Gift 5: Christ; The Hinge on the Revolving Door

I started thinking about this sermon many months ago, and I’m not sure how to say anything about this Holiday. I am a new minister, what could I have to say about Christmas that someone hasn’t thought of or said already. I decided early on that I was going to title the Advent season “The Five Gifts From God”. The first four titles were rather generics, Gift 1, Gift 2 and so on. Well today’s sermon is titled Gift 5: Christ but there is another little zing to this title…the rest of the title is “Hinged on the Revolving Door”. Sound a bit odd for a Christmas sermon? I pray by the time I am done, God has shown the light upon why the title is what it is.

I love Easter. Easter is a time of springtime, blooming flowers, budding trees, new life and renewed hope. So why does culture put an emphasis on Christmas, but not Easter? Easter is when we celebrate the resurrected Christ; wouldn’t that be a more important holiday? Well, not necessarily, because they are equally important. We have to remember that Christmas is the big shopping holiday. Public schools can teach about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, but avoid teaching about the birth of Christ himself. Why is Jesus so scary? I mean, I am a firm believer in being educated about other world religions, but to teach EVERYTHING but the real Christian tie to Christmas seems a little like the enemy succeeding is squashing the tale from being told. However, this is nothing new.

Our lives are always on the revolving door of life. Things always change, people, jobs, houses, cars, but one thing remains the same…Christ. If there was no birth, there would have been no ministry. If there were no ministry, there would have been no crucifixion, no resurrection, and no eternal life.

I want to paint a picture for you. Imagine you are going down to the County Courthouse or a big office building; somewhere where they have those huge doors that are like turnstiles. You know the doors I am talking about right? The ones where you can go around in a circle as a kid and have so much fun that parents go, “Stop that!!!” It is this door that I want you to focus on. Think about the mechanics of how it works. There are individual panes of glass that separate the sections although you can see into the next section. The door is usually encased in all glass that you can see everything going on. But what allows that door to revolve and keep going? It’s the pole, the hinge in the middle of the door that keeps it on track and moving.

Now that you have this picture in your head, let me paint this picture into Christmas. Let’s say that the whole door represents time. Time keeps going on in a circular pattern. We can see into the past at what has happened and we can somewhat see into the future, with the help of God and the Holy Spirit. What is it that keeps this “door” revolving around and moving along it’s track without fail? Right…the hinge…that pole in the center that keeps everything steady and true…my friends, that is Jesus. He is the hinge on the revolving door of time that glues everything…EVERYTHING together, whether or not we recognize he is Lord. We are fortunate enough to recognize the fact that Jesus is indeed Lord of all.

If you think of the Bible, Genesis begins with God creating. Man existed in a perfect relationship with God. But then, we ruined it. God spent the rest of the Bible getting it back to where we should be…that revolving door of time. In Revelation, things will be restored back to the way they were. We easily coin this term, the “End of Time”. But, I don’t really think “End of Time” is appropriate.

Instead, I prefer to think of time hinging on this night, 2000 plus years ago. Had it not been for the faith of a teenage woman, the devotion of a husband to be and their unborn Son, the world would have been doomed to extinction. Instead, life can go on…well after this age ends. You see, history hinges on Christ…more than that though, it hinges on his birth. Yes, Easter is important, but Christmas is the hinge, the glue that holds it all together. Revelation isn’t the end…it’s a new beginning. It’s a second chance to be in harmony with all things around us, including God. That is why I tend to think that Christ’s birth is the point in time that holds the past and the future together. Christ is the glue, the hinge that binds us together upon the revolving door of life.

Keeping on this track of new beginnings, we celebrate advent because we are invited to ‘begin again’. Advent is a time to renew ourselves. Each of the advent candles are placed in a circular wreath to signify God’s completeness with Christ in the center…sound familiar? Sorta like that revolving door…hmmm. Although it’s only four candles and four qualities, these are qualities that lie in Christ. We began with hope.

If you remember back to the first week, we remember that true hope lies in Christ. Hoping is to be expecting something. We hope in the return of our Savior…we extinguish the hope candle, because our hope lies in Christ.

