Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 5-6, 2015 Page 1

“Peace: How Christmas Changed the Grinch” Theme: The Reel Christmas Story Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27, 29-32; Luke 1:78-79 Things I’d like to remember from today’s sermon: _____________________________________________________________________________________

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Meditation Moments for Monday, December 7 – Read Romans 7:14-25 and 1 John 1:8-2:2. In the Grinch, Dr. Seuss

created a character that reminds us that there is evil in our world, and in each of our own hearts. The Grinch is fun, but

evil is serious business. Paul told the Romans plainly that he found the line between good and evil cutting through his own

heart. Just resolving to do better, he said, didn’t produce the results he sought. John also wrote about the darkness within

us, and our profound need for Christ’s light in our lives.

When Paul said evil came from “sin that lives in me” (verse 17), he wasn’t trying to duck responsibility for his

actions. It was a vivid way to depict a common human experience: the sense of an inner war, of two opposing

principles of action. When have you found yourself determined to change a hurtful pattern, and yet powerfully

drawn back to it again?

Part of what makes the Grinch funny is that he KNOWS he’s mean. John said many of us fool ourselves: “If we claim,

‘We don’t have any sin,’ we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). Are there any areas where you are ignoring a God-given

inner conviction? If so, talk with God about it. When have you been honest about a flaw or struggle, and found that it

opened you to the freedom John described in 1 John 1:9?

Prayer: Lord God, give me clarity about my strengths and about my failings. And give me clarity, too, about my daily need for

your forgiving, empowering grace to nurture and grow me. Amen

Tuesday, December 8 – Read Mark 7:14-23. Dr. Seuss said the Grinch most likely hated Christmas because, “his heart

was two sizes too small.” Jesus agreed. Ancient Jewish culture was extremely strict about purity laws, especially food

laws. Jesus said it’s not what goes into a person’s body that is bad; it is what comes from within a person. The most

hurtful stuff comes from inside, from the human heart.

The food laws of the Old Testament were a major influence in the Jewish culture Jesus lived in. Jesus’ statement

shocked his listeners: “It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your

heart” (verse 15, NLT). God is concerned with your heart’s motives and your relationship with God. What helps you

to focus your primary energy and concern on the state of your heart, rather than on just trying to make your outward

behaviors look good?

In verse 21 Jesus said, “It's from the inside, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come.” God covers us with

grace, and the Holy Spirit bears fruit in our lives. But God doesn’t change our hearts without our collaboration,

working with him to shape our thoughts and actions. We can help one another, and spur each other on toward

growth (cf. Hebrews 10:24-25). Do you have a trusted group of believers who help keep you accountable? If not, call

our church office at 970-247-4213 to find out how to find a small group or class.

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Prayer: Lord Jesus, you know how we shrivel our hearts, and what it takes to grow them larger. I want a bigger heart, one that

is more like yours. Amen.

Wednesday, December 9 – Read Luke 1:57-75. There were no presents, no trees—but no matter. The “Whos” still

welcomed Christmas with a song of joy. They showed the same spirit as Luke’s Christmas story, which was full of songs.

Today we read of Zechariah and Elizabeth’s joy when their miraculous boy was born. Zechariah first praised the “rising

sun”—not his own son, but the saving King for whom his son would prepare the way.

Zechariah’s rejoiced that his newborn son would prepare the way for someone else, someone greater. When have you

been able to set aside your ambitions for yourself or your children to further God’s larger purposes?

When the “Whos” sang, their joy made a difference, even to the Grinch. Luke reported the effect of Elizabeth and

Zechariah’s joy, too. “All their neighbors were filled with awe, and everyone throughout the Judean highlands talked

about what had happened … They said, ‘What then will this child be?’” Have you ever seen God use human curiosity

(maybe even our urge to gossip!) to reach and transform a human heart?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you taught that gratitude and joy go hand in hand. Like Zechariah, I want to live more and more with a

heart full of gratitude—for all of your blessings. Amen

Thursday, December 10 – Read Luke 6:27-36. This passage is about the heavenly purpose for Christmas, which was to

open before us a whole different way of living. Jesus taught his followers how to live with his peace and joy. As the

“Whos” sang, “Christmas Day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp … Welcome, Christmas, while we stand heart

to heart, and hand in hand.”

