CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT FAMILY
Although this is the 1st Sunday after Christmas, we are certainly still right in the middle of Christmas weekend. And that means that “family” is still fresh in your mind. Because Christmas is a time that we usually spend with our families, isn’t it? Whether it’s with extended relatives or with your immediate family or with friends that you might treat like family, Christmas tends to be one of those special times of year that you share with those closest to you. And that’s a good thing. Time with family can be a moment to catch up on what has been happening in your lives, a chance to talk about things that have occurred between then and now, an opportunity to laugh and joke around and bond…
But, of course, with family comes problems too, don’t they? People that know you well also seem to know how to push your buttons well - and vice versa. When there are a bunch of family members all together for an extended period of time, there will be troubles and worries and anxieties that have to be dealt with, personality traits that have to be put up with, issues that need to be fixed or at least tolerated until everyone goes home. But those dilemmas aren’t all bad, of course. There are some legitimate problems that members of a family rely on each other to tackle together. Sometimes a family serves as a sounding board of sorts for opinions and solutions. People rely on their family members to give them a straight answer, to say it like it is, to give them honest and heart felt evaluations and advice because these are the people that know you the best. These are the people that hopefully care for you and can be trusted to want what’s best for you. It’s nice when you can rely on your family in that way and life is more difficult when you can’t.
Would you allow me to ask you a question that I’ve asked my kids quite a few times this past month? It’s a simple question, but an important one: What’s Christmas really about? “Christmas is about the birth of Jesus.” Of course! You know that: Christmas is the day on which we celebrate Christ being born into this world. But if you were to ask that question to someone else, a non-Christian or at least a non-church goer, that person might say that Christmas is all about giving or all about kindness or maybe even all about family. And I wouldn’t argue with that answer. Christmas is all about family because who was born on Christmas? Jesus! And in a very real way when Jesus was born in Bethlehem 2000 years ago he became family. He became one of us. He was nothing like us before that: he was in heaven, without a body, and unaffected by sin. But after that all-natural delivery of this supernatural child in a backcountry barn in the land of Judea, the Lord himself was actually on earth, with a body, and affected by the sin that was all around him. He made himself like us in every way so that we could be his family. And listen to what he says about his family according to the prophet Isaiah, “‘Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me;’ and so he became their Savior.” We are his people. We are sons - not just children, but firstborn sons - because the eldest son received the family inheritance back in those days and in that culture. And because we are his sons, his people, his family, we can count on him and trust in him to take care of us.
But something bothers me here. Not that we are called his people or that we are called his sons - I’m thrilled with that! I couldn’t be happier to be granted that kind of relationship with the Lord himself! What bothers me is how he describes his family: “Surely they are my people, sons who will not be false to me.” And when I read that I thought to myself, “Well, Lord, that’s not exactly the case. I shouldn’t be “false” to you; I shouldn’t ever let you down or disappoint you or disobey you in any way, but I do. And you know I do. I’m not the good child I really ought to be. I don’t always act the way I should act. I don’t always say the things I should say. Sometimes I am “false” to you; I’m not always true to you like you say that I am.”
And doesn’t that sit in your stomach and just twist and turn and writhe? The fact that God has become a human being, he has become family, and you can count on him for anything in this life - but he can’t count on you. He can’t count on you to be loyal. He can’t count on you to be faithful. He can’t count on you to listen to what he has to say or do the things he asks you to do or be the Christian he wants you to be. And he can’t count on you because you’ve failed him before! You’ve never proved that you could do those things in the past and he knows you won’t be able to do those things in the future! And that really upsets me. It upsets me that I can’t be there for him; that I can’t be reliable and dependable for him like he has always been for me. That I let the most important and loving member of my family down; and I will again. And so will you.
Christ is family but don’t think for a second that God gets anything from us being his family. He drew the short straw - and purposely! He doesn’t gain anything from being related to us; we are the ones that gain all the advantage! We are the ones that get love from this new family member. We are the ones who receive gifts and blessings and the peace of mind that he will always be there for us. And what does Christ get from us in return? A whole lot of sin and a whole lot of ingratitude and a whole lot of selfishness and not much else. It doesn’t sound like something that is all that “fair.” It doesn’t sound like something that is all that great of a deal for our Lord. We have nothing he needs and so we can’t give it to him; he has everything we need and so he gives everything to us. But Jesus is OK with this lopsided relationship because we’re family. He is the ultimate family member: he gives and he gives and he gives and he expects nothing in return. He gives and gives and gives while we take and take and take. He forgives and forgives and forgives no matter how many times we sin against him.
