Dear friends, we people are really pretty silly sometimes.  With all our learning we don't seem to have learned yet what's important.  Once again this year we have spent hundreds of hours and billions of words debating what to call the season, and how to greet each other.  But no matter what we call it, it doesn't change what it is - It's Christmas.  And all who have come to this church or any Christian church this weekend have come because it's Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Christ, the nativity of our Lord and Savior.  So go ahead and say it, "Merry Christmas!"  May all who are here tonight say it without shame or hesitation or anything but what it was meant for: "Merry Christmas!"

          How far we have come from that night.  We've had 2,000 years worth of inventions, two millennia of developing civilizations, twenty centuries of advances in education, the arts, sciences and human knowledge.  And despite all our wealth and technology and modern life, we still are befuddled by Jesus of Nazareth, or Yeshua ha Nosari, as He was known during His adult life, the baby born in the manger in Bethlehem.  We just don't know what to do with Him.

          But tonight, I don't want to analyze Jesus, I don't want to theorize about Him, or hypothesize or demythologize or put Him under the microscope of historical criticism.  For a few moments I just want to sit in wonder of Him like the Wise Men did, or to watch in awe a sleeping newborn baby like the shepherds did, or to worship Him in song like the angels did.

          Because tonight is Christmas Eve, the eve of the mass of Christ, the eve of His birth.  In a small stable long ago Mary gave birth to about 8 lbs of brand new baby boy.  And whether He cried or didn't, or whether the stable was pleasant and lovely or drafty and smelly -- none of that matters tonight.  Jesus, the son of Mary and the Son of God, was born in Bethlehem for you and for me, and tonight that's all that really matters.

          The world was changed forever that night of His birth.  Without Jesus there would be no hope in this world.  Hope is the anticipation of something good, and without His life, there would be nothing good to anticipate.  Without Jesus there would be no joy to the world, no forgiveness, no Christmas carols, no peace on earth, good will towards men.  But with Jesus we have hope and joy and forgiveness and music and peace.  With Jesus we have a world that was changed forever.

          62 years ago the two most powerful men in the world met on a ship off the coast of Malta.  There they discussed big things, things of import and influence.  But those great leaders, Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt, did not have one iota of the influence on the world as compared with two women who met 2,000 years ago in the hill country of Judah.  I'm speaking of Mary and Elizabeth.  From their long conversation comes a song, which Elizabeth spoke to Mary, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.  And blessed are all those who hear Him, believe Him, and follow Him in the ways of God's peace and forgiveness."

          The birth of Jesus changed the world forever.  His followers believed He was the Son of God, and their faith changed the world.  Christianity brought down the pagan Roman Empire, it built cathedrals and universities, developed science and the arts, gave birth to democracy and freedom, and most of all, changed the lives of millions of people, making them worthy by God's grace of life with God.

          No one can fully comprehend what the world would be like without Jesus.  C. S. Lewis once wrote that either Jesus is who he says He is, or he is the biggest madman the world has ever known.  And some people do not think well of Him.  A minister wearing a clerical collar was waiting at a stop light downtown when a fellow nearby verbally attacked him.  He called him names and said the church was the cause of the world's troubles.  The man ended his tirade with, "I'm sure glad I'm an atheist who believes in reincarnation."  Thinking fast, the minister said, "Better luck next time!"

          One hopes that fellow thought over what the pastor said.  Of course, it would have seemed better to have given him a Gospel presentation right there, but I don't think that fellow would have stopped to listen.  A good share of the world doesn't want to listen to reason or argument about Jesus.  They just want to be angry at Him and oppose Him.  But that's not new.  King Herod felt that way about Jesus, and look where it got him.  A major religion of the world arose to oppose Him and now they live on war and oppression, not peace and freedom.

          The birth of Jesus changed the whole world.  Some economists have tried to explain the changes in a world without Jesus, but that impact is only felt here in America.  North America, you know, is no longer the center of Christianity, nor is Europe as it once was.  If the center of Christianity is determined by numbers, then Africa comes in first, then China.  Even Hindu India has more Christians than Europe.  The birth of Jesus changed the face of the earth, giving it hope for life and God's mercy in the life to come.

          The baby born in Bethlehem didn't cause such a big commotion at His birth as He did later when He grew to manhood.  Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God in our hearts.  He loved the unlovable, touched the untouchable, and welcomed the outcast.  He healed the sick, raised the dead, cast out demons and blessed little children.  This obscure Jewish Rabbi lit up the darkness of the world and changed everything for the better.

          One solitary life changed everything.  Jesus was born in the suburbs of Jerusalem, the child of a peasant woman.  He grew up in a small obscure village, worked as a carpenter until He was thirty and for three years was an itinerant preacher.  He never owned a home, never wrote a book, never held an office, and never had a family.  He never went to college, never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born and never did the things that usually accompany human greatness.  He had no credentials but Himself.

          While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him.  His friends ran away.  One of them denied Him, another betrayed Him.  He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a public trial.  He was nailed to a cross between two thieves, while His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth, a coat.  When He was dead, He was buried in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

          Nineteen long centuries have come and gone, and yet today He is a centerpiece of the human race and leader of the column of progress.  Of all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that were ever built, all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of mankind upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life.

          In  A.D. 353, Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Christ.  Who would have ever thought that it would become as secular as it is today?  In 1536, when Martin Luther brought the first evergreen tree inside to celebrate the birth of Christ, who would ever have thought that today nearly every house, store and public place would have a Christmas Tree?  In 1832, when Professor Charles Follen lit candles on the first decorated Christmas tree in America, who would have ever thought that Christmas decorations would become as elaborate as they are today?  It's been a long time since 1832 -- or 1536 -- or 353 A.D., and yet today Christmas pervades the entire world.  Go to South America, and they are celebrating Christmas.  Go to southeast Asia and Christmas decorations - even Christmas songs - are everywhere.  Today virtually everywhere in Africa, Asia, Europe, Russia, Australia, even China, you will find evidences of Christmas.  And no matter what we call it, it doesn't change what it is - it's Christmas.

          And so, tonight let us all take a moment to remember the importance of the babe of Bethlehem whose birth we celebrate, whose birth has changed the whole world.  And may His birth change you and your whole world as well.  For the son of Mary is the holy Son of God - your Lord and your Savior, amen

Copyright © 2005 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.