2009.12.24 - "A Bigger Buy-Back" by Ken MacQuarrie (Ken MacQuarrie)
10.4 MB
11:17 min
Christmas is a shiny time of year – lights and sparkles and candles and tinsel make sure of that.
Christmas is a joyful time of year – families are reunited, though their members live far apart, gifts are given, and signs of true affection are expressed.
Christmas is a brilliant time of year – all that you have to do to realize this is look into the wondering eyes of a child as he or she contemplates the mystery and amazement of this time of year.
But Christmas, as we know it, can also be somewhat of a dark time of year. Maybe not dark-in-and-of-itself, but it at least encounters us and the various “darknesses” that we carry about with us.
The happenings of the holidays bring up memories of Christmas seasons and Christmas experiences past, and with them we re-live the stings and wounds we would have otherwise long forgotten about.
It might be the memory of a loved one lost
It might be the memory of a relationship destroyed by selfishness or greed or disagreement
It might be the memory of guilt or unforgiveness or hurt or some bitterness that we refuse to let go of.
And yet Scripture speaks to our pain.
Our readings this evening began with a past-tense promise from Isaiah:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.
Many of us know what it is to walk in darkness;
Many of us know what it is to live in a land of deep darkness.
Whether it be emotional, economic, relational, or spiritual darkness – we know the hopelessness of being in the dark, the way in which it closes in and overwhelms us.
Knowing the power of darkness helps us to grasp the great power of Isaiah’s promise:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.
We know the power of light over darkness – how often have you taken comfort in the security of a bright light at night? What child goes to sleep without a nightlight to protect her from the monsters under his bed? What person walks through a dark forest without a flashlight to guide her way?
The light transforms the darkness: with light the cold becomes warm, fear becomes comfort, the hurt and pain and struggle of birth are forgotten and new life is found.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.
Christmas is about the coming of Christ, who encounters us and the various “darknesses” that we carry about with us, and infuses them with God’s holy light, and offers us the gift of healing by God’s glorious grace.
The other evening, Shaunna, Jessie, and I were out for a drive looking at lights on the houses and listening to Christmas music on the radio.
One of the major credit card companies was doing a holiday promotional called the “buy back card.” Radio listeners were invited to write to the station explaining what they would “buy back” if they were given a $500 buy back card.
“What wrong would you make right? What injustice would you correct? What hurt would you heal if you were given a $500 buy back card?” listeners were asked.
On that particular evening, the mother of 6 children told a very touching story about the deep love that her family had for dogs. They would have liked to rescue one from the pound, but a couple of her children were allergic, and with six kids the family’s budget was a little too tight to afford to purchase a more expensive hypoallergenic dog.
And so, having been granted a $500 buy back card, this mother pledged to fulfil her family’s dream of owning a puppy.
As I listened to the radio program, I began to wonder to myself about what I would do if I were given the same “buy back” opportunity. What wrong would I make right? What injustice would I correct? What hurt would I heal? What darkness would I seek to infuse with light?
What would you do? If given the opportunity to make a buy back of some injustice or brokenness or wrongdoing, what would you do? [think about that for a minute]
Now, think about this - what would the cost be? [$500? Time? Pride?] No matter what the cost, recognize that shining light in darkness, fixing the broken, making things right always comes at a cost. It is never free.
Now, think about this – what is the risk?
Think of that mom buying a hypoallergenic puppy for her kids. What does she risk? Maybe the new dog will pee on her favourite rug or chew up the couch or steal a couple of shoes.
Maybe an even greater risk pans out – maybe her children decide that they don’t like dogs after all. Maybe her children turn their backs on her, despite the cost of her gift, maybe they make no room for a new puppy in their lives. Maybe her children reject her gift, and in doing so, reject her. Maybe.
But love lets her take the risk anyway.
What about your idea? What about your buy back? What is the risk involved in it?
Is it possible that your gift might get rejected too? Is it possible that your gift of healing, your gift of repair, your gift of light in the darkness might be rejected, despite its cost?
Will love let you take the risk anyways?
I’ll close with one more story. Let me tell you of another buy back – a bigger better buy back:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined. For a child has been born for us, a son given to us.
You see my friends, the Christmas story is the true buy back – the true repair, the true healing, the true infusion of light in the darkness. It is our story: that we, in our brokenness and waywardness, were so estranged from God and from one another that we could do nothing to escape from the darkness that enveloped us – and so God did for us what we could not do for ourselves – he came; he became one of us, that we might become one with him.
The cost was great – Jesus’ life itself. The risk was even greater – the world had no room for him then and many in our world have no room for him today. And yet in love, God did it anyway. In love, God infused the darkness with light.
Describing Christ, John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
As you share gifts and food and laughter with family and friends this holiday season, may that great light infuse your celebration this Christmas season and forever more.
A Bigger Buy-Back
