Worship

Did you know the Macy’s department store in Philadelphia has one of the world’s largest pipe organs? Their organ started off its life as a 10,000 pipe organ built for the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. After the fair was over, John Wanaker bought the organ and placed it in the new Macy’s store he built in Philadelphia. Over the years, more and more pipes were added to this organ which is now a National Historic Landmark. Twice a day, there is an organ concert at the seven story tall Macy’s store where an accomplished organist plays this historic and powerful pipe organ—an organ that now boasts almost 30,000 pipes!

During one of the scheduled organ concerts, this happened. [Show youtube.com video: Opera Company Philadelphia Hallelujah. While the video plays, I’ll continue talking.] What you are watching is a Youtube video viewed by over 9.7 million people. At noon on October 30, 2010, a flashmob did a surprise performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah at the Macy’s Department Store in Philadelphia. The singers hid themselves in plain clothes. And once the powerful Wanaker Pipe Organ started playing the Hallelujah Chorus, they belted out that beauty of a song at the top of their lungs.

In the video, you can distinguish between the singers and the shocked shoppers by the looks of awe and wonder on the shoppers’ faces and the large buttons worn by each singer. I’ve seen this video several times. Each time I view it, I get goose bumps. I try to imagine what it must’ve been like to be casually shopping and then be treated to a thunderous rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus. And to have it sung by an Opera Company! Wow! 

Well, I loved this video until I saw the ending. Since this YouTube video is six minutes long, we aren’t going to watch the whole thing. After the massive choir hit and held the final note—sung with an authoritative “hallelujah”—the shoppers erupted into applause. People were crying. Smiles were everywhere. And then something happened that ruined it all.

After belting out note after note proclaiming Jesus to be “King of kings” and “Lord of lords”, after belting out note after note proclaiming of Jesus, “He shall reign for ever and ever”, then members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia proudly hoisted signs above their heads saying, “You’ve Just Experienced a Random Act of Culture.” 

Ugh! Every time I think about that it just irks me! Jesus is not just a random act of culture. Jesus being King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus reigning for ever and ever is not just musical culture. It’s about Christ! It’s about God breaking through the darkness of sin to rescue you! How truly beautiful this would’ve been if they held up signs saying, “You Just Experienced a Random Act of Christians Proclaiming Christ…Learn More This Sunday in Worship.”

But the opposite happened in Philadelphia compared to what George Frideric Handel intended when he wrote this gospel-proclaiming masterpiece in 1741. The point and purpose of this grand work is the focus of worship this weekend: The Imminent Arrival of the Messiah. Handel’s Messiah was written to bring glory and praise to Christ, the Messiah, not culture. It was written to celebrate the gift that is Jesus. How infuriating to have people rob Christmas of Christ. 

Would God count your celebration throughout this Christmas season as being praiseworthy of Him? Would God look at your focus during December and rejoice? How much time have you spent scrolling through Amazon or other online shopping sites compared to scrolling through online devotions? By the way, how are you doing on your holiday shopping; are you all done? No?! Compare the stress you feel and the attention you’ll give in the next 10 days to Christmas shopping compared to the time spent in quiet contemplation and celebration of Jesus’ birth. Compare the focus and purpose of Christmas parties to how much time is spent at those parties actually celebrating Christ’s birth. Could someone be standing at the door as you leave each Christmas party with a sign saying, “You’ve Just Experienced a Random Act of Christmas.” 

We spend just so much time on the extras of Christmas. We stay up late and get up early to cook, to clean, to bake, to wrap presents, to write or send Christmas cards (if you are awesome enough to still do that). And yet, how often do we stay up late or wake up early to have devotional time with the Lord? We get Christmas cards in the mail and joyfully open them up, pour over the pictures and read the update letter if there is one. Yet, how much time do we take after reading those letters to pray for our loved ones both for the needs expressed in that letter or a prayer of thanksgiving for their amazing vacation to luxury resort you could NEVER afford?

