1st Sunday after Christmas (Gal 3:23-25; 4:4-7)  12/26/2010

Throughout the past several weeks my daughter has been going through the college selection process…and we have shared this journey with her. As many of you can confirm, this process can be a time of joy and anxiety in one’s life, both for the young person going through the process and for those offering their love and guidance. The life changing events that accompany the beginning of one’s college years are not limited to this experience alone. For young adults the experiences of moving out of your parents’ home, joining the ranks of the working world or the military, or starting a family all have their life changing effects. And as we grow older, we continue to pass through significant thresholds of life – particular points along the journey through life where, due to some experience or due to someone we encounter, we are forever changed.

The birth of Jesus, that very holy day when our Lord and Savior came into our world, is just such a day. The birth of Christ is the one universal and miraculous threshold of all our lives. Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem life was lived in one manner, but the gift of Christmas was a threshold through which we are all changed forever. This morning in our Epistle reading, we hear that the change of life is so dramatic, so profound, that the people of Galatia could not agree how to live their lives as a result. After many disagreements within the community of Galatia, the Apostle Paul has had enough and intends to provide the community guidance to help them understand their new lives.

Paul writes, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” (Gal 4:4-7) Paul’s message to the Galatian community (both Jew and Gentile alike) is that prior to Jesus Christ, there was the law of God (passed through Moses) or there were very different understandings of God (from the Gentile people), but their previous understandings are all gone now because through Christ (through his birth, death, and resurrection), the entire community has been adopted as children of God. And if children of God, then they should have confidence to know that they are God’s forever…and that they are family members, brothers and sisters in Christ; we are brothers and sisters in Christ. A profound threshold to pass through! The threshold of Christmas changes everything – and we are family, through Christ’s presence.

Merton Strommen (a research psychologist) and Richard Hardel (a parish minister), authored a book entitled, Passing on the Faith. The book presents many insights about faith development within various models of family ministry. Strommen and Hardel begin their book by defining their broad understanding of family and the critical elements that are necessary for the formation of a vibrant faith. They write, “According to the Scriptures, a strong, life-shaping family needs to build and maintain two key relationships – a strong family relationship and a strong relationship with God…Like families in the Scriptures, we include friends and mentors as well as relatives in our definition of family. Our family is those people with whom we share our faith, values, and purpose as they relate to a life of hope and love.”[i] The important events in our lives are shared with family and our journey through life is nurtured and guided by family. As the gathered community of Christ, our development of faith is rooted in our relationships with God and with this family of faith.

There are many thresholds that we will pass through on our journey of life and we will be changed from our experiences. But the threshold of Christmas, that day “when the Word became flesh and lived among us,” is a threshold that changes everything forever. May you know deep within your hearts that you are children of God (brothers and sisters in Christ) and through the blessings of the miracle of Christmas you have received “grace upon grace” from our Savior Jesus Christ.

AMEN.