Text: Romans 8:31-32
What then will we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?
Sermon
The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Amen.
The movie A Christmas Story is a classic. It plays 12 consecutive times on TBS and TNT Christmas Eve through Christmas Day.
There are many iconic scenes and phrases from the movie. The leg lamp that arrives marked “fragile” (“Frah-jeelay”); Flick’s tongue stuck to the frozen flag pole; mom washing out Ralphie’s mouth with soap; the visit to Santa and the Chinese restaurant.
I didn’t know if it was possible, but I actually met someone the other day who has never seen A Christmas Story! Gasp!
If I were to explain the movie to her, I would tell her it’s a movie about a good father who gives his son a gift that no one else trusts him with.
Throughout the movie, Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. But everyone he asks for the gun give him the same answer. His teacher, mother, and the mall store Santa all say the same thing, “You’ll shoot your eye out.”
Ralphie’s not old enough. The gun is too dangerous.
Did you notice that nowhere in the movie does Ralphie ask his father for the BB gun? The image we have of dad is that he is hard and harsh. Someone who yells at dogs in the neighborhood and swears in the basement. Ralphie is afraid to ask his father for the toy gun.
But that image of the father is shattered when – at the end of the movie - dad gives Ralphie the Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. His dad gives it to him with fatherly pride. Despite the protestations of the mom, dad gives the BB gun with no caveats or warnings.
The Father spares nothing.
We may often view God the Father as harsh and hard.
These last two years have been different and difficult – lockdowns, mandates, and inflation. You’ve had to deal with remote learning and depressed children. As bad as meetings you, you have now learned the soul-sucking experience of Zoom meetings.
The darkness of death has fallen over our congregation numerous times this past year … and probably settled over your house, too.
As God allows difficulty, depression, and even death to weigh us down, it can seem as if God is being hard and harsh with us.
So, then we are afraid to ask our Father for anything. We remain silent. Timid. Absent.
But we have a Father who knows what we want even before we ask for it. We have a Father who knows what we need even when we want something more frivolous.
At Christmas, we celebrate God the Father giving us the gift we need. A gift greater than all other gifts. The Father gave us the gift of his divine Son wrapped with in cute little infant skin – complete with chubby baby cheeks and pudgy fingers.
This is the gift we never thought to ask our Father for. Still, St. Paul reminds us, “he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also graciously give us all things along with him?”
With great pride, God gave us his Son. No caveats. No warnings. God gave him up for us all. The only stipulation is that we receive the gift.
Sure, in A Christmas Story, Ralphie – in his youthful exuberance – runs outside to use his new awesome gift. And he promptly almost shoots his eye out.
Like Ralphie’s father, our heavenly Father wants us to have the gift. It is his joy to give it to us. It is our joy to receive it. It is our joyful exuberance to try out and use this awesome gift.
We’ll make mistakes with the gift. We may abuse it or not use it. We may mishandle it or misapply it. But the gift is still good. It is still the gift we need. It is the greatest gift ever given. It is the gift that is the reason for all other gifts we give this season. This is the gift that drives away depression. It eases the difficulty. It defeats death.
If you are one of those rare few who have never seen this classic movie, go watch A Christmas Story. (It’s still playing after worship today.) But remember that Christmas is the true story of a good Father giving his children a gift no one else would give them.
The Father spares nothing. Because he doesn’t spare his Son. Amen.
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. Amen.