Text: Titus 2:11-14
Date: December 24, 2020
Event: The Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Eve), Year B
Titus 2:11-14 (EHV)
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12It trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14He gave himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.
We Are Jesus’ Chosen People!
Can you imagine what it would’ve been like to be there that first Christmas? To be one of the shepherds who heard the proclamation of the angels, or even one of the people the shepherds raced to tell about what they had seen and heard which was just as they had been told? To be Mary or Joseph and to be, for a few minutes at least, the only people aware that this special child, this Jesus the Savior, had been born? On Sunday we’ll hear about Simeon and Anna, two faithful believers who were privileged enough to see the Messiah as a newborn at the temple, seeing the fulfillment of God’s promises made flesh. How unbelievably privileged and amazing it would have been to be there!
But to be there was one thing, to understand and value what this all meant is another. The reality is, no matter how amazing it would have been to be at or around the events of Jesus’ birth, that amazement is nothing compared to being the beneficiaries of what this all means. And tonight, as we sing the familiar hymns and hear the familiar words of the Christmas account, the apostle Paul takes us beyond a surface-level, factual understanding of the events of Christmas and takes us into the why’s and what’s of this birth among the animals in Bethlehem.
Paul lays it all out for us in the first verse of our lesson: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. This child is the embodiment of God’s grace. Grace is God’s undeserved love for sinners. We didn’t deserve to have him do anything for us and he has done it all anyway.
Contrast that with the secular view of Christmas. What the reason for presents? Someone identifies you as having been “bad or good” and gives according to what you’ve done. Presents for the good and coal for the bad, right? By that way of reckoning, these are not so much gifts as they are things earned by behavior. That is the opposite of grace.
God’s grace means that he gives us the good things that we absolutely did not deserve. Our sin has made us disgusting in God’s sight, repulsive. And yet he doesn’t throw us away as we deserved. He sends his Son to us, to save us from that sin. Jesus came to give himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are his own chosen people, eager to do good works.
This makes Jesus the greatest Christmas gift ever given, or more to the point, the greatest Christmas gift ever received. Every Christmas present you give or receive this year will, over days or years, break or get lost or become unneeded or unwanted. But not Jesus. His value never wears out. His birth and subsequent life and death have eternal importance. It changes our lives for now and forever: [God’s grace] trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope, that is, the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Some gifts we might receive may have a lasting impact on our lives. Maybe a new calendar or whiteboard will finally help us to get organized. Maybe a new computer ensures we have the tools we need for success in school or work, or just an outlet to unwind. Maybe a gift box or subscription service that regularly delivers different foods allows you to find a new life-long favorite.
But Jesus, God’s grace, changes everything, our very thoughts, motives, and attitudes. Because of Jesus we can see our sin for the danger that it is. Because of Jesus was can see God’s love for what it truly is, love that isn’t given because we earned it but given because he wants to rescue us and save us from ourselves. And so knowing the gift God has given to us in Jesus, knowing that his birth, life, and eventual death and resurrection means the forgiveness of every sin, we change the way we live. We don’t want to live in sin which kills us and is offensive to our God. We reject the world’s ideas of embracing our desires, our greed, or lust, or whatever pulls us away from him, but rather live our lives filled with the works God wants us to do. We live our lives to thank God for the grace he has shown us, specially shown tonight at the birth of our Savior.
But as we spent the Advent season looking ahead to this moment but also looking ahead to Jesus’ second advent, we do well to remember that God’s faithfulness at Christmas points to his faithfulness at the end. We continue to look forward to the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He will not return as he first arrived, a helpless baby in Bethlehem. He will return as the glorious King of kings and Lord of lords. His arrival will not need to be announced by angels to shepherds—every eye will see him. And that day will mean the end of this life tainted with sin and the beginning of the eternal, perfect life that God has prepared for us.
So while we are waiting for that day, we continue to prepare our hearts and to have our lives molded by those truths. We serve God and one another every moment of every day not because we have to, but because we want to. We don’t just give generous gifts to loved ones on Christmas; we selflessly give our time and hearts to any and all who have needs, always. We look for new ways to thank our Savior by serving our neighbor. And we hold onto this grace of God, shown clearly tonight, that has made us his chosen people as the motivation that makes us eager to do good works.
Until that day our Savior returns, we will continue to take these reminders and assurances of what God has done for us to heart. He loves us. He’s given himself to us and for us. We have the forgiveness of our sins because of his grace. We have the certain hope of eternal life because of that same undeserved love. On this Christmas Eve, do not fret over God’s feelings toward you, do not worry that he will not follow through on his promises to you. Look in the manger to see the assurance that our God is faithful to each and every promise. Live your life in thankful joy to the God who has saved you! Merry Christmas! Amen.
