It's only been three days since Christmas came and went this year. But in some ways, it already feels like it's been weak since Christmas happened, doesn't it? I mean, over the last three days, the Christmas music has stopped playing. Over the last three days, you've started packing up half of the decorations that you put out and carried them back up to the attic or down to the basement.
Over the last three days, all the wrapping paper has been hauled out to the trash can. Over the last three days, Christmas trees started coming down that some of y'all started putting up as soon as Halloween was over this year. It's only been three days since Christmas this year. But the magic of Christmas morning has already started to fade away.
Christmas is coming on for another year. And at this point, most of us are ready for our lives to get back to normal. And honestly, that's kind of the way that Christmas feels every year, isn't it? We spend weeks, if not months, getting ready and preparing for Christmas to come.
We spend days looking online or in stores trying to find the perfect gifts for everyone on our list. And then we spend countless hours trying to wrap all of those presents, making sure that they're covered in pretty paper with beautiful bows. That doesn't even touch on the time that we spend decorating our houses with Christmas trees and Christmas ornaments with lights and garlands and all of those kinds of things. And that doesn't even start talking about the time that we spend planning out our elaborate Christmas parties and meals that we're going to eat, as well as working on those complex travel itineraries that we have to resolve sometimes to make sure that all of our family is able to be in the same place at the same time.
Christmas has come and it has gone for yet another year. And when it comes and when it goes, it happens so fast. Most years, we just can't wait for Christmas to come. And then when Christmas arrives, it goes just as quickly.
And we're all ready to move on to the next thing. In a lot of ways, the way that we treat Christmas reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas traditions, and that's the way that my family opens up our presents on Christmas Day. And like many of your families, when it's time to open presents, we all gather together in some semblance of a circle around the Christmas tree in my parents' house. And then all the kids in the family will start passing out the presents, and slowly but surely, all of us will have a small mountain of presents that pile up beside of us to open up on Christmas Day.
And once the final present is passed out, then it is time to open those gifts. And I found that families generally have two approaches that you take to opening presents on Christmas morning. You can either take the first approach, and that first approach I call the tornado style of opening presents. And if you follow this approach, everybody opens all their presents at the exact same time.
So as soon as the last gift is passed out, everybody tears into their presents, and wrapping paper starts flying through the air, and in less time than it takes you to name Santa's reindeer, all of the gifts are open. And your living room looks like a tornado just went tearing through it. Then there's the other approach that you can take to opening gifts, and this is the one that my family takes. And there's only one way to describe this other approach to opening Christmas presents, and that is agonizingly slow.
In this method, everybody takes turns opening a gift, one present at a time, so that everyone in the family can see what gifts have been given. And I can tell you, now that I'm an adult, I actually appreciate this approach to opening Christmas gifts. But when I was a kid, it was sheer agony. I mean, I would have this mountain of presents that were piled up beside me, but I had to wait my turn to open a gift.
And then when it was my turn, and I finally got to pull back that wrapping paper, and I found a cool transformer, a new ninja turtle, I got to enjoy that present for about five seconds before I had to put it down so that the next person could take their turn opening their Christmas gift. And that's kind of the way that we treat Christmas. That's kind of the way that we approach Christmas. We're in a hurry.
We can't wait to open Christmas up, to receive Christmas. We can't wait for Christmas to come. But once it finally comes, once we have it, we set it aside, and we get ready to move on to the next thing. But that's not how Christmas is supposed to be.
Christmas is supposed to look like it does for the kids in my family. Because I can tell you that over the last 14 Christmases now, I've had plenty of opportunities to watch the kids in my family and how they respond to our whole gift-giving ritual. And when one of the kids in my family, my daughter, my nieces, or my nephews, when they get a present and they open that present, they are all about that present. That present is the only thing in the world that matters to them at that moment.
So if they open up a book, they want to start reading that book immediately. If they open up a coloring book, they want to get down on the floor and they want to start coloring. If they open up a doll, they want to start playing with that doll. If they open up pajamas, they want to put on those pajamas.
It doesn't matter to them that they have this mountain of presents that are piled up beside them. They just want to enjoy the gift that they've received in that moment. And over the years, I have seen plenty of times that that pouty little lip comes out for my daughter or my nieces or my nephews when one of their parents has to reach in and lovingly pry that present that they just opened up out of their fingers so that we can set it aside so that the next person can take their turn That pouty lip says that they just want Christmas to slow down. That pouty lip says that they want to enjoy what they have instead of rushing on to the next thing.
They want to enjoy what they have instead of rushing on to the next thing. And there's actually part of the original Christmas story that tells us to do that exact same thing, to slow down, to not rush on to the next thing. But we don't really listen to this part of the Christmas story. So today I want to make sure that we listen to this part of the Christmas story.