Do you know the story of Ruth? It’s a short little four chapter book in the Old Testament about a young woman named Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi. They lived in the land of Moab where Naomi’s husband died. Then her two sons, one of which was Ruth’s husband, also died. And so when Naomi decided to go back to her homeland of Israel, Ruth went with her. There, in order to gather some food for her and her mother-in-law, Ruth began to pick grain in the fields of a man named Boaz. Boaz turned out to be her “kinsman-redeemer.” A kinsman-redeemer in those days was someone who would “redeem” or buy back something that belonged to a close relative so that they could own it once again. And so, for example if an Israelite had to sell a piece of property to get out of debt, the kinsman-redeemer would then buy the property back for his family member so that they would have something to live off of. “Kinsman” means “relative” and so this person is “a relative who buys something back.” The story of Ruth ends with Boaz not only buying back Naomi’s property, but also marrying Ruth to carry on her family line.
And the reason we’re talking about the story of Ruth this morning and the concept of the kinsman-redeemer is because of something that Isaiah said Jesus has done for us: “In his love and mercy he redeemed [us].” That word “redeemed” comes from the same word that means “kinsman-redeemer.” The Lord, as our close relative, redeemed us, he bought us back. We had sold ourselves to death by sinning, and so he bought us back at his death. And the ransom price was his blood. That is what it took to get us back. That was the price that was required for our salvation. And Jesus was willing to pay it. He didn’t have to. And it wasn’t as if this payment was something he had in his back pocket or deposited in the bank that he could easily part with. This ransom price would take a lot of effort and a lot of time and a lot of pain and a lot of torture. This ransom price would cost Christ his life. But he did not hesitate. And he did not second guess his decision. He took the form of a human being and he got right to work. And for the next 33 years of his life he did not stop working for us. He continually forged ahead toward that goal of the cross and that victory of the empty tomb. He had a singular purpose in mind. And nothing was going to get in his way. Not even death. Because that is what Christ does for his family. He dies for them. He rises for them. He lives for them. And then, as Isaiah says, “He lifts us up and carries us” too.
Jesus’ love just doesn’t stop, does it? Not only does he lower himself to our level, not only does he subject himself to the effects of our sinful world, not only does he allow himself to be tempted by the devil, not only does he let himself be executed by his own people, not only does he win for us our salvation by his own blood, but he then lifts us up and carries us throughout this life! Because we stumble and we fall and we scrape our knees and we stub our toes! We wander off the path and we even go in the wrong direction at times! And so Christ picks us up through his never-changing, always available Word of God and he carries us. He lifts us high above the raging torrents and carries us across the rocky peaks and brings us safely through the dark caverns of sin. He carries us because we can’t get through it on our own. He carries us because our legs aren’t strong enough; our will isn’t determined enough; our hearts aren’t dedicated enough. He carries us because that’s what family does. And he will not let his family down.
Two years ago, on Christmas morning, our neighbor lost her husband. The only family member that she had left in the house was now gone and the problem was: he wasn’t a Christian. He didn’t want to go to church or hear about his Savior. And so on a day that was a celebration for believers all over the country, this new widow next to us was dealing with death. And she probably still doesn’t know if or when she’ll see him again - because she most likely isn’t a Christian either. And so when last Christian came and went this year, she undoubtedly thought of the passing of her husband instead of the coming of Christ. The death of a family member on Christmas Day itself must be hard to deal with. But not even knowing Christ - the greatest family member of all - is even more tragic. That is an even greater loss.
And so I hope that the time you had with your friends and your relatives and your close family was well spent this Christmas. I hope you had time to talk and relax and enjoy each other’s company. But I pray that you also had a chance to get to know your Savior a little better too - the family member who came from a long ways away to visit you, the family member who became like you just to sacrifice himself for you. Because this family member won’t ever die on you again; he’ll never leave you; he’ll never get sick of you. He’ll always be there, watching and guiding and guarding you. Buying you back, lifting you up, carrying you to the end. Christmas is all about family - the family you are a part of because of what Christ has done at his birth, at his death, at his resurrection, and what he does for us every single day. You’re entire life is all about this family. Be proud of that special connection with your Savior here as you look forward to that great family reunion up there.
Amen.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” - Rev. 1:5-6
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