Christmas traditions—from the trees and decorations to the parties and the gifts—and hangs them upside down from the ceiling, so we can see what Christmas REALLY is all about.

      Paul says that the meaning of Christmas comes down to one verse:

For if the many died through one man's trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the FREE GIFT in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. (Romans 5:15)

      Paul uses that phrase “free gift” five times in the three verses you heard this morning. It’s as if he wants to hammer it home to us. It literally means, “a gift of grace,” and with the exception of one other place in the New Testament, only Paul uses this phrase. He no doubt remembered when his life had been turned upside down on the Damascus Road—when he’d been hum-bugging his way along and suddenly the light and voice of Jesus struck him down—this is what changed him. He realized that GOD GIVES us what we can’t do for ourselves. GOD GIVES us a chance to come to Him, and rest in Him. GOD GIVES us a chance to start our life’s journey over—this time, accompanied by a friend.

      Isn’t that what Christmas is about? That baby in the manger is God’s FREE GIFT to you—no strings attached.

      That baby in the manger shows that you don’t have to earn God’s favor—God adores you for who you are, regardless of what you have or haven’t done.

      That baby in the manger shows that you don’t have to earn God’s forgiveness—God forgives and forgets your goofs the second you ask.

      That baby in the manger shows that you don’t have to be lost, wondering how to find your way in life—the Creator of this infinitely complex planet, the Creator of this infinitely expanding universe, has taken the form of a child—to melt our hearts, to love us, and to companion us in our life’s journey.

      Hmmmm. So THAT is what Christmas is about. When you turn it upside down, it’s all about the FREE GIFT, that shows God adores you, forgives you, and wants to guide you.

      Could THAT be why we give gifts to each other?

      When you buy that gift for that special someone—when you go to Macy’s, or to Best Buy, or—as my wife will go—to Golf Discount: whether you know it or not, you are celebrating and honoring how it all started. God is the first gift-giver. God gives you a FREE GIFT to show just how much God loves you.

      I like what someone once said. “To give a gift is to say: ‘We’re not in this world to make money out of one another. You in particular deserve to get something for nothing; you are more than you earn. In a word, I believe in you!’”

—Donagh O’Shea, “Christmas and Xmas,” Jacob’s Well Web Site

      When we give a gift to someone, we ARE saying, “I believe in you”—because that’s what God says to us, through that Bethlehem baby.

      Hmmmm. So maybe this is why we give gifts. And maybe this is why we decorate our homes. Wouldn’t it be awful if we didn’t decorate? We would be saying, “Oh, the baby Jesus? Nice gift. Thanks, God. Now, let’s get back to work.”

      But we don’t do that. Outside we string up lights, put out nativities and snow globes. Inside we string up garland, put out figurines, and—yes—decorate Christmas trees. Why? Because we know this is a special time. Turn Christmas upside down, and we see why. And all the preparations we make show that we’re prepared to welcome and receive thankfully…God’s FREE GIFT to us.

      Remember how you prepared for Christmas as a child? Maybe the best antidote to the humbug holiday disease is to remember that time—the time before the adult “humbug germ” infected you. Remember what you did, and how you felt?

      Before going to bed on Christmas eve, we’d put out a platter of sugar cookies for Santa, along with a bottle of Coca-Cola. I’d look in the living room, and make sure that everything was set for the big guy’s arrival—the tree lights on, a lamp on so that he could see his way with all my presents.

      And then, waking up early on Christmas morning, I’d dash into the living room and…WOW! Santa had REALLY been there, magically in the night. I could tell because a couple of the cookies were gone, and the soda was half-drunk [Santa was in a hurry, you see, and didn’t have time to drink it all.] And I couldn’t wait for Dad and sister to get up, so we could open our presents—presents I shook and rattled until they got up. [And I shook them loudly enough so they WOULD get up!] Then there was surprise after surprise as I opened and played with those toys, so generously and lovingly given.

      You remember your own scenes like this, right? You remember the joy you felt? How much more should we feel that joy when we turn Christmas upside down, and remember what it’s really about—A yearning parent who gives you the greatest gift, saying, “THIS is how much I adore you, forgive you, and want to be with you!”

      The FREE GIFT God gave us one night in Bethlehem should turn us into kids again. Eternal kids. Because it’s an eternal gift.

      Maybe the Christmas tree SHOULD be upside down. Not to make room for the presents. Rather, it should point down to the stable. It should point to the one who IS the patron saint of Christmas.

      And I’m not talking about Scrooge.