Sermon from the Home page continued

know well, the religious side of Christmas too often takes second place to other activities. And so it is most certainly useful to look for ways to strengthen and emphasize the religious aspects of this festival.

One way of doing this is to emphasize those customs which do have a direct connection with the teachings of the Word. One such Christmas custom -- a custom based upon the actual story of the Word -- is the giving of presents. To give gifts to one another is of particular value, because it is associated, in our minds, with those gifts that were given to the infant Lord. The giving of gifts at Christmas time is therefore something that can have and indeed should have religious significance.

It must be granted that frequently the giving of presents is a rather shallow custom -- something that people do only because it is expected. On the other hand, if we are aware of the reason the wise men gave presents to the Lord, then our giving of presents to one another can take on a much deeper significance.

The fact that the wise men gave gifts to the Lord was indeed significant -- it was filled with meaning. This is obvious from the fact that in themselves the gifts they gave were useless. The Lord as a baby had no need for gold, or for frankincense, or for myrrh. The gifts of the wise men were obviously symbolic, for they had no practical use.

The wise men were from Syria, where the last remnant of the Ancient Church still existed, and where there still remained some knowledge of correspondences. This is why the wise men were able to know the meaning of the star that appeared to them. And, when they finally reached the Lord and presented to Him their gifts, their choice of gifts was based on their knowledge of correspondences. Each of their gifts symbolized something which, we read, must be "offered by man from the heart unto the Lord."1

The symbolic use of gifts was in use since ancient times. We are told in the Arcana that "it was customary in the Ancient representative Church, and thence in the Jewish, to give some present to judges, and at a later period to kings and priests, when they were approached, moreover this was commanded."2 This, we are told, was not simply a custom, but "a holy ritual"3 Both the priestly and royal offices represented the Lord,4 and therefore, we are taught, "the presents given to priests and kings were as if given to Jehovah."5 The giving of gifts to the Lord was, and still is, an essential part of worship. In the Jewish Church, all the sacrifices offered to the Lord were called "presents." In fact, the Hebrew word for one type of sacrifice -- the meat offering -- minchah -- actually means "a present."6 And today, in the New Church, we still retain this holy ritual of giving a gift on approaching the Lord -- we give an offering to the Lord as we enter the church. This gift to the Lord is commanded in both the law of Moses and in the Writings. In Exodus we are taught: "And My faces shall not be seen empty."7 In the Arcana we are taught that "a present should be given by man to the Lord on approaching Him."8

The reason for this commandment lies in the very purpose of worship. If we are to approach the Lord in worship, we are to approach Him in the right state. We must approach Him with love and faith, or, at least with a prayer that we might receive love and faith. This -- a state of love and faith -- is the essential offering we must bring before the Lord. And this love and this faith are represented in the sacrifices that the Jews offered to Jehovah, and they are expressed also by the contribution we make to the Lord's work when we enter the church.

To turn to the Lord with love and faith, to turn to Him with our hearts and minds as well as with our bodies, is necessary if we are to worship truly. Otherwise we appear empty before the Lord. Worship has as its object conjunction with the Lord. And the Lord cannot be conjoined with us unless we turn to Him with our hearts and minds in freedom.

This freedom is important. Since worship is to proceed from the heart, it must proceed from freedom. Therefore that present which is offered to the Lord as He is approached in worship represents also the freedom of the heart.9 If a present is a sincere one, then it is given willingly, and it is given with love. It therefore stands for the freedom and love which are necessary if we are to be conjoined with the Lord.

The Writings teach that a present, in the Scriptures, signifies initiation,10 initiation into consociation or conjunction.11 In other words, a present represents that which brings people together. Indeed, a present actually has this effect, as we can see from what happens when people give gifts to one another. If somebody gives us a present, we naturally tend to feel more fond of that person. It is not simply the present itself that pleases us. We are touched by the kindness it represents. We are warmed by the thought and the generosity behind it. It means that the other person cares about us. As the Writings observe, "gifts captivate the mind and consociate."12

Because gifts have this power to bring people together, the custom of giving gifts at Christmas time is of particular value. The celebration of the Lord's birth should be a time of good-will. The angels that appeared to the shepherds spoke of peace and good-will on earth. If the practice is a sincere one, the giving of Christmas presents can play an important part in bringing the hearts of people closer together and in fostering the spirit of good-will and charity. Yet we should remember that the giving of gifts, like all the deeds of man, are, by themselves, nothing. As we read in the Writings: "Gifts are like all man's deeds, which in themselves are nothing but gestures, and regarded apart from the will are merely movements that are fashioned in various ways, and as it were jointed, not unlike the motions of a machine, and thus devoid of life."13 If by giving gifts we are simply "going through the motions," "the motions of a machine," then what we are doing is indeed "devoid of life." If there is no charity in our hearts when we give gifts to one another, then the custom is an empty one, having nothing of good-will, and thus no real connection with the essential celebration of Christmas.

