How Christmas Helps End Despair Group Curriculum November 29, 2015 Sermon Passage: Isaiah 9:1-6 Curriculum Passage: John 1:1-5, 14 Introduction For the last fifty years, Christmas has been celebrated, in part, with a small group of kids from an unidentified neighborhood, all agonizing over why Charlie Brown picked such a scrawny, lousy Christmas tree. By 1965, Charles Schulz Peanuts comic strip had already become an international phenomenon. Later that year, the Charlie Brown Christmas special debuted to incredible critical acclaim. It has been a classic ever since. Interestingly, the story behind the development of the special involved some significant tension between Schulz, director Bill Melendez and producer Lee Mendelson. Schulz was absolutely determined that Linus van Pelt s character would recite the biblical account of Jesus birth as part of the special. Melendez and Mendelson both felt that religion was too controversial a subject to include in the television special. Melendez recalled that Schulz turned to him and remarked "If we don't do it, who will?" For those familiar with the program, one of its more distinct features is the heavily melancholy tone. The plot revolves around Charlie Brown s despair over not understanding the true meaning of Christmas and his disillusionment with the superficiality of everything associated with its celebration. Keep in mind, this is a kids show. For the first twenty minutes of the show, the viewer watches an increasingly frustrated and anguished Charlie Brown try to chase down the substantive cause for this most significant of seasons. This climaxes in the now universally known cry of desperation from Charlie Brown, ISN T THERE ANYONE WHO KNOWS WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT? Have you ever wondered why this cartoon became a classic? From an overview perspective, it never should have worked. It s about a kid that is depressed, is viewed as pathetic by all his friends, and is apparently, according to Linus, the only person in the world who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. In addition, it has the absolute saddest Christmas music in the history of Christmas music. Why does everyone love it? I think it s because we ask the same questions sometimes. In the midst of growing disillusionment and despair that just do not seem to fit the season, I think we sometimes wonder if we understand what Christmas is all about. So let s take a look. Biblical Background In their composition, each of the gospel accounts of Jesus earthly ministry has certain distinctive traits. These traits help us understand the purpose, audience, and mindset of the author in addressing their immediate audience. These traits can appear in the form of unique content, grammatical structure, repeated themes, literary devices, and particular areas of focus with regard to Jesus ministry. For instance, Matthew opens his gospel 1
account with the Jewish heritage of Jesus, tracing it all the way back to Abraham. In addition, Matthew focuses on the rapidly increasing level of rejection of Jesus as Messiah by Jewish leadership as his gospel unfolds. For those and many other reasons, we can be certain that Matthew s intended purpose and audience was to confirm and support Jesus identity as the Messiah to a predominately Jewish audience. Luke, on the other hand, forthrightly tells his readers that his purpose in writing his gospel and Acts to Theophilus is to provide as historically accurate and precisely organized an account of Jesus ministry and the birth of the New Testament church as possible. To that end, Luke provides more historical markers, such as specific locations, reigning government officials, and coinciding historical events, than any of the other Gospel writers. The Gospel of John, on the other hand, has a feeling and orientation that is completely different from the other three. Whereas Matthew, Mark, and Luke all begin with the horizontal plane in mind (how Jesus ministry impacted other people; person-to-person focus), John opens his gospel account with a heavenly and eternal perspective (vertical plane; God-to-man). John s unique opening sets the tone for the entire account. He focuses more heavily than the other Gospel writers on the divine mystery of Jesus His signs, miracles, and how the world misunderstood Him. We can see that in John s own summary of his intended purpose in John 20:30-31: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Our passage this week is the opening of the book of John. One of the literary methods John used in his Gospel account is a number of stark metaphorical contrasts between Jesus and the world (eternal vs. temporal; life vs. death; love vs. hate). One of the more prevalent contrasts is that of light vs. darkness. In fact, that is the contrast with which John opens his gospel. The Text John begins his account by heavily referring back to the opening of Genesis. Whereas the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) open with attention placed on the entry of Jesus into human history, John opens at the very beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2) There is great theological significance in opening John s Gospel this way, primarily because it predates even Genesis 1:1 in historical scope. Genesis 1:1 s familiar In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, has its point of reference at the moment in which God s omnipotent power came to bear on the creation of everything. John, though, reaches back to the point in eternity past in which there was only God. In John s chronology, anything being made does not get a mention until verse 3. For the first two verses, he focuses exclusively on the eternal pre-existence of the Godhead. This is remarkable considering there was no officially articulated theology of the Trinity when John wrote his Gospel account (70-90 AD). 2
