Luke 2:4-12 (NIV) 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
John 1:14 (NIV) 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Titus 2:11-14 (NIV) 11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the 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 wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
What is the grace of God?
When the news of Jesus rising from the dead started spreading around the world, the disciples, like Peter and John, and also Paul, started teaching new believers about Jesus our Lord, and about God our Father and about the Holy Spirit. They came up with a very important word about God. They taught about God being kind and loving and patient, but they also found a very important word that helps to explain how good God is, and that is the word; “grace”.
We sing that word in a famous hymn called “amazing grace”, and we use it for a name, and also we use it for the prayer we say before a meal, but even though that is the same word it has a different meaning.
We read it in the reading this morning from Paul’s letter to Titus which says that the grace of God appeared and brings salvation. Which means that this word grace, which belongs to God, has the power to bring us to a safe place, which is where Jesus is.
So, I want to try and explain this word; “grace”.
If you fell into a raging river and were running out of strength and you were about to drown, grace is like a rescue boat that comes out of nowhere and pulls you out of the water and brings you back safely to dry land.
If you got lost in the jungle, and had no money or food, and you were starving hungry, grace is like a food helicopter that comes out of nowhere and dishes out a beautiful meal full of chicken and gravy and tasty vegetables and then flies you to where your parents are looking for you.
If you get really sick and are almost dying, and your parents take you to hospital, grace is like a wonderful nurse that comes out of nowhere and gives you the most special medicine and then you wake up and are well again.
Grace is strong enough to help us even when we don’t want to be helped.
Grace fixes things, but it doesn’t fix everything, only the really important things in our lives.
What’s the most important thing in our whole life?
To be part of God’s family.
We all need to be part of a family, God gives us parents and grandparents and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and children and grandchildren, as well as special friends. These are so important to our lives, but the most important family is God’s family.
God started a family a long time ago with Adam and Eve, but they were tricked into breaking God’s rules which left them in really big trouble. It was like they were lost, but the worst thing was that they had broken God’s rules on purpose, and they felt really ashamed and had to hide from him.
We also break Gods rules, like when we think about ourselves and don’t love each other, and don’t love Jesus.
Being like that means that we also can hide from God and end up sad and lonely, which is like being lost in a jungle with no food, no family and no way home.
But God always knew that we would need something really special and strong, that would take away our shame, and bring us back home to him.
It was grace.
Grace means that God still cares for us, even when we are angry or upset with him.
Grace means that God still wants us in his family even when we slam the door in his face. Grace means that God loves us and will do everything that he can possibly do, to make sure we are safe, and will be part of his forever family.
In John’s gospel in the Bible, it says that Jesus was given to us so that we could be forever with him. (John 3:16) It also says that Jesus was full of grace and truth.
When the very first Christmas happened, Jesus was born as a tiny helpless baby.
God gave us his precious baby boy to live with and grow up with Mary and Joseph as his parents, but his true father was God.
That baby grew to be our Lord Jesus who died on the cross for us, and all of that happened because of God’s grace, God’s saving grace. Which comes out of nowhere and wipes away all of our fighting and arguments and disagreements with God and with each other, as well as our being greedy and nasty. Anything we do that we are ashamed of, God fixes with his grace, and gives us love and joy and a forever place with Jesus in heaven.
We call that really good news.
When we believe in God’s grace, which is his special power to change our lives through his son Jesus, then we do change on the inside in a beautiful way, and we learn how to live the way God wants us to live.
Christmas is when God’s grace arrived in the world through the baby Jesus. Jesus is full of grace. Jesus is, in a way, God’s superhero with the special power called grace.
And his grace will never fail.