The second week was peace. Jesus gives us the peace so that we don’t have to worry about anything, even from a falling ceiling, disease, or strife. We extinguish the peace candle, because Jesus left his peace with us.

The third week we looked to joy. True joy comes from F.R.O.G., Fully Relying On God. When we fully rely on God, we are taking the fact that Jesus made himself Holy and Sanctified so that we may be too, allowing us to Fully Rely On God during the times we need it the most. We extinguish the Joy candle, because the Joy we have comes from the sanctification of Jesus, and his sanctification of us.

Finally, last week we talked about love. Love, is not a feeling, love is an action. God acted to create humanity AND to save it. He didn’t have to do any of it. We know that Christ is love. We extinguish the love candle because we know that love acts…and love acted in the person of Jesus.

This brings us to this night…Christmas, where Jesus is the focus. We extinguish the other candles because tonight, the anticipation is over. The Christ candle is lit and all of our hope, peace, joy and love lie in the manger with the little Christ child. He is the hinge that holds the revolving door of life together. All prophecies are fulfilled in him and all things that will be are from him.

You know, in our world, we have a tendency to romanticize Christ’s birth and the manger scene. We get these cute little pictures of Mary and Joseph sitting on hay with shepherds on bended knee. The truth of it all, as someone from the country would be more apt to think of, would be all of the sheer filthiness of the manger scene. It would have stunk horribly, The manger was probably the safest and cleanest place for Jesus to lay. It was cold beyond cold, and the inns were probably not just full, but Mary, being pregnant and unwed, would have been shunned by all. Having the upmost faith, telling those whom would listen that she was pregnant not of man, but the Holy Spirit, would have been laughed at and turned away by just about everyone.

I mean, think about it in today’s terms. What would do you think would happen in today’s world if a young couple came in saying they needed a place to stay, probably had very little money and were not married? Well, unfortunately, in today’s world, it is a little more normal, not acceptable, but normal to be pregnant and unwed. Even by today’s standards, they would be shunned in our world. Then imagine if she said she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit…we’d commit her to the psych ward! What Mary and Joseph went through to just get a spot in the manger was probably an ordeal. Without the Holy Spirit as knowledge back then, they had no earthly clue about what was about to happen. Unfortunately, without the Holy Spirit to guide us back then, we probably would have done the same.

With this being said, the creator of the universe, God, with his enormity and his entire splendor, came down to Earth to be born as a man. I want you to think of our little church here in Stonington. Now think about the size of Stonington itself. Now think about the size of the state of Illinois, the size of the USA, the size of the Planet, the size of the Solar System…the size of the Milky Way Galaxy…the entire universe…in the scheme of things, a baby is REALLY small. I mean the furthest we have gone in manned space travel is the Moon…we’ve sent satellites and objects into space that are still within the confines of our own solar system. Imagine God, bigger than all of these things combined being stuffed into a package weighing about 8 pounds. (Pull out the baby doll) Wow. Um…that’s a whole lot of greatness tucked into a tiny package.

I want to now share a story with you that I hope touches you like it did me. It’s called Christmas at the Gas Station.

