"Christmas on the Big Screen: Hope"
Dean AngellDecember 23/24, 2006
This whole Christmas thing is quite a deal isn’t it? I went shopping yesterday, anybody else go? I only had 2 stops on the busiest shopping day of the year, McNally Robinson & Winners.
At McNally’s, I fight to get in the parking lot, fight to park and finally get in, and then couldn’t get into the store because the line up to the till went right to the front door. No kidding. I thought they were giving stuff away. I’ll go back later.
It took me 20 minutes to get from McNally’s to Winner’s in my car. It would have been faster to walk. The parking lot was hazardous – aggressive women drivers. I decided, smile and let someone go ahead of me. Great, but then as I started to go to my spot, the most aggressive driver I’ve ever encountered went around me, cut me off and went into the spot I was waiting and signaling for. It was a dog eat dog world at Winner’s yesterday.
I got done, went back to McNally’s, same line up: I’ll try tomorrow.
Statistics:
1. 75% of shopper’s today and yesterday - men
2. Visa – 3000 transactions / second in North America today
3. Christmas is a 20 billion dollar business this year in Canada alone
Most of it has nothing to do with Christmas.
Folks, I’m glad you’re here and I am so glad that we can just slow it down for a few minutes and get our lives centered tonight.
One of my favorite songs at Christmas time is called “O Little Town of Bethlehem”; tons of spiritual truth in the words. One great line in that song says this, “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee (Jesus) tonight”. Ever since I was a little kid, the combination of the words in that phrase have hit me. In fact, one of the most profound moments I’ve ever had in church happened when I heard Kelly Graham talk about hope and fear and Christmas.
Now, to get what this phrase is really meaning we have to be clear on a couple of words and what they mean:
Hope – “The expectation of something desired.”
Fear – “Dread, alarm, anxiety; an unpleasant emotion caused by coming evil, hardship, danger.”
Are there any two definitions that seem farther apart? And yet, that song says that “the hopes and fears of all the years” were met in the coming of Jesus on that first Christmas.
See, here’s what I think. I think most of us have both of these emotions running simultaneously inside of each of us all the time. I mean, isn’t it true that most of us, even if we have to push ourselves, can see hope for the future?
We have this list, even if it’s a secret list, for our lives. We hope to lose some weight. We hope to grow a new friendship. We hope to create some extra income. We hope to have a great marriage or go on a winter vacation. We hope to be great parents or we hope to sail through college. We hope to beat an addiction or stop a divorce, or get a job, or find peace with God and calm for our souls. Most of us have some kind of list filled with hopeful thoughts.
But here’s the kicker. Most of us have a fear list going as well and it sits just below the surface and it’s very real but it’s also really hard to face. That fear list looks a little different than our hope list. We fear that our struggling marriage actually will crash on the rocks, and we fear what that would mean. We fear that money will always be tight or we fear that life will always be hard like it’s always been. And we fear that that lump just might be cancer, or we fear we’ll never be able to stop drinking or gambling or drugs or pornography or the 56 other addictions we might have. We fear losing loved ones and we fear that our past is ruining our present. And we fear that we will fail and all these fears of ours force us to lose our hope; and living without hope is a very dark place.
So here’s what I think. I think lots of us are “2 list” kinds of people. Hope and fear are inside each of us all the time and yet this Christmas song says, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”
When I first thought about that line I assumed that those 2 words, hope and fear, were opposites. I mean, don’t they seem to be at different ends of the spectrum? But they’re not really. Hope and fear are not opposites. I actually think they are much more intertwined in our lives than we might realize.
Here’s what I’m getting at. I think hopes and fears have to go together in our world just like darkness and light. It’s kind of a “ying and yang” thing; you can’t really have one without the other. And yet, many of you might say, “well Dean, I’ve had significant times in my life where I’ve had big fear going on and very little hope”. But, I would argue that it’s hope that brought you through that fear. In fact I will almost guarantee that the key ingredient that generates hope in our lives is always fear – darkness always leads to the Light.
So, let me give you a new definition of hope because hope is not the absence of fear. Hope is the ability to see faith through your fear. Hope is all about the ability to see Light in the midst of darkness because people, darkness and light, hope and fear, go hand in hand and whether you’re hope-filled tonight or fearful this night, God has something to say to you about Christmas and Jesus and your faith.
“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”
You know it was just like that on that first Christmas night where hope and fear, and darkness and light went together. The Bible records that it was in the darkness of night that the angels came to tell those lonely shepherds the good news of Jesus’ birth - darkness broken by the light of heaven. And what was that angel’s opening line to those shepherds? “Do not fear. I bring you good news of great joy. Today in Bethlehem a Savior has been born – He is Christ the Lord”. Darkness broken by light, hope that shattered fear and then if you carry on in the Christmas story - the 3 wise men who brought gifts to Jesus also walked in fear and darkness. The Bible says that they came from the East from a far-away land to worship this newborn baby and that they followed a star.
Well as I read that I could only assume that if they followed a star to Jesus that would mean they traveled a lot at night in a strange land walking in darkness – following a light. Hopes and fears, darkness and light are always attached.