Soon, we will gather with extended family members for Christmas. Some, even many, of whom aren’t walking with the Lord in faith. Will you be bold to talk to them about their faith life and worship life? Or will another year pass when you say nothing?

Do not be afraid! Be bold! The Opera Company in Philadelphia missed a grand opportunity to witness to others about Christ. Don’t miss your opportunity to change someone’s focus by pointing them back to Christ who reigns for ever and ever.

The prophet Isaiah didn’t miss his grand opportunity to point the people back to God. During his lifetime, Isaiah saw Israel in a time of prosperity and moral decline. Sound familiar? You are living in one of the most prosperous nations in the world that is experiencing rapid moral decline. In that same context, even though the people didn’t want to listen, Isaiah still proclaimed the truth of the Messiah. He wrote, “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘Be strong, do not fear; your God will come…He will come to save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4) God is calling on your heart to do the same.

Be bold. First apply this message to your schedule during Christmas; focus on what is truly, biblically, eternally important. Be bold to say no to extras so you can say yes to Jesus. Apply this message to your family members at Christmas. Say to those with fearful hearts whose lives are overcome in addiction, in spiritual apathy, in laziness, in financial or emotional distress, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come.” 

How do we know that to be true? Christ already came once! He fulfilled the prophecies of Micah 5:2 (where He was to be born), of Isaiah 7:14 (born of a virgin), of Isaiah 7:15 (born being God), of Isaiah in our sermon text, “He will come to save you.” Christmas is more than just a random act of culture because Christmas is followed by Good Friday. Christmas is just a story of another baby being born if Jesus didn’t die to take away your sins. You have no reason to fear. Christ has come to save you!

If you have family members who don’t believe that truth and have a hard time understanding why God became human to save us, maybe this illustration will help. There was a man in Ohio who didn’t believe in God and he didn’t hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion. (Do you know someone like that?) His wife and children, though, believed in Jesus.

One snowy Wednesday night in late November, his wife took their children to a midweek Advent service. She asked if he would come but he refused again. “That story is nonsense!” He said, “Why would God lower Himself to come to earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!” So, she and the children left and he stayed home. 

During church, a storm rolled in. The winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As he was relaxing by the fire, the man heard a loud thump. Something hit the window. He looked out but couldn’t see anything. He went outside and discovered in the field next to his house there was a flock of wild geese. Apparently, they were flying south for the winter and got caught in the snowstorm and couldn’t go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm with no food or shelter. And one of them flew into his window trying to find a place to get warm.

The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help. He opened up the door to his warm barn and tried to shoo them inside. But the geese just fluttered and scattered. They didn’t even notice the warm open barn. He got some bread from inside and broke up pieces creating a trail to the barn. They still didn’t catch on.

Now, he was getting frustrated. Nothing was working. “Why won’t they just follow me to safety?!” He wondered out loud. “If only I was a goose, they would follow me and I could save them.” Then he had an idea. He went into the barn and got one his own geese and carried it in his arms circling behind the flock of wild geese. When he released it, his goose flew through the middle of the wild geese into the warm barn and one-by-one the other geese followed it to safety.

He stood silently as the words he spoke previously sunk into his heart. “If only I was a goose… I could save them.” Then he remembered what he said to his wife earlier, “Why would God want to be like us? That’s ridiculous!” Suddenly, it all made sense. That’s what God did for us. We were like those geese—trapped in the storms of life, unable to save ourselves and destined to die. But God had His Son become like us so He could save us and show us the way to glory! 

Friends, there are so many people in your life who are stuck in the storm of unbelief. Show them Jesus especially during Christmas. Be bold! Be intentional in your witness to them. Invite them to come to our Christmas worship services at Salem Lutheran. 

Christmas is not about culture; it’s not about flying reindeer and a sleigh full of presents. Christmas is about Christ our Savior. Christmas is about God loving you enough to come to this earth. It’s about God loving you enough to trade the cradle of a manger for the mutilation of the cross. Christmas is about Christ and all He’s done for you as King of kings and Lord of lords and He shall reign for ever and ever! Amen.