This sermon is based on Luke 2:8-14. Not the Luke 1 text above.

His name is Matt. He is a grown man now, a six feet, 5 inch tall Texas, but each year his family remembers and celebrates something he did one Christmas when he was just a young boy. It happened in Tyler, Texas in 1966. Matt lived in the best of worlds or the toughest of worlds depending on how you looked at it because, you see, Matt was one of six children, and he was the only boy. That’s right, he had (count ‘em)… 1, 2, 3, 4… 5 sisters! Now, can you imagine being the only boy in the house with five sisters? Matt’s family was then and still is today a devout Christian family deeply rooted in the United Methodist Church, and Christmas was always a special time for them.

As Christmas approached in 1966, however, Matt realized something. It hit him suddenly that:

-- His Dad had always been the one who had taken all of the children to see Santa Claus.

-- His Dad had always been the one who had personally taken the children’s letters to Santa and made sure they reached Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole in plenty of time… so Santa would know where they were – and what all the children wanted for Christmas each year.

-- Matt’s Dad had always been their special link to jolly Ol’ St. Nick, but in 1966, Matt’s Dad had a heart attack. He ultimately survived the heart attack, but that year Dad was in the hospital in East Texas in the month of December, and had not been able to take the children or their letters to Santa. Matt became concerned. They had moved to Tyler that year, so Matt became convinced that not only would Santa not know what they all wanted for Christmas, even worse, he wouldn’t know where they lived now. Matt decided that he would have to cover for Santa Claus that year. He had to play like he was Santa. So, on Christmas Eve in Tyler, Texas in 1966, Matt hung five of his long, used basketball socks on the mantle and filled them with

-- Trinkets for his five sisters,

-- Trinkets he had bought with money he had saved from his paper route,

-- Trinkets he had thoughtfully and carefully selected for each of his sisters.

On Christmas morning, the family ran into the living room and found a double surprise.

(1) First of all, they discovered that the real Santa is so smart. He found them in Tyler, Texas, and he left all the right things. He left for them just what they would have asked for if they had been able to see and write Santa earlier in the season. And, as always, there was a note from Santa thanking them for the cookies and milk and encouraging them to be good children.

(2) And, then, they discovered those long, used basketball socks filled with Christmas trinkets for each of the five sisters. Everybody was delighted and touched because they recognized those basketball socks, and they realized what Matt had done. Attached to the socks was another letter, this one from the play-like Santa. It read like this:

“Dear Children, Thanks for the cookies and milk. Remember to be good children. Remember to mind your mom and dad, say your prayers every night and go to church every Sunday. (Signed) Love, Santa” And, there was a P.S. It said: “Be nicer to your brother.”

Now, that’s understandable. When you have five sisters, you have to resort to every measure at your disposal. You would be interested to know a couple of more things about this true story.

(1) First, to this day when that family gathers for Christmas, there are long basketball socks on the mantle for everybody, only now everybody in the family puts things in the socks for each other. Members of the family sneak into the room in the middle of the night and add something to the socks.

(2) The other thing I thought you would like to know is that one of Matt’s sisters is now a member of the St. Luke’s Staff. Her name is Jane Williams… our minister to children and their families.

Wasn’t that beautiful how Matt as a young boy “rose to the occasion.” He noticed something that needed to be done, and he took it upon himself to be the one to do it. When Jane told me that story about her brother Matt’s action that Christmas Eve in 1966, it reminded me of the Shepherds in the Christmas Story in Luke’s Gospel because – that’s what they did. They noticed things and acted. They noticed things and responded. They noticed things and they did something about it. They saw something that needed to be done and they rose to the occasion.

Let me show you what I mean:

I. FIRST OF ALL THE SHEPHERDS SAW THE ANGEL. They took notice of the Angel of Christmas.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Well, of course they saw the angel! How could they miss that??

-- The angel appeared dramatically.

-- The glory of the Lord shone around them brightly.

-- The angel told them boldly about the baby in the manger in Bethlehem.

-- And then, the angelic chorus broke into song: “Glory to God in the highest!”

You couldn’t miss that, could you? And yet, as powerful as that was, as glorious as that was, as dramatic as that was, no one else noticed. According to the Bible, Bethlehem and the surrounding regions were jam-packed with people that night but only the Shepherds saw the Angel; only the Shepherds took notice.

Angels are messengers from God and only those with the eyes of faith can see them and only those with the ears of faith can hear them, and only those with hearts of faith can sense and feel their presence.

A few years ago, the Houston Chronicle did a nice thing. They printed a series of holiday stories submitted by readers. One appeared in the paper each day.

One of the stories came from Cynthia Thomas who was one of the Chaplains at St. Luke’s Hospital at the time. Listen to her words:

“It was my first Christmas back in Houston and I was dreading the season. With friends and family far away, I felt lonely and unloved. Even God, it seemed, had abandoned me. I did not expect my best Christmas gift to be a woman dressed like a package. I had dropped by the M. D. Anderson Chapel to watch some fellow employees tape their Christmas musical. It was there that I encountered her, a small, frail, middle-aged patient. She was totally “wrapped.”