So if you've got a Bible closed by or Bible app on your phone, I encourage you to open it to Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2. And in Luke chapter 2, we're going to find the story of two people who have been waiting their whole lives for Christmas to come. And I want you to pay attention to how they respond when Christmas finally comes, when they know that Jesus has been born.
So take a look at Luke chapter 2 together. We're going to start reading in verse 22. This is what Luke tells us. He writes, When the time came for their ritual cleansing, in accordance with the law from Moses, they brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
For it's written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord. They offer sacrifice in keeping with what's stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle oafs or two young pigeons. A man named Simeon was in Jerusalem. He was righteous in the about.
He eagerly anticipated the restoration of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he wouldn't die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Led by the Spirit, he went into the temple area. Meanwhile, Jesus' parents brought the child to the temple so that they could do what was customary under the law.
Simeon took Jesus in his arms and he praised God. He said, Now, master, let your servant go in peace according to your word, because my eyes have seen your salvation. You prepare the salvation in the presence of all peoples. It's a light of revelation for the Gentiles and a glory for your people, Israel.
His father and mother were amazed by what was said about him. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, This boy is a sign to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that generates opposition, so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed, and a sword will pierce your innermost being, too. There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Anuel, who belonged to the tribe of Asher. She was very old, and after she married, she lived with her husband for seven years.
She was now an 84-year-old widow. She never left the temple area, but worshipped God with fasting and prayer night and day. She approached at that very moment and began to praise God and to speak about Jesus to everyone who was looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. When Mary and Joseph had completed everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to their hometown, Nazareth, in Galilee.
The child grew up and became strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's favor was on him. Now, as this story begins, I can't help but picture a family who is in a little bit of a rush. This passage tells us, it starts by saying, when the time came for their ritual cleansing.
And when I read those words, I just can't help but feel that when this time came for the ritual cleansing to happen, that when Mary and Joseph walk into the temple, they let out this great big old sigh of relief. Because once this ritual cleansing is finished, they're able to go back home. They're able to return to Nazareth, and they're able to get on with the rest of their lives. So in a lot of ways, when I read about Mary and Joseph at the beginning of the story, I can't help but picture them being like a young couple who is running into Kroger to grab a gallon of milk or a pack of diapers.
They want to be in, and they want to be out as quickly as they possibly can. But once they're in the temple, they run into a man named Simeon. And Simeon scoops their baby out of their arms, and everything changes. When Simeon grabs hold of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are forced to slow down.
They're not looking at their watches, wondering if they're going to be able to make it to their appointment with the priest on time so the ritual cleansing can be taken care of and then get back on the road. No, they stop and they have to listen to what this elderly man has to say about their newborn child. And what Simeon is able to do in the story is kind of remarkable, because he does manage to get these two frantic parents who have just welcomed their first child into this world. And if you've ever welcomed a baby into the world, you know how frantic the first few weeks and months of their lives can be.
But Simeon gets them to stop and to think about who their child is and what his birth means. We need to do that same thing at Christmas. We need to stop rushing past Christmas and slow down to remember what Christmas means. We need to stop rushing past Christmas once December 25th has been marked off our calendars and slow down to remember what Christmas really means.
And what does Christmas really mean? Well, I don't think that you find a much better explanation than the one that's the man who's been waiting his entire life for Christmas to come gives us. So what is it that Simeon says to us? Well, Simeon holds Jesus in his arms.
He reminds Mary and Joseph, and he reminds all of us that this baby in his arms isn't just another child. He reminds Mary and Joseph that the baby in his arms isn't even just their child. This is a child who was born for us all. As Simeon puts it himself, he says that Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and a glory for your people Israel.
Or to put it another way, what Simeon tells us is that Jesus is God made human and that Jesus came for us all. So Christmas reminds us that God became one of us. That's what the meaning of Christmas is. Christmas is a reminder that God became one of us.
The same God who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The same God who spoke our universe into existence. The same God who hung the stars in the skies. That God became human.
That God became one of us and walked the same earth that we do. And he did that for you. God wanted to know what it was like to be you, so God became like you. God wanted to experience your joys and your sorrows.
God wanted to experience your successes, your triumphs, as well as your struggles. God wanted to experience your hopes, your dreams, as well as your fears. God wanted to know what it was like to be hungry, to be thirsty, to be tired at the end of a long holiday season. God wanted to know what it was like to be rejected, what it was like to suffer, what it was like to grieve.
God wanted to know what it was like to be human. So God actually became human. And that's something that Simeon understood as he stood there in the temple holding Jesus. Simeon understood that he was holding God in his arms.
So Simeon doesn't rush past that moment. Simeon stands there. He stops. And he just holds baby Jesus in his arms.
