My Friends—Merry Christmas and my wish for a blessed and happy New Year to each of you. As you will recall, throughout the four weeks of Advent, I have been uplifting for us the idea of “joy” and the Scriptures for tonight continue that theme, along with a natural follow-up emotion—that of hope.
Hope, it seems is there because the One we have “awaited, “ in memory, brings those attributes we all so desperately need in our world today—a sense of serving and caring for those “least” among us—of bringing “light” into what seems like “darkness” at times, and One who has promised, that within a relationship with such a God as we have, we need not fear, but trust, “that all will be well.”

We have often as well, uplifted here, the idea that our God’s over-the-top love for us in sending Jesus, was all about showing us how “to live” and not about, “saving or making up for” our wrong-doing. This gracious and profound gift brings us the “joy” that we live out in our lives at Christmastime. Jesus has shown us what it truly means to live a loving life and that is a joyous thing, because it is not about him, but about what we all can be in our lives together when we see this bigger picture of life.

And my friends, beyond lifting up the joy tonight, I would like to show perhaps a truer picture than we might regularly be given of who Jesus was at Bethlehem, and throughout his life—how he came, not in glory, but in simplicity. It is for this reason, to make this concept clear that I omitted the Titus reading usually in place for Christmas Eve, with the reading from Paul to the Philippians, chapter 2—“though in the image of God, he did not cling to it, but became completely empty…taking on the image of oppressed humanity (Philippians 2: 6,7) In our present day, we might think of those at our southern border, as this oppressed humanity, looking for a better, safer existence for themselves and their families.

The gospel I just read from Luke continues the simplicity of Jesus’ coming—“she gave birth to her first-born…and laid him in a manger, because there was no room…at the inn (Luke 2: 7). It might be good for us to remember that a “manger” is a trough for horses and cattle to eat from.

So, because we may learn better from a good story, then from “thoughts on a topic or exegesis,” I will end with a good story. So, relax, be as comfortable as you can –and even if you have heard this story before, look for an added meaning tonight as you listen.

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Sam had shined shoes at the same corner for almost fifty years. But he hated his job. It wasn’t the hot sun in the summer or the cold wind in the winter that bothered him so much. Even the furious roar of the subway trains every 15 minutes did not distract him. What Sam never got used to and why he hated his job, was the way other people looked upon a shoe shine man.
Most of Sam’s customers knew him well. Or at least they knew his name and patronized his trade. “Another good job Sammy,” as they flipped him a silver piece or placed a couple of bucks in his shirt pocket.
The money didn’t matter that much to Sam, as he lived simply from what he made shining shoes. The YMCA had good mattresses and Cal’s Coffee Shop on the corner served good chili. No, what made Sam mourn his state in life was the way people looked on him. Or perhaps, more accurately, the way Sam looked down on himself.
One cold blustery December day while Sam was shining a customer’s shoes, a little girl appeared. She stood next to the space heater that Sam used to keep his customers and himself warm in his small shoe shine stand. The little girl kept starring at him until Sam did his best W.C. Fields imitation and said, “Get away kid, you bother me.” But the little girl stayed. “I’ve come to grant you a wish,” she said. “Just name whatever you want, and I will grant it.”
A wish, huh?
The man whose shoes Sam was shining looked up from his newspaper and asked, “Are you talking to me, Sammy?
Naw, I’m talking to this little kid.”
The man looked around . “What kid, Sammy?”
Sam looked up but the child was gone. Thinking that the swig of whiskey he had taken for breakfast was playing tricks on his mind, Sam shrugged his shoulders, spit on the man’s shoes, and began buffing them with his usual proficiency. A few moments later, Sam heard again the voice of the little girl. This time she was standing just behind him, whispering in his ear. “Any wish you want—and it will be yours!”
Playing along with what he now thought was some prank being pulled by his friend Cal at the corner coffee shop, Sam said, “Okay, I wish I were the richest person on earth.”

Immediately Sam found himself being caught up in a whirlwind. When he landed, he was in the most lavish house he could imagine. He was surrounded by servants ready to wait on his every word. Everywhere he looked, he saw money. Sam could have anything and everything he wanted. If he needed a new suit, a new car, or a special ice cream, he bought only the best.
Sam enjoyed his wealth for a while but soon realized that something was missing. So he summoned the little girl, who he kept on as an advisor. “Look kid, I have all the money I want and can buy anything I desire,” Sam said. “But the world just goes on whether or not I have anything to say about it. So you see, I want power –absolute control over everyone and everything in the world. I want to be the most powerful person on earth.”
That was a pretty tall order. The little girl said she would have to check with her supervisor. But before the end of the day, the whole world was at Sam’s command. His subjects called him King Samuel (you know how formal royalty can be) and he ruled the world. Nothing happened without King Samuel’s permission. Wars started at the nod of his head; peace was won at the wave of his arm. Now, not only did he have enormous wealth, he had absolute power. The world revolved around the wishes of the king.

One day King Samuel was walking through the streets of his empire when he heard beautiful singing coming from a church. The king told his entourage to wait outside and he went in to see why the people were singing. He touched the arm of an old woman sitting in the back pew. At the sight of the king, the old woman trembled with fear. “What are all these people doing here?” the king asked her sharply. “Why, your majesty,” the old woman whispered, “They are praying.”
“Praying?” King Samuel asked. Then a slight smile creased his face. He realized they were probably praying to him, their king. But he wanted to hear the old woman say it. “And to whom are they praying?”
The old woman’s eyes held a hint of surprise. She looked away from the king and traced the floor as she mumbled, “Why, to God, your majesty. They are praying to God.”
The king could hardly believe his ears. “God?” he asked in shock giving way quickly to rage. The king stormed out of the church, his many followers close at his heels, and went straight to the castle. He summoned the little girl.
Look here, kid,” King Samuel said in a loud, angry voice. “I thought you made me the most powerful person on earth. But my subjects are praying to one more powerful than I. So, at the risk of losing your life, make me God.”
“Are you sure?” the little girl asked.
“Of course I’m sure,” the king shouted. “Make me as this God of the people would appear if he came to earth.”
This time the little girl did not have to call her supervisor. She simply snapped her fingers and granted the king’s request. Immediately, Sam was back at his stand on the street corner, shining another customer’s shoes.

So, my friends, we proclaim in our faith that we are Christians, and followers of our brother, Jesus. This is a true statement for us only if we realize that to honestly follow him, we must choose to live as he did—not for ourselves totally, but for others too, finding the balance between what we need and what we want—it would seem this is the “light” and the “joy” that we uplift in a special way this time of year, and can strive as a new year is upon us, to do more so in the future. Amen? Amen!