Well Merry Christmas! What a beautiful Christmas Eve day!

Every year, I see the Christmas story a little differently. This year, I’ve been thinking a lot about irony.

We know what irony is: a situation where what we see on the surface doesn’t seem to match what’s happening on another level. Irony can be funny: For example, I was given a book of newspaper headlines and advertisements compiled by Jay Leno. One is for a headline that reads, “Thieves break in—steal burglar alarm.” Another is an advertisement of women's shoes "made of genuine fake eelskin."

But irony can be serious, too, and can cause us to stop and think. I expect that many of us have thought in the last few weeks how ironic it is that this season that is supposed to be about Jesus, the joy and peace he brings - yet it is so easily overwhelmed with shopping and gift wrapping and airports and grocery stores…

I’ve been thinking about irony a lot this year because, as some of you know, a very close friend of mine has been undergoing chemotherapy this year. And as you would expect, He’s had a lot of scary news in the last year. The great news is that he is now cancer free. But along the way there have been moments as you can imagine where things were very tense. It brought up a lot of fear in me, personally.

Over the last year, we talked a lot. We talked about his fear and pain—which I fully expected. But there were other things I wasn’t expecting to hear.

• He told me that as difficult as it has been, it’s been a year filled with joy.
• He told me that this has been the best season he can remember in his marriage.
• He told me some wild stories--Stories about meeting to pray with others as he was in the hospital, and God broke into that room and everyone in the room began to
  speak and pray in tongues.
• He talked about how this has been the closest he’s ever been to his kids.

I’ve walked with several people through difficult situations before. But the ironies of this situation have stuck with me,

On the one hand, it’s the worst time of life… on the other, some of the best things are happening… How Ironic?

I once worked at a church where one of our members was a new testament professor who had done a lot of study on irony in the gospel of Mark. He often talked about how the irony within the gospels should drive us to pay attention and ask questions. And this Christmas eve, as I read the story, I can’t help but think about so many of the ironies involved?

• We call Jesus savior, and here he is completely dependent for his survival.
• Jesus the prince of peace but we know that he will die a violent death
• Jesus, the deliverer, whose life is sought by Herod from the day he was born.
• Scripture says that He will reign over a kingdom—and yet he is born to a working class family.
• Jesus only gets 3 years of adult ministry, but his story is arguably
  • the most widely read,
  • is the most researched,
  • his words are the most memorized,
  • his behavior is the most emulated,
  • his teachings are the most often quoted

It’s ironic.

For me, this year, the ironies have caused me to ask myself a series of questions:

• Can I trust Jesus, who I call Prince of Peace to bring peace to me when my friend is in trouble?
• If Jesus is my deliverer, can I trust him when my task list is long and my time feels short?
• If Jesus is my lord, how have I been avoiding his authority?

Whether it’s a good day or not. Whether we’re at home, on the field, at work, or undergoing chemotherapy.

• Jesus Christ is The Savior
• Prince of Peace.
• Deliverer.
• Emmanuel—God with us.

In the midst of the ironies.

Amen.