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Sermon Illustrations: Christmas
Anecdotes
It was Christmas Eve in 1914 and WW1 had been raging for almost five months. It would become one of the largest and most brutal wars in all history. When Pope Benedict XV called for a Christmas truce, the idea was officially rejected. But something amazing happened on the Western front. No one knows how it spread or where it started, but peace broke out involving about 100,000 British and German troops — about two-thirds of the men on the front. The Germans started singing Christmas carols, then the Brits. At times, they were singing the same carols, at the same time, in two different languages – all in the middle of a war. Then Germans started calling out, “Merry Christmas, Englishmen.” The British wished the Germans a merry Christmas in return. The next morning – Christmas Day – soldiers climbed out of their trenches, unarmed, and walked across no man’s land – the area between the opposing trenches – to exchange gifts of alcohol, tobacco, food and even souvenirs such as hats and buttons. One British soldier admired the buttons on a German officer’s coat. He pulled out his clippers and motioned that he’d like a couple. The officer gave permission, so he cut them off and pocketed them. Then he cut off two of his own buttons and gave them to the German. Recently killed soldiers were retrieved and buried, and they even held joint services. Enemies smiled at each other, shook hands, and smoked cigars together. One of the British machine gunners gave a haircut to a German soldier. And since many of the Germans had lived in England, they wanted to catch up with news on the football leagues. There were even reports of soccer matches between enemy troops.
The owner of a toy shop was out Christmas shopping with his little boy when he ran into another shop owner who was a friend of longstanding. They exchanged pleasantries and talked about how sales had spiked dramatically that year. The boy heard his father say, “This is the best Christmas ever.” The two friends said their good-byes and father and son continued shopping, but the father noticed his son was very quiet. “What’s wrong?” he said. “You’re very quiet.” His son replied, “Dad, didn’t you just tell Mr. Franklin that this was the best Christmas ever?” His dad replied, “That’s right, son. Business is booming. Our sales this year are almost 25% higher than last year.” “Oh,” his son replied, “It’s just that I always thought the first Christmas was the best one.”
A little boy was writing a letter to God about the long list of Christmas presents he wanted. He wrote, “I’ve been good for about six months now.” Then he paused, thought about it, and crossed out “six months” and wrote in “three months.” A while later, he stopped again, thought some more, and crossed out “three months” changing it to “two weeks.” Finally, he stopped again and crossed that out too. He got up from his little desk and walked over to the nativity scene that had the models of the holy family. He picked up the figure of Mary, wrapped it carefully in a soft cloth, and put it in a drawer in his bedroom. Then he went back to his desk and started writing again: “Dear Lord, if You ever want to see Your mother again...”
A little boy was writing to Santa: “Dear Santa, I’ve been good all the time.” Then he threw that piece of paper in the bin and started again. “Dear Santa, I’ve been good most of the time.” That wasn’t right either, so he started yet again: “Dear Santa, I’ve been good some of the time.” Finally, he wrote his final draft: “Dear Santa, don’t bother. I’ll buy my own presents.”
My wife had queued at the shopping centre for thirty minutes. Parents were arguing, kids were bickering, and a lady turned to her, sighed, and said, "Joy to the world."
Christmas letters from children to Santa: "Dear Santa, you did not bring me anything good last year. You did not bring me anything good the year before that. This is your last chance. Signed, Alfred." Another said: "Dear Santa, there are three little boys who live at our house. There is Jeffrey; he is two. There is David; he is four. And there is Norman; he is seven. Jeffrey is good some of the time. David is good some of the time. But Norman is good all of the time. I am Norman.
Playing Christmas carols in shops during the festive season is tantamount to "psychological terror" for store workers, according to a study by an Austrian trade union. By the time the big day arrives, the study says, hours of listening to piped carols such as Jingle Bells and Silent Night will have made many store workers aggressive and confrontational. The union wants shops to limit the number of hours per day the music is played, and restrict it to areas where Christmas gifts are being sold. Time Magazine, 15-12-03, p12
Why is Christmas just like a normal day in the office? You do all the work and the fat guy in the suit gets all the credit.
If the three wise men had been three wise women, they would have asked for directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the Baby, cleaned the stable, and made a casserole.
Quotes
He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. Roy L. Smith
Merry Mas - it's just not the same without Christ.