December 20, 2020 ~ Fourth Sunday of Advent ~ Sermon & Sermon Video Link

https://youtu.be/GpZ04Cs2E8o

4^th Advent                                                           12/20/20—Highland—Meute

“Love Came Down: Pathways to Love”

Advent Collaboration with Susquehanna Ministry Group

II Samuel 7: 1-11, 16; Luke 1: 26-38, 46b-55

Pearl: The redeeming effect of love/God.

Function: To encourage the unexpected, radical effect of loving action which changes/transforms hearts (The Grinch/The Gospel).

When our daughter was a young girl I believe that during the Advent season and build-up to Christmas season she watched the Jim Carrey version of “The Grinch” one time per day. She loved that movie! She had every line memorized.

1. In fact, most of our family also has every line memorized. We use some of them throughout the year.
   1. Like when anyone is dismayed over what outfit to put on someone will quote The Grinch by saying, “But what will I wear?!” That is what he said when he was deciding what clothes to wear upon being invited to the Whoville Jubilation Celebration. It was actually a cruel set-up by Whoville’s Mayor, a life-long agitator and competitor for the affection of Martha May Whovier.
   1. Another phrase I like is, “Cute Kid! Bad judge of character!” This is what The Grinch said after first meeting the darling Cindy Lou Who. She saw something good within The Grinch. His reaction to her kind word to him, “Cute Kid! Bad judge of character.”
2. This movie, in all of its iterations, has real power.
   1. Of course, you have to love the original cartoon with the incomparable Boris Karloff narrating.
   1. Jim Carrey’s 2000 movie is our family favorite.
   1. The animated 2018 version is great as well.
      1. Each newer version offered some more information about what made The Grinch WHO he was. I just watched the 2018 animation and highly recommend it.
   1. What is the alluring power within this strange character created by none other than Dr. Seuss?
      1. Maybe there is something in Mr. Grinch about which we can all relate.
         1. He is a mean one and a grouch. We all are such at times.
         1. He knew rejection and what it was to be maligned and made fun of.
         1. He was lonely.
         1. He didn’t fit in with the others. He was odd. He was very hairy. He was very large.
         1. So he grew cold. He developed a hard outer shell of defense so that he would not be hurt anymore.
         1. And sadly, some of his worst memories of rejection and being forgotten were tied to the Christmas holiday.
            1. His feelings seem to be amplified by everyone else being together with loved ones and celebrating, so he thought.
         1. And so he formed a belief about Christmas, based on some level of truth, that the holiday was a big celebration of excessive greed.
            1. He formed an opinion based on some truth but also missing some real power.
3. There is great power in how a small child named Cindy Lou Who, also struggling within about some of the hustle and bustle of the season and how it makes families go a little crazy, notices The Grinch and sees something good within him. She sees something redeemable within him.
   1. And she turns out to be the one “Who,” who gets through to The Grinch, helping him to feel love and human connection once again. This redeems him; it transforms him.
   1. This is the power of love. This is the power of God, who is love. (Try to count how many times I say “who” in this sermon).

Love enters in and love craves community.

As I thought about this movie, which I have seen so many times all through my life, in terms of a gospel message for a sermon it occurred to me how interesting it is that Dr. Seuss’s character (The Grinch) looks down to observe the town of Whoville.

1. Is it not eerily similar to our notion of how God looks down and observes us?
   1. Our scriptures even portray God being angry so long ago upon looking down and seeing what he saw sort of like The Grinch.
2. The Grinch showed signs of compassion and empathy even at his angriest moments.
   1. When he first met Cindy Lou Who it was in the mail room where her father worked. She was in the back and got caught in the sorting machine. She kept crying out for help. The Grinch was making his get-a-way from the scene but she kept crying out for help.
      1. He begrudgingly reached in and pulled her out saving her life. This won her over. And made her very curious about this odd creature.
   1. In the animated 2018 version he recruited a greatly overweight reindeer named Fred to join him in his scheme to steal Christmas. As The Grinch, Fred, and his dog Max were making their way to Whoville, Fred’s wife and calf found him. He had gone missing since The Grinch forced him into servitude. When The Grinch saw Fred’s family reunited, he was moved to free Fred from his scheme so he could be with his family once again. The Grinch had compassion and empathy, deep within even though he had worked to form a hard outer shell of defense against the cruelty and callousness of others.
3. In similar fashion there are times within scripture where God is depicted as being quite angry. Sadly, many people therefore develop an impression of God as being angry, cruel, and fickle, and we project human emotions onto God.
   1. What we see about God, from the beginning, is one who desires community, and who desires relationship with all creatures and creation.

Love enters in since love craves community.

The Grinch determines to destroy Christmas. Like a reverse Santa Claus he goes into every home on Christmas Eve stealing every present, every Christmas tree, and every single decoration to stop this holiday from coming once and for all!

1. In the doing of the deed, he runs into Cindy Lou Who. This little child is nothing like what he bargained for. He was not prepared for the love and kindness of this little child. She showed affection for him. She showed selflessness (3^rd movie) being so concerned for her mother. Her wish for Christmas was that her mom could get some rest and relaxation because she works so hard and does so much for everyone else. She showed kindness to The Grinch. She cared about him. In the end she won him over literally changing his heart. It grew three times its size when he saw that she was not motivated by greed but by love for others, even for him.
2. The scriptures suggest that God determined to destroy everything living on earth but God was won over by Noah and his family.
   1. God did not destroy everything.
   1. God is not destruction. God is love.
   1. God is not isolation. God is community.
   1. God is not fickle. God is consistently and constantly good.
3. And finally, upon all of God’s observing of those on earth, love came down. God came down.
   1. God became a human being, taking on human flesh.
   1. This is the birth we celebrate on Christmas.
4. Something happened within the heart of God, within the mind of God, that God became implanted within humankind.
   1. God came down…to save.

God did this because love enters in and love craves community.

Love transforms. The Grinch’s heart grew three times its original size. Because of the love and affection of a little child, Cindy Lou Who. Because Cindy Lou cared more about others than herself, she melted the defenses of The Grinch, which he had worked for years to perfect.

1. So the Grinch came down at Christmas. For the real thing, the Grinch came down. For the love of family, and friends. In the 2018 version Brickelbaum, a jolly neighbor of The Grinch, considers The Grinch his friend. At the end of the movie, Brickelbaum says about The Grinch, “He’s my best friend.” The Grinch was not totally alone; it was good to find that out!
2. Coincidentally, love came down at Christmas. The Gospel came down at Christmas by being born as the child of Mary and Joseph. Love came down at Christmas because God is love.
3. Pastor Jeff Young, of Christ our King, Bel Air, said he didn’t think the title “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is a good title. He rather believes it should be “How the Grinch Redeemed Christmas.”
   1. While he tried to destroy it, his compassion and empathy grew three times its size and he was won over by love.
   1. God Almighty redeemed everything by coming down to creation to transform it by love.
   1. Christ died on the cross, giving himself completely, out of love, for others.
   1. God who in God’s very nature is relationship (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) came down to redeem relationships with God, with ourselves, with others.
4. The Grinch was restored to his community because of love.
5. God is still restoring his world because of love.

Love came down at Christmas.

Love enters in and love craves community.