Christmas Eve December 24, 2017

Christmas Eve 6pm Service
Luke 2:11
December 24, 2017

“For You”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Under a Christmas tree somewhere, there might just be a present with your name on it. The tag says, “To your name.” I happen to know there’s a couple presents under our tree next door with my name on it. They’re for me. Of course, it’s probably frozen broccoli and underwear as the joke goes in our house. That’s what everybody’s always getting in our house. And that’s certainly what I deserve.

Now Jesus may not have had a little tag wrapped around his finger that said, “From God; For You.” But instead He sent an angel to tell us who this baby was for. “For unto you this child is born,” the angel said. For you. For you.

One business after another at Christmas wants you to believe they are here for you. Everything they do is for you. They open two months before Christmas—for you.  Purely for your convenience, right? Nothing else. They know what you need. For one-sixth of every year of your life, they know you need to be stressed out about gifts. It’s all for you.

Walmart, Target, Amazon – all they do is for you. That’s why they give two day shipping and free same day pickup. It’s all for you. Never mind that now they can get their product into your hands for almost instant gratification. Never mind that you can hold your phone and mindlessly click away hundreds of dollars to them in no time. 1-Click Ordering. And they store all your information and all your credit card numbers all for you. For your convenience. They know what you need. You don’t need to fumble around for your credit card when you’re in a hurry to spend a hundred dollars. They’re so kind. All for you.

And we believe it all—hook, line, and sinker. Isn’t it so nice that all these businesses are so concerned about me? How kind of them?! How important I must be! Wow! Verizon and AT&T are always fighting in their commercials because they both care about me so much that they want me to have the best phone and best signal to play solitaire. Right? It’s all for me.

The NFL played 2 games yesterday, 12 games today, and will play 2 more games tomorrow—and it’s all for you, right? All for you. They do it all for your entertainment. Purely for your enjoyment. How gracious of them to care about you so much. Because how could you celebrate Christmas without a football game to watch, right? Never mind that the NFL will take in over $14 billion in 2017. $14 billion. Wow, they really care for you.

Repent. You’ve believed a lie. You and I have bowed down to a false god that we believed was all for us. That we believed would make us happy and fulfilled. And it doesn’t. There are many in this world who would try to convince you that they are all for you. But they have ulterior motives. Strong ulterior motives.

They don’t know what you truly need. What you need isn’t anything that can be wrapped in a box or anything that requires you sitting in front of a screen. What you need is a real solution to your guilty soul and a real solution to your impending death.

God doesn’t have ulterior motives. He isn’t trying to make a profit or meet a quota. He is trying to save you.

Consider this. Every business in our consumer-driven culture wants to know what makes you tick. In the US this year they will spend over $200 billion advertising to you. They’ll do countless surveys, tests, panels, and studies to figure out how to best reach you.

Friends, God doesn’t need any of that. He doesn’t have to spend a single penny to know you. He made you. He strung together the very DNA of you. He knows far more about you than you will ever know about yourself. He knows your fears, your worries, and your sorrows.

But far more than that, He also knows your heart. Your guilty heart. He knows your sin. He doesn’t need any survey to know that your thoughts and words and actions have been full of selfishness and pride. He doesn’t need any studies to know that you have been faulty in your prayers and quite negligent in your devotions. He doesn’t need a panel to know that you have been a poor neighbor, an unloving husband or wife, a weak parent, or a whiny son or daughter. He is well acquainted with your ways and nothing is hidden from Him.

Knowing all about you, God sent a gift this night for you. He sent Someone to live for you, to be perfect in love for you, to suffer and die for you, and to rise from the dead for you.

This Jesus is all for you. No ulterior motives. No conditions. All for you. This Christmas He offers Himself for you once again. In His holy Word. Here tonight in the readings of His holy birth He comes for you. Tomorrow morning here in the Divine Service He comes under bread and wine, His body and blood, for you. For the forgiveness of all your sins. Given and shed for you.

Now you might say, “Well, why does God do it this way?” Why did He come as a little baby? Why does He come in the words of Holy Scripture? Why should I have to come to Church every Sunday to hear His Word and receive the Lord’s Supper? Well, I don’t know exactly. Why did I choose a foot-warmer as a Christmas gift for my wife a number of years ago?

But with God, and unlike me, we trust that He knows exactly what you need. You need this Savior Jesus to take your place under your sin and death. And He does. And every Sunday you need Jesus to come to you again and offer Himself for your forgiveness and life. And He does. So you can ask, “Why?” But you can also trust that He knows what is best for you. And He does.

Now you also know that everybody else in your life needs the same thing you need—and that’s not NFL, two-day shipping, or two months of Christmas shopping. We all need Jesus. The gift that is given for you is also given for them. And what a joy to tell them: to tell your children, your spouse, your parents, your friends, that “for you is born a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Jesus is for you. Amen.