Bob Keeshan entertained children for years as the jovial Captain Kangaroo. The television show Captain Kangaroo ran on CBS for nearly thirty years, from October 1955 until December 1984, making it one of the longest-running nationally broadcasted children’s television programs.

In Keeshan’s autobiography Growing Up Happy, he shared the moment when he realized life would be marvelous. Shortly after the Second World War, Keeshan, an eighteen-year-old Marine, was on board the troopship USS Rockbridge Ranger sailing toward his last duty station in Hawaii. He enjoyed spending the dark nights standing in the forecastle, gazing at the starlit skies. The bow dipped into each succeeding wave and when it raised the heavens shown gloriously overhead. Reflecting on this experience Keeshan wrote, “There was a rhythm to life, I felt at those moments. I didn’t know what was going to happen to me when I was discharged, but I would be nineteen and I was convinced that the world would be wonderful.”

As we approach Christmas we have a feeling of tranquility. We have a feeling that all is right with the world. We have a feeling that the world is wonderful. We have this feeling because of the spirit of Christmas. It is the spirit of Christmas that the coming of the child Jesus will make all things new. It is the spirit of Christmas that the child in the manger will become our comforter and our protector. It is the spirit of Christmas that lets us know our sins will be forgiven and that heaven will be our final resting place.

It is in Christmas season that on the darkest of nights when our problems seem to overwhelm us we can stand in the forecastle, gazing at the starlit skies. When the bow of our lives dips with despair into each succeeding wave of sorrow, when it rises again we will see the heavens shinning gloriously overhead.

The shepherds saw a heavenly chorus of angels among the stars. The three wise men followed a beautiful star. When we look up at the stars we see Christ enthroned in the heavens. Yes, this does convince us that the world is wonderful.

The newspaper comic Real Life Adventures discusses the real-life problems we all encounter in the course of the day. The comic addresses the ordinary mundane aspects of life. The everyday chores, squabbles, and quirks of humankind are successfully parodied in the comic. The writers Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich were able to do this in a humorous way, but the power of their message is never lost. In their Christmas comic there was no humor, but only a powerful message to contemplate.

In the Christmas issue of Real Life Adventures a father and his son were looking out the window of their home. A Christmas tree could be seen behind them. Outside the window snow was gently falling, and two pine trees were covered with snow. The scene was very heartwarming. The father, with his hand on his son’s shoulder, listened to the boy’s question, “Whatcha looking at, Dad?” To which his father replied, “Peace on earth.” 

The world is wonderful. Peace on earth. That is the message of Christmas. That is the message of the church.

In our lectionary reading for this morning, the apostle Paul shares with us the three attributes of a genuine church and all three attributes are reflected in our understanding of Christmas. The three attributes are: a happy church, a praying church, and a thankful church. Happy — praying — thankful. Let us hope we are that church. Let us hope we can become that church.

Each year NBC has a Christmas tradition of broadcasting a live musical. The performance in 2016 was Hairspray. But in 2016 NBC made an addition to their live telecast. The addition was that some of the commercials would also be live, not pre-recorded. NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt said of this new endeavor, “The more you can make the audience feel that the ads are a part of the zeitgeist of the show, the less they feel like, ‘oh, it’s a pharmaceutical ad in the middle of this joyous musical.’”

The proclamation of the birth of the child by the prophets and the angels makes those of us in the congregation feel like we are a part of the celebration. And being a part of the Christmas celebration will make us a happy, praying, and thankful congregation.

Let us first discuss what it means to be a happy church. In a happy church, there is an atmosphere of joy that makes the members of the congregation feel that they are bathed in the Christmas spirit. Parishioners find that being a part of the church is exhilarating, not depressing.

A happy church knows that Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus taught, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” We won’t see darkness if we keep facing Jesus, the light of the world. We must remember, that if we face the sun our shadow will fall behind us; but, if we turn our backs on the sun our shadows will fall in front of us. The message of a happy church is that if we continue to face Jesus, the light of the world, all of our problems will be behind us.

If we follow Jesus we will, in the words of Jesus, “have the light of life.” The light of life — isn’t that a wonderful description of what it means to be happy? And wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone sitting in our sanctuary felt that this church was for them the light of life? Just think, what if the people in our surrounding community saw our church as the light of life? Would they not be drawn to that light? It would be the light of a happy church.

A happy church exhibits the wholesome spiritual attributes that our presented by Paul which are: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” If everyone in our congregation practiced being loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, and gentle, this would be a happy church.

And how do we become a loving, joyful, peaceful, kind and gentle church? It is by practicing Paul’s second attribute of being a genuine church; and that is, by being a praying church.

Francis of Assisi was born in 1181. Francis was born into a very wealthy family, and in that environment, he focused his life on money and glory. Growing up, his father’s wealth allowed Francis to live a life of debauchery. In his quest for glory he joined the Fourth Crusades. In his snobbish desire to display his wealth he ordered that a suit of armor be made for him decorated with gold with a magnificent cloak.