The truth is that this practice will be empty, will be devoid of charity, unless there is together with it something of worship of the Lord. True charity is impossible amongst men unless there is also love of the Lord. Thus the message of the angels spoke not only of good-will toward men, but also of glory to God. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."14

It might be thought that the reason we give gifts to one another is because we, unlike the wise men, cannot give them to the Lord Himself -- so we give them to one another instead. But we can give gifts to the Lord. We can and we should give presents to the Lord Himself during our celebration of His Advent. If we do not, then we appear before the Lord empty, and our whole celebration of Christmas is therefore empty.

The gifts we should bring to the Lord are the same as those which the wise men brought: gold, and frankincense and myrrh. These signified celestial, spiritual and natural good, thus the goods of each of the three heavens.15 So too, we should offer to the Lord celestial good, which is love of Him, spiritual good, which is the love of His truth, and natural good, which is obedience to His teachings. We should take the time, amongst the busy activities of Christmas, to worship the Lord and to pray to Him with love. We should take the time to read and reflect upon His Word. And from this holy celebration we should strengthen our resolve to pattern our lives upon His teachings -- endeavoring to live a life of good-will, not only at Christmas, but throughout the year.

These are the offerings we should bring before the Lord. These are our gifts to the Lord . . . or so it appears. The real truth, though, is that these gifts of love, faith and obedience, and not really gifts to the Lord at all. They are gifts from the Lord. The wonderful truth is that to give to the Lord is to receive from Him. As we read in the Arcana: "what are called 'gifts and offerings made to the Lord' by man are in their essence gifts and offerings made to man by the Lord."16

The commandment of the Lord in Exodus was that " . . . My faces shall not be seen empty." Why is the word for face in the plural form? It is partly because the word for face in Hebrew referred also to the expression on the face. And a person can have many different faces, or expressions. So too there are different expressions on the Lord's face -- He has different faces. In general, though, His faces are said to be good, mercy and peace.17 His countenance is filled with Divine goodness, Divine mercy and Divine peace. And we are to appear before His countenance with love and with faith and with obedience. Then we shall receive. His love will rest upon us, and from mercy He will bless us with eternal peace and happiness.

Because Christmas is a time for giving, it is therefore a time for receiving some of the most wonderful blessings from the Lord. When we give to others at Christmas -- when we offer them not only presents but also the human kindness these presents are meant to symbolize -- then our hearts are opened to receive from the Lord charity in greater fullness. And when we bow before the Lord Himself, with love and adoration, and offer Him our gifts -- the gold of love, the frankincense of trust and faith, and the myrrh of obedience, then His countenance will shine upon us, and He will bless us with His gifts of goodness, of mercy, and heavenly peace.

Amen.
Lessons: Ex. 23:14-20
Mt. 2:1-11
AC 9293:3

Exodus 23:14-20 14“Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: 15You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread (you shall eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded you, at the time appointed in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt; none shall appear before Me empty); 16and the Feast of Harvest, the firstfruits of your labors which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you have gathered in the fruit of your labors from the field.
17“Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord £GOD.
18“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning. 19The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
20“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.

Matthew 2:1-11 1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6 ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler

Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”£

7Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

AC 9293. [3] Again:

There came wise men from the East, and they offered to the newborn Lord gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matt. 2:1, 11);

by "gold, frankincense, and myrrh" are signified all things of the good of love and of faith in the Lord; by "gold" those of the good of love; by "frankincense" those of the good of faith; and by "myrrh" those of both in things external. The reason why the wise men from the East offered these things, was that among some in the East there remained from ancient times the knowledge and wisdom of the men of old, which consisted in understanding and seeing heavenly and Divine things in those which are in the world and upon the earth. For it was known to the ancients that all things correspond and are representative, and consequently have a signification; as is also evident from the most ancient books and monuments of the Gentiles. Consequently they knew that gold, frankincense, and myrrh signify the goods which are to be offered to God. They also knew from their prophetic writings, which were of the Ancient Church (n. 2686), that the Lord was to come into the world, and that a star would then appear to them, of which star moreover Balaam, who also was one of the sons of the East, prophesied (Num. 24:17; n. 3762); for a "star" signifies the knowledges of internal good and truth, which are from the Lord (n. 2495, 2849, 4697).

Sermon from December 18, 2011 continued from the home page