December 24, 2022 Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Dear Friends in Christ,
Isn’t it interesting how life can play out depending on if you have a girl or a boy? When the obstetrician said “boy!” both times in our life, we knew we had the rehearsal dinner. And we do, in January, as Karson gets married.
Another thing with the sex of the child is color. We have always associated boys with blue. So, let me say, I am not color blind. I know the liturgical color is white for tonight. But I am wearing the royal blue. Why? Because tonight we are going to talk about . . .
“THE COLORS OF CHRISTMAS”
Our first color for tonight is this beautiful royal blue. When we have this color during Advent we all love it. We have more positive comments on this royal blue than any other liturgical color. Matthew states clearly that Jesus is not just another baby born in the squalor of the times. He is a son, a male – royal blue. He is a King. The long-awaited Messiah. Chosen by God. Foretold by the prophets. The one the apostles would proclaim.
Jesus was not conceived like other children. God showed His supreme authority over nature. It was God entering into the human world to experience it in human form.
The Kingdom of this royal blue baby was not of this world, but His infancy certainly was. He was nursed and nurtured, caressed and cradled. He hungered. He needed a changing. He slept. He gave up his equality with God. Paul writes, “taking the very nature of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a. cross.” (Phil. 2:7-8)
Our second color for tonight is red. Jesus, the wondrous Babe of Bethlehem, came to die the death of a sacrificial lamb. He came to make a conquest of life and death with new life. The red blood of the cross would lead to the hues of heaven. Jesus came to offer our world hope and peace. Jesus came so that our lives would be less “blue” and more royal.
Our third color for tonight is black. Dark. Deadly. Blots out the light. The infant child would become the man Jesus. He would experience darkness at His death. He would enter the darkest, blackest place you can imagine – the din of hell itself. He would go in our place. He would enter in dark and come out in light. He declared victory over the devil, He overcame sin for us, He has taken away the blackness of our own death. We shall see the light when we enter the eternal palace.
That leads us to our fourth color for tonight – white. The liturgical color for both Christmas and Easter. They are tied together. Christ has to be born to die and rise again. Christ had to become man to pay for the world’s transgressions. Christ came in our place so that when we face death all we see is white. The angels of heaven. The brilliance of the Lamb around the throne. White light forever and forever. There is no darkness.
This Christmas we are reminded that these are color swatches in time. Christ grew beyond the shades of human coloring to be the vivid Lord of all. From cradle to cross. From Bethlehem’s cave to Calvary’s crucifixion. Jesus painted an image of God’s immense love for us.
As we savor the goodness of His love in a simple wafer of bread and sip of wine, we recognize that Jesus imbues our lives with more than color – He offers forgiveness and love that never blur or fade or wash out.
Let us, then, like the shepherds, savor the miracle of Christmas and experience the baby blue of God’s grace and His salvation.
Amen.