Sermon and Worship Resources

These Illustrations are based on Matthew 2:13-23
_____________________________________________

Sermon Opener - Back to Real Life - Matthew 2:13-23

It’s hard not to feel a little let down on the day after Christmas.

A few days after Christmas one year Presbyterian pastor Jon M. Walton was noticing that all the Christmas decorations at one of the local pharmacies had been removed. These decorations already had been replaced with Valentine’s Day trinkets and cards. Red boxes of candy, teddy bears with big hearts on them, red candles for romantic lighting. The clerk behind the counter was complaining to another of her co‑workers, “I hate Valentine’s Day,” she said. “I never have a boyfriend and I hate Valentine’s Day.”

Then Walton goes on to comment with these words, “Nothing is as over as Christmas when it’s over. The empty boxes, the pretty paper on the floor, the stray tinsel from the tree with which the cat has played and left abandoned on the sofa, the empty cartons of eggnog stuffed into the trash bag. Life has come back to normal, whatever that is, and it means that the diversion of the past few weeks, the frenzy and fuss, the lights and glitter are packed away once again like the star at the top of the tree; taken down and carefully wrapped, padded and protected in its ample box. And what is left? A war in Iraq [and Afghanistan], homeless people sleeping in door stoops, hungry people begging for food, worries about health, kids that concern us, jobs that wear us down. We’re back to where we left off before the holidays . . . Like the folks who were left in town after the Lone Ranger had been for a visit, we may ask out loud, “Who was that masked man?” Or better said, “Who was that babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, left lying in a manger?”

Well, we haven’t moved that far from Christmas yet. We’re just one day away from celebrating Christ’s birth. But there is the inevitable letdown. So much was packed into the four weeks of Advent. We can talk about keeping Christmas all year long, but who could handle it? We don’t want the clogged streets around the mall all year. And who could maintain the pace of eating? In fact, many of us are already planning our diets to begin January 2.

Actually, we need a little respite from all the busyness, don’t we? Mary and Joseph weren’t allowed to reside permanently in Bethlehem and neither can we. It’s back to the real world…

_________________________________

The Fourth King In the Christmas Story - Matthew 2:13-18

I hope you had a joyous holiday. Perhaps, though, you have moved from the anticipation of Christmas to the anxiety after Christmas. Particularly if you gained weight during this season of celebration or spent more than you planned. Julia Boynton Green spoke for many people when she wrote:

"Twas the night after Christmas and all through the house, We were paying each one for our yuletide carouse.

I felt in my tummy a burden like lead, and visions of tumors careened through my head. Martha tumbled and tossed, at last breathed with a sob,

I've got pendicitis. I'm sure of it, Bob.

I swore about sunrise, It's not worth the price.

Believe me, next Christmas, we dine on boiled rice." (1)

Some of us can relate to that. We've already signed up for Weight Watchers. No joke. This is when Diet centers do their biggest business of the year.

Some of us can also relate to the tired mother of six wonderful but active children. After being home with them and her husband from dawn to midnight during Christmas vacation, heard the song on the radio, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas All Year Long." She jumped out of her chair despite being tired and worn down and shouted, "Forget it! Only a merchant would want it to be Christmas all year long."

Maybe you can relate to that. Of course, people who use credit cards find that Christmas does last all year long. This is all to say that in spite of the joy we all experience during the celebration of Christ's birth, there is a downside to Christmas.

Newspaper columnist Mike Royko once shared the other side of the Christmas Story in one of his columns. He told about a stranger who put $1,600 in gold coins in a Salvation Army kettle. The person placed the gift there quietly and anonymously. This is exactly the kind of story the print media is looking for to demonstrate the spirit of caring that Christmas brings about. Unfortunately there is a follow up story….

_________________

The Challenge of the Babe

Throughout December each year we now witness a different kind of Christmas tradition that has become an annual event: we see all the protests that get lodged about this or that nativity scene that is on, or is too close to, public property. Some respond to this by asking, "How could anyone be against something so pretty and beautiful and hopeful?" But maybe the people who protest such things are more in touch with the deeper challenge that the Babe in the manger presents than we ourselves are at times. If you don't want your world turned upside down, if you don't want to be assailed for your sins and proffered a bloody salvation on a cross as the way to have those sins forgiven, then you won't want to see the manger scene. God's grand and cosmic challenge to sin and selfishness, to violence and greed, is very much on display at Christmas.

