Sermon:

Merry Christmas to all! Merry Christmas on this joyous
Christmas Morning.

This joyous morning as we once again listen to the
wonderful Gospel of Luke, the Glory of the Lord is in full display.

Angels appearing out of nowhere, singing and promising
peace on earth.

Shepherds, at first trembling in their sandals, and
finally glorifying and praising.

And then one quiet young woman, who has journeyed a long
way and just given birth in a stable, and the Gospel tells us that she “treasured
all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

Presumably, she is tired—giving birth to a baby, even a
messiah, takes energy. How exhausted was she after Gabriel’s first visit and
unexpected proclamation, after nine months of pregnancy, uncertainty and worry,
after traveling to Bethlehem, and having to settle in a stable to give birth?

And now some ragged shepherds barge in on her and her
newborn in the middle of the night.

 Luke has some sense of how a baby can change everything. A child truly changes everything.
All parents can attest to that. Some of you might remember a commercial that begins when
the sliding hospital doors open to reveal a man and woman; he is holding a baby
carrier. “Thirty-six hours ago,” says the voiceover, “you were Jeff
and Susan. Now you’re Mom and Dad.” The new parents look so nervous and so
tender enough to tug the heartstrings of anyone who has come home with a baby. We
may chuckle, remembering how many things a new parent does not know; or we may
tear up at the stunned expression on the new dad’s face, when the backup camera
brings his attention to a passing car. Becoming a mother, even if it is not in
a barn, as a young frightened girl, surrounded by bahing sheep and curious shepherds,
- becoming a mother is a huge, awesome and defining moment. Even if we have
read all the books about what to expect when you are expecting, we really do
not have a clue as how this child will change you and your life.

Christmas morning should be our time to be amazed by the
wonder of the birth of Christ, and it should be our time to pause to ponder.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight
to a blind man.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm
with his hand.

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where
angels trod?

And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed
the face of God

The beautiful hymn is reflecting on what Mary might have known and what she could never have known. All the things that she wondered and pondered and kept in her heart. All the things to worry about and all the happiness to give in to.

Through this Advent and Christmas season I have focused
on two distinct Danish words to express what we long for. Lykke and Hygge.
Happiness and coziness. These are two very distinct words for Danes as Danes
often have been named the happiest people on earth and Denmark the happiest
place to live. Lykke and hygge. Happiness and coziness. These are
ingredients for a happy good life. Moments of happiness and moments of
coziness. This is what we want for Christmas and what we as parents wish for
our children: happiness.

Mary pondered and paused during all the commotion of that
first Christmas Eve in the barn. During the Angels singing, the sheep bahing,
the shepherds whispering and the little baby boy crying, - she left the noise
of the world be, and paused and pondered. “How will the life of my child be?
How will my life be as a mother? How will we manage? What does all of this
truly mean: that my little baby boy will be a savior, will walk where angels trod,
will calm the stormy seas, give sight to the blind and give hope to the
hopeless? How could this be? …. Will he be happy? Will he find time to play and
be a happy child without no worries? Will he be my boy even if he will be the savior
of many?”

But how do we define happiness? And how do we obtain happiness? If we are constantly chasing happiness, we might lose it and lose sight of those happy cozy moments that simply just come our way.

Mary did not know how the life and being of her little baby boy would change the world and change the lives of people through generations and generation.

Mary did not know that someday, a beautiful church in Yorba Linda, would be the place the celebrate that birth that night so long time ago. Mary did not know that today, we will pause, and we will ponder on
how the life of that little baby boy has affected our lives and our hope and our faith.

The beautiful Christmas song “The drummer boy” sung by Bing Crosby and David Bowie has a beautiful angelic counterpart sung by David Bowie:

Peace on Earth, can it be?

Every child must be made aware

Every child must be made to care

Care enough for his fellow man

To give all the love that he can

I pray my wish will come true

For my child and your child too

He’ll see the day of glory

See the day when men og good will

Live in peace, live in peace.

Peace on earth, can it be”

 

This is still our prayer with Mary this Christmas Morning, as parents and as human beings – that our child and your child too someday somehow somewhere will see the day of glory when men of good will live in peace. Can it be, we wonder? Can it be, Mary wondered that night so long ago?

As we pause and ponder with Mary on this wonderful Christmas morning, - we should listen to the simple and profound truth about our human lives and happiness:

That happiness is found in human life when we share, and we care; when we share our faith and hope; when we sing the same song about peace on earth; when we believe that this life is so much grander and wondrous that our prognoses, plans and presumptions.

As Mary, we pause and ponder about our own life and the life of our children.

Every child must be made aware

Every child must be made to care

Care enough for his fellow man

To give all the love that he can

The little baby boy in the manger grew up to be a man who truly gave all the love that he could, he gave his life to save us all. That love gives us the strength to live and love, to share and to care, to know that
we are forgiven to try again when we fail. To know that we are loved and blessed to live this life with care and trust, with compassion and forgiveness, with humanity and with faith. To believe that we are loved and blessed to pursue a life of happiness – a happy life with wonderful glimpses of truth and love, with powerful pauses to reflect on happiness and with a strong faith in forgiveness, grace and love.  

Let us treasure these words in our hearts to find our way in this noisy world and time of ours. Let us always find time to pause and ponder with Mary and like Mary.

Because in our pause and in our ponder, we find time for prayer.

I pray my wish will come true

For my child and your child too

He’ll see the day of glory

See the day when men of good will

Live in peace, live in peace.

Merry Christmas!

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amen

Merry Christmas!

Live in peace, live in peace.

