The Lutheran Hour
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"Light for Our Loneliness"
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Text: John 1:9
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! To all who are lonely, to those who are lost; to those who are confused, who feel condemned, I have good news of great joy: unto you is born a Savior. God’s Son has come to live for you, die for you, rise for you. This He has done and because He has, you need never be lonely again. God grant this blessed assurance to us all. Amen.
Two thousand years ago it would have been lonely for the Bethlehem shepherds who had the night watch over their flocks. Without a storm’s thunder to alarm, without predatory animals or thieves to waken and frighten their animals, the shepherd’s job would have been easy. The ewes would have settled down and their newborn lambs would have slept like, well, they would have slept like lambs. Muffled sounds of eating and drinking might have drifted up from the travelers who were staying in the small town of David; party sounds might have floated down from the servants and slaves who lived and worked at the Herodium, the fortress King Herod had built for protection against his own people.
But those sounds had nothing to do with the shepherds or their labors. Around their small campfire they would have eaten a meal, shared some stories, talked some politics, and then, having exhausted all conversation, each would have made himself comfortable in his cloak, comfortable with his own, unspoken, private thoughts. Watching the clear, night sky, the parading procession of stars, it wouldn’t have taken long before these men started to ask the deeper, the harder questions of life. It wouldn’t be long before they would have thought; “1,000 years ago, here, right here, David watched his sheep…just as I am watching mine. 1,000 years from now someone will be watching his flocks where I now stand. I’m thankful I have a job, if you can call this a job, but is this all there is? Does life never change?”
Looking at the limitless lights overhead did those shepherds feel small; did each wonder if he had any value, if anyone would miss him if he were to disappear or die? And if you are thinking, “Uneducated shepherds would never ask such questions,” be assured, they would. In the deepest darkness of the night, in the hours before dawn, all of us become philosophers and all of us, most certainly, are theologians. All of us want to know we matter and that someone cares. All of us ask questions which are not easily answered. Which is why it’s lonely for us, even as it was for the shepherds of Bethlehem.
It would have been lonely for travelers, 2,000 years ago, that first Christmas night. Of course, none of them would have known that night would someday be called Christmas, the night of the Savior’s birth. They would have known only that Rome’s Augustus Caesar had decreed that many people in his Empire were to be enrolled in a census, that they were to return to their ancestral home, that they were to be counted. As those travelers walked the long, lonely, dusty paths, you can almost hear them mutter to themselves, “Did the great Caesar ever think how such an order might disrupt the life of an average citizen; did he consider the inconvenience his little decree would cause; did he give a moment’s thought to the expense involved for an average citizen to make such a trek? No, Caesar had a bee in his bonnet and because of Caesar’s bee, I’m dirty, and I’m dusty, and I’m discouraged, and I’m depressed. It’s lousy and it’s lonely being a traveler on a trip you don’t want to take.” And so it was for the lonely travelers that first Christmas night.
It would have been lonely for the Roman soldier and mercenary that first Christmas night. When he had signed up for the army, he had no idea serving his country would mean years spent suffering in a foul, filthy, dirty, demoralizing, God-forsaken land like Israel. No recruiter had taken time to describe to him the hateful stares of a people who considered themselves oppressed and not protected. No one had spoken to him about the outlandish, the outrageous, the incomprehensible religious rules held by this people they were trying to guard.
He was sure he would have remembered if his recruiter had mentioned the Zealots, the fanatical political sect whose members were glad to die if they could only take one or two Romans along with them. Truly, a Roman soldier considered it a matter of pride to be able to fight any enemy on any battlefield in any land. But how can a soldier deal with an honorless rogue who slips a knife between his victim’s ribs and then cowardly disappears into the crowd before nearby spectators know anything has happened? For such a soldier away from family and home it would have been lonely in Bethlehem that first Christmas night.
I don’t know anyone in the Christmas story whose name would escape appearing on the list of lonely souls. Mary? Joseph? Elizabeth? Zacharias? Which of the principles of the Christmas narrative was able to avoid the feeling that they were alone?
And today – how many of you listening to this Christmas message are able to say that loneliness has not touched you or your home during the past year? I have just returned from Germany where I spoke to the Lutheran military chaplains who are stationed overseas. With pride these uniformed clergy spoke of your sons and your daughters, of how they conduct themselves in a strange land, of how so many of them show a courage and integrity which was learned from the words and examples of Christian parents. But these chaplains also shared how heart-rendingly hard it is for these young people to be separated from the people, the towns, the communities, the homes – the parents, the spouses, and children who are so very precious. Yes, this year, loneliness is still alive and well, isn’t it?
