PASTORAL PONDERINGS

December 2007

by Pastor James Berger

      ^{Jn 10:27}  "My Sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one."

     It is almost Christmas.

     The city of Cape May is decking itself out in lights and decorations. As the last of the leaves fall from the trees, festoons of garland, red bows and Christmas lights go up. For the next four Sundays we will sing the old familiar Christmas hymns and Carols. In the malls people will rush about and purchase everything they need and don't need, all to the background hum of carols set for shopping.

     When it is all done what will we have gained?

     As I reread the Christmas story there is always a bitter sweetness to it. Here is told the great story of love. The Creator of the cosmos comes down to earth. The One who will redeem the world from sin is born. Yet no one is there to receive Him!

     The story of Christ's birth is one of rejection. There is no room for His birth in Bethlehem. The civil authority of His day seeks His death, Jesus' family is forced to flee into Egypt and when they return they are forced to flee once more into Nazareth. His own people will reject Him. He who is the Good Shepherd will be turned away by most of the sheep, even when He offers them life eternal that can never be snatched from His hand.

They will in time nail Him to a cross, because He refuses to do what they want Him to do. By doing so Jesus purchased a salvation most who took part in His death would not share

      He is still rejected by many in the world, even some who sit in His churches and pretend to worship Him in this holiday season.

     What will you do at Christmas?

      Will you make your once or twice yearly appearance at church and consider yourself safe for another year? Will you remember the baby born in Bethlehem as anything other than a lawn ornament? Will we be like those who refused the one Prophet Isaiah foretold, ^{Isaiah 53:3} "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not."

    The true present of Christmas is what it has always been, the Son of God born to purchase sinners like you and me from our sins. It is an offer freely given and, unfortunately, freely refused. My Christmas prayer for all of us is that we will take up the gift of salvation, welcome in the One rejected by the world and truly celebrate the love of Jesus in this season.

      His gift to us remains the same from season to season. Jesus still says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."

Merry Christmas!

Pastor Jim, Sarah, Katherine and Dorothy