And then what about Mary herself? The Bible says that an angel comes to her with this crazy story about her having a baby, but she wasn’t married and she was a virgin. How could all that happen, and why her and what would it be like to hold God’s son? Hopes and fears all mixed together I am sure, and in the middle of that Mary had this great line when she got the news from the angel that all this would happen. She said in Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant. May it happen to me as you have said”. And when she spoke that, fear was being pushed back by the hope of God; darkness was being shattered by God’s light. Her faith created hope and light around her.
You know, on a couple early mornings this week I got thinking about all of you and about Christmas and about this church and about how special these moments are that we get to have together on this night. I also got thinking about what causes darkness in our lives, what gives us light, about what we fear and what we hope for, and it got me thinking again - 3rd week in a row - about some verses written a long time ago in the Bible about Jesus’ birth and what it might mean for us:
Isaiah 9:2, 6a & 6c (NIV)
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death (and darkness and fear) a light has dawned. For unto us a child is born and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”.
Folks, listen to those words. Don’t you think this world, and our lives and families need a Wonderful Counselor? A Mighty and Just God? An Everlasting Perfect Father and a Prince who brings Peace? Kinda sounds right to me.
Don’t you think that people living in war torn countries need their fear’s replaced by hope this Christmas?
Don’t you think people living with the fear of disease or starvation or abuse need a little light shone on their darkness?
Don’t you think each of us who feels alone or confused or fearful or depressed or stressed out need some hope for the pieces of our lives that live in darkness?
Folks, I need to tell you the truth this Christmas. Jesus is the only light who will push back the darkness in our lives and in this world this Christmas. In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world . . . whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life”.
See, here’s what Christmas is really about. It’s about understanding that Jesus came to this earth for the sole reason of shining a light into our souls. He came that we might see that new light and that new love and a new hope and a different kind of peace become realities in our lives even though we live, at times, in a very dark world.
The prophet Isaiah gave Jesus another name – Emmanuel – which means “God with us”. Folks, the message of Christmas Eve is probably the simplest message in all of history but has the most profound impact in all of history as well. Here it is. To battle a world filled with darkness and lives that have been riddled by sin and suffering, God has devised a very simple plan with massive results. He sent His Son, Jesus - the Light of the world, into our lives to be our light; to be our hope. He sent Emmanuel (God with us), so that “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light. For unto us a child is born”.
See folks, the difference between walking in darkness and walking in light throughout our lives is all about Emmanuel. It’s about God with us.
There’s a great verse in the Bible that talks about who God is and what He does. “God reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness and light dwells within Him.” Hope dwells in God.
So let me ask you, what is it that’s creating darkness in your life tonight? Is it a lack of peace? A fear of what’s gonna happen to this world? A fear of the future? A fear of failure? People, fear is only the absence of peace. I’m here to tell you that peace too can be found this Christmas.
What is creating darkness and fear in your life tonight? Is it a lack of hope? Are finances crushing you? Do you have relationship struggles that aren’t getting better? Family pressure that won’t end? All these things can cause our hope to fade. Hope is a huge light-giver in our lives. But when hope is gone, the light seems so very far away. Hope is in high demand this Christmas, but I’m here to tell you that hope is available.
What is it that is creating darkness in your life? Is it absence of love? Don’t feel loved? Can’t love yourself? Can’t love others? Is there something inside you that kinda malfunctions when it comes to love? I mean, I don’t think there is anything darker than a sense of not being loved.
Love is so desperately needed in our lives. I’m here to tell you that it is available this Christmas from only one source – God. Did you know that’s how the Bible defines God in a very straightforward, simple definition. God is Love.
I don’t know lots of things about your life and I don’t know what might be creating darkness for you this Christmas. Everyone’s story is different. I don’t know what crushes your hope or what fears steal your peace or what robs you of love in your life. I don’t know what specifically causes darkness for you, but there’s one thing I do know. I know how to help you find the light. I don’t know a lot of things but I do know where Light lives. Light lives in Jesus.
Jesus, the Light of the world. Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Jesus, the Everlasting Father. Jesus, the definition of love. Jesus, the One who illuminates our souls . . . Jesus.
Folks, my message is simple: Jesus is the Light that we need this Christmas. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light . . . ” and His name is Jesus.
People, it’s Christmas Eve and our goal tonight is simply this: to provide you with some hope and some light, to allow you a few moments where you can choose Jesus where by faith we simply say, “Jesus, I celebrate you this Christmas. Live in my life, light up my heart with your love. Guide me, love me, heal me, cleanse me, hold me and lead me. Jesus, meet me in these moments and fill my life with your light”. That’s why we’re here tonight.
We have a tradition here at Lakeview Church. We light candles on Christmas Eve. Why? What’s the significance? Well, it’s all about light. This candle is called the Christ candle. Tonight, we take the light of Jesus and we allow Him to light up our lives. What you will see happen here is really quite amazing, it’s a miracle when you think about it.
I’m gonna take the light from the Christ candle and I’m gonna pass it to all of you, and as you receive it you’ll see the darkness around you disappear. That’s what the light of Jesus does. It makes the darkness disappear. So, as you receive the light of Christ tonight, try whispering a prayer that says:
“Come Lord Jesus. Breathe light and life to my soul. Take away the darkness. I receive your light. Come Lord Jesus.”
God bless you and Merry Christmas.