Jesus gave examples, not to create a new set of rules, but to show the spirit in which he calls us to live. As The Message

version of the Bible puts it, “If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No

more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.” When has someone touched your life for the better by living generously?

When have you found the joy of living generously toward someone else?

Luke 6:31 linked the Golden Rule to Jesus’ words about how to treat enemies. In what relationships do you find it

hardest for you to treat others as you’d wish to be treated? How can Jesus’ teaching help you discern how to live out

the Golden Rule in ways that bless others while you maintain healthy boundaries and self-care?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I know how fear can work in me, can make me see other people as enemies. Grow in me a generous

spirit, one that sees all people as you see them. Amen.

Friday, December 11 – Read Romans 12:14-21. Eventually, we all find ourselves dealing with a “Grinch.” When that

happens, we’re tempted to “give them a dose of their own medicine.” The “Whos” chose to sing their joyous song rather

than ranting and raging at the Grinch. Paul says the same thing, that in the end, God defeats evil with good.

When the Grinch heard a glad sound he puzzled and puzzled, “‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn't come from a

store. Maybe Christmas … perhaps … means a little bit more.’” In what ways do Paul’s words remind you of the true

meaning of Christmas? Can you identify one way you’ll honor Christmas differently, to better live out Paul’s

counsel?

Paul cited ancient Hebrew wisdom: “If your enemies are starving, feed them some bread; if they are thirsty, give

them water to drink. By doing this, you will heap burning coals on their heads, and the Lord will reward you”

(Proverbs 25:21-22). When have you seen enemies brought together, in your own life or in world affairs, because one

side acted with kindness rather than hatred or contempt? What does it take to build trust so that people become

receptive to even kind, generous overtures?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the supreme example of overcoming evil with good. Your gentle, generous life is the pivot point of

history. Enable me to live more and more in your goodness and grace. Amen.

Saturday, December 12 – Read Jeremiah 31:31-34. The prophets promised that God can deliver us from the kind of

“heart trouble” that causes us to act like a Grinch. Dr. Seuss wrote that when the Grinch finally “got” the meaning of

Christmas, “In Who-ville they say that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!” Jeremiah said that God

pledged to “engrave” his instructions on each heart that’s open to God’s love. The prophet Ezekiel, in a similar image,

quoted God as saying, “I will remove your stony heart from your body and replace it with a living one” (Ezekiel 36:26).

The NIV Application Commentary said, “Jeremiah 31 is the voice of an inspired spiritual ancestor who spoke to his

contemporaries about the shape God’s action would take in their lives and that of their descendants (e.g., return from

exile, a purified worship, knowledge of forgiveness). Perhaps … we can think of things in our lives that are “signs” of

God at work, things whose shape and function portray the work of God … Signs of redemption should point not only

to what has already been accomplished in Christ but also to what still lies ahead. There is always a future tense to the

life of believers.” Where do you see signs of God at work in your life? This Advent, what do you look forward to as

God continues to work in your heart and your life?

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Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the ways in which you have already engraved your instructions on my heart. This Advent,

I look forward with joy and hope to the ways you will continue to mold me to your purposes. Amen.

Family Activity: In “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” we meet a green character who tries to ruin Christmas by stealing

decorations, gifts and fun. Eventually, the Grinch learns that Christmas is about love and kindness to others. Though

we may not face green characters, we do have powers that try to steal Christmas from us—busyness, stress, finances,

etc. As a family, create or print out a blank December calendar. On it, write experiences your family wants to share in

together that help everyone remember and share the true meaning of Christmas. You might include sending cards,

baking for neighbors, serving others, sharing a carol or praying for someone in need. Ask God to help your family

celebrate the real meaning of Christmas as you share God’s love and kindness with others.

