"Have We Outgrown Christmas?"

A sermon preached on Christmas Day, December 25, 2006 at Edgemont Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), by the Rev. Christopher E. Yopp. Sermon based on Luke 2:40.

Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the proud parents who brought their firstborn home from the hospital and placed him in a beautiful wooden cradle. Over the months and years as he grew, the cradle that had once swallowed him could no longer contain him. He began to look like a giant in a baby bed. His parents, though, kept the cradle as a symbol of their son’s birth; but the boy could not stay in the cradle forever. He outgrew it!

The same is true of Christmas. Certainly, we cannot have Christmas - or the story of Christ’s life without the cradle; but the fact remains, Jesus did not stay in the manger long - he outgrew the cradle and eventually became a man who would become the ultimate Sacrifice for the sins of the world!

The fact is, we spend most of our lives outside the cradle. Jesus, who was both divine and human, experienced life as any of us. He experienced the stages of life and growth that all of us experience and go through. His growth was natural and normal. As a child, he grew in wisdom and stature, Luke tells us. The Bible does not indicate that Jesus had any adult capacities as an infant or as a child. He could have, but we have no such biblical authentication. Apparently, he went through the natural growth stages of child development.

Outside of Jesus’ visit to the temple with his family at the age of 12 there is no information pertaining to Jesus’ childhood years. In fact, scholars refer to them as "The Lost Years" of Jesus’ life. And, of course, as you might imagine, there have been many traditions handed down through the centuries pertaining to "The Lost Years" of Jesus’ life. Some traditions have stated that Jesus, as a teenager would have made trips with Joseph of Arimathea to such places as England. Others claim that Jesus traveled to India and the Orient.

There is one rather interesting Gnostic writing attributed to the Apostle Thomas, titled; The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which relays additional stories about Jesus’ youth. In these stories, Jesus comes across as a wonderworking Dennis the Menace, if you will. In fact, one story even has Jesus, as a young boy, striking dead a neighborhood boy for annoying him; but, don’t worry, Jesus brings the boy back to life when his father complains. This writing, of course, is considered forgery and there is no reason to believe it as being accurate or authentic; but it does offer an interesting perspective on "The Lost Years" of Jesus’ life.

However, we do know from historical and biblical records that Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a town with a population of about 2,000 people. Keep in mind, Nazareth was about 3 ½ miles from Sepphoris. In fact, recent archeology has discovered that the city of Sepphoris was a large metropolitan city, which dispels the notion that Jesus grew up in a rural area. Many scholars believe that Jesus’ childhood would not have been much different from most Palestinian children. Living in Nazareth, Jesus would have been exposed to intellectual diversity. He would have attended synagogue school and learned the Torah, along with the history of the Jewish people and, perhaps even learned the Hellenistic and Greek cultures. He would have learned Hebrew, Aramaic and, probably, some Greek. He grew up using his hands as a carpenter. He and his father were renown for making wooden tools – some of which existed even in the 2nd century. But, Jesus’ childhood would have been a common one in regards to his lifestyle and education.

This should say something to us about our own lives and faith! Like Jesus, we too must be willing to grow! We should allow the church to nurture us. The Bible serves as the voice of God for us – a voice of discipline and nurture. And certainly, the purpose of Christ’s coming was that we might have an intimate and personal relationship with God. Yes, one spends most of life outside the cradle.

When Luke recorded that Jesus became strong, he indicated that such strength was given to him. In the same way, we must receive faith and courage, strength and discipline from God. Look at the strength demonstrated by Christ. Jesus is our model and example! Jesus exercised the power of his will and self-restraint. He measured the strength of a man by the power of his feelings he subdued, not by the power of those who subdued him. Jesus’ strength was not unbridled. It was directed and controlled by the will of God. And, in the same way, our lives must be controlled by God’s hand and Spirit! We must achieve a balance! This is what those who study martial arts describe as ki – a balance between the spiritual and the physical. And certainly, our ki – our strength, our balance comes from God!

The same that applied to Christ must also be true of our own lives. Luke tells us, that, "Jesus grew in wisdom." The Bible teaches us that Christ was fully God and fully man – the theological term used to describe this duel nature is kenosis. Jesus grew in wisdom as a man. He did not simply acquire facts or obtain information. You may recall that Paul warned young Timothy not to substitute mere facts for wisdom. He wrote to Timothy saying; "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (II Timothy 3:7). You see, friends, the disciple or student who studies the night before an exam may pass the exam but does not learn. In a world where random data passes for wisdom, we must learn that Jesus came to apply knowledge. The writer of Proverbs wrote; "To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver" (Proverbs 16:16).

God’s gift came to Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago; but friends, it is the gift that keeps on giving! God did not just visit our world – he came to live with us as Emmanuel – God with us! He came to reside with us and, as I pointed out last night - to build his home in our hearts and lives.

In the novel by John Grisham; Skipping Christmas, which was made into a movie, we are told of Luther and Nora Krank who were fed up with all of the crowded malls, the corny office parties, fruit cakes and the unwanted presents of Christmas, that they decided, simply, to skip Christmas. Only, to discover that by skipping Christmas they were missing more than those mere nuisances of Christmas – they were missing a great message – the true message and meaning of Christmas. Yes, sometimes, we may want to simply skip Christmas. But, we must not! Because if we do, we miss out on so much!

Have you outgrown Christmas? I certainly hope not! You see, oftentimes, when we have outgrown something – we abandon it! Perhaps, even give it away! But, we must not abandon Christmas! Now, I don’t think it is possible for me to outgrow Christmas. For me, my inner child always seems to surface around this time of the year! I find myself on an emotional high! But we cannot and we must not outgrow Christmas – for this is one event in a series of events that brought about our salvation. But, at the same time, we cannot remain at Bethlehem’s manager. We have to move beyond the manger – beyond the cradle to the cross and ultimately to the empty tomb. You see, salvation cannot exist without the manger – without the cradle, but neither does the cradle mean anything unless there is a cross and an empty tomb. So, while we do not abandon, or outgrow Christmas, we must move through the life of Christ that ultimately spelled out the story of God’s redemptive plan of salvation.

On this Christmas morning, let us give God thanks and praise for the cradle; but also, for the cross on which this tiny babe would die, and the empty tomb that could not hold his body! Merry Christmas!