CHRISTMAS EVE
December 24, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 2:11

“THE BEST DEAL!”

Luke 2:11 (NIV 1984) “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

It doesn’t happen often, in fact I can’t remember it happening any other time but on this particular morning I woke up mad. Let me tell you why. My alarm went off. Normally that’s not a problem. They are supposed to do that. It’s what I heard when my alarm went off. Some people have alarms that are bells. Some have buzzers. Some wake you up with your favorite music. Mine is set to a radio station. Light music. But when the alarm went off it was commercial time and this was the first thing I heard. “Everybody knows that that the holidays are all about getting the best deals.” I processed that and started fuming. Are you kidding me? This was before Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not about getting a deal for yourself. It’s about being thankful! And Christmas. Christmas about getting a deal! It’s about Jesus birth! Then I stopped fuming as a lay there and I started thinking. Maybe there was some truth proclaimed in this commercial. Is it really wrong to think about Christmas as getting the best deal?
Bargain hunters will tell you that a good deal is when you pay the least amount of money for something you really need. Bargain hunters will tell you that a good deal is when both parties in the transaction walk away happy. My favorite bargain hunter is a man named Clark Howard. He’s a radio, TV and internet personality that bills himself as the world’s cheapest man. He’s always looking for the best deal. Do you know what his definition of a good deal is? Free!
Let’s return now to what the Christmas message proclaims to us. It is summarized in the angel’s message to the shepherds. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Let’s look at that truth from the standpoint of getting a good deal. One of the definitions of a “good deal” was that it was for something you really need. I don’t think I’m the only adult who watches some of the older shows from simpler days. Shows like “Little House on the Prairie.” Classics, like Dickens “A Christmas Carol.” You see how the people appreciated simple gifts that they needed. You flash forward to our abundantly blessed times when needed gifts like socks and shirts aren’t appreciated as much as wants like games and toys. We pray for more grateful hearts. And still the best deal is when you get it on something you need—like a car repair or a new furnace.
At Christmas we did receive the best deal because we received something we needed. We needed a Savior from sin. Sin is one of life’s little inconvenient truths, isn’t it? It’s not hard to talk about other people’s sins. It is easy to be appalled at the gross and flagrant sins we hear about in the news like murders, sex crimes, child abuse, theft and embezzlement. It’s harder when we have to talk about our own sins, like murdering people with words that hurt worse than sticks and stones and you have to own up to having said that. Or how about sex crimes against God and others through pornography or lusting. Then there is the child abuse of causing little ones to sin by using God’s name in vain so that they repeat it later. Or when we embezzle from our employers by wasting time on the clock. Those and many more are our sins. The inconvenient truth is that you can’t fix sin. What’s done is done. Saying, “I’m sorry,” is the right thing to do but it doesn’t undo the sin or fix the damage done. It doesn’t pay the debt owed to God or the person we sinned against. Jesus does, though. A Savior. A Rescuer. That’s who He is. That’s what we needed and received from God at Christmas. Good News! A Savior has been born. Whatever sins you remember tonight, the ghost of sins past that still haunt you, today a Savior has been born. Jesus rescues you from those sins and gives you the right to leave them behind and will be your help in dealing with any earthly consequences. That’s a great deal!
Another mark of a great deal is when both sides in the transaction walk away happy. You know how it goes. Maybe you stop at a rummage sale and you find something you want and it’s only $5. So you scoop it up before anyone else does and after you pay, you go to the car, call your friend or mom and crow about what a great deal you got. And the person holding the rummage sale is thinking or saying, “I can’t believe all these people are paying me to take away my junk! This is great! What a scam!” Everybody’s happy! Our Christmas deal is like that. People, God loves you to death, to the death of His Son. He knows that by having His Son born as one of us, born as God and man at the same time, that Jesus is going to be the only one who can fix sin and it will take His suffering and death. But God loves you. Just like imperfect parents often find joy in making sacrifices for their children our perfect Father in heaven is happy to give His Son for us. He’s pleased by the deal. We get to be happy too. You know, I don’t know what your life is like right now. I don’t know what you are going through. You do. God does. You have the right to be happy even if some temporary earthly things aren’t going so well for you. Relationships with spouse, family, friends. It will pass. Financial strain, job issues. It will pass. Health problems. One way or another, this too shall pass. Jesus. You have Him forever. Because of Christmas you have a Savior for now and forever. Both sides get to walk away happy.
And how about Clark Howard? I’ve been thinking about calling into his program some day. If I’m honest about what I am going to say I know I won’t get past his screeners. But I want to tell him about the best deal ever. One that is free! Real gifts are like that, aren’t they? They don’t cost the getter anything. They do cost the giver however. We know that by giving us Jesus as a Savior it would cost God the pain of forsaking His Son. We know that it would cost Jesus His suffering and death on the cross. But the cost to us is nothing. God’s gift is free. The shepherds didn’t have to pay to hear the Angels’ Concert even though the message they proclaimed is worth everything. Neither do you. God’s gift to you in Jesus is free. You have a Savior. Forgiveness is free. We got the best deal ever!
There are all kinds of things you can do when you get a great deal. You can tell your friends, maybe help them get that great deal too. But that’s for another time. What you can also do when you get a great deal, is enjoy it, feel good, be happy. Tonight, this week, do that. Enjoy for yourself what God has given to you. You have the best deal ever. For “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Amen.