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Theme: The Reel Christmas Story “Peace: How Christmas Changed the Grinch”

Sermon preached by Jeff Huber

December 5-6, 2015 at First United Methodist Church, Durango

Scripture: Ephesians 4:26-27, 29-32; Luke 1:67, 78-79

26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

67 Then [John the Baptist’s] father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:

78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

VIDEO Sermon Intro – Peace – How Christmas Changed the Grinch

SLIDE “Peace – How Christmas Changed the Grinch”

Today we continue in our sermon series during this Advent season, the four weeks before we get to Christmas, by looking at some of the classic Christmas movies and asking ourselves, “Where do we see the real meaning of Christmas in these stories?” The second weekend of Advent typically looks at the theme of peace and how we find that in the midst of conflict and the Christmas story.

I would like to invite you to take out of your bulletin your Meditation Moments and your Message Notes. If you are watching at home or online you can download this resource right off of our website. At the top you will find the

Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 5-6, 2015 Page 5

Scripture text that we will be using this morning and below that are some blank lines to write anything down you would like to remember from today’s message. I trust that somewhere in today’s worship service you will hear God speaking to you a message and I hope you will write that down in the space provided. Continued on that side and on the back you will find daily Scripture readings and I want to encourage you to read the Bible on your own. You will find that all of the Scriptures will help take you deeper into today’s message and help you apply it to your life.

The movie that we turn to today is, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” This was first a book written by Dr. Seuss in 1957. The book has been listed by librarians and teachers as one of the 100 most important picture books of all time. In 1966 it was turned into a cartoon film. Boris Karloff, the great horror film star who played Frankenstein among other characters, was asked to read the role of the narrator. He was 79 when he voiced this film and he died just a few years after. The movie showed for 22 straight years on CBS and I remember watching it every year as a child, making sure to look at the TV Guide, which was that book that used to tell you what was on television, to be sure I caught this cartoon each Christmas season. It still is shown every year on network television at least once and sometimes multiple times.

Having seen this film a number of times, I am pretty confident that there are many things in it which point us towards the gospel and the real meaning of Christmas and what the Advent season might be all about. The first thing we need to do is introduce ourselves to the character of the Grinch.

GRAPHIC 1 Who Ville

Remember that he lives in a mountain high above the village of Who Ville. The Grinch is a rather unpleasant character as we see in this clip.

VIDEO Grinch Clip 1

GRAPHIC 5 The Grinch

Can you imagine somebody so grumpy, nasty, evil, mean, bitter and resentful that they would want to take Christmas away from everyone else? How many of you personally know a Grinch? This idea of the Grinch has become so embedded in our culture that even if you haven’t seen the film we use the word Grinch as a way of describing people who are bitter, unforgiving, ungracious, unkind or even toxic. When we are around them they make us feel unhappy and it seems to be their life mission to make others unhappy. We can picture what the

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Grinch looks like because he is a symbol for the archetype of what happened in our own lives when we become bitter.

The reality is that every one of us has a little bit of the Grinch inside of us if we are honest, both you and I. We all have the capacity to be negative, nasty, unkind, uncharitable, ungracious, unforgiving and bitter. When this happens and he begins to take over our hearts and becomes routine, over time, we can find ourselves becoming a lot like this character. We may not steal someone’s Christmas and the way that the Grinch did, but in a way we might take someone’s Christmas as we say things or do things which rob others of happiness and joy in peace. We start to believe that we might be happy if we can make someone else sad because they will be alone.

Nobody starts off wanting to be a Grinch and I don’t think anybody sets out to try and be a Grinch like we see the film. What I would like to do today is recognized how the Grinch became the Grinch and how we might be able to avoid giving into our inner Grinch and living life differently.

When we are born as little children, we are not born to be resentful and negative and bitter, holding onto things that people hurt us. So how does this happen? Most of the people I know who have become a Grinch have experienced some sort of pain in the past and they could never quite get over it. Some have been given an example by their parents to focus on those times when they are slighted or hurt as opposed to learning how to forgive and let go. Sometimes we learn to put everything bad that people have done to us under a magnifying glass and make them bigger than they really are. Instead of letting go of those things in recognizing that we all can fall short and make mistakes and do hurtful things, we hold onto it and we carry it with us and every new issue that comes along, we add it to our bag of resentments until our bag of hurts is overwhelming.

