"Allee, Allee, Outs In Free"

By Rev. Billy D. Strayhorn

(Isaiah 12:2-6)

Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid,

for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might;

he has become my salvation.

[3] With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

[4] And you will say in that day:

Give thanks to the LORD,

call on his name;

make known his deeds among the nations;

proclaim that his name is exalted.

[5] Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;

let this be known in all the earth.

[6] Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

(NRSV)

INTRODUCTION:

I love how this passage ends. "Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel." The Holy One of Israel is in our midst. Wow. For most people that sends a thrill up and down the spine. For some it fills the heart with fear. To them, God in our midst is like having the CEO of the company start roaming your area of work. Or the Principal roaming the halls of your school. Or an Officer pulling you over. Or the District Supertendant worshiping with you. Jesus is the ultimate authority figure. Scripture sends "authority will rest upon His shoulders." And for some, thevery thought of his authority fills them with fear.

There's an old story about a young Methodist preacher who recieved a phone call from Jesus. There was no doubt who it was. And Jesus' message was rather startling. Jesus would be coming back and the first place He was going to stop was at this preacher's church. The preacher was a little shook up so he called his D.S. The D.S. told him to call the Bishop. Which he did. And he asked what he should do. The Bishop thought a minute and said: "Look busy!"

But that's not what this season is about. It's not about looking busy. We're already busy enough. And it's not about fearing the authority of Jesus. There's a greater message than that; a message filled with Grace.

Do you remember playing hide and seek? There were a boat load of kids in the neighborhood in which I grew up. We had a street light in front of our house that we used for base. Every night that we could, we played hide and seek. Sometimes there would be 15 to 20 kids playing until all hours of the night. My dog "Poochie" even learned to play but that's another story.

There were times when you would hide so well or you would have some little kid who wasn't that good and couldn't find you. Finally, they would yell out, "Allee, Allee, Outs In Free." It meant you couldn't get caught. You strutted back like king of the hill. It meant you were home free.

That's the Good News of this season. We're home free. The authority of Jesus came to set us free. He didn't come to spy, pry, fry or makes our lives miserable. The Son of God came to love us and set us free. There is power in the very first verse: Listen again. "Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation." That is the Good News. And the rest of the verses teach us how we can experience the "Allee, Allee, Outs In Free" aspect of Grace. We are invited to Drink Deep, Bow Down and Sing Aloud.

I. DRINK DEEP:

This passage reminds us that if we come to the well of salvation, the well of Christ himself, and drink deeply; we will know the deep joy of Christmas; the deep joy of a life filled full. And being filled full, we will be empowered to trust and not be afraid.

A. JOY: In this season of joy and giving we really find out just how much joy and truth there is in what Jesus said: "It is more blessed to give than to recieve." (Acts 20:35)

I have to share a story with you from Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul. It's entitled: "The Christmas I Loaned My Son." It seems one day that a woman was reading the paper and ran across a letter to the editor. It read:

"Is there any place where we can borrow a little boy three or four years old for the Christmas holidays? We have a nice home and would take wonderful care of him and bring him back safe and sound. we used to have a little boy, but he couldn't stay, and we miss him so when Christmas comes." Signed -N. Muller

She read that letter and said for the first time since her husband's death she actually thought of someone else's grief. Several months before she had recieved word of her husbands death in the service overseas and moved back to her small home town.

She'd gone back to work and the scars were beginning to heal but at times the loneliness would creep back in. Especially at the holidays. And especially this Christmas. That's why she felt this man's pain so keenly. As a result she did something strange. She answered his appeal. She discovered that the man was a widower living with his mother and had lost both his wife an his little son the same year. She and her son shared a joyous Christmas day with the man and his mother. And in her own words:

Together, we found a happiness that we doubted would ever return. But the best part is that this joy was mine to keep throughout the years and for each of the Christmases since. You see, the man who wrote the letter, months later became my husband."

Signed Mrs. N. H. Muller. (1)

If you really seek the joy of this season then drink deep from the well of salvation and give to others unselfishly.

B. TRUST AND BE NOT AFRAID: And when you do, you will be able to trust and not be afraid. Because that joy will be multiplied and grow in your heart. It will stay with you.

In a comic strip a little girl comes running in from the mailbox with a letter in her hand saying. "We got our first Christmas card!" Her little brother runs in all excited and asks, "What's it say?"

