Jesus asked the disciples of John the Baptist a very important question.  It is a question that is relevant to us and to the people of our society.  The question is Awhat are you looking for? What are you looking for?@  We are in the advent season where we reflect upon the coming of Jesus into the world and its significance for us.  And while this season is often characterized as a time primarily of consumerism, where the Spirit of Christmas is lost in the mad dash to spend our cash, I would suggest that there are a number of people who are open to a different message.  And the message they are open to is that maybe, just maybe, Jesus can make a difference in how we perceive and experience life.  This time of year, perhaps more than any other, provides people with an opportunity to believe that maybe, just maybe, we could be changed by Jesus, by Christmas.

There is evidence in scripture that an encounter with Jesus can change people.  In the

Christmas story, it appears that the shepherds were changed. They had responded to a message brought to them by angels - a message that a Saviour had been born. No doubt this was startling news and they probably wondered what it all meant.  However, not wanting to look a gift angel in the mouth, they went to Bethlehem to see "this thing that has taken place."  The angel had told them that this Saviour was also the Messiah.  I expect that might have come as something of a shock to them on a couple of levels. First of all, I doubt if the prevailing thought had made allowance for the Messiah to enter the world in the Anormal@ way.  The anticipated coming of the Messiah usually conjured up visions of a dramatic appearance in Jerusalem, probably in the Temple, most likely in miraculous and dramatic fashion as a grown man, full of the glory and power of God.  So the news of a baby's birth would have probably caught them off guard.  Second, the angel had said that the child was laying in a Amanger@ - a feeding trough for farm animals - not exactly the royal locale one might expect for a potential Messiah!  And third, they must have wondered why the angel broke this news to them.  They weren't important enough for such a momentous announcement.  No doubt they headed off to Bethlehem with more than a few questions buzzing around in their grey matter. It was an unlikely scenario for the Messiah's arrival to be sure!

And, as usual, the text doesn't give us much information about what happened there.  They got to Bethlehem and "found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger."  That's about it! There is no record of conversation, or questions answered or promises made, or future possibilities discussed.  Jesus did not speak to them.  It seems that neither Mary nor Joseph delivered an impassioned speech about the Son of God and the plan of salvation or gave the shepherds copies of the 4 spiritual laws to pass out to their friends.  And yet the shepherds were profoundly moved by the experience, so much so that they "returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them." 

Something about their encounter with this child had made a difference in them.  They were not praising God because God had successfully predicted the birth of a baby.  Baby births were about as ordinary as it got in those parts!  But this birth had a significant impact on them and they returned to their lives changed.

In the gospel of John, there is a significant story right at the beginning of Jesus' ministry that illustrates something of the impact the grown Jesus had on people.  John the Baptizer was chatting with a couple of his disciples, and he saw Jesus walking by and identified him as "the Lamb of God".  John's disciples were intrigued and they followed Jesus. Seeing them following, Jesus stopped and asked them "What are you looking for?"  Not "who", but "what".  No doubt they were caught off guard and they blurted out, "where are you staying", to which Jesus responds "come and see."  And so they followed Jesus and spent the day with him.  Again there is next to no information supplied by the text as to what they talked about, what issues were discussed, what questions were answered, what profound truths Jesus revealed to them.  But by the end of the day, Andrew was so moved that he rushed out to find his brother Simon to tell him that he had found the Messiah.  And he brought Simon to Jesus.

 What these two stories share in common is that some kind of personal transformation happens when people encounter Jesus.  And Jesus is sought out by people who are looking for something.  For the shepherds they were looking for the Messiah, the long-awaited one who would be the Deliverer for the People of Israel.  And for John's disciples, they were looking for the same thing - hope for their people, hope rooted in their faith in God.