One by one, we lose all of our relationships because we keep holding onto grudges and pretty soon we find ourselves isolated. What I know about myself as a human being, is that I could so easily give in to that. When our ego was wounded and someone says something to us which hurt her feelings, instead of listing to see if there is any truth or recognizing they might’ve been having a bad day, we take it personally and magnify it and listen to that voice of criticism. We build up walls between ourselves and others to protect ourselves and make sure that we are not hurt again. If this becomes a pattern in our lives, then we can become like the Grinch, living on a mountain away from everyone else, isolated and depressed.

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We see the happiness of other people we resent it. “If I can’t be happy, then you can’t be happy. Maybe if I can make you unhappy, then I will find happiness.” This becomes the logic of the Grinch and if we are honest, all of us has that Grinch inside of us and we can very easily become this sort of person.

I think of Nelson Mandela who spent 27 years in prison and could’ve easily become a Grinch. A number of those years in prison were spent in hard labor on Robin Island. How easy it would’ve been for him to hate his captors but he offers is profound insight from his book, Long Walk to Freedom.

GRAPHIC 2 Nelson Mandela Quote

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

We learn how to hold onto our resentments and our bitterness. We cultivate this habit in our lives and just as we can cultivate negative habits we can also cultivate spiritual disciplines which can help shape us into the likeness of Christ so that we can love. We literally choose if we want to be shaped by the negative things in our lives which can shrink our hearts two sizes too small or we can choose to let things go and instead allow our hearts to be transformed by the power of Jesus Christ and his Holy Spirit living within us.

Like most of us, I found myself wondering why people would go to a clinic in Colorado Springs and shoot people or a couple would go to a government agency which services developmentally disabled and begin killing people at a holiday party like we witnessed in California. We can blame it on fanaticism or mental illness or religion if we like, but the truth is that at some point each of those persons, and it appears like most who commit those atrocities, chose to feed the negative impulses and hurts of the past instead of finding a way to let them go.

I think Dr. Seuss was trying to point to this truth as he wrote about the Grinch, who became so bitter and closed off from the world that he developed a dastardly plan to rob the Whos of Who Ville of their Christmas. His plan was to show up on Christmas Eve night, after everyone had gone to sleep, and steal everything that reminds them of Christmas. He figures that if he can steal their Christmas, he can take away their joy and they will stop seeing that blasted song that he can’t stand. Here’s what happens when he shows up on Christmas Eve

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night to steal their Christmas.

VIDEO Grinch 2

GRAPHIC 6 The Grinch and Train

He steals not only their presence, but their Christmas trees and their decorations and even goes to their refrigerators and steals all of their food, including the roast wild beast they were planning to eat for Christmas supper. I recognize that as we hear this sermon today we might be thinking about a particular person and you might start thinking to yourself, “I’m going to get this sermon and send it to this person who really needs it!”

Here’s the irony. What do you become when you send this sermon to someone else because you think they need it? We become the Grinch ourselves as we lash out to others that are not doing life the way we want them to do it. I do it when I lash out at my wife or my kids or when I get defensive. We can see the Grinch coming out in us and various points throughout the holiday season if we are not careful. We might easily recognize the Grinch and someone else, but this sermon is not about pointing the finger at others, rather it’s about recognizing in ourselves when it begins to happen. Whoever you might send this to because you think they need it probably won’t even recognize it in themselves.

One of our church members asked me last week if I was going to be looking at this film as part of the series and they were really happy to hear I was doing it this weekend. They told me about a time they bought the book and DVD set and gave it to someone they thought were a bit Grinch like, hoping they would get the message. They were quite surprised when that person called them back and said, “I accept your apology for being so much like the Grinch towards me these last few years.” They each thought the other one was being like the Grinch and the truth is that we have a hard time seeing it when we become the Grinch, which is why it’s so dangerous.

The film is great because we see this dichotomy between the Grinch and the Whos in Who Ville, who end up in the film remembering the real meaning of Christmas. The Whos express a graciousness during the film that allows them to eventually invite the Grinch into their homes for Christmas dinner. They are people who show kindness and mercy and forgiveness, even when that person has attempted to steal Christmas from them. The story gives us two different pictures of what we might become and is really up to us, whether we give into the inner Grinch or the inner Who.

