Jesus' Wish List - 1 John 3:14, 16-18; Isaiah 61:1

As I write this sermon I am deep in the process of gift buying and wrapping this holiday season. I like to think of myself as a good gift giver, but year after year it seems to get harder to “top” the gift that I gave last year. It seemed so much easier when I was a kid and could buy the same gift in bulk at Santa’s Secret Workshop at school and give it to everyone. 

There is something beautiful about picking out the perfect gift for someone. Thinking about what it will mean to them. But in our culture we seem to think more expensive gifts are better. And if not more expensive then at least bigger in quantity. As a society we hold to the idyllic image of Christmas presents spilling out from under a large tree, no matter what the cost. And each year the pressure to pick out the perfect gift mounts earlier and earlier, as commercials blast on the TV and radio and holiday catalogs start to arrive in August. We get captivated by advertisements that bombard us instead of focusing on what matters most in the present moment.

If you remember back to just a few years ago, the cost sky rocketed, as a Walmart employee was killed during a Black Friday stamped, and four other shoppers were injured. Our spending habits and Christmas frenzy have gotten out of control and we have to be asking ourselves is this really honoring Christ as we celebrate his birth? Is this our birthday present to Jesus?

Just as much as time we put into picking out the perfect gift for someone else, we need to put that amount of time into thinking what we are going to give Jesus for his birthday. Maybe you’re wondering what exactly Jesus would want for his birthday. What would be on his wish list. We only need to look to this mornings scripture lesson where Jesus states that whatever we do for the least of these we do for him. But what does that look like in action?

For Mike Slaughter’s church it means not only donating the entirety of the Christmas Eve offering to a charity that is important to them, but asking each family to put as much money in the offering plate as they spent on gifts for each other. For other families it means serving together in a soup kitchen. Or handing out gifts to strangers. You need to pray about what it looks like for your family. How you are going to live into this scripture together this holiday season. Remember to be writing down the ways that you have been showing love in action this holiday season and bring them with you to church next week. 

In a world that tells us that it is all about us, Christmas reminds us as Christians we are called to model the life of Christ during the holiday season, and year round. To lay down our lives for others. To bring good news to the poor in spirit. To love our brothers and sisters more than material possessions. To give to those in need. To love in our actions, that show that we believe what we say we believe. 

Those are pretty big things that we are called to model. A way of living that is so contrary to the self-indulgence of the world. In fact, God is using our actions that model the life of Christ to combat evil and despair in this world. You are working on the front lines for the Kingdom of God when you show the love of Christ! Have you ever paused and thought about that. We are not living a way that is radically different because its the nice thing to do or because we are supposed to. But because we are God’s agents of grace in this world communicating the gospel truth. And participation is not optional for those of us who claim to be Christians. You are being sent, empowered by the Holy Spirt, to be the hands and feet of Christ is the world. What are you going to do this season to live into that call in a profound way?

One way that we can all participate in changing the world around us is by giving to the Christmas Eve offering. This year 100 percent of the Christmas Eve offering will be going to the Good Samaritan Fund. This fund was set up by the former Wellsboro District of the United Methodist Church, and is continued in our current Williamsport District, to help families in communities within the district bounds who are going through difficult times. It helps those with immediate unexpected needs, assists agencies that are working with the poor in their area, and can be used as seed money for new ministries that will impact communities in need, especially when those communities involve children. Think about it, every single penny and dollar you put in the offering plate on Christmas Eve will be going to do amazing things for the Kingdom of God. While this is true of every Sunday’s offering, it is especially true of Christmas Eve’s. 

There are many other ways that we can reach out and bless Christ on his birthday. What are you being called to do? What small tokens can you give to God? What ways can you reflect the gratitude you have for God’s mercy and grace shown to us in Jesus Christ? It may be something involving money, or time, or talents - whatever you treasure. What can you give unto God for the glorious work of the Kingdom in the coming weeks? 

Brothers and sisters, God wants you. God has called you. God looks to us to work for the Kingdom of God. Its a difficult calling. And it is contrary to the world around us. Yet we cannot make excuses not to follow God’s calling. God wants us to serve others. To reach out and be the hands and feet in ordinary and unique ways each and every day. How can you do that wherever you may find yourself? What gift will you pick out for Jesus this holiday season? It may not be the most expensive or flashiest gift, but I promise that it will have the power of Christ behind it to impact the world if it comes from your heart. 

Let me conclude with a story I read recently about a young toddler who got what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ. Got what it means to give her very best to Christ as an offering. Chris Heuertz, director of Word May Flesh, a Christian non-profit who works with the poor in various countries, stopped by the office one day and found a package on the desk. When he opened it, it was an odd gift. An unexpected gift. Used pacifiers. He was in a rush, and the gift was a little gross, so he put the package aside and hurried out the door. But someone else found the package and the note that was inside. It explained that the small two year old had a prayer book with pictures that she and her parents prayed over ever night before bed. Some of the pictures in the prayer book are of other children living in poverty, with disease and heartaches around the world and the young girl decided that she needed to reach out to them by sending her “bobbies”. Her pacifiers. Her most prized possession. She was attached to them because they made everything all better for her, but now she wanted to send them to other children so they could be all better too. If a two year old can give up what is most precious to her as a gift to God, as an act of prayer and sacrifice, brothers and sisters, what can we give? It wasn’t the most traditional gift. Or the most expensive, but it was dear to her. And came from the heart. What do we need to let go of and give with blessing to the work of the Kingdom? What gift can we offer Christ for the restoration of our broken world? Amen.