December 25, 2025 | Christmas Day @ Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
One of the first things I saw this morning when Lillian came into church was her stuffed Duolingo. There’s just something that happens to us when we get something new … we feel we’ve got to share it!
So, can we do some show and tell today? I brought some things to share with you.
This is my high school class ring. This is my high school letter jacket. I’ll pass these around so you can see. I can tell you so many stories about each of these things. You’ll notice, dear choirmaster, that there are a lot of patches having to do with music. I’ll pass around my pectoral cross, too. Be careful … it’s heavy. There was a guy from the first church I served who traveled to Jerusalem on business and wanted to bring a cross back for me. When he was there, it was a time of heightened violence, and he was told to stay at the hotel because he was safe there. Someone knew of a person who could design a cross for him. They brought the designer to the hotel to design the cross. The design was sent to a silver smith who could make the cross based on the design. It’s made of pure silver, that’s why it’s so heavy. Each of these has so many stories, including my stole that was made for me on the 10th anniversary of my ordination.
As I tell these stories, I can see the people and places associated with them. I’m sure you have your own stories that are meaningful and formative to you and your life. It’s fun to share some of my stories with you, but is that where I’m living right now? Is there anything wrong with remembering or telling the stories? No. But we need to be aware of the difference between “Am I remembering and reminiscing, or am I trying to relive those moments in history” None of us can go back. I can’t go back nor do I want to go back to high school. We can’t go back and do or redo or undo anything. It’s the past. It’s history. No matter how great the story, that’s not where you or I are living.
These two scenarios actually go together. The story of Christmas is not just a history lesson, that’s not what Christmas is. We actually live Christmas. We live Christmas every day, but we are not living Christmas as if we being transported back to actual moments in history. We don’t actually experience Jesus being born and we don’t pretend and wonder things like “I wonder what color hair he’s going to have.” Instead, we live Christmas in the now.
Let’s move forward to this morning. As I was getting ready, I thought “I really would like to listen to some Christmas music.” I have Alexa everywhere in my house so all I have to do is say, “Alexa, play Christmas music.” And she responds by saying, “Playing Christmas classics.” I was so excited to hear what I consider Christmas classics … that is … until I heard “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus,” and “All I Want for Christmas is You.” I was hoping for something a little bit more Christmasy… something a little more Jesusy. These songs that were purported to be “Christmas classics” were actually songs that had the trappings of Christmas, but not the essence of Christmas.
How do we ensure that we’re not living Christmas in the same way as the “Christmas classics” songs I listened to had the trappings of Christmas without holding on to the essence of Christmas? What is the essence of Christmas? How do we live that essence of Christmas now?
In my Christmas Eve sermon, I read from from Howard Thurman’s poem entitled “The Work of Christmas.” He wrote ..
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
Do you see how Thurman’s words hold the essence of the Christmas message? When you hear the Christmas message, you might also hear the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55), the words of the prophets, and other scriptures that address our treatment of other people. In none of these scriptures will you hear, “We need to build up the rich.” The Magnificat says that God brings down the rich and lifts up the lowly. This is a challenging message!
We can go the route of “Christmas classics” and talk about “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” we can dream of a white Christmas or how “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” but where in these songs and stories is the essence of Christmas? This poem from Thurman gets at the essence of Christmas as we engage in the Work of Christmas which calls us to love the people God loves and serve the people God serves.
It’s great for us to read, study, and learn everything we can about the stories of Christmas and all the other stories in the Bible, for that matter. But we truly live them as we understand the essence. How does that essence help me live my faith? How does that essence challenge my thinking now? How does that essence help me become a better disciple now? How does that essence spur and stir me to reach out and love my neighbor, especially the unlovable ones? The essence of Christmas doesn’t get stuck in the “Christmas classics” of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” The essence of Christmas helps us see for ourselves that Emanuel is here and now. Our call and challenge today is how we might live and love and serve using the essence of Christmas … now.
In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Epicurious Lutheran 