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I’m reminded of the old Cherokee teaching as share with you before about a grandfather talking to his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

It really is up to us. Will we give into the inner Grinch or will we give into the inner Who? How we end up as one or the other depends on which one we feed and which one we starve. We feed the inner Grinch by focusing on the wrongs which have been done to us and remembering those and thinking upon them and putting them under the magnifying glass and becoming obsessed. When we choose to hold onto resentments because of what others have done to us and see the world through very dark glass, then we feed our inner Grinch.

Or we can feed ourselves this idea of being a gracious person who wants to be kind and charitable and caring. We invite God’s Spirit to work in us. Showing up in worship is a way of feeding the inner Who as is doing the meditation moments. When you read the New Testament, you often find this recognition of two paths in life. Jesus talks about one path which is narrow and difficult and few find it while there is a path which is wide and broad and leads to destruction. In John’s gospel, he talks about light and darkness. The apostle Paul talks about two different lives, the old self and the new self. The great Christian writer CS Lewis talks about allowing every situation in our lives to either make us into a heavenly being or a hellish creature.

Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Ephesians, chapter 4.

SLIDE 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and

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holy.

We have a choice to feed the old self with a new self. Which one will we feed? What’s interesting is that Paul has written this letter to the church at Ephesus which is a church he spent more time with than any other church. He spent several years there which was a long time for Paul. He mentored them and he encouraged them and he taught them and he showed them the Christian life, and yet a couple of years after he left Ephesus, he had to write this letter to them because those new Christians who had a new self were beginning to fall back into old habits because this is what we do as humans. I find this happens in my own life. I have these moments where I feel so encouraged to be that new person that God wants me to be but then I find it easy to slip back into old patterns and for the old self to come back into my life.

Every day I have to seek to become this person that God wants me to be, not the person I used to be or by nature I might find myself becoming once more. When it comes to resentment or bitterness, I have to remind myself that it’s my choice whether I want to hold on to something or let it go. We understand this when you really think about it, but forgiveness is as much for our own benefit as it is for the person we are forgiven. Forgiving doesn’t mean that what the other person did was okay but it does mean assuming the best rather than the worst. Forgiving means choosing to say, “I let go of my right to retribution or to treat you poorly or to be bitter and angry towards you. I’m not going to hold onto that anymore.”

At certain times, people might come to us and asked for forgiveness and truly repent which makes it easier to let go of the bitterness and pain. But even if they don’t, if we hold onto that resentment then it’s going to kill us as it eats away inside of us. Nelson Mandela is the one who also said these words.

GRAPHIC 3 Nelson Mandela quote 2

“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.” When we hold onto things we become more and more like the Grinch. The longer we hold onto the bitterness and anger and hatred and need for revenge, the easier it is for us to consume our hearts. Paul goes on in Ephesians 4 to tell the Christians at Ephesus these words.

SLIDE 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

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29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Today, I think the apostle Paul would also say not to let these things come out of our keyboards or tweets or texts! I am constantly in awe of the things that we will say in an email or a text or a tweet that we would never say to someone’s face. Paul tells us to choose to use words which will build people up and bring encouragement to those who hear them, not words that will tear down and destroy.

Paul is contrasting the old self and the new self, where we find pain and bitterness in the Grinch in the old self and we are called to live into the new self where we find peace and joy and Who Ville. Which will you feed and which will you starve? Jesus speaks about this repeatedly, like in his great teaching sermon that we find in Luke’s gospel, chapter 6.

SLIDE 27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

Those are hard words to follow, aren’t they? Jesus was trying to teach us something and it’s not hypocritical because he is the one who would hang on the cross and say to those who are crucifying them, “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

I try to be somebody who is forgiving and I pray to be that person every day by using the Lord’s Prayer, which is something we are not supposed to only in worship. We are meant to pray daily and sometimes many times a day, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

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That is a dangerous prayer because we are saying in essence, “God, forgive me to the degree in which I am forgiving other people.” We are tying the grace we will receive from God to the grace that we are willing to give to others. This is the antidote to bitterness and become the Grinch, and that is developing the capacity to let go and forgive.