John s use of Word to refer to Christ follows on the heels of the use of Word in the Old Testament. As noted scholar D.A. Carson points out, there [in the Old Testament] the word of God is connected with God s powerful activity in creation, revelation, and deliverance. Indeed, we know from reading through the Old Testament that when God created all that exists in Genesis, it is said that He spoke the entities into existence. Similarly, when God reveals Himself or His will to the leaders of His people, it is explained as the word of the LORD coming to that person. So when John refers to Christ as the Word of God, he intends to connote that all of the power of God for revelation and sovereign rule are found in Christ. All things were made through him and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:3) Moving from the eternally preexistent explanation of Christ, John moves forward in history, so to speak, to Christ s role in creation. Specifically, John makes it clear that the Son was the Agency through which creation came into being. Using both positive and negative confirmation, John illustrates the totality with which creation was governed and shaped by Christ. Some practical application needs to be highlighted at this point, to keep this from feeling like an abstract theology lesson. When we begin the conversation about how Christmas helps to end despair, the very foundation is realizing that Jesus is sovereign over anything in creation. He existed before it. He is God. He is the One through whom everything came into being. What is more, Christmas is the celebration of the one who oversaw creation becoming a part of that same creation. Therefore, the first reason Christmas can help end despair is because Christ is all-powerful to overcome anything in existence. John continues his depiction of Christ. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4) In verse 4, the reader sees John introduce two of his most widely used metaphorical contrasts in the same verse: life vs. death (implied) and light vs. dark (implied). We know the contrast is there because if these characteristics of Christ were not distinctive from what humanity knew apart from Christ, they would not warrant special mention. But in fact, they are the precise opposite of what man experiences apart from Christ! Apart from Christ, there is brokenness, frailty, and sin that leads to death. Despair is a natural result. With Christ, however, there is life and hope. He heals brokenness, strengthens frailty, and conquers death forever. In Him, His very essence, is life. John then links life to light. This is a natural association. Whenever we talk about what despair or hopelessness feel like, the descriptions frequently contain images like I can t see the light at the end of the tunnel, I feel like I m in a hole I can t get out of, or I m confused, I just don t know what to do next. All of these type of statements share a sense of disorientation, darkness, and isolation. The second reason why Christmas can help end despair, then, is because Christ is the source of life and light. We agree with the Psalmist when he says, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Ps. 119:105) The dispelling of despair has as much to do with the clarity and certainty of knowing where to step as it does the ultimate destination 3
of the lighted path. The lighted steps and illumined path are those that lead toward Christ. But there s more. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:5) John, once again, intentionally plays on the language of the creation account. Where Genesis describes the earth as chaotic and formless, shrouded in darkness, the word of God ( Let there be light ) shattered the darkness. As John couches his prologue in the same terms, he means something more. The presence and person of Christ illumines the darkness. This is both glorious and terrifying. The terrifying part is that in His light all sin is seen clearly, with no shadow of shame available for hiding. The surpassing glory, though, is that darkness is put to flight. Never, since the spoken, creative word of God brought light into existence, has darkness of any kind been able to overcome it. The darkness and the light are not equals. Rather, light dispels darkness, taking ground as it advances. More fully understood, John beautifully crafts a dense opening paragraph that depicts a growing, deepening understanding of Christ as the omnipotent, holy, life-giving author of all that is. Verse 5 adds to that list that He is supremely victorious. He has no equal and nothing can come against Him. The third reason that Christmas helps end despair is that where Jesus is, darkness, and anything derivative of it, must flee. John, most intentionally, points out that Jesus is not just Lord of creation, but of re-creation as well, making all things new. This makes the final reason Christmas helps end despair all the more amazing. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) The fourth reason that Christmas helps end despair is because it celebrates that, when we could not go to Him, Christ came to us. In fact, not only could we not go to Him, Paul tells us in Romans 5:7-10 that, as enemies of God, Christ came to us when we wouldn t have gone to Him, even if we were able. Not only is Christ mighty to save, offering light and life where there once was darkness and death He initiates coming to us. Not only did Christ initiate coming to us, doing so means, as the writer of Hebrews makes clear, that He understands every temptation and frailty that we experience. He dwelt among us. However, instead of being overtaken by temptation as we are, He dwelt among us in perfection. To say it the way John does, the Light invaded the darkness, but the darkness could not overtake Him. Instead, He drove the darkness away. The glory John speaks of, then, is that he and the other disciples of Jesus witnessed the fullness of the Father in the Incarnate Son. This is not some obvious glow or aura around Jesus as he travelled throughout Galilee. Rather, it is as Jesus Himself explains to His disciples in John 14:9: Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, Show us the Father? The glory, full of grace and truth, is the presence of God among us. The Text in Life Christmas has come to mean a lot of different things. In some circles, it is the biggest commercial season of the year. For some, even the name of the holiday is a point of 4
contention. One of the things that is statistically true about the Christmas season is the increased level of relational anxiety, depression, and despair among people. The reasons for such an increase range from unmet expectations of what the season would bring, to familial strife, to a heightened sense of loneliness. Regardless of the reason, the need for an answer to despair is dire. The ability for Christmas to help end despair, instead of causing it, is grounded in understanding our passage. First, Christmas celebrates that Christ loves us so much that He came to us. He came to us to do for us what we could never accomplish for ourselves; namely, restore us to fellowship with God and atone for our sin. Doing so cost Him his very life. Many of us have heard the Gospel before and understand that. However, somewhere in the process of understanding, we can forget to internalize and personalize it. So prayerfully consider this: Christmas celebrates Jesus loving you so much that He came to get you. It cost Him everything and yet He didn t hesitate. Whatever this world seeks to get you to believe about your value, your Savior says you are worth the greatest price He could pay. Second, because Christ is the one that drives out darkness, ending despair depends on a deepening, growing relationship with Christ. That should not be understood as merely knowing more about Christ. Instead, it means a relationship that is deepened through personal worship, prayer, and demonstrating the love of Christ to others. Doing so identifies us with the Savior who loves us. Pursuing intimacy with Christ, instead of a checklist approach to faith, transforms us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Third, Christmas helps end despair by presenting numerous opportunities to minister to others. There aren t many times during a calendar year that can match the Christmas season s ability to emphasize ways we can tangibly meet the needs of others. By providing a sense of hope for others, we invariably alter our own perception of the world around us. Christmas awakens us to the reality that the world we live in is not random or far from God s care. Instead, Christmas reminds us that our world is so greatly loved by God that the Creator volitionally stepped out of the majesty and perfection of eternal worship, passed through the curtain that separates eternity from the temporal, and walked among us as one of us. The purpose for His coming was to free us, and all of creation, from sin and its consequences. The core of Christmas ability to end despair is in Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). Discussion Questions 1. What reasons can you think of that would cause people to feel a sense of despair during the Christmas season? 2. How do you protect worship during your Christmas season from getting lost in all the activity and busyness? 3. How would you explain the complexity of John 1:1-5 in your own words to a friend? 4. What expectations do you have for the Christmas season? What events do you anticipate attending? What destinations do you expect to visit? Who do you expect to spend time with? 5. Which Christmas carol best proclaims God s love for you? Why? 5