 Did Santa and Mrs. Claus bring you a lump of coal For Christmas? I wonder if Santa and Mrs Claus brought you a lump of coal this Christmas? I know I had a few near misses on the coal sack! I wonder if Santa and Mrs Claus brought you a lump of coal this Christmas? I know I had a few near misses on the coal sack! Now I'm not knocking coal- it's a wonderful gift. I used to go to a church that had a great big black lump of coal right up on the platform to remind us of the miners- people who did dangerous work deep underground in the dust and darkness and noise to keep us warm throughout the winter. But perhaps you were'nt wanting to have your own special lump? I'm not sure there really is coal in that sack- its always so clean and white, and Santa's  face
is such a bright
rosy red! And in any case, I expect you've been so good all year
that the big red sleigh brought you the most wonderful presents.
But perhaps you were so good all year that the big red sleigh brought
you the most wonderful presents? When did you first start hoping what you might get for Christmas? When I was your age, I suppose that by the beginning of November, I had already made a long list for Santa, finished it in my best printing. And then it seemed that Christmas would never come! Will it be this week? Or at least next week? Did you find that?  But
at last Christmas did arrive, and there were all those wonderful
presents spread around the tree. What were the first words you
said as you ripped them open? Did you remember, somewhere along
the line, to say a big thank you to your Mum and your Dad, and give
them some great hugs? I suppose I didn't mind putting down my
presents for a few moments to say thank you to my parents. My
trouble was, I had a lot of aunts and uncles. And they lived a
long way away. So the week after Christmas. my mother put all
those wonderful toys in a high cupboard, and sat me down at a table with
what seemed enormous sheets of paper. And somehow, I had to write
all
sorts of letters, thanking my aunts and uncles for what they had
sent.
What a chore! It seemed to take most of the fun out of
Christmas. And
as for those aunts who sent me a nice pack of paper and envelopes,
especially so that I could write to them, just when I could have been
playing with my new car or airplane set. What could I say that
would
not be very rude in a letter to them? But if you have missed out
on a
few thank yous, I hope you will take time to remember those who gave
you your gifts.
I wonder if you heard the word praise at the beginning of our service today? The Bible often talks about Praise. It is a word which means saying a special thank you to God for all the wonderful gifts we have been given. Can you imagine any gift more wonderful than a new doll or a racing car, a computer game or some sort of scary monster? I was thinking about the gift of the baby Jesus. That's a gift that lasts forever. That's why we sing so many carols and songs of praise, not only at Christmas, but all the year long. Do you know anyone who had the wonderful gift of a new baby recently? Didn't they think it was the most wonderful thing that had happened to their family? Now I've owned up to being rather grumpy about writing thank you letters to my aunts and uncles. But another thing I wasn't very good at was sharing my new toys with other children. Just supposing they scratched or smashed them. But when God gives us gifts, we are expected to share. I am sure that Mary was really excited about her new baby, and she would have liked to keep him just for herself and Joseph. But she quickly realised that Jesus could not stay with her all his life. A time would come when she had to share him, when he had to leave home and serve God's purpose. Each of us has toys that we can share with children who are less fortunate than ourselves. But even more importantly, we have special gifts of love and kindness that God wants us to share, as we do something good for those we meet here in Squamish. We learn what are our special talents and gifts, and how to share them, as we come to church and Sunday School each week. Dear God, thank you for the wonderful gift of Jesus. He has shown us how much God loves us, how to care for the poor, and to heal those who are sick and sad. We know you have a special purpose for each one of us. Help us to discover our special gifts, and to use them to love one another and to serve God's people. AMEN. |