Isaiah 44:14-15,18-22, 60:1-2,16b,19
Advent Midweek
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
(Bring in 2 pieces of wood)
The carpenter cuts down a tree. With half of the wood (put piece of wood down), he builds a fire to cook his food, bake his bread, keep himself warm. With the other half of the wood, the wood from the same tree, the carpenter makes an idol, a god. He worships the idol, kneels before it, treats that piece of wood like it was alive, like it was royal and deserved his respect and attention, like that idol had power.
The carpenter is pleased with himself. He has a fire for warmth and cooking food. He has a god to worship.
We interrupt this feel-good story for a message from the prophet Isaiah:
Narrator: Don’t Worship the Tree!
Doesn’t the carpenter get it? He doesn’t seem to see how foolish he is. Here he chops down one tree. He burns some of the wood, burns it up for warmth and cooking. From that same tree, he makes a god. If that tree, if that wood had such divine qualities, if that tree had a god inside of it, how could the carpenter burn up part of the tree?
Doesn’t the carpenter get it? He’s been fooled by his own thoughts, his own heart, been fooled into thinking that he could make his own god. He’s gonna take a chunk of wood and worship it, fooling himself into forgetting that that chunk of wood wasn’t any different than the firewood. The carpenter at some level knows that that piece of wood doesn’t have any power, was just a piece of wood that he cut and carved; at some level, the carpenter knows that it is a lie to think that his chunk of wood has any power. (Hold up second piece of wood)) But he’s not letting himself say, “Isn’t this a lie in my right hand?”
The carpenter needs to hear Isaiah say:
Narrator: Don’t Worship the Tree!
The carpenter needs to remember that his God isn’t a chunk of wood; the true God made all of the trees. The carpenter needs to remember that he didn’t make God; God made him and all people. And then when the carpenter realizes that he has been worshipping an idol, going against the true God, when the carpenter realizes that he has sinned, has gone against the ways of God, has made a chunk of wood more important than the true God, then the carpenter also needs to hear that God forgives his sins.
God blots out our transgressions, our sins, like a cloud or like mist. A cloud can be easily pushed away by the wind. Mist can disappear and be gone just as quickly as it showed up. Like how the day can go from cloudy to sunny with a strong gust of wind, so the carpenter goes from dark sinner to forgiven child of God.
The carpenter had been worshipping a tree, but just as the trees don’t have any power over the clouds, mist, or rain, so trees also don’t have any power to remove sins. Only the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, has the power to forgive our sins. And by His grace and love, the true God promises to do just that—blot out our sins, send them away like a cloud.
Remembering all of this, the carpenter throws both chunks of wood into the fire. (throw second piece of wood on top of first) He will not worship the tree. He will worship the true God who forgives his sins.
(Bring in a Christmas tree)
The Christmas tree man cuts down a tree. He brings it into his home thinking how it would be a perfect decoration for Christmas. He looks at the tree and realizes how beautiful that tree is. He sings a song, “O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, How lovely are your branches!”
As the Christmas tree man admires the tree, he decides that everyone should make a special place for a Christmas tree in their homes and in their hearts. “O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, You are the tree most loved! How often you give us delight/In brightly shining Christmas light!”
When the Christmas tree man does a little reading about the Christmas tree, about what people have said in the past about the evergreen tree, he realizes how important it is to have the tree in his house. An evergreen tree is a reminder that life will continue. Honoring, praising, maybe even worshipping an evergreen tree gives hope that spring will come, new life will sprout, there will be a harvest next summer. “O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,/Your beauty green will teach me/That hope and love will ever be/The way to joy and peace for me.”
We interrupt this feel-good story for a message from the prophet Isaiah:
Narrator: Don’t Worship the Tree!
Doesn’t the Christmas tree man get it? He doesn’t seem to see how foolish he is. Here he chops down a tree. That tree that began as a decoration, as a reminder of Christmas, now he starts to give it honor like it was a god. How could the Christmas tree man sing to the tree saying that the tree is most loved, gives us delight, that the tree teaches us, that the tree brings hope and love and joy and peace?
