"Living the promise"

Message preached December 19, 2004
Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Glen Arm, Maryland USA
based upon Romans 1:1-7

Order of Worship

            "You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m tellin’ you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He’s making a list. He’s checking it twice. Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows when you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m tellin’ you why: Santa Claus is coming to town."

            Now, I know that’s not a Christmas song we sing all that often - if ever - in church. Especially not in worship. Why? Well, contrary to what you might think, it not because of dear old Santa, and the possibility of confusing him with God - you know, "watching out" for that jolly, old, fat guy instead of looking toward the coming of Jesus. No, that’s not the real reason we don’t sing that song much in church.

            Frankly, I don’t have a problem with Santa Claus. After all, I’m proudly wearing the Santa tie my daughter gave me for Christmas a few years back. The tradition behind St. Nick, you know, has religious roots in the generosity of a church leader named Nicolas some seventeen hundred years ago.... Where this song runs into trouble, and why we don’t sing it, except with a smile, is because it’s not exactly "gospel," is it? I mean, delete "Santa Claus" and insert "Jesus Christ," as - to be honest - I’ve heard some Christians do, and you still have a sub-Christian song.

            Why? Well, there is truth to the fact that God knows all about us. Jesus does, indeed, know when we are sleeping. He knows when we’re awake. And, of course, he knows if we’ve been bad or good. Furthermore, we know that it is best to be good, for goodness sake. Yes, there is a lot of good in this song. It’s just that the "good news" (or gospel) of Jesus is not about keeping track of all this naughty and nice stuff. In fact, what makes this news that we celebrate as good, what makes this "gospel" really "gospel," is that in spite of our naughty-ness we are still loved. God, unlike the Santa of this song, doesn’t keep a list of who has been bad or good. God doesn’t check it twice. If anything, Jesus tore up the list.

            "You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m tellin’ you why: Santa Claus is coming to town...." Speaking of "coming to town," we just heard someone introduce himself to folks he had never met. That’s what those first seven verses from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans involved - an introduction. You see, contrary to all the rest of his letters found in the New Testament, letters sent to people Paul knew, to churches he had helped to start, to persons who were acquaintances of him; contrary to all his other letters, this one was mailed to people he hadn’t yet met.

            Like Santa, Paul was "coming to town." This letter was like an introduction of who he was and what he was about. It’s sort of a summary of his message, what he has been teaching and preaching from Galatia to Greece. Now his eyes were set on the center of the Roman empire, and he had every intention of eventually coming to town. He sent this letter ahead of his arrival to prepare the way among those who had already heard some things about this Jesus character, and who were beginning to meet together to discover more.

            Of course, unlike Santa, Paul wasn’t going to fly in on a sleigh pulled by a bunch or reindeer, and he definitely wasn’t going to be climbing down people’s chimneys. However, like that old, jolly, fat guy, Paul was a man bearing gifts. Only these gifts were not stuffed in a bag to be dragged down a chimney. Nosiree.

            In the first seven verses of this letter, Paul introduces himself. He starts out calling himself "a servant of Jesus Christ." So far so good. Course, I’m sure many wondered about this "servant" bit (actually the word is "doulos" or "slave"). Then, again, a good many of the original followers of Jesus were not exactly on the higher end of the economic scale. Many, in fact, knew all about being slaves themselves. Made them wonder about the master of this servant, no doubt. Who was this Jesus of whom Paul was a servant?

            Paul also wrote that he was "called to be an apostle." An "apostle" is simply someone who is sent - a messenger, an ambassador. Not only was Paul coming to town, but he was sent here. Must be this Jesus fellow who sent him. When we sing about Santa, do we ever wonder about who sends him? Or does he just come? We know, don’t we, where the original motivation for this tradition came from. In northern European countries, the tradition has Nicolas secretly bringing gifts to children on December 6^th, the day on which the church there celebrates his feast, or holy day, as Nicolas is a canonized saint.

            "A servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle." That’s Paul. Those words could introduce any of us, you know. Then Paul writes that he was "set apart for the gospel of God." Here we are verging on the gift part, for this servant, this apostle, indicates that he (himself) has been wrapped up like a present intended for something very special. That’s sort of what "set apart" means. There is something different, out of the ordinary, special about it.

