2006 Songs of Christmas Series – “Politically Incorrect Christmas”
Luke 2:8-11
Sermon preached at Curwensville Presbyterian Church – December 10, 2006

Prayer Introduction: Pastor Ligon Duncan has observed: “Sometimes when you sing, you’re singing directly to God, and you’re singing praises to God. Sometimes when you sing, you’re singing directly to God, and you’re lifting up prayers or petitions…confessions…thanksgivings to God. [But] Sometimes when we sing, we sing to one another, exhorting one another either to praise God or to confess some great biblical blessing or promise or truth that God has told us about in His word.”

            This morning we have two songs that we are singing to one another – the politically incorrect hymns: “Good Christian Men, Rejoice” & “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen.” They are politically incorrect, because they contain the words “men” and “gentlemen” instead of being “gender inclusive.” In the blue Presbyterian Hymnals the first of those hymns has been changed to, “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice;” and the second hymn was left out altogether.

            In neutering the hymnal they have neutered the opportunity to sing some great songs, which lift up powerful truths of the Christian faith. Someone has written a book about the “feminization” of the Church. The world and the mainline church having caved in to political correctness has discouraged men from being men – and have left women alone and lonely, longing for Christian men – men who love the Lord and aren’t ashamed of it.

            This morning’s sermon is purposefully manly. If your politically correct ears are offended – I don’t care. Christmas isn’t politically correct, because Jesus Christ isn’t politically correct…We pray now for the preacher in the pulpit. He is not worthy, but by your grace he is able. And so it is through Jesus Christ that we pray – Amen!

Sermon Introduction: I invite you to open your Bible to the well-known words of Luke 2:8-11 and to pull out the hymn insert with the two politically incorrect Christmas songs. READ Luke 2:8-11.

I. Banning Christmas

Why is the world so threatened by Christmas that it has been banned in so many places? Perhaps you have read about this year’s Christmas celebration in Chicago? They have refused to put up advertisements for the movie, “The Nativity Story” at the Christmas celebration; because they didn’t want to offend any non-Christians. Commercials that will be shown on network TV won’t be shown at the Christmas festival.

            Perhaps even more ridiculous is the public school in Warwick, New York who altered a Christmas-themed fund-raising event, “to accommodate a parent's complaints that the program would illegally spotlight a ‘religious’ figure’ - Santa Claus.”

            What is it about Christmas that gets these people so irrationally upset? You never read about anyone banning Kwanzaa, Hanukkah or Ramadan. Why is Christmas the target of such animosity?

            Jesus said of himself, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18). Why does the world hate Jesus? Well Jesus says, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil” (John 7:7).

            The world doesn’t necessarily say it this way. What they say is that they are “offended” or they are worried that another non-Christian will be offended.

            It is unavoidable; the cross of Christ is offensive (cf. Galatians 5:11) to non-Christians. Paul says, “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23-24).

            The cross is offensive and so the manger is offensive. Christmas is offensive, because Jesus is offensive to those who hate him. Christmas is politically incorrect. Praise the Lord!

II. Good Christian Men, Rejoice

So let’s look at the politically incorrect account of Jesus’ birth as we sing it in the politically incorrect hymn, “Good Christian Men, Rejoice.” Our reading of the birth account this morning began at verse 8 where we read that there were shepherds keeping watch over their flocks in the fields nearby where Baby Jesus had just been born.

            What you may not know is that shepherds were held in very low esteem by other people. Bible picture books show shepherds as being nice, clean, gentle men. There was nothing clean about them. They were herding sheep all day. They were rough men. They were tough men. They were blue-collar men who worked for a living – doing hard work. And society didn’t value them much.

            And these were the men to whom the Lord chose to make His Son’s birth known. The angels did not appear to the Town Council. The angels did not appear to the bankers and lawyers. The angels did not appear to the pastors. The angels appeared to the shepherds, to announce the birth of the Son of God.

            This is a picture of God’s grace. Jesus Christ came to open heaven’s door, not for good people, but for those whom you would least expect to receive the gift of heaven; and God showed this by announcing His Son’s birth first to the people whom you would least expect.

            And this is still who God is saving, and who he still calls to proclaim Jesus’ birth to others. Proclaiming the gospel isn’t just a job for pastors, but for men – the kind of men who come home from work and could wash their hands for a half-hour and still not get it all off. God calls men, who are men.

            Notice how the shepherds responded. These were tough, earthy guys, who fought off wild animals for a living. When the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, “they were terrified.”

            The fact is that every time an angel appeared, people were terrified. One of the ways we have “feminized” the church – is by making angels these sweet-cheeked cherubim that you set on your bathroom shelf. No, no; when you saw an angel – you wet yourself with fear. Anyone who claims to believe in God, but is apathetic about it, has never really been in God’s presence.

            So the angel says, “Do not be afraid;” and then the angel tells the shepherds three reasons why they don’t need to be afraid – and these three reasons are reflected in the three verses (or stanzas) of the hymn.”

