How many of you sent Christmas cards this year?  Maybe I should also ask how many of you are still planning on sending  Christmas cards this year? I read a story recently about a woman who had waited till the last minute to send 50 Christmas cards to her family and friends!  She rushed into the store and bought the last box of 50 Christmas cards without really looking at them.  Still in a big hurry, she addressed 49 of the 50 cards, signed them and mailed them without reading the message inside!
       On Christmas Day, when things had settled down somewhat she opened the last card and finally read the message she had sent to 49 of her friends!  She almost fell off her chair as she read the card!  It said, “THIS CARD IS JUST TO SAY- A LITTLE GIFT IS ON THE WAY!”  Suddenly she realized that 49 of her friends were now expecting a gift from her that she had not planned on giving and wasn’t going to be able to send- a PERSONAL GIFT THAT WOULD NEVER COME!
       That is definitely not the case with the Christmas greeting that God has given to us- a Promise of a Gift that is fulfilled in His Son Jesus Christ!  We read in Luke 2: TODAY IN THE TOWN OF DAVID A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU! AND WE COULD EACH PLACE OUR NAMES IN THE TEXT!  God didn’t announce the Birth of Jesus with  an impersonal card- but with angels telling the shepherds the news which they shared with others!  And the angels gave us the response to this Greeting, “GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST AND ON EARTH, PEACE GOODWILL TO MEN!
       If we stand in the shepherd’s fields just east of Bethlehem long enough to listen to the angels, we won’t be able to keep from thanking God for the “PERSONAL MESSAGE” they bring!  Here are the angels singing in this choir with praise and joy!  So this Christmas, let’s listen to the angel’s song- actually 2 songs- “GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST” and ON EARTH PEACE, GOODWILL TO MEN!”  Would you say them with me?
       The angels were giving us a “PERSONAL GREETING” from God announcing the birth of Jesus Christ.  Why does this event merit such beautiful words and songs?  Because it shows the Lord’s determination and willingness to do anything and everything that His people need in order to be saved and to live forever with Him in heaven.  And God sent that Gift of Jesus in a most personal way and special way!
       A South African Diamond miner found one of the world’s largest diamonds.  It was the size of a small lemon.  The miner needed to get the diamond safely to the company’s office in London because word spread quickly about this discovery.  So the miner put it in a steel box and hired 4 men to guard it. 
       When the box arrived in London and the company opened it up, all they found was a lump of coal.  3 days later the diamond arrived by parcel post in a plain brown package.  The owner figured that most people would pay no attention to an ordinary cardboard box and that it would arrive safely that way!
       That is what the angels were celebrating in our text- a diamond in a plain cardboard box.  Jesus Christ lying in a manger in flesh and blood being sent to be the Savior of the world!  He arrived safely and on time to accomplish His purpose to be the Savior of the World!
       What did Jesus do for us?  He gives us “PEACE”, peace with God and peace with one another! Jesus Christ arrived as a baby to take our sin upon Himself and by His death pay its price and rise again as the conqueror of sin, death and hell!  Because Jesus Christ did all of this, we can again have peace with God and the peace of eternal life in heaven.
       This peace is a gift of God’s grace.  He looks at us from His throne and says, “I CANNOT CONDEMN YOU!  Your punishment has been taken by Jesus. Today he says to us through the angel choir “PEACE- PEACE ON EARTH GOODWILL TO MEN!”
       A former German soldier once told a true story about his own experience with Christmas peace.  The story occurred in World War 1.  The soldiers were miserable in the trenches as it was cold and they had been fighting for many months.  Suddenly, without notice, the shooting stopped on Christmas Eve although there had not been any formal cease fire announced.  On both sides, soldiers rested and basically it was quiet that night!
       The next morning, the soldier noticed something extraordinary as the barbed wire had been cut in front of the trench and there was a package sitting there with a note on top.  He opened the package   and  found some chocolate bars and several packages of cigarettes with the note “PEACE ON EARTH!”  It was obvious that some enemy soldier had evidently crossed over no man’s land and risked his life to deliver a personal Christmas offering of peace to an enemy he had never personally seen!
       And the angels also announce “GOODWILL” to men or as it is also translated, “PEACE ON EARTH TO THOSE ON WHOM HIS FAVOR RESTS!”  This talks about God’s love and acceptance of us as His people and His desire to take care of us in a personal way!
       Let me suggest some ways for us to be a part of God’s Goodwill here on earth as we give glory to God in the Highest!  Mend a quarrel- Contact  a forgotten friend- Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Share your blessings. Give a soft answer- Keep a promise-Find the time for God and others- Forgive an enemy- Listen- Apologize if you were wrong- Think first of somebody else- Appreciate- Be Kind- Be Gentle- Laugh a little- Laugh a little more-Express your thankfulness- Go to church- Welcome a stranger- speak of God’s love- speak it again- speak it still again!  
       An angel from God announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds personally and it soon turned into a choir of angels announcing the birth of Jesus Christ with God’s gift of peace, goodwill and joy!  It is intended to be a sing along giving thanks and glory to God for His greatest “PERSONAL CHRISTMAS GIFT AND GREETING” in His Son Jesus Christ!

Copyright © 2007 by Pastor Mark Cattau.  All rights reserved.

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  Epiphany logo designed and provided by Dale Bargmann at daleb@ecentral.com