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"Merry Christmas' to you!

Subhead
Built on a Rock
By
Pastor Andrew Palmquist, Bethany Lutheran Church, Luverne

This certainly is a joyous season! Christmas music fills the air. Christmas greetings arrive from distant friends. Families gather joyfully around the Christmas dinner. Children try unsuccessfully to contain their excitement as Christmas draws near.
What is a “Merry Christmas,” anyway? To some, a Merry Christmas is simply a happy time of year when they can get together with family and friends. To some, a Merry Christmas is a break from busy schedules at school or work. For many charities Christmas is a time when there’s an increase in donations from the public. And for lots of children Christmas is when they receive toys and fun gifts in brightly wrapped packages.
Sadly, these ideas and concepts of a Merry Christmas are short-lived. Once the Christmas season is over, the joy and happiness can quickly vanish. The relaxing time off from school and work comes to an end. There are gifts and toys that are broken, set aside, or returned to the store. Some charities start planning how to collect more funds next year. And inevitably, the troubles and arguments that plagued families before Christmas seem to pick up where they left off after the holiday.
Even more serious and disheartening is the fact that many people do not know, believe, or have lost focus in the true meaning of a Merry Christmas. There are individuals in our nation who contend that the words “Merry Christmas” are politically incorrect. They claim that these words are offensive to others. The truth of the matter is they refuse to see the joy and grace in those beautiful words. And they don’t realize that their claims are being used by the devil to remove the true focus of the real meaning of “Merry Christmas.”
Praise God that the true meaning of Christmas is still found and celebrated in countless homes and Christian churches across our nation. The words of the angels recorded in Luke 2:10-14 are still just as true and meaningful as when they were first spoken:
“Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
The true joy of a Merry Christmas is found in Christ, the holy babe born in Bethlehem, the Savior of the world. With his incarnation, the God-man Jesus came to our earth to do for us what we could not do for ourselves: the little boy child grew and lived a life of perfect devotion and obedience to his heavenly Father. Later, although pure and innocent, he willingly endured the awful pain, punishment and death on the cross to pay for the sins of all. Then on Easter Sunday Jesus rose back to life, triumphant over death, proving he is true God and that he fully accomplished God’s plan of salvation for all nations.
The forgiveness Jesus won is God’s perfect rest and comfort that we need. It gives us peace knowing that all of our past sins, failures and mistakes have been washed away. Our hurtful words, lost tempers and displays of selfishness are erased. We are truly forgiven in God’s sight! And that gives us strength to ask for forgiveness from those we’ve hurt and empowers us to forgive those who have wronged us. Best of all, Jesus’ peace and forgiveness promise that all who trust and believe will enjoy perfect rest, peace and joy in the glories of heaven.
This is what we celebrate at Christmas. This is why we keep Christ in a Merry Christmas. Immanuel, “God with us”— his birth for you, me and all people gives a joy that will not fade with the passing of the Christmas season but will remain ever alive in the hearts of all that believe. You’re invited to God’s House to welcome the Savior and celebrate the true meaning of a “Merry Christmas!”
May the Lord Jesus bless you and yours with his peace and joy!

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