An omission

My record keeping is spotty as is my filing. One of my bulging box files of past talks and sermons is marked ADVENT.  Over 52 solid years the material ranges far and wide, including special services and events. Whenever I open it (not difficult as contents fight to escape the flimsy catch) I often pause to remember where and when these events occurred. And, truth be told, sometimes I look back as an old preacher to see if my previous work on a particular text provides fresh inspiration for a new sermon.. 

So it was a shock to open the box and discover that the text I feel drawn to preach on in a couple of weeks' time is missing altogether.  How could I have never preached on Matt. 2:13-23?  But, when I look at it and remember the context of joyful Christmas services with all their evangelistic possibilities I can understand why I omitted it. It's such a dark passage.  Why would you want to spoil the Christmas mood?

One of the sheets of paper that fell out when I opened the file was a talk for a group of sixth formers. It was held in the famous Round Church, Cambridge, (when it was still used for worship). Not dated it must have been in the mid-80's. What hit me was the title that they gave me.  I am one of those preachers who really appreciates being given a title/theme when an organization invites me, especially when they have prayed over it!  The title was: CHRISTMAS IS FOR GROWN UPS TOO.  It's true that so much of Christmas, its build-up, parties, trappings, presents seems particularly aimed at children. Their excitement is contagious. But these sixth formers were asking for something deeper, because the miracle of the incarnation should never be dumbed down. It remains the stupendous foundation of Christian faith.

I realize that Matthew 2:13-23 does go deeper. I must prepare carefully for grown-ups in a couple of weeks' time.