Their enthusiasm changed to disappointment as Mom read the card: "Seasons Greetings! It's time for your dental checkup!" (2)

When we place our hope in worldly things we're always disappointed. The world always promises more than it can give. But not Christ. So, don't be disappointed this Christmas. Drink deeply from the well of salvation. Let the best gift of all guide all your giving. Trust in Christ. Let his joy fill you. Trust and be not afraid.

II. BOW DOWN:

We're also called to bow down before the manger throne of Savior. He calls us to give thanks and call on his name.

A. GIVE THANKS: Isn't giving thanks resrved for last month? Isn't that what all the turkey and dressing was all about? Well, sure. But we don't have to stop there. Christmas should be a special time of giving thanks to the one who came to right our broken relationship with God and give us back our lives. And it doesn't take much extra effort to give thanks to God this time of year.

A few years ago at our Christmas eve service, one of the young ladies of the church signed the register, and then under the notes section she wrote: "Happy Birthday, Jesus! Thank you for coming."

What a simple but beautiful way of saying thank you to God. That was one of the best Christmas presents I've ever received. How will you thank God for the gift of His Son this year.

B. CALL ON HIS NAME: In our busy schedules of parties and plans and travels and Christmas shopping these verses remind us to call upon God. And I'm not talking about those times when walk up to the check out line and see the three hunderd people in fornt of us and cry out, "Oh, God." What I'm tlaking about is really calling upon God both as individuals and as a family, so that He will be present in all of your Christmas gatherings.

Bow down this season: Give thanks and call upon God.

III. SING ALOUD:

Once you're filled with joy, given thanks and called upon his name, then you'll be able to sing aloud his praise and make his deeds known to all around.

A. MAKE HIS DEEDS KNOWN: It's important that we make Jesus' deeds known. It's important that we tell our children and remind ourselves of the true meaning of Christmas.

Our children await Christmas presents like politicians getting election returns; there's the Uncle Glen precinct and the Aunt Pam district and the Grandma and Grandpa zone still to be counted and come in. It would be a greater gift to teach our children the true meaning of Christmas, to remind them of God's Presence in Christ and how that changes everything. (3)

Make his deeds known both to your children and to those around you. And in the process remind yourself of the great deed of his birth and your salvation.

B. SING PRAISES: And then stop to sing God's praises. This is a time of rejoicing. This is the season of joy. As the Scripture proclaims: "The Holy One is in our midst."

When the angels beheld the glory and the mystery of this event for the very first time, they couldn't contain themselves. They had to sing. This season does that to us, too. The glory of this birth touches that spark of divine in each of us and we catch ourselves humming, whistling even singing the carols. And for no other reason than it's Christmas.

My favorite Christmas Hymn is "O Holy Night." And the line that has always grabbed me is "Long lay the world in sin and error pining Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth." (4)

The coming of this child; this Savior; the Holy One of Israel; Emmanuel, God with us; Jesus, the Word made flesh and dwelling among us; God with skin on, all wrapped up in diapers and baby clothes and laid in a manger for the world to see causes our hearts and souls to burst forth in song just like the angels on the night of His birth. We sing with joy because he didn't come to get even. He didn't come to settle a score. He came that we might have light and that we might know love through His forgiveness and mercy.

CONCLUSION:

A cartoon I saw is a sad commentary on our Christmas celebrations. It shows a husband and wife sitting in a living room that is cheerfully decorated for the Christmas season. The wife, however, has a deep frown on her face, and looks completely exhausted. In the caption the husband is saying: "Well, Of course you're depressed, honey. 'Tis the season to be jolly."

That's funny but for so many it hits awfully close to home. So, please don't let this season of joy and hope become a depressant. Don't let the lights and the glitter blind you to the true meaning of Christmas. Come to the manger. Hear the call of Christ, "Allee, Allee, Outs In Free." Know and experience the Good News.

God is our salvation. God is our strength. Drink deep from the well of salvation: trust God and experience the joy of Christmas. Bow down before the manger: call upon his name and give thanks. Then Sing Aloud: sing praises and make his deeds known. For the Holy One of Israel, Emmanuel, is in our midst.

1. Canfield, Hansen, Aubrey & Mitchell, Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, (Health Communications, Inc. Deerfield Beach, FL, 1997) pp. 45-46.

2. Jack Elrod's "The Ryatts"

3. Lectionaid, pg. 55

4. O Holy Night, Adolphe Adam, (Robbins Music Corporation, 1964)