The shepherds have headed back to their regular work, the wisemen have departed for their distant lands, the light of Bethlehem has dimmed…Time for the lights to come down, the Christmas tree to be put away, many dishes to be done…It CAN seem like Dec. 26th is the saddest time of the year but this is for those who merely enjoyed the flickering lights, mirrors and smoke of Christmas which are nothing more than a distraction from the true message of Christmas. For most “Merry Christmas” means nothing more than “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” This was one of the main thoughts of Pastor Michael’s sermons both on Christmas Day and today on Dec. 26th. Today’s sermon was “The contrasts of Christmas” about God’s perspective versus the world’s perspective. As an illustration, the pastor mentioned how a group of pranksters entered a shopping centre one night and didn’t steal anything but instead replaced the price-tags. They put the high price tags on the lowest priced goods and the lowest price tags on the high-priced items. When the store opened in the morning, people came in to shop. Some complained about the rip-off prices in the store while others were amazed at the great bargains. A good subtitle for this sermon might have been “Who switched the price-tags?” This is exactly what has happened to our world. Man has elevated the trivial and temporary things of the world and have attempted to debase the important, eternal things of God. “The value of human life is at an all-time low.” A few examples of this contrast:
1) The world caters to the rich and famous while God uses the humble/righteous. God uses the lowly things of the world as expressed in Mary’s prayer, “My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath done great things; and holy is His name.” (Luke 1:46-49) This is also expressed in 1 Corinthians 1:27-”But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;”
2) The world is so preoccupied by pomp/power/splendour but God often works in silence. The angels of God did not appear to Caesar Augustus who was ruling from Rome nor to King Herod (the so called “great”) ruling from Jerusalem nor to the chief priests or scribes of the people to declare glad tidings of joy, but to ordinary shepherds. Caesar Augustus might have been laid out on a golden bed with silk sheets but the Son of God was put to sleep in an animal’s feeding trough!
3) The world judges the importance of an event by its beginning but God judges by the ending. Great beginnings are not so important but rather how the thing ends. As Paul declared, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” (2 Timothy 4:7) The manger of Bethlehem ended in victory over sin on the cross of Calvary. But that is not the END even…to see the end, we much look at Revelation 5:12 “ Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.”
Nice message to think about on the day after Christmas I thought! 
