The Gift of Christmas

Sunday, January 6, 2012
Epiphany Sunday
Matthew 2:1-12
Prop: Wrap the baby Jesus figure from a manger scene as a small gift, complete with box, paper and ribbon

Good morning, everyone!  Happy New Year!  And Happy Epiphany!  On the church calendar, today is Epiphany, or 3 Kings’ Day.   January 6 is the day we remember and celebrate the kings, or wise men, coming to visit Jesus.

 You may remember the story—There were wise men who studied the stars living way East of Bethlehem.  They studied the stars, and one night they noticed a new one in the sky.  They knew this meant a king had been born.  So they decided to follow the star and meet the new-born king.  Long story short, the star led them to Jesus.  The wise men bowed down and worshipped Jesus, and gave him precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  These were the first Christmas presents!  We still give and receive Christmas presents today, don’t we!

Speaking of Christmas presents, I was taking down my tree yesterday and found this gift tucked way underneath, in the back.  I guess it got overlooked on Christmas morning when we were unwrapping everything else.  I think we should open it now, don’t you?  It’s rather small, but they say, “Good things come in small packages.”

I suppose we should read the tag.  It says:

“To: The World
  From: One Who Loves You.”

OK, we’ll take off the ribbon, and remove the paper, and open the box and, what is it?  Earrings?  A watch?  No, look!  It’s the baby Jesus!  My goodness, in all the excitement of Christmas, I almost forgot to open the most important gift of all—God’s gift to each and every one of us—the gift of a Savior, Jesus!  So gold, frankincense and myrrh were NOT the first Christmas presents after all—Jesus was!

Let’s Pray.

Kind of giving God, we thank-you for the greatest gift the world has ever known—the gift of your love and forgiveness given to us through your Son, Jesus Christ.  May we always keep him at the center of our lives, at Christmas and all year long.  Amen.