-- A turban covered her baldhead, the signature side effect of her treatment.

-- A facemask protected her from germs.

-- Her wheel chair was draped with sheets and blankets.

As the choir performed, this patient sat nearby singing Handel’s Messiah with all her heart. Probably only her husband and God could hear her, but her spirit was soaring all over the room. While everything about her physical body whispered sickness and death, a love that transcends death poured from that frail frame. She sang with abandon, her pale, thin face luminous and eyes glittering.

In the middle of this, the struggle of her life, this woman was praising God. And, in her joyful expression, it was as if Jesus were saying to me. ‘I don’t leave when times are hard. Just as I love this woman, I love you.’ If I ran into this patient today, I would have no idea who she is, but for a moment she became God’s instrument for me. I have a Christmas memory of seeing God through a patient and I remember her as a very special gift.” Cynthia Thomas, the Chaplain who wrote this touching holiday story, had seen the Angel of Christmas in a most unlikely place. She had seen the Angel of Christmas in a hospital patient.

Listen! The Angels of Christmas are all around us. The question is: Do we have the eyes of faith to see them, and the ears of faith to hear them, and the hearts of faith to sense and feel their presence? That’s number one: The Shepherds saw the Angel, and they responded in faith, hope and love.

II. SECOND, THEY SAW THE CHRIST-CHILD.

You may say: How could they miss Him? There was that “Bright Star” in the sky. But, most everybody else did miss Him. Most people ignored the star and the baby, but not the Shepherds. They came to see the Christ-Child.

W. E. Sangster, the noted British minister and writer, once told a true and poignant story about being invited to a party one day to celebrate a wedding. He arrived late. He really did not know anyone there except the friend who had invited him. Everyone seemed in high spirits, dancing, laughing, singing, eating, visiting. Apparently everyone was having a good time. However, as the evening progressed, Dr. Sangster said he noticed a beautiful young woman sitting at a table all by herself. No one was paying any attention to her at all. When Dr. Sangster asked his friend who she was, the friend replied: Don’t you know? I must introduce you to her...she is the bride!!

Dr. Sangster concluded by saying, “Can you imagine that? Can you imagine being left alone and unnoticed at your own wedding party? Can you imagine being ignored on your ‘Big Day?’ Is this perhaps how Jesus must sometimes feel at Christmas? Some people come to the Christmas party and ignore the guest of honor.”

The Shepherds didn’t make that mistake. They had their priorities straight. They dropped everything and rushed to the manger to see the newborn king of kings. The Shepherds are an inspiration to us today because they saw the Angel and they saw the Christ-child, and they responded in faith, hope and love.

III. THIRD AND FINALLY, THEY SAW THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRISTMAS.

About this time each year they show it on television, Dr. Seuss’s classic story, “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

The Grinch was a sinister character who despised the celebration of Christmas. The people of Whoville loved Christmas and their celebration of Christmas irritated the grouchy Grinch. The people of Whoville

-- Would gather on Christmas Day around their beautifully decorated trees.

-- They would sing and laugh and play with great happiness as they opened their presents, tasted the sweets of their stockings and celebrated the great joy of the day.

-- O how the Grinch hated the sound of it all.

So, the Grinch hatched an evil plan. He would show them. He would steal their Christmas. That would stop all their laughing and singing and Christmas noise.

He disguised himself as Santa Claus, and he went from house to house, and stole all the toys and presents and sweets of Christmas. He was so proud of himself and his evil deed, and on Christmas morning, he waited with baited breath to hear the sound of sadness when the people of Whoville discovered that their Christmas had been stolen.

But to his amazement, what he heard was not the sound of crying and moaning. What he heard was the same sound of joy he had always heard, the people of Whoville were singing and laughing and celebrating as always the joy of Christmas Day.

The point is clear: If the Christ-child is born in your heart, no one can steal your Christmas! For, you see, the real joy of Christmas is not in material presents (nice as they are); No, it is in receiving the only gift of Christmas that really matters, the Gift of God’s Love in Jesus Christ. The Gift that was wrapped Heaven. The Shepherds saw it. Remember how the scriptures put it: “And the Shepherds returned, glorifying God and praising God for all they had heard and seen, they saw the angel, they saw the Christ-child, they saw the “Good News” of Christmas, and they rose to the occasion and responded in faith, hope and love.

In this Christmas Season,

May God put the Spirit of the Shepherds in us.

May God put the Spirit of the Wise Men in us.

May God put the spirit of Mary and Joseph in us.

But, most important of all – May God put the spirit of Jesus in us. He wants to do that… He wants to come into our hearts, but we have to let Him in.