            “Good Christian men, rejoice, with heart and soul and voice.” The angel had said, “Do not be afraid. I’m not here to destroy you. I’m not here to bring down God’s righteous judgment upon you. I am here to bring you good news.”

            This is what we affirm in the beginning of each of the three stanzas. When you sing this, you need to place yourself out in the fields with the shepherds, standing before the angel of the Lord, realizing that you would be trembling unless he had good news for you. Sing this line to each other, reminding each other that the good news is why we need not fear: “Give ye heed to what we say; Jesus Christ is born today; Ox and ass before him bow, and He is in the manger now Christ is born today!  Christ is born today!” He is in the manger NOW. The long-awaited Messiah has come. Tell everyone the good news.

            The second stanza/verse gives us the second reason that we need not be afraid – with the emphasis on the word “you” in verses 10-11 – “I bring YOU good news…a savior has been born to YOU.”

            And so we sing, “Now ye hear of endless bliss; Joy! Joy! Jesus Christ was born for this! He has oped the heavenly door, and man is blessed evermore. Christ was born for this! Christ was born for this!”

            Jesus Christ was born to bring endless bliss to you. We are “blessed forevermore.” As soon as you begin to believe the fear of God’s wrath goes away, as you realize that Jesus has come “for you” to bring you into communion with God.

The 3^rd stanza gives us the third reason there is no fear. Romans 8:1 says it this way, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” The angel says it this way, “a Savior has been born to you.” The hymn says it this way. “Now ye need not fear the grave: Peace! Peace! Jesus Christ was born to save!” Jesus wasn’t born to be “a good moral teacher.” He wasn’t even born to bring peace. He was born to save.

Good morals and peace follow salvation. First you need to be called. “Calls you one and calls you all, to gain His everlasting hall. Christ was born to save! Christ was born to save!” What does it matter if Jesus came, if you don’t answer the call and come to him?

Ligon Duncan said: “This season will be filled with much sentiment…there’ll be hundreds and hundreds and thousands and thousands of people who will hear this hymn. They’ll enjoy it, but they’ll never trust in the Savior of whom this hymn speaks. And they will not gain the everlasting hall, for He has come for sinners. But only those sinners who trust in Him will gain that everlasting hall. May God grant that we would respond to Him in trust, and call all those around us to trust in Him.”

III. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

The good news of Jesus’ birth is further extolled in the other politically incorrect hymn – removed from the newest Presbyterian hymnal – God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen; and I would be willing to wager that there is no one here who knows what that title means.

            I didn’t until I studied it this week. This is an 18^th century English carol and like with so many English words – meanings have changed. The word “merry” means “happy” for us; but originally the word “merry” meant “strong.” Robin Hood had a band of Merry Men – they were not happy men, they were strong men.

            Now look at the verb – “God rest you…” For us “rest” means put your feet up on the couch and grab the remote control. Originally, the word “rest” meant “to make.” This hymn really says, “God make you strong, gentlemen.” In fact, notice where the comma is. This hymn doesn’t say, “God rest you (comma) merry gentlemen” but, “God make you strong (comma) gentlemen.

The whole meaning of this Christmas carol just changed didn’t it. It’s not a nice, sweet, girly song about happy gentlemen being peaceful and cordial; this hymn is a call for God to make men strong as the spiritual leaders of homes and churches.

“God rest you merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay (let nothing cause you dismay) [WHY?] Remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day. To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.”

Again, place yourselves with the shepherds in the fields. You can either tremble, afraid of God’s Wrath; or you can have the fear removed at the comforting and joyous good news that Jesus came to save sinners like you – “O tidings [news] of comfort and joy, comfort and joy; O tidings of comfort and joy.”

Pastor Derek Thomas says – “It’s a carol about joy, and it’s particularly a carol about why it is that we should be joyful.”

            Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The hymn proclaims that Jesus was born, “To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.”

            The third stanza – in the second line – says again, “This day is born a Saviour of a pure Virgin bright; To free all those who trust in Him from Satan’s power and might.”

            What is the good news – the “tidings of comfort and joy”? Jesus was born to set us free from Satan’s power in order to live in joyful faithfulness. God created us to be in joyful communion with him. But Satan grabbed a hold of our hearts and caused us to rebel against God and follow him instead – and we have known only sin and misery with him. O thank you God for rescuing us by sending the Messiah – your Son – to live the perfect life we failed to live; so that by His death and resurrection we are set free from Satan’s power; we are set free from sin’s grip. Such that all who trust in Jesus as their Savior – surrendering to Him as Lord – can live in joyful communion with God, just as He created us to be.

            What is stealing your joy this morning? Why is it stealing your joy? If God is for you, what can be against you? You can have joy in all circumstances.

            The good news is for you. The angel declared, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.” You are one of the people.

            May God make you strong as you reflect on this good news. May God especially make our men strong as the spiritual leaders God calls them to be. May God bring all of you comfort and joy as you reflect on this good news.

MAY THE TRUTH SET YOU FREE – AMEN!