The old man sat in his gas station on a cold Christmas Eve. He hadn't been anywhere in years since his wife had passed away. It was just another day to him. He didn't hate Christmas, just couldn't find a reason to celebrate. He was sitting there looking at the snow that had been falling for the last hour and wondering what it was all about when the door opened and a homeless man stepped through. Instead of throwing the man out, Old George as he was known by his customers, told the man to come and sit by the heater and warm up. "Thank you, but I don't mean to intrude," said the stranger. "I see you're busy, I'll just go." "Not without something hot in your belly." George said. He turned and opened a wide mouth Thermos and handed it to the stranger. "It ain't much, but it's hot and tasty. Stew ... Made it myself. When you're done, there's coffee and it's fresh."
Just at that moment he heard the "ding" of the driveway bell. "Excuse me, be right back," George said. There in the driveway was an old '53 Chevy. Steam was rolling out of the front. The driver was panicked. "Mister can you help me!" said the driver, with a deep Spanish accent. "My wife is with child and my car is broken." George opened the hood. It was bad. The block looked cracked from the cold, the car was dead. "You ain't going in this thing," George said as he turned away. "But Mister, please help ..." The door of the office closed behind George as he went inside. He went to the office wall and got the keys to his old truck, and went back outside. He walked around the building, opened the garage, started the truck and drove it around to where the couple was waiting. "Here, take my truck," he said. "She ain't the best thing you ever looked at, but she runs real good." George helped put the woman in the truck and watched as it sped off into the night. He turned and walked back inside the office. "Glad I gave 'em the truck, their tires were shot too. That 'ol truck has brand new ." George thought he was talking to the stranger, but the man had gone. The Thermos was on the desk, empty, with a used coffee cup beside it. "Well, at least he got something in his belly," George thought. George went back outside to see if the old Chevy would start. It cranked slowly, but it started. He pulled it into the garage where the truck had been. He thought he would tinker with it for something to do. Christmas Eve meant no customers. He discovered the the block hadn't cracked, it was just the bottom hose on the radiator. "Well, shoot, I can fix this," he said to himself. So he put a new one on. "Those tires ain't gonna get 'em through the winter either." He took the snow treads off of his wife's old Lincoln . They were like new and he wasn't going to drive the car anyway. As he was working, he heard shots being fired. He ran outside and beside a police car an officer lay on the cold ground. Bleeding from the left shoulder, the officer moaned, "Please help me." George helped the officer inside as he remembered the training he had received in the Army as a medic. He knew the wound needed attention. "Pressure to stop the bleeding," he thought. The uniform company had been there that morning and had left clean shop towels. He used those and duct tape to bind the wound. "Hey, they say duct tape can fix anythin'," he said, trying to make the policeman feel at ease. "Something for pain," George thought. All he had was the pills he used for his back. "These ought to work." He put some water in a cup and gave the policeman the pills. "You hang in there, I'm going to get you an ambulance." The phone was dead. "Maybe I can get one of your buddies on that there talk box out in your car." He went out only to find that a bullet had gone into the dashboard destroying the two way radio. He went back in to find the policeman sitting up. "Thanks," said the officer. "You could have left me there. The guy that shot me is still in the area."
George sat down beside him, "I would never leave an injured man in the Army and I ain't gonna leave you." George pulled back the bandage to check for bleeding. "Looks worse than what it is. Bullet passed right through 'ya. Good thing it missed the important stuff though. I think with time your gonna be right as rain." George got up and poured a cup of coffee. "How do you take it?" he asked. "None for me," said the officer. "Oh, yer gonna drink this. Best in the city. Too bad I ain't got no donuts." The officer laughed and winced at the same time. The front door of the office flew open. In burst a young man with a gun. "Give me all your cash! Do it now!" the young man yelled. His hand was shaking and George could tell that he had never done anything like this before. "That's the guy that shot me!" exclaimed the officer. "Son, why are you doing this?" asked George, "You need to put the cannon away. Somebody else might get hurt."
