On Sunday we talked about the feeling of being a misfit. We watched a clip from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer where Hermey and Rudloph sing, “We’re a couple of misfits, we’re just a couple of misfits, what’s the matter with misfits, that’s where we fit in”.
And then they sing something so true, “We may be different from the rest. Who decides the test, of what is really best?”
Isn’t that true?
Haven’t you ever thought that?
Why do they get to decide what’s best? Why do they get to decide the test of fitting in or not. And they might be your father, mother, sister-in-law, neighbour, whatever.
The point is that many of us don’t’ feel like we fit in around Christmas. Christmas can actually be a time where we are reminded of the fact that we don’t fit in. But this is the exact opposite of what the Christmas story teaches us.
The Christmas story teaches us that Christmas is about welcoming the misfits.
If you think about it at the birth of Jesus we have the Magi, the Shepherds, and Mary and Joseph. All misfits.
The Magi are foreigners, people of different race, religion, and politics. People who are rich and in a different class than Mary and Joseph. Yet they are welcomed in.
The shepherds are outcasts too. They are misfits for sure. Shepherds were people who weren’t marriage material, who were often people of “dubious character”, who were literally on the outside of society. They were misfits.
And Mary and Joseph were too. They clearly didn’t fit in with their family, because no one would welcome them in while she was pregnant. Instead, they were forced to a full inn. People I’m sure thought that Mary had some “character flaws” of her own, that she was pregnant and not yet married. So she and Joseph too are misfits.
Yet what do we see? Jesus’ birth bringing all these misfits together.
One the first things Jesus does when he enters the world is to welcome people who don’t feel like they belong. Is to draw people together who are often left out.
So Christmas, if it’s about anything, is about welcoming. It’s about hospitality. It’s about making room for the misfits in our lives.
So we close with a challenge. That if you feel like a misfit to know that you are welcomed to celebrate with our church, and with Jesus for his birth. Because Christmas is about welcome.
And if Christmas is about welcoming, we should practice welcoming. We need to reach out to the misfits in our lives, and invite them in. It might not be easy, but it really is necessary to live out the meaning fo Christmas.
Because Hermey and Rudolph’s song has some truth, “We may be different from the rest. Who decides the test, of what is really best?” Well, who decides the test, is God. And his decision is to welcome those different from the rest, so I think it’s something we should do too.
Sermon Notes:
Big Idea: Christmas is about welcoming misfits
Teaching Points:
- Being a “misfit” is a feeling we can all equate to, but hate having.
- “We may be different from the rest. Who decides the test, of what is really best?”
- The original Christmas was full of misfits.
- The Wiseman are foreigners, rich, and different in terms of race, religion, and class.
- One of Jesus’ first acts upon entering the world is to draw people of difference together.
- Shepherds were some of the lowest of the low.
- Jesus’ coming draws misfits together.
- Christmas is about welcoming the misfits of the world.
- Jesus decides the test of what is really best.
- If we want to practice Christmas, it’s about welcome.
Adult Discussion Questions:
What stuck out to you from the sermon? What was challenging to you? How did God speak to you through it? What was new? What are some of your favorite Christmas movies? When have you had a time where you didn’t fit in? How did you handle it? Are there places you don’t fit in now? If Christmas is about welcome and including, who should you be including this Christmas? How might you do it? Who can help you to keep to it?
Discussion Questions for Young Families
Take sometime and watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Afterwards spend sometime talking about the importance of welcoming “those who don’t fit in”. Ask them who they might want to welcome in their school, family, or friends and how they might do it. Then actually help them to do it!
Challenge for the Week: Welcome a misfit; and join in if you are a misfit.
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