Christmas 2020: "And They All Missed It"

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Think back over the last 365 days, since last Christmas.  Think of all the things that have happened: a global pandemic, civic unrest, a presidential election, etc.

How do you know you were paying attention to what really mattered?

It’s easy to be distracted by what the world considers important: politics and war and wealth and the like.

But, what if God is up to something else entirely?  What if God is at work in other ways? What if you and I on our own are completely unable to tell what’s truly important from what is just distraction?

 What if you’ve been distracted this entire year and missed what’s really been happening?

 After all, when the first Christmas came it happened in a surprising and unexpected way.

 And they all missed it.

Sermon References:

 
 

Think back over the last 365 days, since last Christmas. Think of all the things that have happened: a global pandemic, civic unrest, a presidential election, etc. How do you know you were paying attention to what really mattered? It’s easy to be distracted by what the world considers important: politics and war and wealth and the like. But, what if God is up to something else entirely? What if God is at work in other ways? What if you and I on our own are completely unable to tell what’s truly important from what is just distraction? What if you’ve been distracted this entire year and missed what’s really been happening? After all, when the first Christmas came it happened in a surprising and unexpected way. And they all missed it. Preacher: Andrew Forrest Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 References: Painting: “The Census at Bethlehem,” by Pieter Brueghel the Elder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Census_at_Bethlehem Good 48 minutes BBC documentary on the painting: “Private Life of a Masterpiece: Census at Bethlehem” < http://www.infocobuild.com/books-and-films/art/PrivateLifeMasterpiece/episode-24.html> The Little Ice Age https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ice_Age Gallup survey: “Americans' Mental Health Ratings Sink to New Low” https://news.gallup.com/poll/327311/americans-mental-health-ratings-sink-new-low.aspx

Making Peace with the Pandemic

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What have you had to let go of this year because of the pandemic?

 
 

I can’t put into words what the picture above means to me.

It is from Munger’s Christmas Commitment Sunday 2019.

On Christmas Commitment Sunday every year, we ask households to come forward, kneel, pray, and say:

“Lord, thank you for how you have provided for us in the year that’s past”

and

“Lord, please bless the work of our hands in the year to come.”

 
 

IF THERE IS A MORE MOVING SIGHT IN MINISTRY THAN SEEING WHOLE FAMILIES ON THEIR KNEES IN GRATITUDE BEFORE GOD, I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS.

 
 

Looking at that photo again—all those families crowded into our church—makes me want to cry:

Because it can’t happen like that this year.

 
 

Here are some more pics that make me realize how much we’re missing out on this year. Do you see the mariachis by the red tent? Mariachis make me happy. Also, can you see the one with me praying with my family? Man how I love being able to do that every year—it’s such a powerful moment for us: “Lord, thank you thank you thank you.”

 
 
 

None of the above will happen like that this year, which I think is a major spiritual setback for our community, gripped as it is so tightly by consumerism and entitlement.

But there’s nothing we can do, is there?

 
 

Making Peace with the Pandemic

It seems almost obscene to modern wealthy Americans to state the obvious:

Sooner or later in life, you come up against something you cannot ultimately change or control.

In every individual life this is true, but this pandemic is the first such experience in generations that is true for all of us at the same time.

 
 

So, things are different this year and there’s nothing I can do about it.

And so I’m going to make peace with the pandemic.

Things are different this Christmas than I want them to be, but that doesn’t mean that we should stop doing what we believe matters. It just has to look different.

And I’m okay with that. Really.

 
 

Munger Christmas Season 2020

So, here is how things will look at Munger this Christmas.

 

Church is outdoors every Sunday, 9 and 11, rain or shine. (In inclement weather, services will be 30 minutes.) Worried about the weather? As it says in 2 Hezekiah, “just suck it up.”

 

Christmas Eve is outdoors, rain or shine!

  • 3:30 (kids);

  • 4:30, 5:30, & 11:30 PM—all 30 minute candlelight services.

  • We will be offering indoor Christmas Travelers services at 6 PM on 12/21 and 12/22 so we can record a full service to put online. Reservations required—info to come.

 
 

Christmas Commitment Sunday 2020 (12/13)

The spiritual reality behind Christmas Commitment Sunday—namely that gratitude is the only appropriate response to all our blessings—is too important to forgo this year, though things have to look different.

So, as in years past, I want to challenge our church to thank God for his provision in 2020 and ask for his blessing in 2021—to Finish Strong and Start Well.

But this year, things will look different. There will not be regular services on Sunday, 12/13.

Instead, I will lead several brief communion services in the parking lot and the sanctuary will be open from 7:30 AM-12:30 PM for folks to pray inside and drop off their gifts.

Here’s our new plan for Sunday, December 13:
• Sanctuary open 7:30 AM-12:30 PM.

• Only one household permitted in the building at a time.

• 15 minute communion services in parking lot at 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 noon.

We want to give folks the opportunity to pray in the sanctuary as they make their Christmas Commitment. That time kneeling at the rail is important for many of us. If you choose to do so, you will enter through the main front doors and have the whole building to yourself for a few minutes, before leaving through the coffee bar doors. There will be no one else in the entire building while your household is inside.

Of course, if you want to drop off a gift outside, you can certainly do that as well.

(As always, you can make your Christmas gift and set up your giving at www.mungerplace.org/give.)

And, I’m pre-recording a full sermon that will be online that morning as well, so be sure to catch it with your family.

 
 

So, I’ve made my peace with the pandemic. I’m okay with things being different.

This year, a lot about the Christmas season will be different, but Christmas itself isn’t cancelled.

The light still shines in darkness.

And I’m more than okay with that.

What about you?

Merry Christmas and Christmas War

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Preaching on Christmas Eve is difficult. For me, it’s the most difficult occasion I preach all year. The reason is that I feel as if I’ve already said everything interesting about the Incarnation and used every good illustration and analogy I can come up with in prior years. I’ve honestly been worried about this year’s Christmas sermon for months. (I really liked my Christmas Eve sermon from last year and I knew I couldn’t top it this year.)

At Munger we put on a Christmas Travelers Service the week before Christmas for folks who can’t be at our church on Christmas Eve, and I preach my Christmas sermon at that service as a kind of dress rehearsal. This year’s Travelers service was on Thursday, 12/19; I ended up being disappointed with my sermon, so I threw the whole thing out and started over!

My new Christmas sermon never came together the way I wanted it and I changed it a lot over the course of the day, from service to service, but I can honestly say it wasn’t like any Christmas sermon I’ve ever heard or anything I’d preached before, so that’s something.

Merry Christmas to you all. Love and courage in 2020.

[My Christmas Eve 2019 sermon is called “Christmas War,” and I’ve included the video below, recorded at 7 PM on 12/24/19.]

Christmas War

Christmas means war. Brothers and sisters, here’s how to fight.

Sermon Links

Scripture: Luke 2:13

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