Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Christmas Day, 25 December 2009, by the Rev. Phyllis Wong. The scripture readings that day were Psalm 98, Isaiah 52:7-10 and John 1:1-14.


Opening prayer
God of life, may your Word lead us to your truth and understand your will. May Your Holy Spirit guide your servant to speak and bring you glory. Amen.

Introduction
Last night after the Christmas Eve service and the Christmas celebration when we left the church, the street was full of people. Christmas is a time many people, especially young people go out for dinner and celebrate.

Why do people celebrate? What are they celebrating? To you, what is the meaning of celebration at Christmas?

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The gift of life is the theme of today’s message that I wish to share and invite your reflection on this.

Why is it important to celebrate someone’s birthday?

1 Grateful for the gift of life

Last Sunday, Peter and Winkie held a party for Christine, their second daughter to celebrate her two year old birthday. Do you remember the first time you or your family celebrate your birthday?

When I was a child, our parents like many others in that generation, would not celebrate birthday for their children. As a result, I organized birthday celebration for myself when I was 10 years old. I remembered I had invited classmates and neighbors for the party. It was a great joy as we had a time of great fun. What made me so pleased was that I received birthday presents from friends that I had never had before.

As I get older and older, I still remembered my birthday. But I started to have difficulty to count my exact age after I was 30 years old! Moreover, I have a deeper thought of the importance of birthday celebration. As time goes by, I gradually realized that I should celebrate my birthday with my mother and for her. Why, it is simple. My mother gave me this earthly life. I would not come to this world without my mother. Some fathers here may protest that I did not mention my father. Of course I should include my father for the birth of my life. But to tell you the truth, I feel closer to my mother. My mother and father did not only give me a biological life, but also nurtured me with their tenderly love. Without their love and sacrifice, I could not become who I am now. Therefore, birthday celebration has to go to the life givers. After becoming a Christian, I find that celebration with and for the ultimate life giver, our holy God of creation is also very important. Birthday celebration is never something only for personal enjoyment and gratification. It is not just for receiving birthday gifts. But it is a time to remember and give thanks to our life giver on earth, our parents, and, in heaven, our God of creation.

When we celebrate Christmas for the birth of Jesus, our focus should be on the life giver: God. Christmas with its religious origin from Christianity, has become the most popular and commercialized celebration in our secular world. Christmas parties, Christmas presents and Christmas decorations are everywhere in the city and all over the world.

It is the privilege of Christians and the responsibilities of the church to retrieve and share with others the truth meaning of Christmas in the midst of a highly commercialized world which has emphasized too much on consumption and entertainment. Christmas is a time to celebrate the gift of life, a life that is given by God, our Holy Almighty.

When we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, gratitude is the first thing we have to give to our Lord God. Life is valuable and precious. God came to the world through Jesus Christ to share his life with us and to give his life for us.

2 The gift of abundant life

Very truly, life is precious and holy, but in reality there are many people who do not appreciate their lives. Many of them do not live happily. Why? I think the reasons could be many. They could be economic hardship, health problems, relationship problems, traumatic experience in the past not yet healed, pressure at work and in school, marital problems, wars and so on… The list can be endless. Many people, including you and me, face different kinds of problem in life because we are living in an imperfect world. There are a lot of alienations in personalities and distortions in relationships because of evil human practices and the unjust systems. The gift of life that Jesus gave to the world was to heal the wounds and to bring a new life. Jesus Christ said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ (John 14:6) He is life-giver. He is the life himself. Christ is the light to shine upon darkness. God does not only give us life but through Jesus Christ, he came to give us abundant life. As quoted from John 10:10, “Jesus said I came to give life, a life of abundance”. Abundant life is a life that people can enjoy love and joy, hope and peace. The gift of life that promised and given by God is a life in full.

3 A promised life to God’s children

God incarnated in this world through Jesus Christ is a great mystery. According to the bible, it is through our reception and belief in Jesus Christ the son of God, that we are given the right to become God’s children. This is a great promise indeed. To know that we are children of God confirm ourselves of who we are. We are not someone being abandoned. We are not someone unimportant. We are created in this world with a purpose according to the will of God. This is very much empowering. When we are given the right of becoming God’s children, we are not born of human will and human flesh, but of God. This is a great joy to all.

The mystery of God’s incarnation through the life of Jesus Christ on earth is a profound breaking of the boundary between the human world and God’s world. From this miracle offered by God, we are able to have a eakthrough and move beyond the present limitations in life by following the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to lead a life with God and for God.

The words of God are encouraging for they empower us to engage in the transformation of our present imperfect and distorted world to a world of wholeness where God is the center.

Through Jesus Christ we are able to become God’s children, and we may then have a new understanding of our identity. This new identity is empowering to God’s children for we are no longer isolated and we are never abandoned as we are wanted and are somebody in the eyes of God.

The gift of life from God is love. The golden verses taken from John 3:16, say, “for God so love the world that he gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.”

God is a God of life, life of eternity. The new life, life of abundance and life of eternity are for all people in the world. The promise of life is a life in wholeness, that is the true meaning of peace. People who live in God are embraced by love, joy, hope and peace.

God has called each one of us to be his child and to develop a close personal relationship. God calls us to be His children and lead a life according to his will. This calling is personal and yet never individualistic. Our Lord is God of this universe. Our Lord is also a God of community. God’s salvation is to all people in the world. As the creator of this universe, his salvation covers the whole world including mother earth, the nature.

Christmas is a season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the giver of life. Christ is the Light of the world that shines in the darkness. God’s salvation is to the world. In a highly capitalized and competitive society that we are living, we have been greatly influenced by the philosophy of individualism. People become more and more self-centred. Even amongst Christian community, there is a tendency for believers to focus their faith and practice towards individual salvation.

God is not only our personal savior, God is savior of the community and the whole universe. All lives on earth will be saved by God.

The birth of Jesus Christ and the life that Jesus has promised to give reminds us to lead a life of love and giving like Jesus. We have to remember we have a common life that is shared with others in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The gift of life given by God is the essence of Christmas. God’s incarnation through Jesus Christ is to bring new life of love and joy, justice and peace. God’s salvation is prepared for the whole world. In the birth of Jesus Christ, God has used his holy power to reveal himself and his plan of salvation. God intends to let all people in the world see it. God has given this great gift to the world. This is we human kind to respond by seeing the salvation of God in Christ, through the eyes of God.