I have told you before about the situation in my last church where someone hurt me in such a way that I can’t even begin to describe to you the betrayal I felt and how I couldn’t even stand to be around them without getting agitated and angry. My heart would tighten up and my blood pressure will go through the roof and I recognized it wasn’t good for me and I’m a pastor teaching people to forgive and yet every time I thought of this person, which was every day because I became obsessed, I didn’t want to forgive.

I visited a mentor about this situation and what I should do and if there was an easy way to get them out of my congregation so I wouldn’t have to see them anymore! He asked me this question, “What would you tell someone in your church who came to see you with this problem?”

I couldn’t believe my mentor, my friend, would turn myself on myself! I had to admit that I would encourage them to pray for that person and genuinely pray for blessings and goodness to come upon them. I have to tell you that I did not want to pray for them, but when I would feel that tightening in my chest as I remember that person, I prayed that God would forgive me and help me to forgive that person. I pray that God might bless that person and their family and I did so with a clenched jaw for many weeks. If I’m being honest, I didn’t really mean the prayer at all, but I just said it.

I then came to a point where I was able to pray it without clenching my jaw but I still didn’t really mean it, deep in my heart. After a long period of time I began to mean it and then I moved to a place of actually wanting good for this person. Have to be honest and tell you that when I left that church I still wasn’t sure I really meant it when I prayed for them to be blessed.

The next summer, after I had left the church and had moved here, I saw this person at our Annual Conference which is the gathering of Methodists every year from Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. We were praying the Lord’s Prayer in the opening worship and I looked out and saw this person. My first thought was that they were sitting where I could see them just to annoy me! They were following me because they knew it caused me hurt! I caught myself in that moment and

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asked God one more time to help me forgive and when I looked up and saw this person I was sure they didn’t know I could see them and I began to see them differently and they seem to have a sadness they were carrying. I went to him after the service and actually talked to him and asked him if he was okay and he broke down and wept in my arms about some painful things happening to his daughter.

It took me many years to pray through that hurt every single day until my heart began to change and I could actually love that person again and my heart went out to them. What happens if you don’t pray for God to help you let go of that every day? What happens if you put a magnifying glass on it every day for two or three years? Can you hear the difference between how we end up as the Grinch or how we end up as a Who?

There is a powerful truth in this story for me and that is recognizing that when I pray for God to change something in the world what I really need is for God to change me and my heart.

GRAPHIC 4 CS Lewis Quote

CS Lewis is the one who said that, “I don’t pray so that I can change God. I pray so that God can change me.” Bring those things to God begins to soften our hearts so God can really change us into the likeness of Christ.

In 1990, when apartheid fell in South Africa, it would’ve been easy for a blood bath to ensue across South Africa. But because Nelson Mandela was seen as a leader in his country and was able to find a way to overcome the hate and the bitterness and resentment that could have grown in his heart, the world looked at South Africa as a picture of what could happen when two groups have been enemies.

Let me ask you this question.

SLIDE Are you feeding the inner Grinch or starving him?

Have you learned how to pray to bless the Grinch is in your life rather than returning to them what they have done to you?

The Grinch eventually does steal Christmas, taking everything that represents Christmas from Who Ville. He takes it all up to his mountain and believes that he finally will be happy as he gets ready to push it off the edge of the cliff. He will have made everyone else miserable and that will make him happy. He stands there are Christmas morning, hoping to hear the wailing of the

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children and people crying in the village because Christmas has been stolen. But he doesn’t hear that, does he? Take a listen.

VIDEO Grinch 3

GRAPHIC 7 The Grinch at the End

I watched this film several times this week, watching and listening for where the true Christmas story can be found. I found myself wondering that if someone came into our homes and took our trees and our presents and our lights and all of our Christmas albums and our Christmas dinner after we had all gone to sleep, would Christmas still come in our homes?

I think sometimes we get caught up in the stuff that isn’t really Christmas and part of what this story is meant to point to is that if Christmas was stolen on Christmas Eve night, that is when we would be Christmas the most. I think of those who have lost a loved one this year or those who are struggling with a serious illness during this Christmas season. Christmas can feel like a rotten trick because we think it is supposed to be about a time where everything is perfect and joyful and we come together and swap a few gifts.