But Francis only got one day’s ride into the crusade when he had a dream in which God told him he had life all wrong. Francis returned home with an understanding of the meaning of humility and poverty.

The real transformation of his life came when he took some cloth from his father’s store to help repair the church in Assai. His father, Pietro Bernardone, had Francis taken before the bishop, demanding that all the money be returned to the store. The bishop told Francis to return the money because God would provide.

That was all Francis needed to hear. He not only gave back the money but stripped off all the clothes his father had given him until he was wearing only a hair shirt. In front of the crowd that had gathered Francis said, “Pietro Bernardone is no longer my father. From now on I can say with complete freedom, ‘Our Father who art in heaven.’”

Wearing nothing but castoff rags, he went off into the freezing woods singing. When robbers later beat him and took his clothes, he climbed out of the ditch and went off singing again. In the year 1208, Francis began to preach and slowly gathered a group of followers. This group founded the Franciscan order. The Franciscan order is a monastic group that follows a strict order of prayer and poverty.

Francis’ life was changed when he said the Lord’s Prayer. Francis was fully converted to Christianity when he could pray “Our Father who art in heaven.” It was then that Francis discovered his mission in life. It was then that Francis experienced joy and peace. It was then when Francis became a happy person. It all came when Francis learned how to pray.

Prayer is a relationship, wherein we humbly communicate, worship, and sincerely seek God’s face, knowing that God does hear our prayers. Because God loves us God will respond to our prayers, though not always in a manner we may expect or desire. Our prayers can encompass confession, praise, adoration, supplication, and intercession.

In addition to God’s response to us, our response to God is important. Our attitude in prayer is important. We must not be haughty, but humble. We must pray continually, which means that we must always strive to have a prayerful attitude. Our prayers must come often and regularly, not from a legalistic duty, but from a humble heart, realizing our dependence on God in every aspect of our lives.

One of the most reassuring things about prayer is that it is always available to us. Nothing can keep us from approaching God in prayer except our own choice not to pray.

As a church we realize that prayer not only strengthens our relationship with God, but when we pray with other believers, prayer also strengthens the bonds between fellow Christians.

Prayer according to Paul is one of the three essential components to a genuine church. As members of this congregation we must accept the obligation to live a prayerful life. We need to have a private prayer life as well as a corporate prayer life. We pray quietly and alone during our time of personal daily meditation. We pray corporately as a congregation in worship and in Sunday school class, and before church meetings.

The blessing of a congregation where individuals pray privately and in groups is that we become a church that is totally focused on God.

Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, once said, “I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”

Prayer is an attribute of a genuine church because we know our earthly wisdom is not sufficient. In prayer, we seek the wisdom and presence of God.

The apostle Paul’s third attribute of a genuine church is that it is a thankful church. Christmas is the season of the year when we are most likely to talk about our blessings. Part of this discussion is represented by our gifts, that are so brightly and beautiful wrapped, that are shared with others. Christmas gifts are not a commercialization of Christmas, but a means of expressing our love and bestowing a blessing upon another person.

I know that there are many individuals in the sanctuary this morning where being thankful seems to be the farthest thing from them. Hardships have overtaken many. Some are facing financial distress. Others are experiencing estrangement from a family member. Stress at work has become daunting. Big decisions that must be made during the coming year are overwhelming.

I guess like Mary and Joseph in the stable and with Herod on the throne, things could not seem more bleak. But then, when Mary and Joseph looked into the manger and saw the Christ child, hope and peace was instilled within them. We too must take our eyes off  Herod and fix our gaze upon the child in the manger. When we can do that, we will become thankful.

Kermit the Frog, who is that adorable Muppet from the television program Sesame Street, once said, “Be thankful for the bad things in life. For they opened your eyes to the good things you weren’t paying attention to before!”

This is the season for us to pay attention to the good things in life. For those who are experiencing problems a good thing is the birth of Christ. We tend to focus all of our attention on those problems that infect our lives. But, as Kermit said, we also need to be able to see the good things we have in our lives. It would be good now for everyone seated in the sanctuary to start making a mental list of all your many wonderful and joyful blessings. There are many, and some of those blessings in a few weeks will be gathered about your decorated Christmas tree.

 The Ice Bucket Challenge has probably been forgotten by everyone by now. Remember it? You challenged a friend to have a bucket of ice water dumped on their head, and then make a donation to the find a cure for Lou Gehrig’s Disease. The 2014 challenge raised $220 million. The person who started it, the Boston College baseball captain, Pete Frates, who had Lou Gehrig’s Disease, received the NCAA 2017 Inspirational Award. The award was a way for the basketball community and society at large to say thanks.

Let us leave the sanctuary today dedicating ourselves to being a genuine church. Let us be a happy church, a praying church, a thankful church.

Amen.