Pastor Dan Mangler's Sunday Sermon

Here Comes Santa Claus

Genesis 15: 1-6

August 12, 2007

Here Comes Santa Claus

When I read the First Lesson and Gospel for this morning I knew immediately what I wanted for the sermon hymn. My problem is that it is not in Evangelical Lutheran Worship. I checked the Lutheran Book of Worship and With One Voice – not there either. So I decided I'd just sing it for you. Here goes.

"Here Comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane/ He's got a bag that is filled with toys for the boys and girls again/ Hear those sleigh bells jingle jangle, 0 what a beautiful sight/ Jump in bed and cover your head cause Santa Claus comes tonight."

Does that surprise you for a sermon hymn? Consider the words in two of the Bible readings this morning. What are the first words out of Abram's mouth when the Lord comes to him in a vision? "0 Lord God, what wilt thou give me...?" And what are Jesus' first words to his disciples in this morning's reading from Luke? "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

Now, in our culture, who is most closely associated with gift giving? Santa Claus, of course. And so goes my reason for a somewhat unorthodox sermon hymn.

The following scene is one that used to be far more common that it is today, or so I'm told. A woman goes into a shop to buy a hat. The sales lady suggests first this hat, then that hat, and then another one until finally she produces one she insists "suits madam perfectly". The sales lady is suggesting that the hat expresses her client's personality.

Similarly, human beings put a variety of "personality hats" on God's head. Some put an academic hat on him. After all, God knows everything. Some put a policeman's hat on him. They think of God waiting to catch them doing something wrong. He’s the great law enforcer. Still others will put a Santa Clause hat on God thinking him a kind of heavenly Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, whose job it is to supply them with all sorts of good and pleasant things.

We in the church have been quick to criticize this tendency to think of God as some kind of heavenly Santa Claus - perhaps too quick to so criticize. If Santa Claus is known for his giving of good gifts, is it so bad to think of God as the ultimate giver of all good gifts? Is a Santa Claus hat such a bad hat for God?

From the very beginning it has been God's nature to give. To Adam and Eve he gave dominion over all the earth and everything in and on it. To Noah he gave a way of escape from the flood by the ark. To Abraham he gave the promise that Abraham would be the father of a great nation, and then blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son, the first of that promise. To Moses he gave the Ten Commandments, and to the Israelites he gave the Promised Land, a land flowing the milk and honey, Israel. It seems to be a rule. When God first comes to his people, he comes bearing gifts. That’s radically different from so many other religious in which one must come bearing gifts when first approaching a god.

I don't want to confuse God with Santa Claus, and so I want to take a little time for drawing so very important differences between the two, but this they share; their names are synonymous with giving. One cannot think of Santa Claus without thinking of gifts. One should not think of God without also thinking of gifts.

Having said that there are some obvious differences between God and Santa Claus. The first is rather obvious, but with children here this morning we need not go into it. Suffice it to say that it concerns what is real and what is pretend. And yet other differences are just as important for our understanding of God.

Santa Claus gives once a year; God gives year around. Have you experienced, as I have, the post-Christmas let-down. Not the holiday depression - that has its own peculiar roots. But the post-Christmas let down is the realization that the entire gift giving and getting that had captured almost all our energy and attention was over. Oh yes, we glibly repeat that cute holiday disclaimer "Thank God Christmas only comes once a year", but isn't there something magical missing when all the giving and getting is over?

But God gives good and perfect gifts all year around. He doesn't disappear into some celestial North Pole hideout for the next 364 days putting together gifts for next year. God is as close as your prayers 365 days a year bearing gifts constantly. In the words of Jeremiah in Lamentations 3:22-23; "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness." Santa Claus gives once a year; God never stops giving.

The gifts Santa brings are perishable. Only God can give that which is imperishable. One Christmas Eve we gave Joshua a radio-controlled Turbo-hopper, a kind of souped up radio-controlled car. By Christmas morning it had a broken axle. There was one sad little boy.

God is the giver of all good things, some of which, by virtue of being part of creation, are also perishable. But far more precious are God's gifts that are imperishable, gifts that don't break, gifts that don't wear out batteries, gifts that don't get old, gifts that don't spoil. These gifts of God stand against all that would threaten. These imperishable gifts are his love, his strength, his comfort, his hope. These gifts are never the wrong size or color; they never become obsolete; they never break. God's love, strength, and comfort are indestructible, imperishable, and stand against every pain and adversity that might come in life. Everything you get from Santa you'll have to replace. Things you receive from God are eternal.

Santa gives gifts to good boys and girls; God gives his gifts to all. That might not be our way but it is God's. There will never be coal in God's children's stockings.

The first of God's gifts that open the door to all the rest of God's gifts is forgiveness. For the proud and the self-righteous it might not look fair. But to those of us who have sensed our unworthiness, it is the best of all gifts. In God there is no "making a list and checking it twice; gonna find out whose naughty or nice." There is but unconditional love for all God's children and the irrepressible drive to bring us good and perfect gifts.

The last sentence in one church’s description in its Sunday morning bulletin of its just-completed Bible School read: “God’s love and presence were shared by all." Do you know that it is virtually impossible to make a distinction in pronunciation between presence - (ce) meaning the state of being somewhere; and presents - (ts) meaning gifts. So when I talk about God's presence (ts) you have no way of knowing whether I'm talking about God being near (God's presence), or God's gifts (God's presents). But that's okay, because there is not one without the other. In God's presence we receive God's presents. When God comes, i.e. makes himself present, he comes bringing present (gifts). May those words "God's love and presence were shared and felt by all "describe as well our worship, indeed all of life: Amen.

May the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.