Doesn’t the Christmas tree man get it? He’s been fooled by his own thoughts, his own heart, been fooled into making a decoration the center of his Christmas celebration. He’s gonna take a tree and worship it, fooling himself into thinking that his tree is teaching him about hope and love. But he’s not letting himself say, “Isn’t this a lie in my living room?”
The Christmas tree man needs to hear Isaiah say:
Narrator: Don’t Worship the Tree!
The Christmas tree man needs to remember that the center of Christmas isn’t the Christmas tree. The center of Christmas is Christ, Jesus, God’s own Son, who is truly divine and who came to Earth born as a baby. The center of Christmas is what Christ teaches us about hope and love, teaching us that He will pay for our sins with His death on the cross, that He will save us from the death that lasts forever, that He will give us true joy and true peace.
Remembering all of this, the Christmas tree man stops singing “O Christmas Tree.” He still decorates the tree, but only to remember Christ. And he decides that if the Christmas tree ever becomes more important than Christ, he’s gonna knock down that tree (throw tree down with chunks of wood) and get himself right back to church—just like Nick Horswill’s drawing on tonight’s bulletin shows. Leave that Christmas tree, those presents, all of that behind if they’re getting in the way of remembering that Christmas is about Jesus Christ coming to save us from our sins. Leave that Christmas tree behind if it has become an idol and get yourself back to church where you’ll hear the Word of God, where you’ll be reminded that Christ is the center of Christmas.
(Bring out some Christmas lights)
The children of Redeemer come to decorate the trees tonight. They’ll get to put ornaments on the trees. We’ll have someone turn the lights on. It’s a nice tradition. The kids enjoy it; the adults enjoy watching it. It’s cute, and the trees are so pretty.
But I’m not afraid to interrupt this feel-good event with a message from the prophet Isaiah:
Narrator: Don’t Worship the Tree!
The children of Redeemer come to decorate the trees tonight, but it isn’t like the carpenter and the Christmas tree man who began to worship the tree. We’re not here to say that these trees have any power; these trees aren’t gods. We’re not here to say that these trees have the power to teach us; these trees themselves don’t give us hope and love, joy and peace. The center of Christmas is Christ, and the center of decorating the Christmas trees is also Christ.
When the lights get turned on, remember Isaiah’s words in chapter 60, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” The Christmas lights symbolize that Jesus Christ is the light of the world. The Christmas lights themselves aren’t important; in fact, as many of you have experienced, Christmas lights can be some of the most frustrating, imperfect, unworkable things ever. The Christmas lights themselves aren’t important. But when we see those lights, may we remember that the center of Christmas is Christ. Jesus will return; He will be our everlasting light. When we have eternal life, we will no longer need a sun or moon, because Jesus will be the light of the world. As those Christmas light shine this season, remember that Jesus is the light of the world.
(still holding the Christmas lights) Why do we need a light for this world? Because a thick darkness covers the Earth, the darkness of sin. Just as God said that He will blot our sins like a wind pushing away the clouds, so God also says that He will forgive our sins like a bright light removing the darkness.
Our Christmas celebrations can turn dark so quickly, just like removing two bulbs from a strand of Christmas lights (remove bulbs). Sometimes we get caught up in the busyness of the season. Sometimes we fight with our families. Sometimes we’re rude with people in the checkout line at the stores in the Christmas rush. Sometimes we forget the true center of Christmas; we get focused on all of those unimportant things like our wish lists, the open bar at the company party, or the Packers/Vikings game on Christmas Eve. And then our Christmas has turned dark with our sin.
That’s when we need to hear Isaiah say:
Narrator: Don’t Worship the Tree!
The Christmas lights will go out. The Christmas tree will eventually get dragged out to the street corner to be made into mulch, or the Christmas tree will get taken apart and boxed up in the basement. The Christmas tree has no power to remove the darkness, to remove the clouds, to remove the sins in our lives. Only the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, has the power to forgive our sins. And by His grace and love, the true God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, born to us as a baby, lived on the Earth as a man, suffered for us, died for us, rose again for us. Only Christ will be our everlasting light.
So throw your chunks of wood into the fire, knock down your Christmas tree if it’s getting in the way, leave all of those things behind, and come to hear the Word of God. Your sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ, the Savior born on Christmas Day.