Christmas is about the One who would ultimately give up his own life to save everyone else. The wider story does not end in death. At the end of the day, life triumphs because the very little Jesus who elicited this firestorm of hatred from the sinful people of this world found a way to unmake hatred and violence from the inside out. By letting himself get caught up in this world's web of violence and deceit, of death and destruction, he managed to defeat these powerful forces in a way brute force itself could never have done.

Jesus' birth right in the middle of this world’s suffering is the only hope we've got for now or any future time.

Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations

_______________________________________

God on The Run!

My copy of the Bible entitles this sub-section of Scripture, "The Flight into Egypt." Cruel Herod the king had been threatened by the birth of Jesus, apparently fearing that Jesus would become a competitor for his own crown. Since that was an intolerable possibility to him, and since he could not be absolutely sure which baby boy was Jesus, he ordered that all the male children in and around Bethlehem who were two-years old or under be killed. Thus it was that an angel of the Lord directed Joseph to take Jesus and Mary and to "flee to Egypt."

Can you imagine it? God on the run! Jesus, the Christ, fleeing for his life!... He is running for his life…

If this scene is shocking for you — and I confess that it is still shocking to me — then hold on, for there is more to come. We can imagine Joseph escaping into Egypt with the b a b y Jesus. But, surely, we think, if Jesus were only a full-grown man, he would not run from Herod. The evidence, however, does not completely support our thought.

There were times, even as an adult, when Jesus ran away. During the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem one winter, some people wanted Jesus to tell them "plainly" if he was, indeed, the Christ. When Jesus answered, "I and the Father are one," they took up stones to stone him. We read, "Again they tried to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands." (John 10:39) Notice that word, again’’; apparently Jesus had to run away on other occasions, too.

There is no getting away from it: Christmas tells us that God chose to make himself vulnerable when he revealed himself in a person who, sometimes, at least, had to run a way from people like Herod and the stone-throwers.

Before we go any further, however, we should say this: Please do not make the mistake of thinking that the vulnerability of Christ is a bad thing. It is not! It is a tremendous thing. In fact, it is the greatest thing in the world. For we are saved by a Christ who "took the form of a servant . . . and humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross." What men called "the weakness of God" was "the power of God unto salvation." It is a Christ who was willing to risk becoming as vulnerable as we are, who is able to save us from sin by identifying with our human condition and showing us the way back to fellowship with God.

The vulnerability of Christ is a great thing also because it makes it easier for us to admit our own vulnerability. We may like to think that we are super men and women, but we are not. There are powers and people who can hurt us and destroy us. There are times when we need to run away! You see, running away is not always cowardice as many of us have been taught to believe. Running away, at times, may he part of a very wise strategy. As the old saying goes: "He who runs away lives to fight another day."

There are times, of course, when we cannot run away. There are times when we must not run away. There are times when running away is cowardice. Jesus did not run away from his betrayers in the Garden of Gethsemane. There are times when we must stand our ground, no matter what the cost.

Nevertheless, there are other times when it is wise to run away. Timing has a lot to do with it. So do our intentions about returning. For after the time of running away, there should always be a time of returning.

John Thomas Randolph, The Best Gift, CSS Publishing Company, pp. 39-40

_____________________

Christmas in a Sinful World

The late newspaper columnist Mike Royko once shared the other side of the Christmas Story in one of his columns. He told about a stranger who put $1,600 in gold coins in a Salvation Army kettle. The person placed the gift there quietly and anonymously. This is exactly the kind of story the print media is looking for to demonstrate the spirit of caring that Christmas brings about. Unfortunately there was a follow up story. The local Salvation Army office began getting phone calls about the gold coins. The coins were stolen. The thief had dropped them in the kettle to get rid of them.

So then, Royko told another story about a man driving home from work on Christmas Eve who saw a young boy fall through the ice in a nearby lake. The man stopped his car, jumped out, tore off his jacket and crawled out onto the ice. He managed somehow to save the drowning boy. Happy ending, wouldn't you say? Unfortunately the man discovered that while he was risking his life saving the boy, somebody in the crowd of onlookers stole his jacket and the envelope containing his Christmas bonus.

Unfortunately, we live in a sinful world. And even at Christmas, with the promise of peace and hope on our lips and in our hearts, that sinfulness is still present. That sinfulness was personified in the first Christmas story by Herod. "Go and search diligently for the child," Herod said to the wise men. "And when you have found him, come and bring me word, that I may worship him, too." What a crock!

Billy D. Strayhorn, Herod the Not-so-Great

______________________________

The Difference between Cowards and Heroes

John Thomas Randolph offers this modern story of running and returning to illustrate our Lord's circumstances.

Here is the difference between cowardice and heroism. The coward runs away and stays away. The hero runs away but he always returns at the appropriate time.

I have a biography of General Douglas MacArthur that was written by Bob Considine. The picture on the front cover shows the general standing like a boulder, looking off into the distance, with that famous corncob pipe in his mouth. You can almost hear him telling the people of the Philippines, "I came through and I shall return." Ordered to make a strategic withdrawal, his promise to return became the rallying cry for a whole country. MacArthur had to "run away" for a while, but he would "return" — and it was the returning that mattered most.

Jesus ran away into Egypt, but he returned!

All of our running away, as Christians, should be with the ultimate goal of returning.

Why do we run away? When I look at my own experience, I find that I usually run away for one of three reasons: I am frightened; I am fatigued; or I am frustrated. Isn’t that why you run away too?

John Thomas Randolph, The Best Gift, CSS Publishing Company

_____________________

A Sense of Wonder

Jacob Needleman was an observer at the launch of Apollo 17 in 1975. It was a night launch, and there were hundreds of cynical reporters all over the lawn, drinking beer, wisecracking, and waiting for this 35-story-high rocket. The countdown came, and then the launch. The first thing you see, according to Needleman, is this extraordinary orange light, which is just at the limit of what you can bear to look at.

"Everything is illuminated with this light. Then comes this thing slowly rising up in total silence, because it takes a few seconds for the sound to come across. You hear a WHOOOOOSH! HHHH-MMMM!' It enters right into you. You can practically hear jaws dropping. The sense of wonder fills everyone in the whole place," says Needleman, "as this thing goes up and up. The first stage ignites this beautiful blue flame. It becomes like a star, but you realize there are humans on it. And then there's total silence. People just get up quietly, helping each other up. They're kind. They open doors. They look at one another, speaking quietly and interestedly. These were suddenly moral people because the sense of wonder, the experience of wonder, had made them moral."

Jacob Needleman, quoted by Eric S. Ritz in the sermon ‘The Fourth King in the Christmas Story’

________________________________

He Moved Into the Ward With Us

Dr. John Rosen, a psychiatrist in New York City, is well known for his work with catatonic schizophrenics. Normally doctors remain separate and aloof from their patients. Dr. Rosen moves into the ward with them. He places his bed among their beds. He lives the life they must live. Day-to-day, he shares it. He loves them. If they don’t talk, he doesn’t talk either. It is as if he understands what is happening. His being there, being with them, communicates something that they haven’t experienced in years — somebody understands.

But then he does something else. He puts his arms around them and hugs them. He holds these unattractive, unlovable, sometimes incontinent persons, and loves them back into life. Often, the first words they speak are simply, "Thank you."

This is what the Christ did for us at Christmas. He moved into the ward with us. He placed his bed among our beds. Those who were there, those who saw him, touched him and were in turn touched by him and restored to life. The first word they had to say was "thank you."

Christmas is our time to say "Thank you."

Mark Berg in Donald L. Deffner, Seasonal Illustrations, Resource, 1992, p. 21.

______________

A Power Higher Than I

After trying everything else, Shelly was present for her first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Skeptical and listening half- heartedly at first, the words of Martha caught her attention. Martha told the group, "I just knew that I could handle alcohol and my other problems on my own, but I couldn't. Seven years ago I came to my first A.A. meeting and since that time I have grown as a person beyond anything I could have ever imagined."