How has loneliness touched you? Will there be an empty chair at your family festivities this year? Has someone you love been hospitalized; is someone battling cancer or another debilitating, devastating illness. Have you had to watch as Alzheimer’s has slowly been whittling away the memory of someone you love? How has loneliness come? Is it a child who has left home in pursuit of a relationship which you believe to be unhealthy? How has loneliness come? With more than one-out-of-ten workers unemployed, Christmas presents and packages may be fewer this year… and self-esteem… that may be less, too. What pain has loneliness placed into your heart? This week, how shall you say, “Merry Christmas” and mean it?
Not so long ago a friend sent me an article written by a lonely individual. I don’t know where it came from; I don’t know the author, but the writing is beautiful, the thoughts profound, and the words poetic. This is what it says: “I have learned something today my fellow lost souls…I have learned loneliness is not a disease that can be cured…it is not a plague that has befallen us due to a wrathful god or fate…it is not a passing pain that time will heal…It is these things and more. It is a lost love on a summer’s day…it is the cold that bites your heart when you pass a couple on the street…it’s a feeling that comes at night when you’re (sic) alone in your bed and the whole world turns with or without you in it…it is a way of life as you sit alone in your home never daring to wonder…it is a fate cast by death when dear ones fade…It is the beginning and it is the end of every relationship everywhere…it is a foe we cannot touch…an evil we cannot kill…it is everything and it is nothing…we know the answers yet we are powerless…I have learned so much…and gained so little.”
There is one thing that writer forgot: loneliness is the result of sin. Loneliness was born when sin’s disobedience drove a wedge between the perfect fellowship of humanity and their Creator. Since that day sin’s selfishness has ground down the love and good intentions of spouses even as it rips families apart. Sin, with its manifold faces, with its greed, lust, hatred, prejudice, anger, rage, malice, lying turns us into the lonely people we are. It makes us into traitors of nations, betrayers of brothers and sisters, turncoats on our friends. Sin transforms us into the lonely souls we so desperately don’t want to be. Like the Bethlehem shepherds looking up at the night sky, we, too, end up wondering, ‘Is this all there is? I am just as alone as the thousands of generations who have preceded me; just as alone as the thousands who will come after me. Is this all there is? Can I expect nothing more from life?’ Like the Bethlehem shepherds, we wonder, “Will loneliness always be our doom, our destiny, our damnation?”
How sad it would be if those questions were to remain eternally unanswered; how tragic it would be if our musings remained humanity’s final, desperate words on lost loneliness. But, thank God that is not the case. Thank God that this Christmas week, as we stand with the shepherds looking up at the star-studded dark sky, the heavens once again open, the firmament brightens and God’s angelic messenger appears to proclaim the good news which changes our world. Listen as he speaks that longed for message, as he says: “Fear not!” Fear not, that’s a good start, a very good start, indeed. “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people. Unto you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord.” This Christmas our good news is this: “God has sent His Son so sinners need never again be alone; so the lost don’t have to stay lost; so we don’t have to depend upon ourselves to find forgiveness or a future filled with hope.” The Lord has sent His Son to be our Savior and because the Savior has come, this Christmas is blessed. Yes, this year may find our situation sadder, our bank accounts poorer, but the Savior’s arrival offers us this assurance: “We are no longer alone, we are no longer lost.”
Does this Christmas find you poorer than you have been in the past? If so, remember the shepherds to whom the news of the Savior was first announced, they were also poor. Indeed, I am confident they were far poorer than you. Do you have a color TV? More than one pair of shoes? A refrigerator? Air-conditioner? Radio? Doctor? Social Security? A car? Central heat? Indoor plumbing? If you answered, ‘Yes” to any or all of that basic list, you are richer than were the Christmas shepherds. Yet it was not to Caesar Augustus in Rome, or to the Princes of Egypt, or the powerful potentates of Persia that God sent His announcing angels. He sent them to some poor shepherds just as He sends them to us.