We can easily forget that Christmas is really about the fact that the world had gone to hell in a hand basket in the first century and that things were really horrible for those people living in Jesus’ day. They were walking in darkness and it was into that world that Christmas came, not with presents or decorations from the store, but with something much more. Zachariah, the prophet and the father of John the Baptist, says it this way in his song in Luke’s gospel. This is how he described Christmas and who Jesus would be.

SLIDE 78 “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

That’s what Jesus came to do. Jesus came to be a Savior and save us from ourselves, our brokenness and our crazy, chaotic world filled with mass shootings and commercialism. Jesus came to deliver us from shame and sin and fear and death. Jesus came to give us life and tell us that we are loved, even when we turn into the Grinch. This idea of Christmas is something that we need most when we are in the midst of darkness.

If we had lost everything like the Whos then not only would we have to

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singing, but we would have all the more reason to sing and it would be all the more important to raise our voices to the true meaning of Christmas. I think of the story of Job in the Old Testament where the devil comes to God and says, “Your servant Job praises you and worships you because everything is going good in his life, but take away everything and then see what happens.”

God says, “Go ahead and let’s see.” Job loses all of his earthly possessions and everything that he loves, including his family, but he refuses to curse God. He continued to turn to God, which is the same test we see happening for the Whos in Who Ville. The Grinch is thinking that this will bring pain to the people but instead it leads them to a deeper faith and a deeper understanding of Christmas.

I think this is why hundreds of you come on Christmas Eve as we light this Christ candle and read the story of the birth of Jesus from the Bible. I always find it interesting because it’s the same story every year. It doesn’t change, and yet every year we come on Christmas Eve to hear the story and to light the candles because something inside of us knows we need what came to us in Jesus Christ. We sing Christmas carols and we stop and remember what Christmas is really all about and I want to encourage you to be those kind of people. Make sure that you pause and remember the true meaning of Christmas during this season of Advent.

When we remember that Christmas is about love coming in the flesh and a King who’s Kingdom will never end, we find our hearts changed. When we see other people celebrating the real meaning of Christmas, our hearts are changed, which is exactly what happens to the Grinch. In the end, the story of the Grinch is a story of transformation and conversion. The Grinch doesn’t stay the Grinch but has a heart that is changed and it happens when he sees other people remembering the true meaning of Christmas, when the Whos are standing hand-in-hand when they have lost everything, singing their Christmas song.

GRAPHIC 8 The Whos Hold Hands

We all know with our heads what the real meaning of Christmas is meant to be about, but my prayer is that you will remember it this season with your hearts because it is what brings peace during the season that can feel chaotic. The real meaning of Christmas is the love of God, brought to us and wrapped in human flesh, with the power to change our lives and our future and to move us from being a Grinch to being a Who.

When we come to the end of the movie, we finally read these words.

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And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say That the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day! And then the true meaning of Christmas came through, And the Grinch found the strength of ten Grinches, plus two! And now that his heart didn't feel quite so tight, He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light He brought everything back, all the food for the feast! And he, he himself, the Grinch carved the roast beast! Welcome Christmas. Bring your cheer, Cheer to all Whos, far and near. Welcome Christmas while we stand Heart to heart and hand in hand.

Are you a Grinch or a Who? Perhaps you were Grinch and now you are a Who. The Grinch lives in every one of our hearts as does a Who. Will you feed the one that leads to peace?

Would you bow in prayer with me?

SLIDE Prayer

I would invite you to pause and pray in your own words for someone in your life that you hold resentment for and it’s been really hard to forgive. Jesus told us to pray for those who have wronged us and hurt us, so I would like you to pray for that person if you’re willing, “God, please help me to let go of the hurt. Please bless this person…”

Maybe you know someone who is a Grinch in your life, someone who is unpleasant and it’s hard to love them. I would invite you to pray something like this, “Lord, help me to love this person so perhaps their own heart might be changed…”

Finally, I would invite you to simply pray something like this, “Lord, help me to remember the real meaning of Christmas this year. Change my heart and help me to find peace. Make me the person you want me to be. In your holy name I pray. Amen…”