Martha exuded confidence and depth. She spoke of a power "higher than I," the God of Jesus Christ, and the way in which God now lived at the center of her life. Her words oozed with sincere encouragement and concern. Most of all, Martha exhibited a thankfulness which words could not express. Shelly, who came to the meeting doubtful that anything she would hear would change the way she felt or thought, made her way to Martha when the meeting was over. "I want what you have," Shelly told Martha, "I want what you have."

Shelly wanted the compassion and depth and hope which Martha knew, but she may not have realized fully how Martha came to know those things. Martha learned compassion from a time of deep personal suffering. She acquired spiritual depth from hours of praying when there was nowhere else to turn. She discovered hope by taking one step at a time because "one day at a time" was too much to be expected.

Shelly said, "I want what you have. Where do I get it?" And Martha told her, "It comes from being right where you are and doing just what you are doing." Martha went on to tell Shelly the oddest story about learning compassion when we are hurting, and learning love when we are excluded, and learning hope when we are helpless. In short Martha said that it is out of Egypt that we are called.

William B. Kincaid, III, And Then Came The Angel, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.

_______________

The Work of Christmas

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 flock,
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.

Howard Thurman

___________________________

How Could God Let This Happen?

Life magazine set out to record what various kids thought about God. They handed out cameras to 56 kids between the ages of 8 and 13, and they asked each kid to go out and take pictures that reflect who God is. Anything that made them think of God was fair game for a photo. One nine-year-old took a picture of his social worker's office. She was nice to him, and that made him think of God. Other children took pictures of people they love, or things that make them happy. But some of the children's pictures reflected the kids' disillusionment with a God who didn't seem to hear their prayers or feel their pain. One nine-year-old, identified as Chris G., used up all his film taking pictures of the sky. When an interviewer asked him why he chose this as his subject, Chris answered that the sky is where Heaven is, and his little sister, Tina, was in Heaven. As he explained, "There was a fire. My mom got out, but she (Tina) didn't. She died at a bad age." The interviewer asked, "If God is as powerful as you say, Chris, how could God let that happen?" "He was probably working," the child replied. "Maybe God didn't know there was a fire?" the interviewer suggested. But Chris replied, "God knows everything. He knew, but He was working."

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't know how to answer Chris' concerns. Anymore than I would be able to answer the parents of those infants slain by the tyrant Herod. All I know is this, and I will stake my very life upon it: It is not God's will that any child should die. Now we see through a glass darkly, but then we shall see face to face. There is much we do not understand, but God is the God who revealed Himself in the manger of Bethlehem. God is a God of love, mercy, hope and peace. God does not coerce by force, but leads by the example of love, the love showed by Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary. If you want a leader for your life if you want a Lord for your life, I can recommend no other.

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

_________________________________________

ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS NOT IN OUR EMAIL
_________________________________________

Dream Power – Matthew 2:13-23 by Leonard Sweet

One-third of our lives is spent not having any idea what we are doing.

All right, admittedly many of us spend even greater percentages of our lifetimes clueless. But officially, we all have one-third of our lives basically unaccounted for.

Why? Because we are sleeping.

Sleeping is required by every creature with even the most rudimentary or remedial brain stem. Yet we really don’t understand why we sleep or what sleep is for.

All we really know about sleep is that if deprived of it for just ten days, we’re dead. That’s right — dead. Three minutes without air. Three days without water. Ten days without sleep. These are the physical limits of life.

Sleep isn’t just a big shut-down, a turn off, The Great Reboot. Sleep has degrees of depth. Sometimes we are all but comatose. Other times we are right on the edges of consciousness. But no sleep cycle is complete until we get a dose of REM-sleep. “Rapid Eye Movement” sleep is characterized by the shifty, darting back-and-forth movement of our eyes and by the electrical brain activity that reveals we are dreaming.

We do not just need to sleep. We need to dream. If we are awakened before we reach REM sleep, there will be no rest of body, no refreshment of spirit. Our bodies are set up to get the deepest sleep as soon as we slip into our sleep mode. But as our sleep progresses, our rested brains require some down time to themselves. That is dream-time.

