December 25, 2022 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 1:1-14 “A REAL HUMAN INTEREST STORY”

 

CHRISTMAS DAY

December 25, 2022

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 1:1-14

 

“A REAL HUMAN INTEREST STORY”

1.     God had every reason not to care.

2.     He cared enough to come himself.

 

We all love ‘em. All across the world people can even be suckers for ‘em. A good old human interest story. We love the ones that tug at our hearts. The neglected child shuffled around in the foster care system until finally she finds the loving home. The street kid doing so much wrong, doing time and then finally getting out and becoming a useful contributing member of society. A family who has experienced the tragic loss of a child due to drug overdose using their pain to force legislation to try to prevent the hurt of others. People even love canine interest stories. There will in fact be more tears shed in our country with a well done expose of the abuses in a puppy mill than the factual publishing of the number of babies killed at abortion clinics. You see, whether you realize it or not many human interest stories are not really about the humans, they are about raising emotion, awareness and money for a cause. That’s why so many pop up around Christmas time. Here’s an excerpt from an article on how to write a human interest story.

 

“A good human interest story will spark anger, empathy, compassion, sympathy, motivation, laughter, fear and love. Not in equal measure, but if a journalist can tick all these boxes in some way, the story is bound to be a success and likely be shared and highly engaged with. The fundamental objective is to move someone with a story.”

 

I don’t mean to put down the good and proper use of human interest stories but the sad truth is that the best and most real human interest story is being largely ignored by many of our fellow Americans today. The story of the Christ, the only reason there is CHRISTmas. We have to admit that we can devalue Christ too and it might in fact be true that some of your younger ones are here because mom or dad said so and not because you want to. No matter. We’re here so let’s listen to a real human interest story.

 

John 1:1-14 (EHV) “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning. ³Through him everything was made, and without him not one thing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. ⁵The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. ⁶There was a man, sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷He came as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe through him. ⁸He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. ⁹The real light that shines on everyone was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him. ¹²But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. ¹³They were born, not of blood, or of the desire of the flesh, or of a husband’s will, but born of God. ¹⁴The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

John’s account of the first Christmas is not anything like Luke’s that we are so happily familiar with, not like Matthew’s much shorter but still heart warming version. There’s no baby, no manger, no shepherds, no angel. But it’s full of grace and truth. John’s Christmas account is meat and potatoes. Heavy chewing, yet put there by God with purpose, so we can grow and mature in our faith. John abruptly and bluntly helps us see that the greatest human interest story should never have happened. Why not? Because God has no reason to care. Or to put it in a more accurate way, we and all other people have not given God a reason to care. It goes back to the beginning when God was there. As true God Jesus was there with God when all was created and put into place. He was there when the breath of life was breathed into Adam and the keys to Creation were handed over to Adam and Eve, a most beautiful and stunning world that was designed on purpose by God with one surprising purpose: to bring joy and happiness to people. Oh the love of God! And how did they respond? They chose to reject the love and words of God and listen to God’s enemy instead. They chose to doom paradise to becoming a pig sty of corruption and sin and everything vile and gross. God had no reason to care.

Now to move you to anger and empathy I could tell a human interest story of a father who worked overtime, gave up sleep and free time to get extra money to take his family on a special vacation only to have the kids ruin it by spending all their time on their phones wishing they were with their friends instead. I could tell a human interest story of a mother working hard to make that Christmas meal special for the whole family only to have it ruined because dad came home drunk. Instead I’ll tell a real one. “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him. ¹¹He came to what was his own, yet his own people did not accept him.” He is Jesus, the Word who was with God in the beginning. The Word who was God and through whom all things were made. He came to the world He created, the people that were His and they did not accept Him. King Herod tried to kill Him. So did the recognized religious people of His day. And many of the regular people who at first delighted in Jesus left Him in droves when He would not fulfill their immediate desire for free food. Has anything changed? Most of our politicians today do not seem to act, talk or legislate like they recognize Jesus and accept Him as their ruler. So many of the religious people of our day will not stand up for Jesus as the only Savior. So many who claim to know Jesus choose not to follow Him because He’s not doing things the way they would. Even we, who know better, understand our own struggles to treat Jesus as Lord of our lives. He is forgotten, marginalized, kept in a box until we feel we really need him. God has no reason to care. We’ve given Him no reason to care.

But remember this is a real human interest story. In spite of the unbelieving world’s blatant rejection, and in spite of the believing world’s often half hearted acceptance God still cares! That’s what the Christmas story teaches us. He cares so much for people that He comes Himself to be our Savior. He will not sacrifice the cattle on a thousand hills. He will not throw thousands upon thousands of Christian soldiers into battle to be cannon fodder in front of Him, He will not leave the job of saving up to the holy angels. He comes Himself.

“The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word became flesh. True God became true man. Why this impossibility that makes us marvel? It is the glory of God. When John says “we have seen his glory” we may think of how he saw the many miracles of Jesus and they were glorious! We may think of how he and Peter and James saw Jesus transfigured, just a tiny glimpse of His majesty as God, so great they did not want to leave. Or perhaps John is emphasizing more the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father as His arms were stretched out on wooden cross. Who stayed there even though He had been given no reason to care by Adam and Eve in the beginning, nor by Cain as he slew Abel, nor by the masses who had made the world so bad God had to destroy it in a flood, nor by the babbling idiots who tried to make a tower for their own glory, nor by the too long of lines of infidel kings of His people, nor by the Herods, Pharisees and Sadducees, not even by His own disciples who so quickly ran away to save their own skins in the Garden of Gethsemane, nor by Peter who denied rather than accept guilt by association with Jesus, nor by us who are too often too busy enjoying the blessings of living in a wealthy country that just don’t have the time and energy for Him. And still He came Himself. And still He stayed the course of the cross because it is to the glory of God to give Himself for His people.

See, this is a real human interest story. It is not designed to get your anger or your money but to show you grace and truth. God’s interest is in you. You are what mattered that first Christmas. You are what matters now. And when our Christmas is over He will not take you down like you are cheap decorations. He will not throw you away like the ripped and torn paper everyone throws away. He will keep you where He always keeps you. Close to His heart. “But to all who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Now that is what you are! Merry Christmas! Amen.