Of course, there is a difference. 2,000 years ago, God gave the shepherds some good news, great news, wonderful, long-anticipated and longed-for news. But to you, dear listener, He gives better news; He gives the best of news. When the shepherds went to see this thing which had come to pass, this thing which the Lord had told them about, they found a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. If they had known the Old Testament prophecies, they would have realized this was their Savior, the Redeemer, the One who would fix that which was broken, mend that which was in need of repair. Looking at that Baby they might have been able to dream of what would happen to this little Fellow… but that is all they would have had. Dreams.
But the good news of great joy which God gives to you is more, so much more than dreams. You, if you are ready to look, will find yourself blessed to see what that Baby did; what He accomplished. Go ahead, take a look, it won’t take long for you to see the changes He brings. Look at those lonely shepherds who had been watching their sheep. Look closely. They don’t run back to their sheep… they go tell their friends and their families about the things, the words they have heard and the Savior they have seen. That night at least, the Savior made it so the shepherds weren’t so lonely.
Look at the Christ Child. See what He does with loneliness. It’s difficult to find a page in the Gospels where the Savior doesn’t lighten the load of loneliness. Remember those lepers who had been kicked out of town? Jesus healed a lot of those fellows and sent them back home, healthy and restored. How about the cripples, the beggars? Jesus took care of them, too. He healed the lame, gave sight to the blind. Imagine that. A mother might be able to see her children for the first time. Loneliness didn’t have a chance when Jesus was around. Was somebody a serious sinner? Jesus and the Holy Spirit gave such people repentant hearts and then they offered complete forgiveness to those repentant hearts.
This Christmas be assured: loneliness doesn’t have a prayer in the presence of the Savior. You know, I can’t think of anything more lonely than the darkness which accompanies the death of a loved one. Jesus ran into that kind of loneliness when He walked this earth. There was a widow lady who lost her son; a father and mother who lost their daughter, some sisters who lost their brother. The grief, the sorrow, the loneliness those deaths brought were no match for Jesus. You can read the Gospel accounts; they’re plain enough. They tell how Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior, called those people back to life. By Divine power, He sent death packing; He restored families which had been split and showed to everybody who was interested: loneliness wasn’t the end, loneliness would no longer have the final word; not anymore.
This Christmas week, God’s good news is our lost and lonely world has a Savior. Of course the work of the Savior called for Him to be sacrificed to win our salvation. No matter what the world might wish Jesus doesn’t stay a Baby in a Bethlehem manger. Jesus grew into a Man and, as our Substitute, He did all that sin would not allow us to do. Eventually, it was time for Jesus to die our death. This He did on a skull-shaped hill outside the city walls of ancient Jerusalem. But you should know, even as He was being crucified, Jesus still dealt with loneliness. Looking past His pain, looking down from His cross, seeing His mother, Jesus made sure she would be taken care of. Looking to a lonely thief who confessed faith in Him, Jesus promised that they would be forever together in paradise. That is how Jesus died. Then, three days after He was buried, Jesus rose from the dead. Talk about good news of great joy! Before the day was over Jesus appeared to His old friends who fearfully had locked themselves away. Jesus came to them and let them know they would never have to be alone again. Indeed, His last words spoken to them, His final assurance before He left this earth were the words: “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20).
This Christmas, I encourage you: look into the manger, look, look upon the cross, gaze into Jesus’ empty tomb. If you are wondering if anyone cares about you, know the living Savior does. Are your days filled with dread, are your nights packed with dark terrors? I have good news of great joy: this day you have a Savior who wishes to help carry your burdens. When you grieve over the loss of a loved one, Jesus remains. During moments of solitude when past sins point a bony finger of condemnation at you, rejoice, I have good news. The Savior is with you and He offers blood-bought forgiveness to your shame, your pain, your guilt, your hurt. When men prove faithless and women show themselves fickle, see the Savior. He remains your good news of great joy. When situations are strange, when challenges cause confusion, He remains. Jesus remains and because He does, I can offer God’s gracious guarantee, “Fear not. I have good news. Unto you has been born a Savior, Christ the Lord. Fear not, Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. And because God remains with us, loneliness is forever banished.” It is His story The Lutheran Hour is proud to tell. And if you need to hear more of this story, please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for December 20, 2009
Topic: What Would You Say To That?Announcer: And we’re back with Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer. And, today I’d like to play a game called, “What would you say to that?”
Klaus: I do have to confess I am not acquainted with that game.
Announcer: Well, that’s because we just made it up.
Klaus: And what are the rules?
Announcer: They’re very simple. There are all kinds of questions floating around now at Christmas time… all sorts of criticisms leveled against the holiday… I’d like your quick response to some of these questions. In short, “What would you say to that?”
