Sermon: Give Me A Sign! - Zeph 3:14-20

12/13/2009

Years ago during Advent season, the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa, used to present a pantomime. One hot summer afternoon (remember that Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere comes in the middle of their summer) the presentation of Jack and the Beanstalk was going really flopping. The audience was bored, and the play was slow. Eventually, the lead actor started waving his hands and stopped everything, walked to the front of the stage and asked, “What are we going to do?” To his surprise, a little guy sitting off to the side yelled out, “Sing!” Inviting the boy on stage, the actor asked, “And what are we going sing?” The boy took the microphone and began to sing “If you want joy, real joy, let Jesus come into your heart,” a little chorus learned in Sunday school. When he had finished, there was silence. Then the whole theater burst into applause. It was a moment of joy and it breathed new life, energy and a little pizzazz into the afternoon’s performance. Joy is found not so much in the material gifts we give and receive but in being a gift to others and the recognition that they are precious in the sight of God. The joy in the gift of the Christ child is an invitation to new life. In turn we become the source of joy in the giving of ourselves and in receiving of others for His sake. See you Sunday.