Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation to all, 12 training us to renounce impiety and
worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are
self-controlled, upright, and godly, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope and
the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He
it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and
purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
It happens every year. Sometime
around Thanksgiving there is a quiet, unofficial declaration of war. It begins
rather innocently; a couple takes a picture to print on the front of a card
they will send to their family and friends, and on the front they include the
phrase “Happy Holidays.” No one notices; no one seems to care. But then the
fires of war begin to burn hotter and longer as the days get colder and
shorter. A department store in the mall has a sale on blenders, ties, and all
things soft and electronic, but this year decides to call it a “Winter Holiday
Sale,” complete with store decorations of red and green that say “Happy
Holidays.” Then comes the news coverage of the war. It gets gritty as
government buildings decorate “holiday tress” and manger scenes are replace
with wreaths and blinking lights on the lawn of city hall. Complaints are filed
when the elementary school’s Christmas pageant is replaced by a childish
rendition of The Nutcracker. Crusaders
from both fronts appear on the local and national news to plead their case to
the manic masses as to why we should or shouldn’t “Keep the ‘Christ’ in
Christmas.” At times it can be an ugly war, with no clear victor.
Of course, if we are truly seeking
to honor the birth of the Prince of Peace, shouldn’t we refrain from the
practice of war altogether (even if it is nothing more than ramped-up rhetoric
to use such a word)? I mean really, what does the birth of Christ have to do
with decorated evergreens in the first place? Do we honestly believe that the
One who had no place to lay his head desires for His followers to ensure that
his name be included in the retail sale of X-boxes and flat screen T.V.s? Is
Christ really concerned with what words we use to celebrate a holiday that has
become less about Him and more about us anyway?
It is inevitable, in the heat of this annual, fabricated battle, that
someone will lob this phrase at those seeking to quiet the Christian tones of
the holidays: “Remember the reason for the season.” Perhaps you’ve seen those
words in silver letters hanging over the silhouette of a cradle. “Remember the
reason for the season.” I can’t say I disagree with such a sentiment, yet there
seems to me to be a bit of something missing from it…as if it simultaneously
grants us some sense of seasonal righteousness while dismissing the rest of our
calendars to our own “reasons.”
Today, we celebrate the arrival of the Christ (“the reason for the
season”), and in these words from this small epistle to Titus we have the great
depth of the theology that surrounds this season captured perfectly in verse 11 and the words that follow: “For
the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all…” However,
these words do not appear at the beginning of a gospel. They are not surrounded
by shepherds, angels, or magi from the East. No, these words, these words that
capture so poignantly the appearing—the arrival, the Advent of Christ—come to
us in the middle of an epistle written to a church leader, to Titus. These
words come immediately after words of encouragement to teach sound doctrine and
words of instruction regarding the behavior of members of the church. This
seems hardly the place to find a passage of Scripture that rings so true on
this Christmas morning, yet there it is.
There is, however, something quite wonderful about where our passage of
Scripture comes from this morning. You see, the author of this letter (for the
sake of time, let’s assume it’s the apostle Paul) gives instructions about
teaching sound doctrine and living in a manner congruent with the faith in the
first ten verses of chapter two, and then verse
11 begins with the Greek words gar,
simply translated as “for.” The word gar
here is more than a simple conjunction, joining two ideas together and aiding
in the flow of thoughts. It is a word that signals to the reader/listener that
the words to follow give meaning to the previous words. Or perhaps a better way
to say it, they give the words meaning.
Here we have a list of rules for proper teaching and right living and the
words that follow (introduced with gar)
have such great depth and theological truth, that they seem almost out of
place. Yet they make perfect sense in this place. After such instructions we
read these words in verses 11-13: “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing
salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in
the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our
great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” It is almost as Paul is answering
an unspoken question: Why should we do and teach all of these things in
previous verses? Because the grace of God has appeared, and Christ has given us
the power of salvation to live such lives while we wait for his return. It is
as if Paul is telling Titus, “Christ is the reason for all you do!”
Today marks the end of the Advent season and, in a way, the end of a
year, but it is also the tradition beginning of Christmas and Christmastide. In
seven short days we will ring in a new year, and about 11 months from now the
familiar sounds of war will begin as people continue to claim Christmas and the
holiday season as their own. May we be different this year. Rather than
claiming Christ as the “reason for the season,” may we see him as the reason
for our very being, the sole purpose of our life. These words we have read from
Scripture this morning call us to recognize the true nature of Christ, and it
is not a nature of selfish consumerism or petty, seasonal arguments.
As we gather with friends and family to celebrate today and in the days
ahead, may we remember the words we have hear here this morning, particularly
those words written in verse 14: “He it
is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify
for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.” Christ
has come that we may be redeemed from our iniquity (our sins), that we may be
made pure, so that we may be zealous to live lives worthy of his name—not just
one season out of the year, but each and every day. May Christ be the reason,
not simply for this season, but for your life.
Let us pray…
This was a great sermon!
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