During REM or dream sleep, our brain pulverizes and paralyzes the rest of us. That is why in our dreams we can jump out of planes, or run away from monsters, or fly off of mountain-tops. All that our sleeping body does is slightly twitch or flinch. Our brains keep our bodies safe while escaping in amazing dreams. Far from being a time-stopped stupor, our mandatory sleep-dream cycle puts us into a heightened anabolic state that promotes good growth and rejuvenation. In other words, a “beauty sleep” is a real thing! Dreaming boosts the immune system, and promotes the optimal functioning of the nervous skeletal and muscular systems.

So yes! You do need a good night’s sleep before the big game.

Long before electroencephalograms told us about our sleep cycles, human beings have known dreams were important. While only a select few may have been “called” to be shamans, or prophets, or seers, we have all been “called” to be sleepers. And all sleepers dream. Every night. Sleepers all dream.

In this week’s gospel text Matthew finds and features the power and promise of dreams…

_________________________

The Hope of the World

All of us have seen those signs, "Keep Christ in Christmas." I hope you did that this year. There are many people who celebrate Christmas who have no idea at all that Christ is the hope of the world.

It’s like one family I read about. They were gathered to celebrate the holiday without much thought to its significance. Little Charlotte, gulping her milk, heaved a white mustached sigh. Then she pointed her fork toward her grandfather like a microphone and asked, "Grandpa, why is today called Christmas?" The child’s question came like a peal of thunder. "Out of the blue it fell crashing into the dining room just as though, indeed, the roof might be collapsing." Did the little girl have any idea what she was asking? After what seemed like an eternity her grandfather said, "Perhaps your mother could give you a better answer than I could."

It had been a trying day for Rita, her mother. It was the first time she was able to sit with her father in many years. She answered her daughter, "Today is called Christmas, Charlotte, because it is the birthday of Jesus Christ." She then gave a brief explanation. Grandpa looked in disbelief at his daughter. "A note of astonishment, of genuine, of radiant humility, something so unexpected that it even caught Rita off guard. Indeed she spoke almost as though she had just discovered the origins of Christmas herself, as if that very moment such knowledge had been revealed to her."

Laughter broke out again, Charlotte’s face glowed like a little angel’s. There was no more talk of Jesus that evening. "And yet ” it was as if the Lord Himself, like a master goldsmith, had devised exactly the right setting in which the mere mention of His name might shine forth like a spectacular jewel, like a diamond against a black velvet cloth." Before we leave Christmas entirely, we need to be reminded of the reason for the season. The child that was carried into Egypt by his fleeing parents is the hope of the world.

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

____________________________

A Grim Anniversary

Suppose you had been a Christian believer in the mid-first century. Suppose you were observing Christmas and the birth of Jesus the Savior in whatever way the earliest church celebrated that season. But suppose that in the midst of marking Jesus' advent, you ran into a Jewish couple who trembled with rage at the very mention of this Jesus whose birth Christmas marks. Suppose further that upon inquiring what accounted for their vitriol and disdain, you discovered that the Jesus whose birth you get so excited about had been the cause of their own child's death. "Our two-year-old precious son died because your Jesus was born. We hate what you call Christmas. For us it is a season of death, a grim anniversary of our little one's violent demise at the hands of King Herod's thugs."

What would you say? It's a far-fetched scenario, but the biblical fact of the matter is that there were parents in the area around Bethlehem who really did weep over their slain toddlers and infants. What's more, it was relatively easy to connect the dots that would trace the sequence of events that led to this infanticide directly back to Jesus, the son of Mary. What do we make of this? What could we have said to grieving parents whose children died because Jesus was born? These are not easy questions. But then, this Lectionary reading for the Sunday after Christmas is not a pleasant story.

Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations

_______________

A Text of Terror

When Wise Men from the east noticed signs in the heavens that the Savior had been born, they made their way to Bethlehem, by way of Jerusalem. When they tell King Herod about the Savior’s birth, Herod pretends to worship Jesus, too. “Hey, on your way back home, let me know the exact location so I can send a gift or something” were Herod’s last words to the three wise man.

The wise men never do come back to Jerusalem. In a dream, they find out that the baby’s life was at risk, and they take a different route home. So Herod does a terrible thing: he has all the male infants in and around Bethlehem, killed. And just to be sure he gets the right one, he kills all of them under the age of two, even one of his own sons. There was an idiom around Jerusalem those days which said “In Herod’s house, his pigs are safer than his children.” So today, as we continue singing “Joy to the World” we read about children dying senselessly, and mothers weeping uncontrollably. And these verses, along with other verses in the bible that are almost too painful to read, have come to be known as “texts of terror.” There’s that word again.