Klaus: OK, fair enough. Let’s go.
Announcer: There are a lot of folks who say Jesus was not born on
December 25th. What would you say to that?
Klaus: I’d say they’re probably right. Actually, there is a 1-in-365 chance that Jesus was born on December 25th. We just don’t know the exact day Jesus was born.
Announcer: Some say we shouldn’t call Christmas “Xmas” because “X” stands for the unknown or it’s a way to avoid saying the name of Christ. What would you say to that?
Klaus: I’d say the Greek symbol “X” or “kai” stood for Jesus long before it stood before the scientific unknown. The chi is the first letter in Jesus’ name, “Christos” and it also is symbolic of the cross. Xmas is merely the time we celebrate the day of the Savior.
Announcer: Now, I understand the governor of one of our states is calling the large, decorated tree on state property a “holiday tree” rather than a “Christmas tree.” Stores tell their employees they should wish their customers a “Happy holiday” instead of “Merry Christmas.” What would you say to that?
Klaus: Happy holiday? Mark, what is the meaning of holiday? I mean, originally?
Announcer: Holiday? Well, it’s a shortened form of the words “holy day.”
Klaus: The Governor of that state, who I think has changed his mind, he wanted the tree to be known as the Holy-Day tree. What makes that tree a holy-day tree? What holy day might we be talking about? The New Year? Thanksgiving? St. Swiven’s Day? No, it is a holy-day tree because of the birth of the Savior. Political correctness can do what it wants and say what it wants, but there is no other holy-day which has changed the world as has the remembrance of the Savior’s birth. And as for those store clerks who have been instructed to say “Happy Holidays” or lose their job… you folks, you do what the boss says. But don’t be offended when I say, “A blessed Christmas to you.” They can’t fire me for saying, “Merry Christmas.” And if you agree with me when I mention Jesus, just smile and say, ‘Thank you.”
Announcer: Some would say that Christmas has become too commercialized nowadays. What would you say to that?
Klaus: I’d say two things. Of course it is, and it’s tragic that commercialism is so rampant. But then I’d say, “Thank God it’s commercialized” because, as long as somebody is making a profit from the holiday they’re never going to be able to get rid of the day which celebrates the Savior’s birth.
Announcer: You know, I never quite thought of it that way. But what would you say to those who say we’ve lost the true spirit of Christmas?
Klaus: I’d say Christians can celebrate Christmas exactly the way they want to celebrate it. The world really hasn’t touched Epiphany, January 6th, the gentile Christmas, the 12th day of Christmas. If somebody doesn’t like December 25th’s commercialism, go with Epiphany. You’ll have it all to yourself.
Announcer: OK, here’s one. Earlier this year, you did a video called “The Real St. Nick” for the Lutheran Hour Ministries Men’s NetWork. What do you think of Santa?
Klaus: Well, first, let me say the LHM Men’s NetWork is a relatively recent program developed by Lutheran Hour Ministries. It’s all on the Internet and it is our attempt to offer a more complete picture of the Savior to men.
Announcer: And, the materials there are all free and they’ve met with quite a bit of success. You can find out more about the Men’s NetWork at www.lhmmen.com. OK, back to our question, what do you think of Santa?
Klaus: I think Santa has been poorly used in recent years. On the other hand, St. Nicholas, the Christian bishop of Myra who took care of the poor, who stood up for the faith, who suffered for his Savior rather than deny Him, he is one of the great heroes of the Christian faith and his example is a powerful one.
Announcer: And, what’s the most important thing we should say today to our listeners?
Klaus: I think we need to repeat the angels, “Fear not, unto you is born in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord.” Jesus was born, lived, suffered, died, so we can be saved. If you need to know more about that Savior, call us at The Lutheran Hour.
Announcer: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour
Ministries.Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” From Concordia Carols (© 2007 Concordia University-Chicago)
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” arr. Peter Prochnow. From Songs to Celebrate the Birth of Our Savior by Peter Prochnow (© 1999 Lutheran Music Missions) www.lutheranmusicmissions.com
“On Christmas Night” arr. John Leavitt. From On Christmas Night by John Leavitt (© 2006 John Leavitt) www.johnleavittmusic.com
“From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” by Martin Luther. From Glad Tidings: the Message of Christmas in Word & Song (© 1990 Lutheran Hour Ministries)