And he savors this moment that he has been waiting his entire life to experience. And that's not just something that was true for Simeon in this story. Luke also tells us that there was someone else, a prophet named Anna, who as soon as she hears that the Christ child has arrived in the temple, she goes running over to meet with Mary and Joseph so that she can celebrate what's happened. And Luke tells us that Anna was 84 years old.
She'd been a widow most of her life. And now she spent almost her entire life inside the temple. She never left. She stayed in that place praising, worshiping, waiting.
And when she finds out that Jesus has arrived in the world, she doesn't let that moment go rushing past. She slows down. She celebrates what God has done. And then she goes around the temple telling everyone else that's there about who this child is.
And in the story, Simeon and Anna both understand something that's easy for us to forget about. They understand that Jesus' birth is so important that we can't just go rushing past it. They understand that Jesus' arrival is so significant that it's not just something you mark off of a checklist and move on to the next thing. No, they understand that Jesus' birth is so important that it deserves our full attention.
And that's something that we all should realize in the aftermath of Christmas. But the problem is that there are so many other things that vie for our attention this time of year that keep pushing us past Christmas even if we're not ready to move on yet. At this point of year, there are family commitments that we need to keep before 2025 turns into 2026. There are decorations that we want to take down and put away before a new calendar year begins.
There are New Year's Eve parties that we're either planning or planning to attend and there are New Year's Eve resolutions that we're thinking about making or goals that we want to set for another year and move on with our lives to whatever comes next. We need to slow down. We need to stop. We need to do what Simeon and what Anna did.
We need to recognize who Jesus is and what Jesus is coming means for us. And we need to let that reality sink in. Because Christmas isn't just a date on a calendar. Christmas isn't just about December 25th.
Christmas isn't just about presents and decorations and family gatherings. Christmas is about the good news that Christ has come and that Christ has come for you. And that good news is just as good news every day of the year. That good news is just as true on December 28th as it was on December 25th.
It'll be just as true on January 25th as it was on December 25th. It'll be just as true in the middle of July as it was in the middle of December. This is good news that we need to hold on to. But we miss it.
We miss how important this news is when we're so focused on whatever it is that's coming. next that we don't take time to remember what happened so before we move past christmas before we move on to 2026 before we shift our attention to whatever comes next let's slow down let's do what simeon did in the story let's hold this truth that god has become one of us close to us let's realize how significant this is and let it fill us with praise and wonder and let's do what anna did in the story let's tell other people about what we've experienced and share the good news that christ has come so here's what i want to challenge you to do over the next few weeks i want you to take time even if it's just five or ten minutes a week over the next month or so to quietly sit down and spend a little bit more time reflecting on what christmas means don't rush past it don't multitask while you're doing it just sit there and think about what it means that god became like you and he did it for you what does that look like for you well maybe it looks like you sitting down and taking some extra time to read back through the christmas stories and the beginning of the gospel of luke and the beginning of the gospel of matthew again and letting these words sink in rather than rushing past them like you've heard them a thousand times before like we often do this time of year maybe it means that you sit down in front of your christmas tree if it's still up in your house and look at those evergreen branches and think about god's everlasting love for you maybe it means you take a little bit of time you walk around your neighborhood while some of your neighbor's lights are still up and you think about what it means that the light has come into our world but whatever you do slow down slow down stop rushing on to the next thing long enough to let the good news of christmas really sink in because none of the things that are demanding your attention this time of year are as important it's the good news of christmas the news that christ has come that christ has come is a light of revelation to all people that christ has come is god made human that christ has come for you so before you rush on to the next thing on your to-do list before you pack away christmas completely for another year slow down remember what the season is about celebrate the good news of christmas and carry that good news with you into the new year because the same jesus who was born in bethlehem the same jesus who simeon held in his arms the same jesus who anna praised and proclaimed in the temple that jesus is still with us that jesus doesn't go away because christmas is coming on for another year that jesus is with us every single day and that's worth slowing down for that's worth savoring that's worth carrying with you after the decorations come down and life starts getting back to normal let's pray god as we come to you in this time of prayer you know that right now we are in a period of year where we want to rush on to the next thing we want to hurry to get our christmas decorations taken down and put away we want to hurry on to enjoy whatever new year celebrations we're planning on participating in we want to hurry on to get all of our christmas presents put away we want to hurry on to so many things but god let us slow down let us slow down and remember what christmas is really about christmas tells us that you became human you the god who created the heavens and the earth and everything in them came down to walk on this earth and you did it for us you did it so that you would know what it's like to be one of us to understand all of our joys and all of our sorrows all of our ups and all of our downs you did that let us not rush past the wonder of the season just because we've heard this message that at christmas christ became one of us let us reflect on what it really means and help us to remember that you were still with us that same jesus who was born in bethlehem walks beside us every single day we pray this in his name amen