You see, terrorism didn’t get invented in the 21st century. Evil people have been perfecting it for many centuries now. Whenever there is an opportunity to stand in the way of peace, or work against love, or insult human dignity, evil people have found a way to do that.

Steve Molin, They Grow Up So Fast

________________

The Work of Christmas

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 flock,
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.

Howard Thurman

____________________

There Is Weeping In the Night

We Christians have just celebrated Christmas, the birth of the Christ Child. With the amalgamation of Matthew's and Luke's birth narratives, we have set up our nativity scenes. Angels have spoken to Mary and Joseph in different Gospels. We have looked heavenward for the star. The Magi, along with the shepherds, arrive at the manger scene, and all is at peace! Is it not? "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace...." Isn't that how it goes?

We can put away the cr?che for another year. It's back to the same old, same old. The gifts have been distributed and New Year's Eve is just around the corner. "Drinks on me!"

But I hear, I continue to hear voices out in the night, when the moon is dark and the sky is black. No, they are not just voices; they are cries. There is weeping in the night.

Joseph has another dream. This time he is to get his new family out of town. They are to be displaced because they are in danger.

Some powerful people fear the newborn Jewish baby. But, after all, he is only a baby! However, some want him dead, eradicated. How Jewish is this? The family travels south to Egypt. You recall the other baby the powers that be wanted dead? Moses! Indeed, many children were slaughtered! And it happens once again in Bethlehem.

Robert M. Zanicky, Rachel's Weeping Must Cease!

_______________________

A Sense of Wonder

Jacob Needleman, quoted by Eric S. Ritz in the sermon ‘The Fourth King in the Christmas Story’

===================

HUMOR
===================

Jesus' Flight to Egypt

It was Christmas and the Pastor had planned a visit to a Pre-School Sunday School class. The teacher, wanting to impress the pastor had the each child draw a picture of some part of the Christmas story. The teacher put the art work on the wall; the preacher came and he was impressed as he identified each drawing's meaning. There was one with a barn and a man and a woman. It was obvious that this was Joseph, Mary, and Jesus at the manger. Another had sheep, men, and angels in the sky. The Shepherd scene he concluded. Another had a caravan with camels and a star in the sky. This was wise men seeking the Christ child.

But one puzzled him. It was an airplane with three figures going up the steps boarding the plane and one other figure in the cockpit. He thought and thought until he had to ask what it meant. The artist spoke up, "It's Jesus' flight to Egypt." Ok said the pastor but who is that up front? "Oh, That's Pontius the pilot."

Traditional. Revised by Brett Blair

____________________

Post-Christmas Letdown

After Christmas, Lucy mutters, "Rats! Phooey! Everything is hopeless! Who cares?"

Charlie Brown asks, "Lucy, what in the world is the matter with you?"

Again she shouts, "Rats! Phooey!" The last cartoon shows her walking away only to turn and drop a casual comment to the puzzled Charlie Brown. "Of course you realize," she says, "that I'm just experiencing my regular, post-Christmas letdown."

King Duncan, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com

_____________________

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Last Christmas Letter

A great way to end your sermon might be to read Dr. King’s Last Christmas Letter. I have seldom seen it referenced, since King is most often cited for his “I Have a Dream” speech. But this Christmas Letter is also a dream speech. So here it is in its entirety.

Greetings of the Season:

When the horizons of man's destiny loom ashen and somber; when the deafening report of weaponry stuns yearnings for peace; when people are alienated from the outside society, spiritually isolated, and weary of heart; when a child is hungry, a father desperate, and a mother fearful ‑ the beseeching question arises, where can one turn?

This year that question is so relevant and contemporary, so deeply serious and urgent for all who will face it that all of us must search now for a reasoned yet comforting answer.

We cannot deny the dreadful conditions found in our society and in the world. Global holocaust is no longer a mere technological possibility; it is a direct and escalating threat. The spirit of man everywhere has been dampened, and often his mind is engulfed in gloom. And there are millions of hungry children, defeated fathers, and frightened mothers in our land and others.

