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“HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”

ISAIAH 35:1-10

 

[35:1] The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;

      the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;

[2] it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.

     The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

     They shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.

[3] Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.

[4] Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!

     Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God.

     He will come and save you.”

[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

[6] then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

      For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;

 [7] the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water;

       in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

[8]  And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

      the unclean shall not pass over it.

      It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

 [9] No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

      they shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

[10] And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing;

       everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy,

       and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

 

I’ll be home for Christmas.

You can count on me.

Please have snow and mistletoe

And presents on the tree.

 

Christmas Eve will find me.

Where the lovelight gleams.

I’ll be home for Christmas.

If only in my dreams.

 

The song “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” first became popular during World War II.  It was a favorite among the soldiers who longed to share the holiday with their families back home. In a way home is a big part of what Christmas is all about.  If you’re in Afghanistan it’s all about heading home, if you can, to be with your wife and kids. If you’re a college student it’s all about finishing up your exams so you can go home to be with your family. For some of you it’s all about bringing your elderly mother home from the nursing home for Christmas dinner.

 

If you’re like most people home is where you want to be when you wake up on Christmas morning. When I was a young minister just starting out I used to do the same thing every year.  After the Christmas Eve services were over I’d get in my car and drive two and a half hours to my parents’ house south of Boston.  I’d get there around 2:30 in the morning and then crawl into bed feeling totally wiped out.  It was always a blessing though to wake up the next morning in the house I grew up in surrounded by loved ones.

I’ll be home for Christmas.  The song fills you heart with all kinds of warm fuzzy feelings. That’s because home is a place where you go to find tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. At the same time you and I both know that home can also be a little stressful at times.  A father was reminded of that simple reality shortly after his son got his driver’s license.  The teenager wanted to use the family car.  So, the father offered him a deal.  “I’ll tell you what,” the father said.  “If you bring your grades up, read your Bible more and get a haircut I’ll let you use the family car whenever you want.”  The teenager thought about it for a moment and then agreed to the deal.  Six weeks later the teenager went back to his father.   “Well,” the father said, “You did bring your grades up and you did read your Bible more but you didn’t get that haircut.”   When the teenager obviously wasn’t very happy when he heard that.  “You know,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about that.  While I was reading my Bible I learned that Samson had long hair.  Moses and John the Baptist also had long hair.  In fact, even Jesus had long hair.”   The father nodded his head in agreement.  “That’s true,” the father said, “and guess what? They also walked everywhere they went.”

 

Even with all of its stressful moments home is a big part of what Christmas is all about. After all, isn’t that what Mary and Joseph were doing when they made that journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem?   They made that journey to Bethlehem for the census because they were of the house and lineage of David.  So, Bethlehem was their ancestral home.

 

Home is also why Jesus was born.  He was born to help people find their way home.  He was born to help people find their way back to God.   You can see that in a vision that Isaiah had many years before Jesus was born.   In his vision Isaiah saw a day when a wise and wonderful messiah would bring people who were lost and lonely back to God. Listen again to what Isaiah said.

 

Say to those who have an anxious heart, ‘Be strong; fear not! 

Behold, your God will come….and save you.’”

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped…

 

Now I ask you. Isn’t that what Jesus did?  Didn’t Jesus heal the blind?  Didn’t Jesus heal those who were deaf?

 

Isaiah then goes on to talk about a highway in the desert that will lead people home to God. It’s right there in verse eight.

 

“And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness…

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing;

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads…and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

 

Isaiah’s words came to pass when Jesus was born in the hay in that manger far away.

In the birth of the Christ child God is calling us to come home to that stable where you can experience all the blessings of the Emmanuel child, the peace and the joy, the love and the hope that only he can give. 


God is calling you home to that stable so you don’t go through life feeling like something is missing. After all the last thing God wants is for you to feel the same way a wife felt one day when she found a dead mule in her front yard.  The wife was shocked.  Eventually she called the sanitation department asked them to come and remove the carcass.  When the sanitation workers arrived though the wife changed her mind.  She gave each of the workers $50 and asked them to put the mule in the tub in the upstairs bathroom. Her request surprised the workers but it was an easy $50 for them.  So, they agreed.  When they were finished the workers asked the wife why she wanted a dead mule in her tub.  “Because,” the wife grumbled, “every night for the past 35 years my husband has done the same thing.  He comes home from work, throws his coat on the rack, grabs his newspaper, plops down in his easy chair and then without even looking at me asks ‘What’s new?’  Well, tonight I’m going to tell him.”

 

I wonder how many people feel like they’re just going through the motions.  I wonder how many people feel like their lives are incomplete?  If you listen closely to the cry of the Christ child you’ll hear the voice of God calling you home to that stable.  You’ll hear the voice of God calling to you from that stable and saying, “I’m here, and you don’t have to live your life that way anymore.  I’m here and you don’t have to play those games anymore.  I’m here, and I want you to come home.”

Of course it’s important to remember that when you go home to that stable it’s a package deal.  That stable is a place where you’ll find tidings of comfort and joy but it’s also a place where God is going to challenge you from time to time.  It’s a place where God may challenge you to make some changes in your life.  I was reminded of that about a week before Frosty’s Fair.  It happened when I called Garelick Farms to order 30 gallons of half and half cream for the lobster bisque.  When the customer service representative answered the phone she asked, “Is this the Union Correctional Church?”  I chuckled and told her that she was close.  After I hung the phone up though I thought to myself, “Maybe she isn’t all that wrong.  After all any church worth its salt needs to challenge people in a spirit of love and help them correct the things that are keeping them from finding their way home to God.”

When you do that you may end up following the example of a nine-year-old boy who found his way home to God by doing something that was totally unexpected.  His unexpected deed gave birth to a grace filled moment even though it also resulted in a little chaos during his Sunday School’s annual Christmas pageant.  The boy’s name was Ralph and he had the part of the innkeeper.  When Mary and Joseph arrived at his door he told them that they would have to find another place to stay that night because the inn was full. Joseph pleaded with the innkeeper.  “”Please, good innkeeper,” he said, “this is my wife, Mary.  She is heavy with child and must find a place to rest the night.  Surely you must have some small corner for her.  She is so tired.”  At that point Ralph didn’t say a word and the director had to give him a prompt.  “No, be gone!” she said.  “No, be gone!” she said. She had to repeat the line three time before Ralph got back on track.  As Mary and Joseph walked away with heavy hearts though Ralph’s eyes filled up with tears and then all of a sudden he cried out, “Don’t go, Joseph.  Please don’t go.  Bring Mary back.  You can have my room.”

When you experience a grace filled moment like that you’ll know that you’ve found your way home for Christmas..  Amen.

 

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes                                                                            December 12, 2010