I believe that a great many people in our society are looking for something.  It seems pretty evident, as they run around in circles like proverbial headless chickens, that they are searching for something.  The pace of life, the frantic search for material security, the dependence upon various drugs, the increase in the number of professional therapists and their clients, all points to a general kind of Acrisis of meaning@ in people's lives.  The growth of self-help books, the explosion of spiritual books, from Christianity to New Age to the Occult, all reflect that people are looking for something to make their lives better.  The explosion of the internet and internet Achat-rooms@ and internet Adating@, point to troubled people seeking some level of intimacy in relationships, which they are now pursuing with people they never have to meet!  It's all rather peculiar, isn't it?  And while people are quick to take pot-shots at the Christmas story, even to the point where there are debates about whether it is politically correct to call a scotch pine decorated with festive lights, a Christmas Tree or a Holiday Tree, people are still captivated by the story.  And I believe they are captivated because part of them wishes that it were true, because it is a story that suggests that this Christ child might just be able to make a difference in people's lives.

I have mentioned before that one of my favourite Christmas stories is the Christmas Carol with Alister Sim playing Scrooge.  It is a brilliant story, wonderfully written.  And nobody has ever played a better Scrooge than Alister Sim.  Probably no one will.  And of course every time I see it - and I have seen it at least 20 times - I still leak about the eyes when Scrooge wakes up Christmas morning after his night of desperate dreaming, and in a euphoria of joy and grace and wonder and gratitude, is transformed before our blurred eyes.  And as he prances and dances and giggles like a school-boy, our spirits soar, because our hearts have been touched.  And our hearts have been touched because that whole idea of a cantankerous grump experiencing a miraculous transformation into a person of love and compassion and goodness is what most of us wish for ourselves.  Seeing that kind of miracle happen provides hope for us all.  And we are attracted to that image of one who shows kindness and generosity and love for all the right reasons.

Those shepherds who were out in their fields minding their sheep and their own business, were caught off guard by the astonishing sight of angels floating in the night air, bring an unlikely message of a Saviour and great joy and the promise of peace.   And they went to see, they took a chance, left their sheep, took their longings in their hands like an offering and knelt beside a rough and dirty manger and gazed into the very face of God.  And they returned rejoicing.  And we know that they had no real idea what was going on that night.  But that is less important than that they knew that somehow their lives had been touched in an remarkable way and they dared to hope that because of that little baby, life in general and perhaps their lives in particular might be just a bit better now.  And John's disciples, who had been following him for a time, hoping that he had the answers to their needs and longings, found that by spending time with Jesus, their lives would never be the same again and that this Jesus held the secret of eternal life. 

The Christmas story is a profound one for all the ways it has been candy-coated and watered down and represented with pastel colours and soft lighting.  For at its root, it is a story that tells us that God loves us.  It is a story that reminds us that God is at work in our world, seeking to do what is best for us all.  It is a story that reminds us that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.  And it is a reminder that this tiny baby boy grew up to be a Saviour who would have the power to change our lives and give us hope.  Isn't that what we are looking for when we come together?  To be reminded that we are loved, forgiven, cherished, trusted and invited to hop on board the greatest adventure there is?  Don't we want to be reminded that there is hope for us, that we might be able to play some part in the Christmas drama that is continually being re-enacted in human history? 

And we can be sure that there is an audience out there willing to listen to that message.  For I would suggest that for all their bravado and protests to the contrary, the majority of people want and need the same things we do.  And in the middle of their shopping frenzies and gastronomical excesses of the season, they are still the ones who find themselves watching those sappy Christmas stories and shedding a tear and cheering for the under-dog and feeling their souls stirred by the promise of life and love and a better way.  And that is the story that we need to tell them, and more importantly, to live out before them, to make visible the reality of lives that have been changed for the better.  We have a powerful testimony to give about the difference Christ has made in us.  And we want our lives to reflect the joy and love and generosity and compassion that Christ has inspired in us. We need to tell people and show people that we are not the same anymore, because of Jesus.  Just as Scrooge had his heart transformed and enlarged, so have we, and so can anyone who wants to take a chance on this manger-born baby. 

After all, the desire to share who Jesus is and what he has done is a natural consequence of having been encountered by Him.  For we know that the gift of love that we have received was never intended for us to keep to ourselves.  It was given to us to be given away to others - gift-like, since Jesus was God's gift of love to the world. 

So, let us celebrate the miracle birth of the Saviour, our life-long guide and the answer to our longings, the one we are searching for in our hearts, to change our hearts.  Amen.