            "Set apart" ... When a man and a woman promise to love and cherish one another, ‘til death do us part, they are both being "set apart," one for the other. When a young Jewish boy (or girl nowadays) reaches a certain age, and has learned enough of the Torah, the Law of Moses, to be able to read it publicly and declare fidelity to it, he (or she) is "set apart" for it, he becomes a "bar mitzvah," a son of the commandments (or she a "bat mitzvah," a daughter of the commandments)... There is something different, out of the ordinary, special about these persons, now that they have declared their vows, made their promise - whether it be in the covenant of marriage or the covenant of the Torah.

            Do remember that Paul was a Jew. Not only was he a Jew, but he was also a Pharisee, a trained Jewish leader. At significant points along the way, he had been "set apart" for the Torah, the Law. "You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout, I’m tellin’ you why..." To live by the Law was to guard against breaking the commandments. You live by the list. You die by the list. Life becomes a matter of fulfilling the Law. God knows who has been naughty or nice, you know. The truth is, the naughty column is full to overflowing, and the nice column - well, very few qualify. If that truly is the basis upon which Santa decides who gets a gift, we don’t have to wonder how jolly old St. Nick gets his job done in one night.

            Paul made it quite clear. Living for the law is a sinking proposition. All those do’s and don’t’s wear you down. The list, in fact, reveals how far short you fall. No exceptions. We all fare poorly. Coal goes into every stocking. That’s what we deserve if we live by the list.

            However, Paul points to a different way. Instead of saying he has been "set apart for the Law," he introduces himself by writing that he has been "set apart for the gospel of God, promised by God through the prophets in scripture." You see, it’s a matter of gospel, of good news. The good news is about this Jesus character who tore up the list, or the impossibility of living up to it. Because of Jesus, we can stop living out of fear that we’re constantly messing up.

            After all, how can God love me if I can’t seem to live up to my promise? That’s the old question, the one based in a list we always fall short in fulfilling, no matter how good we are. The good news of Jesus, however, is that God loves us even in our fallen state. That is why God sent his only begotten Son. God loves you. And in Jesus, God sets you apart for the gospel, the good news. You are different, out of the ordinary, special, a gift yourself. In Christ, you are God’s gift under the tree, all wrapped up in peace and grace. "Grace," by the way, is Paul’s byword. Those folks in Rome will come to know him through that word which, in its root, means "gift." Living the promise of God is living Christmas year-round, the real meaning of Christmas, that is. It’s a gift, not an obligation. That’s why it’s good news.

            Let me end with the story of a missionary to China, named Oswald Goulter. Thirty years a missionary there, he was put under house arrest by the communists for three years after they took over. "He would be released by the Communists if he promised to go home. He said he would come home. He wired back, the missionary society sent him money for his transportation, and he took a ship He went down to India to catch a ship, and when he was in the coastal city in India before leaving, he heard that there were a lot of Jews sleeping in the barn lofts in that city. They’d been denied entrance to every country in the world except that one, and they had gone inland and were living in barn lofts. It was Christmas time. Oswald Goulter went around to those barns and said to the Jews, "It’s Christmas! Merry Christmas."

            They said, "We’re Jews."

            He said, "I know, but it's Christmas!"

            They said, "We don’t observe Christmas. We’re not followers of Christ. We’re Jews."

            He said, "I know, but what would you like for Christmas?"

            "We don’t keep Christmas."

            "I know, but what would you like? If somebody gave you something for Christmas, what would you like?"

            They said, "Well, we’d like some good German pastry."

            "Good!" So he went looking, and he finally found some German pastry at some shop there in that city. After cashing his passage check, he took boxes of German pastries to these Jews and said, "Merry Christmas!" Then he wired the missionary society and said, "I need a ticket home."

            When that story was being told (back home), there was a young seminarian sitting in the front row, and he was absolutely incensed. He said to Dr. Goulter, "Why did you do that? They don’t believe in Jesus!" And Dr. Goulter said, "But I do. I do."

            Now that’s living the promise! After all, Jesus is coming to town, which is good news!

©2004 Peter L. Haynes
(you are welcome to borrow and, where / as appropriate, note the source - myself or those from whom I have knowingly borrowed.)

return to "Messages" page

return to Long Green Valley Church page