Christmas Eve 2020: OTHERS!

 

December 24, 2020                   NOTES NOT EDITED
“Others!”
Philippians 2:3-8

 SIS—The entire meaning of Christmas, indeed the entire summation of all Christian theology, can be reduced to one word, “OTHERS!”

 One of the oldest memories I have of Christmas is the mental picture of a man in a thick woolen jacket with a thick woolen hat standing beside a big red kettle ringing a bell.  Of course, that was a Salvation Army volunteer collecting money for poor people.  I’ve not seen a Salvation Army bell-ringer this year. In fact, a few years ago I started noticing fewer and fewer bell ringers and red kettles. It is a sad commentary of the times we live in.  People simply don’t have compassion for “others” like we used to.

The Salvation Army was started in 1865 by William and Catherine Booth on the East Side of London.  William Booth was a Methodist minister.  His mission was to “convert poor Londoners such as prostitutes, gamblers and alcoholics to Christianity (Wiki).”  His organization was called the East London Christian Mission until it was changed in 1878.  In 1878, Booth was writing a letter to another volunteer in the East London Christian Mission.  In the letter he wrote, in part, “we are a volunteer Army of God.”  The person reading the letter protested in a response, “No, we are not a volunteer army, we are an army of regulars.”  Booth crossed out the word, “volunteer,” and inserted the word Salvation, and the organization has been known as the Salvation Army now for nearly 150 years.

My Dad was saved at a Salvation Army church in Moundsville, W.Va., in about 1946 when he was fifteen years old.  Dad grew up on the “poor” side of town. The Salvation Army church was just a block up from a Civil War Era maximum security prison.

William Booth patterned his church after the military.  He took the rank of General and served as the leader of the Salvation Army until his death at the age of 83 in 1912.  In a 2002 poll by the BBC Radio Network, Booth was voted as one of the top 100 Britons of all time.  The Salvation Army is, and has been, one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid in the history of the world.  But, at its core is the concern for the salvation of souls.

The Salvation Army has always gone anywhere they saw others in need, including the American soldiers in France during WW1.  Over 250 Salvation Army ladies went to France in 1917.  They cooked donuts for the American soldiers in their steel helmets.  The became known as the “Donut Lassies” and are given credit for popularizing doughnuts in America.  In fact, since 1938, the first Friday of June is celebrated as “National Doughnut Day” in honor of these Salvation Army “lassies.”

In the true spirit of Christ, and the true spirit of Christmas, William Booth and the Salvation Army is about giving to others.  Toward the end of his life as General Booth marched into his eighth decade of life, he became weak and nearly blind.  For over 34 years General William Booth presided over the annual meeting of the Salvation Army Church.  It was Christmas Eve, 1910.  After the busy Christmas season the church would be meeting soon. For the first time William Booth would not be able to preside at the meeting.  In fact, those close to him feared he’d not even live to see another Christmas.

Somebody suggested that General Booth send a telegram or a message to be read at the opening of the convention as an encouragement to the many soldiers of the Salvation Army that would be in attendance following Christmas and their many hours of labor ministering to so many others through the holidays and the cold winter months. Booth agreed to do so.

Knowing that funds were limited and desiring not to use any more money than necessary so that as much money as possible could be used to help the many people in need. Telegrams cost per word. General Booth decided to send a ONE-WORD message. He searched his mind and reviewed his years of ministry, looking for the one word that would summarize his life, the mission of the Army and encourage the others to continue on.

When the thousands of delegates met, the moderator announced that Booth would not be able to be present because of failing health and eyesight. Gloom and pessimism swept across the floor of the convention. Then, the moderator announced that Booth had sent a message to be read with the opening of the first session. He opened the telegram and read the one-word message:

Others!
Signed, General Booth.

“OTHERS!”  In one word, that’s what Christmas is all about.  “OTHERS!”  That is, in fact, what the entire message of the Bible is all about, “OTHERS!”  Jesus came to the world to be born in a manger for, “OTHERS!”  Jesus lived a sinless life of selfless service, healing, teaching, and loving “OTHERS!”  Jesus died on a cruel cross to pay the horrible penalty of sin for “OTHERS!”  Jesus conquered the grave and was resurrected to life for, “OTHERS!”  Jesus is coming again to earth for “OTHERS!” 

William Booth and the Salvation Army perfectly summarized all of Christianity with one important word, “OTHERS!”  This is exactly what the Bible says about Who Jesus is and Why He came.  The Apostle Paul writes, 

Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3-8).

The true spirit of Christmas, indeed the true meaning of Christianity, is to live for “OTHERS!”