Text: Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
What would Christmas be without gifts? I mean, imagine telling your child that you’re going to celebrate Christmas, but they won’t be getting anything—no toys, no candy, no special meals, no family visits. It’s unthinkable. There can’t be Christmas without gifts! And that’s not just the voice of a brainwashed consumer. Christmas and gift-giving go together, and you can ask anyone. Even people who aren’t the least bit religious celebrate Christmas by giving gifts.
The Word of God read tonight has the language of gifts in it:
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”
“Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
And it’s also here in Titus 2: “Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ…gave Himself for us to redeem us.”[1]
Christmas is about giving gifts because Christmas is about the God Who is giver of gifts.
I want you to think about the gifts you selected this year (or those you feel like you should have gotten). Who were they for? What kinds of gifts were they? Usually we buy gifts for people who we think are worthy of them—your favorite relatives, your friends, your boss (if he’s nice enough). Occasionally, we might give a gift if we think it will earn us some brownie points.
But what about those people who haven’t called or written all year? What about the guy who cheated you? The woman who spread lies about you all over town? The people you unfriended on Facebook? Do you buy Christmas gifts for them? I think not. They deserve a lump of coal.
Now consider how God gives gifts. Listen to Jesus, God’s Son, tell it: “43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”[2] God gives His gifts to the very people who least deserve it.
Don’t believe me? Consider your life: Your food and drink, your clothing, your spouse, your children, your health, your job, your reputation, and your country. Consider the safety you’re enjoying right now, thanks to police, paramedics, and our soldiers. Where do you think this all comes from? It is a gift from God. What if you think that’s nonsense? God still gives those gifts to you. He makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, the believer and the unbeliever alike.
But what reason could God have for doing all this good to us, regardless if we acknowledge Him or not? Giving is in His nature. You’ve heard it quoted that “God is love,”[3] and that love is expressed in what He gives: His Son, Jesus Christ, for the salvation of the world. The familiar passage from the Gospel of John says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”[4] Tonight on Christmas Eve, we hear how unto us the Son was given and laid in a manger. God’s gift is His Son, who made His dwelling among us.[5]
Yet the full beauty of God’s gift comes years after Jesus was “in a little stable.” More than once in His ministry, He told His disciples, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”[6] At the root of the words for Jesus being “delivered up” and “betrayed” is “to give” (paradídomi). God gave His Son into death for our offenses. Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession.”
Was this gift for those who were worthy? Those who prepared themselves by their good conduct and a godly demeanor? Was it just for the people who made a decision to ask Jesus into their heart? St. Paul writes in Romans 5, “6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” While we were God’s enemies, He gave His greatest treasure to for our greatest good.
Deep down, each of us recognizes this kind of love, and we know that it’s better than being selfish. The best-loved stories aren’t those where a super-human figure wins by his might. They’re the ones about those who sacrifice themselves for others. Think of characters like Uncle Tom, Mufasa (Lion King), Gandalf (Lord of the Rings), or even Neo (The Matrix)—all of them suffered to save others. The reason we are drawn to these stories is because God made us all in His own image.
Yet even though we know this godly love, we scarcely practice it. How quickly are we ready to give up on people when they don’t appreciate our hard work? Would we gladly spend ourselves on others for no return? How many of us could persevere through a lifetime of rejection from the one we love? Think of how burdensome and stressful the holidays are for us! If we were really unselfish people, it would be a joy to receive guests and give gifts.
But that’s exactly where God comes in with His gifts. To us selfish and cold-hearted people, no matter if we grew up in church or have only come tonight, God showers us with His grace. “Glory of God in the highest, and on earth peace among those on whom His favor rests.”[7] That Christmas night, the Father gave His Son into human birth. He was for all human beings the substitute before God—the Righteous One, the One who was without sin, who didn’t wrong His neighbor, or resent God for the suffering laid on Him. In fact, He even bore sin that didn’t belong to Him; it was rightly ours. He took our sins and was betrayed, handed over, given into death in our place. He then rose from the grave as a guarantee to all who believe in Him that, by faith, they too have been washed from all their sins and will rise to eternal life. “On earth peace among those on whom His favor rests.”
In this way, you can think of God’s gift in Christ as Him taking something away from us. Jesus takes away our sins and bears the wrath they deserve. Then, in return, He gives us forgiveness, adoption as God’s children, and grants us a home in the new creation.[8] He takes from us our sinful hearts that are full of greed and selfishness, and gives us hearts where His Spirit dwells, so that our hearts become like His—loving and giving, generous and patient.[9]
And we see how that happened for the people around Jesus’ birth. The angel Gabriel declared God’s favor to Mary,[10] but she still had to bear the scorn of being thought an adulteress by her relatives and friends. She had to bear with the news that the Son of her flesh and blood was destined to unjustly suffer and die.[11] Joseph, who had been ready to divorce Mary secretly, submitted himself to God’s Word and took her as his wife. He had to defend her against slanderous attacks, raise a Son who wasn’t naturally his own, and even take his family to Egypt and back.[12]
It was the grace of God that had appeared to them, which gave them the strength to bear these burdens. They denied themselves because Jesus would also deny Himself and take up the cross of their sin, and the sins of the world.[13] They risked life and property because the Lord gave His own life to ransom all humanity and gain for them a heavenly inheritance.[14] They bore all these things without complaint or resentment because the innocent Son of God was rejected by all mankind and said not a word in rebuke.[15]
God’s Christmas gift is the very definition of grace. It starts with Him giving Jesus for our redemption, and is received by unprepared and undeserving sinners. Those who are touched by His gift are forgiven and transformed. So, then, Christmas really is about gifts, but gifts that are given in the spirit of the God who gave His greatest treasure to us—His Son, in whom we have forgiveness and eternal hope. Tonight, may God create in you a clean heart, and renew His right spirit within you. May He give you joy in His salvation and uphold you with a willing spirit, through Jesus Christ, the Lord.[16] Amen.
[1] Isaiah 9:6; Luke 2:11; Titus 2:13-14
[2] Matthew 5:43-45
[3] 1 John 4:8
[4] John 3:16
[5] John 1:14
[6] Matthew 17:22
[7] Luke 2:14
[8] 2 Corinthians 5:21, Revelation 21:5
[9] Galatians 5:22-24
[10] Luke 1:28
[11] Luke 2:34-35
[12] Matthew 2:13-15
[13] Isaiah 53:4-6
[14] Matthew 6:19-21
[15] Isaiah 53:7-9
[16] Psalm 51:10, 12