The Sermon on the Who Mount: Seeing Christmas Through New Eyes
Have you ever considered that the Christmas story is a bit like something from Dr. Seuss? Think about it – a virgin birth, God becoming a baby in a manger, shepherds receiving angelic messages. It’s all wonderfully strange, just like the curved buildings and peculiar characters of Whoville. This Christmas season, I want to challenge you to put on your “Seuss glasses” and see your faith differently.
When Christmas Means a Little Bit More
What the Israelites wanted was a conquering king to overthrow Roman rule. What they got was a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. The story of Jesus is like a Dr. Seuss tale – reality twisted just enough to make us see things differently.
“When I think about the birth of Jesus Christ or the narrative of Jesus Christ, what I see is a little bit of that Dr. Seuss moment of what I thought I could realize is not what I was going to see.”
The virgin birth, God’s Son born in a stable, the flight to Egypt – none of it makes logical sense. It’s a weird story when we really think about it! But that’s exactly the point. God wants us to see differently.
The Beatitudes: A Who’s Guide to Happiness
In Matthew 5, Jesus begins His ministry with the Beatitudes – a completely upside-down view of happiness. I’ve “Seussified” them to help us see their surprising nature:
“Blessed are those who are poor in their soul for heaven is theirs. That’s their ultimate goal. Blessed are mourners who cry and feel pain, for comfort will come like a soft healing rain.”
The word “blessed” here means happiness – not just any happiness, but prolonged happiness based on future hope, not current circumstances. Jesus starts with “Blessed are the poor in spirit” because that’s the foundation of everything. It’s recognizing that “without me you are nothing. Without me you don’t have life. Without me there’s no grace and there’s no mercy.”
Seeing Ourselves Differently
The world tells us we’re good enough, that we’ve done enough. But Jesus says we must continually remember who we are without Him. When I come in contact with God, I’m going to be like Isaiah crying, “Woe is me for I’m a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5), or like Paul lamenting, “Why is it I can’t do what I want to do but that which I don’t want to do, that’s what I do” (Romans 7:15-20).
All my good works are “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). None of my deeds matter because they’ll never earn my way to heaven.
Living as Who’s in a Grinch World
Like the Whos in Whoville, we’re called to:
- Be meek in a shouting world
- Be merciful when others cut us off
- Be pure in heart when others focus on themselves
- Be peacemakers during family tensions
- Keep doing good even when mocked
“I would rather be mocked for doing good than mocked for doing nothing. I want to be somebody that is continually pouring my life out because I know there’s always a one out there.”
Becoming Cindy Lou Who
In “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” everyone was so busy celebrating they forgot what Christmas was about. It took one little girl, Cindy Lou Who, to remind them “maybe Christmas means a little bit more.”
“My challenge to you today is to be a Cindy Lou Who in a world full of everything else.”
Putting It Into Practice
- Daily Beatitude Check: Ask yourself each morning, “Do I remember who I am? Am I being a peacemaker? Is my heart pure?”
- Live Differently: “We shouldn’t have to beg people to come to church. They should run because they see the change in our lives.”
- Make Sunday Last: Don’t throw away Sunday’s message. Let it become “a Sunday afternoon conversation, a Monday byproduct, a Thursday Revelation.”
- Be Different: “Talk different, walk different, think different, act different. We are different.”
This Christmas, remember that Jesus calls us to look at life differently. The world is full of people celebrating Christ but missing His meaning. Be the one who reminds them that Christmas – and being a Christian – means a little bit more.