See the day when men of good will

He’ll see the day of glory

For my child and your child too

I pray my wish will come true

 

Because in our pause and in our ponder, we find time for
prayer.

Let us treasure these words in our hearts to find our way
in this noisy world and time of ours. Let us always find time to pause and
ponder with Mary and like Mary.

The little baby boy in the manger grew up to be a man who
truly gave all the love that he could, he gave his life to save us all. That
love gives us the strength to live and love, to share and to care, to know that
we are forgiven to try again when we fail. To know that we are loved and blessed
to live this life with care and trust, with compassion and forgiveness, with
humanity and with faith. To believe that we are loved and blessed to pursue a
life of happiness – a happy life with wonderful glimpses of truth and love,
with powerful pauses to reflect on happiness and with a strong faith in
forgiveness, grace and love.  

To give all the love that he can

Care enough for his fellow man

Every child must be made to care

Every child must be made aware

As Mary, we pause and ponder about our own life and the
life of our children.

That happiness is found in human life when we share, and
we care; when we share our faith and hope; when we sing the same song about
peace on earth; when we believe that this life is so much grander and wondrous
that our prognoses, plans and presumptions.

As we pause and ponder with Mary on this wonderful
Christmas morning, - we should listen to the simple and profound truth about
our human lives and happiness:

 

This is still our prayer with Mary this Christmas
Morning, as parents and as human beings – that our child and your child too
someday somehow somewhere will see the day of glory when men of good will live
in peace. Can it be, we wonder? Can it be, Mary wondered that night so long
ago?

 

Peace on earth, can it be”

Live in peace, live in peace.

See the day when men og good will

He’ll see the day of glory

For my child and your child too

I pray my wish will come true

 

To give all the love that he can

Care enough for his fellow man

Every child must be made to care

Every child must be made aware

Peace on Earth, can it be?

The beautiful Christmas song “The drummer boy” sung by
Bing Crosby and David Bowie has a beautiful angelic counterpart sung by David
Bowie:

Mary did not know that someday, a beautiful church in
Yorba Linda, would be the place the celebrate that birth that night so long
time ago. Mary did not know that today, we will pause, and we will ponder on
how the life of that little baby boy has affected our lives and our hope and
our faith.

Mary did not know how the life and being of her little
baby boy would change the world and change the lives of people through
generations and generation.

But how do we define happiness? And how do we obtain
happiness? If we are constantly chasing happiness, we might lose it and lose
sight of those happy cozy moments that simply just come our way.

Mary pondered and paused during all the commotion of that
first Christmas Eve in the barn. During the Angels singing, the sheep bahing,
the shepherds whispering and the little baby boy crying, - she left the noise
of the world be, and paused and pondered. “How will the life of my child be?
How will my life be as a mother? How will we manage? What does all of this
truly mean: that my little baby boy will be a savior, will walk where angels trod,
will calm the stormy seas, give sight to the blind and give hope to the
hopeless? How could this be? …. Will he be happy? Will he find time to play and
be a happy child without no worries? Will he be my boy even if he will be the savior
of many?”

Lykke and hygge. Happiness and coziness. These are
ingredients for a happy good life. Moments of happiness and moments of
coziness. This is what we want for Christmas and what we as parents wish for
our children: happiness.

Through this Advent and Christmas season I have focused
on two distinct Danish words to express what we long for. Lykke and Hygge.
Happiness and coziness. These are two very distinct words for Danes as Danes
often have been named the happiest people on earth and Denmark the happiest
place to live.

The beautiful hymn is reflecting on what Mary might have
known and what she could never have known. All the things that she wondered and
pondered and kept in her heart. All the things to worry about and all the happiness
to give in to.

 

And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed
the face of God

Did you know that your baby boy has walked where
angels trod?

Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm
with his hand.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight
to a blind man.

Christmas morning should be our time to be amazed by the
wonder of the birth of Christ, and it should be our time to pause to ponder.

This morning I will focus on Mary, the mother of Christ.
I will focus on her amazement and her pause to ponder.

Some of you might remember a commercial that begins when
the sliding hospital doors open to reveal a man and woman; he is holding a baby
carrier. “Thirty-six hours ago,” says the voiceover, “you were Jeff
and Susan. Now you’re Mom and Dad.” The new parents look so nervous and so
tender enough to tug the heartstrings of anyone who has come home with a baby. We
may chuckle, remembering how many things a new parent does not know; or we may
tear up at the stunned expression on the new dad’s face, when the backup camera
brings his attention to a passing car. Becoming a mother, even if it is not in
a barn, as a young frightened girl, surrounded by bahing sheep and curious shepherds,
- becoming a mother is a huge, awesome and defining moment. Even if we have
read all the books about what to expect when you are expecting, we really do
not have a clue as how this child will change you and your life.

 Luke has some
sense of how a baby can change everything. A child truly changes everything.
All parents can attest to that.

And now some ragged shepherds barge in on her and her
newborn in the middle of the night.

Presumably, she is tired—giving birth to a baby, even a
messiah, takes energy. How exhausted was she after Gabriel’s first visit and
unexpected proclamation, after nine months of pregnancy, uncertainty and worry,
after traveling to Bethlehem, and having to settle in a stable to give birth?

And then one quiet young woman, who has journeyed a long
way and just given birth in a stable, and the Gospel tells us that she “treasured
all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

Shepherds, at first trembling in their sandals, and
finally glorifying and praising.

Angels appearing out of nowhere, singing and promising
peace on earth.

This joyous morning as we once again listen to the
wonderful Gospel of Luke, the Glory of the Lord is in full display.

Merry Christmas to all! Merry Christmas on this joyous
Christmas Morning.

Sermon: