December 21, 2025
Advent 4
Paul,
a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy
scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David
according to the flesh and was declared to be Son of God with power
according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus
Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and
apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the gentiles for
the sake of his name, including you who are called to belong to Jesus
Christ,
To
all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It’s only four days until Christmas. Perhaps it is time for a “true meaning of Christmas” sermon. Have you ever had one of those? In some of the churches where some of us grew up, the preacher would stand in the pulpit as the days were hastening on. Looking out upon a congregation under stress from the holidays, upon good people consumed by consumerism, upon those too weary to be joyful, the preacher would tell everybody the “true meaning of Christmas.”
Today is a day like that. Even though, the Bible offers a number of “true meaning of Christmas” sermons. And who knows which one is the sermon for today.
We can ask the writer of the main story we’ve heard. “Luke, what’s the true meaning of Christmas?” He doesn’t pause. Luke says, “God came to us as a peasant child. His parents were so poor they had to cradle him in a feeding trough. When a group of sheep herders heard the news, they could scarcely believe God came to people like them.” Christmas according to Luke.
How about Matthew? Matthew says, “When God came to us, he shook up old King Herod. Herod was a cranky and violent despot, immediately threatened by someone who might get more attention than him. He was the first of many who tried to get rid of Jesus. Like the rest of them, he didn’t succeed. Jesus is the True King over all kings, with all authority over heaven and earth.” Christmas according to Matthew.
Let’s hear about Christmas from Mark. Mark, anything? Nope. Doesn’t say a word. Not going to get anything out of him.
Of course, John is ready to fill the silence. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” he says. The philosophical becomes physical. Grace and truth took on skin, breath, and blood. Jesus comes to show us what God is like.” Christmas according to John.
Today, of course, we hear from the apostle Paul. Paul’s not one for telling stories. He never mentions Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men, or nasty old Herod. He doesn’t reach into the philosophical clouds like the gospel of John. What does he have to say about Christmas? Well, we have just heard a mouthful. Paul says Christmas is “a promise received.” Did you catch that? There was a promise and it was received. Those are today’s two Advent words.
They are wrapped up in a signature. Admittedly, that flew by kind of fast. When you sent a letter in the ancient world, the signature came first. They didn’t have address labels. The writer signed the letter first, so everybody knew who it was from, so this letter begins “Paul…” and there is a string of additional words. 107 words, and that’s just in the signature. Couldn’t he have written “Paul” and left it there? Maybe, but this is Paul. The apostle Paul. Why restrict yourself to one word when you can use 107 more words?
Fact is, he is writing to people he has never met. Fifteen chapters and seven thousand words later, he says, “I hope to see you. I plan to stop by Rome on my way to Spain. But I wanted to make sure you got the whole Gospel from me before I see you face to face.[1] Oh, and I’m also collecting offerings for some famine victims. Meanwhile, say hello to all my friends who are with you. Give them a little kiss.”[2]
So, let me break that down for you. Romans is Paul’s longest letter – 7100 words – and it is his letter of introduction. This is literally his book of sermons. What we have today is Paul’s introduction to his letter of introduction – his signature and 107 additional words. Those 107 words summarize the seven thousand other words. And to make it clear, there are two verbs that summarize the 107 words. Ready? Promise and receive. These two verbs hold the essence of Christmas for Paul – and for us.
Now, Paul is a Jew. He knows all about the word “promise,” for the Jewish faith is built on promises. As a Jew, he knows God is the One making all the promises. God speaks and things happen. The promises are just that powerful.
· “Let there be light” – and there was light.
·
“Be
fruitful and multiply” – and it was so.
·
“You
shall be my people” – and the calling was irrevocable.
·
“Keep
my commandments and you shall be my treasure.” And God kept his part of
the promise. Sadly, that’s where things broke down.
As Paul tells it, God has always been good on his promises. It’s the rest of us who have stumbled. He lays all of this out in those seven thousand words in the Letter to the Romans. And nobody gets off the hook, whether we are part of the Jewish covenant or not. The excuses won’t wash
But then God sends Jesus into a world like this. It is a world that can’t decide if it is rebellious or indifferent; probably a measure of both – and Jesus the Christ comes anyway. And the world tries to push him away, yet he comes back. What Paul has discovered is that God promises a wide embrace. God promises enough mercy to welcome us all, whether we are Jews or not Jews, whether we are finished or unfinished. The promise is there. It comes in Jesus.
He signals this in two ways, which many of us have heard before. First, he speaks of “Jesus Christ our Lord.” Jesus is the name of the Christ, that is, the kingly Messiah. He comes from the line of David and is now the King above all other minor kings. That’s the Jewish hope. And Jesus the Christ is the Lord. That is, the One who holds all things together. The gravitational center of goodness and wisdom who governs the universe. That’s the Gentil hope. “Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Second, there’s the famous greeting he offers, once we get through that breathless signature and introduction: “grace to you all and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” “Grace” is the Gentile greeting, pretty close to the Greek word for “howdy.” And peace is the Hebrew word, “Shalom,” the blessing offered when someone comes and goes. Grace and Peace: gifts from God, and through the Lord Jesus Messiah.
In other words, the promise is for all. God’s promise is no longer distinguished by bloodline, race, or language. God sends Jesus to make this crystal clear. Got all that?
And that opens us to the second Advent word: “receive.” The sense of the verb is to “take hold,” as in to “take hold” of what has been offered as a gift. Paul likes that verb. About a third through this seven-thousand-word letter, he speaks of “taking hold” of how the cross of Jesus reveals God’s mercy. God could have blasted us away when we pushed Jesus away, but God chose to cancel the power of that sin.[3]
Then, a little further, Paul speaks about “taking hold” of our new family status, a status independent of how the world would try to classify us. He says we did not receive the confinement of fear or abandonment – rather, it’s as if we are children who have been adopted by our Single Parent who art in heaven. And we cry out “Abba, Daddy!” when we pray.[4] Take hold of the One who has taken hold of you.
With this, it’s Christmas. At least, it’s Christmas for the apostle Paul. For Christmas is the promise God makes to welcome us, to scrub us clean, to put on us a new set of clothes. All we have to do is receive it. Because God’s saving, God’s claiming, God’s loving – all of it comes as a gift. Take hold of that.
This is God’s good word, literally the “Godspell” of God. And what a wild, crazy week for anybody to take hold of it. The writer Anne Lamott, Presbyterian Sunday School teacher, was lamenting the kind of week it’s been. It reminded her of that dark December in 2012, when the school in Newtown, Connecticut was attacked. She had asked her friend Tom, the Jesuit priest, where is Advent in the middle of despair and chaos?
He said, “Annie, you Protestants and your little questions!” Then he added, “Faith is a decision. Do we believe we are ultimately doomed and there’s no way out? Or that God and goodness make a difference? There are heaven, community, and hope – and hope that there is life beyond the grave.”
“But Tom,” she protested, at the same time, the grave is very real, dark and cold and lonely.”
Tom replied, “Advent is not for the naïve. Because in spite of the dark and cold, we see light – you look up, or you make light with candles, trees, and you give light. Beauty helps, in art and nature and faces. Friends help. Solidarity helps. If you ask me, when people return phone calls, it’s about as good as it gets. And who knows beyond that.
He continued, “Advent says there is a way out of this trap – that we embrace our humanity, and Jesus’ humanity, and then we remember he is wrapped up in God. It’s good to remember where to find Jesus in the least of these, among the broken, the very poor and marginalized. Jesus says, ‘You want to see me? Look there.”
So, she called Father Tom after hearing about the human damage of that week. Neither said anything interesting, she said, but they spent time on the phone, listened to each other’s voices, and grieved for those affected. That helped. She said, “These tiny bits of connection to the broken are very real, and the kindness and attention people show to one another create a tiny bit of light. That’s Advent.
She concludes, “I will not let hate, violence, or despair be my norm, my reality, or my way forward. I choose to believe we are better together and connected, even in heartbreaking days. I choose light – and your light. We have never needed Hanukkah and Advent more.”[5]
Can you hear the promise, the promise of God? It’s the promise that all of us are invited in, all of us are beckoned to make our way forward together as one family with Jesus. Can you take hold of that? Can you let go of all that hurts and divides, and take hold of the faith, hope, and love that come as gifts because of Christ’s coming into the world?
I think we can. Yes, I believe we
can. For we are God’s beloved, called to be saints together. So, Merry Christmas
from the apostle Paul. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
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