We ‑ these people, you, all of us ‑ must have not only hope for the unknown future but also confidence in our capacity to change the menacing present. Let us put hands and heart, mind and muscle to this task. Let us not give up, for surrender and apathy are nothing but failure. In our work let us see scorn and ridicule of us for what they are ‑ scornful and ridiculous. "Keep your hand on the plow," the old spiritual admonishes. "Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round," the freedom song declares.

This is a season when we can summon that kind of determination and bold purpose required to create inner peace and to commit external acts of good will.

Peace and good will, the simplest and most elusive of dreams, the dreams of this season, begin with the individual before they can be extended to collective man. So let us begin with ourselves.

If we as individual human beings will spurn selfishness, we shall appreciate the value of true love of self, and the exhilarating beauty of living. And if we recognize that all people can become truly alive and beautiful, we will understand the cosmic truth that all men are brothers and inseparable. Then we will see where we must go and how we must live. Real brothers cannot kill each other, are incapable of oppressing each other, and are utterly unable to hate each other because they are as one in the embodiment of dignity and respect.

We who know we are brothers therefore have a duty to bring others back into the broken family of man and into our world house. In the context of the modern world we must live together as brothers or we shall perish divided as fools.

The task is stern and provocative. Among the moral imperatives of our time we are challenged to work all over the world with unshakable commitment to wipe out the last vestiges of racism. Another grave problem that must be solved if we are to live creatively is that of poverty on both the national and international scale. A final problem that demands solution is finding an alternative to war and human destruction.

Yes, the challenges are awesome but exciting too. This is a season when we can still take heart. We can be joyful that swelling masses are absolutely dedicated to the death of racism and a life of brotherhood. We can give thanks that the world at last has the ability and resources to end poverty and that more and more people are overcoming their blindness to the suffering poor. We can thrill to the burgeoning love of peace and the devotion to it.

We wish you and yours a joyous Holiday and a New Year of fulfillment.

Martin Luther King, Jr., December 25, 1962

______________________________

We Know Exactly How You Feel, Jesus

Oh, Christmas has come and gone, but its scent lingers: spiced cider, evergreen, bayberry candles, cookies baking, popcorn, ham and scalloped potatoes, chestnuts roasting, and hot chocolate. Christmas has come, and its scent lingers: the aroma of newspaper casually read by a crackling fire or the smell of a new book received as a gift; pungent chemicals of instant pictures developing, or tempera paint on a homemade gift; play- dough, silly putty, gift perfume or cologne, shoe polish applied generously for a Christmas Eve shine. Christmas has come and its scent lingers.

In this season of angels, Paul proclaims that it is not with the angels that Christ is concerned but with men and women -- children of Abraham. "For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned, but with the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God ..." (Hebrews 2:16, 17). Did he have to become Love Incarnate and be "made like his brethren in every respect" so that he could understand us? Or so that we could understand him?

A youth choir at a church was in rehearsal preparing a pageant which included some upbeat songs and choreography. One of the regulars in the group, Melissa, had brought a friend who was not catching on to the rhythm or the words. As sometimes happens, the regular had become focused on her own preparation and had forgotten about shepherding her friend. Also in the group was a boy named Cash Box because he always seemed to have money in his pocket, which won him favor with some. His social awkwardness and offensive banter, however, usually left his interpersonal balance sheet in the negative. As the rehearsal continued, Melissa's friend became more and more embarrassed, feeling clumsy and out of place. Finally she broke from the group. Down the hallway she fled, trying not to be noticed, pretending to read a bulletin board, flushed with tears, mortified, wishing she had never come. Soon footsteps approached from behind. It was Cash Box. The youth pastor edged closer to the scene, concerned over what Cash might say. "Hey, I saw you in there. Don't worry, this song's kinda hard; don't really know it myself. But we can't learn it standing out here. C'mon, let's go back in. You won't be alone. I know what it's like to be alone."

Sometimes we wonder: Do you know I'm alone, Jesus? Do you know exactly how I feel? Jesus taught that God cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air and that the hairs on our head are numbered in God's eyes. But how can we know God understands? That Christ understands? Because he became like us in every respect....

Frank Luchsinger, Moving at the Speed of Light, CSS Publishing Co.