The young man was confused. "Shut up old man, or I'll shoot you, too. Now give me the cash!" The cop was reaching for his gun. "Put that thing away," George said to the cop, "we got one too many in here now." He turned his attention to the young man. "Son, it's Christmas Eve. If you need money, well then, here. It ain't much but it's all I got. Now put that pea shooter away." George pulled $150 out of his pocket and handed it to the young man, reaching for the barrel of the gun at the same time. The young man released his grip on the gun, fell to his knees and began to cry. "I'm not very good at this am I? All I wanted was to buy something for my wife and son," he went on. "I've lost my job, my rent is due, my car got repossessed last week." George handed the gun to the cop. "Son, we all get in a bit of squeeze now and then. The road gets hard sometimes, but we make it through the best we can." He got the young man to his feet, and sat him down on a chair across from the cop. "Sometimes we do stupid things." George handed the young man a cup of coffee. "Bein' stupid is one of the things that makes us human. Comin' in here with a gun ain't the answer. Now sit there and get warm and we'll sort this thing out." The young man had stopped crying. He looked over to the cop. "Sorry I shot you. It just went off. I'm sorry officer." "Shut up and drink your coffee " the cop said. George could hear the sounds of sirens outside. A police car and an ambulance skidded to a halt. Two cops came through the door, guns drawn. "Chuck! You ok?" one of the cops asked the wounded officer. "Not bad for a guy who took a bullet. How did you find me?" "GPS locator in the car. Best thing since sliced bread. Who did this?" the other cop asked as he approached the young man. Chuck answered him, "I don't know. The guy ran off into the dark. Just dropped his gun and ran." George and the young man both looked puzzled at each other. "That guy work here?" the wounded cop continued. "Yep," George said, "just hired him this morning. Boy lost his job." The paramedics came in and loaded Chuck onto the stretcher. The young man leaned over the wounded cop and whispered, "Why?" Chuck just said, "Merry Christmas boy ... and you too, George, and thanks for everything."
"Well, looks like you got one doozy of a break there. That ought to solve some of your problems."George went into the back room and came out with a box. He pulled out a ring box. "Here you go, something for the little woman. I don't think Martha would mind. She said it would come in handy some day." The young man looked inside to see the biggest diamond ring he ever saw. "I can't take this," said the young man. "It means something to you." "And now it means something to you," replied George. "I got my memories. That's all I need." George reached into the box again. An airplane, a car and a truck appeared next. They were toys that the oil company had left for him to sell. "Here's something for that little man of yours."
The young man began to cry again as he handed back the $150 that the old man had handed him earlier. "And what are you supposed to buy Christmas dinner with? You keep that too," George said. "Now git home to your family." The young man turned with tears streaming down his face. "I'll be here in the morning for work, if that job offer is still good." "Nope. I'm closed Christmas day," George said. "See ya the day after." George turned around to find that the stranger had returned. "Where'd you come from? I thought you left?" "I have been here. I have always been here," said the stranger. "You say you don't celebrate Christmas. Why?" "Well, after my wife passed away, I just couldn't see what all the bother was. Puttin' up a tree and all seemed a waste of a good pine tree. Bakin' cookies like I used to with Martha just wasn't the same by myself and besides I was gettin' a little chubby." The stranger put his hand on George's shoulder. "But you do celebrate the holiday, George. You gave me food and drink and warmed me when I was cold and hungry. The woman with child will bear a son and he will become a great doctor. The policeman you helped will go on to save 19 people from being killed by terrorists. The young man who tried to rob you will make you a rich man and not take any for himself. "That is the spirit of the season and you keep it as good as any man." George was taken aback by all this stranger had said. "And how do you know all this?" asked the old man. "Trust me, George. I have the inside track on this sort of thing. And when your days are done you will be with Martha again." The stranger moved toward the door. "If you will excuse me, George, I have to go now. I have to go home where there is a big celebration planned."
George watched as the old leather jacket and the torn pants that the stranger was wearing turned into a white robe. A golden light began to fill the room. "You see, George ... it's My birthday. Merry Christmas." George fell to his knees and replied, "Happy Birthday, Lord Jesus" Merry Christmas!!

This story is a prime example of how Christ hinges all things together. We are an intricately woven together being in a world that is equally as intricate.

In our Advent Season, there is a reason hope comes first in the advent season. If we have true hope, that God intended, it leads to Peace. Peace then leads to a true joy. Once we are joyful, then it naturally leads to Love, which in turn shows Christ. And, if we have Christ, then we have hope. Christ hinges all things together.

Christ is the culmination of a hope that was had by God before the world began. Christ hinges history together. If it weren’t for the miracle of this little baby, on this silent night over 2000 years ago, there would have been no crucifixion or resurrection. History is hinged on this night, so long ago. Our lives can be a revolving door with things in and out…but every revolving door needs a point to hold it together. That hinge in the middle of the revolving door of life, is Christ.
Allow that hinge to come and renew your life not only on this Christmas night, but always. After the candle lighting ceremony, you may stay as long or as short as you want. I want you to remember, reflect, and renew your life to be lived on the only hinge that can hold things together. Christ, the hinge on the revolving door of life…have a Blessed Christmas.