As I sat down to put together my thoughts for this sermon, and after praying about it, I looked at the calendar and realized that this is one of those years that there are only 4 Sundays of Advent between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Sometimes there are 5 Sundays but then there are years like 2020 where there are only 4. Then I thought: I was away for two of those weeks so I have 2 weeks to talk about the 4 elements of Advent.
So, today I would like to talk about 3 of those Advent elements, Love, Joy, and Hope. And when you think about it, without love, joy, and hope, what would Christmas be? I’m saving the last element of Advent for next week as we began Christmas week in the spirit of God’s peace.
First, the love of God can only be adequately described as an unconditional, self-sacrificing, agape love. Most Christians if asked to recite a favorite Bible verse will quote John 3:16. Can you recite it with me?
Now stop for a moment and look at that verse closely. “For God so loved the world that He gave……” I know the verse doesn’t end there but in actuality, that’s what God does over and over again. God loves us so much that He gives, and He gives and He continues to give.
Now that verse goes on to explain that God gave the most priceless gift that anyone could give—He gave His only Son. Can you even fathom how much God loves you that He would give the life of His only Son to die for you. How many of you would give up even one of your children to save someone else’s life? That’s right. None of you. And yet God allowed His only Son to take upon Himself the punishment that we all deserve.
And it’s that Son, Jesus Christ, that was born to begin the process of God getting in close touch with us. It’s that love that we celebrate this Christmas.
A story is told about a School District that had banned using the name of "Christ" in any of their Christmas programs. Sort of ironic isn’t it that Christ couldn’t be mentioned along with Christmas. Though they could use the name "Christmas" they began calling the Holiday programs things like "Winter Festival".
One music teacher though decided to include a presentation using the words "Christmas Love". Each of the 13 letters were drawn on to carboard, and 13 children would each hold up a letter spelling it out. They practiced and it came time for the program, and there it was for all to see. Picture it in your minds.
Parents were pointing. People were rejoicing. Children were giggling. The Principle was turning red in the face, because little Johnny, holding the 7th letter, which was the “M” in Christmas, had his upside, and instead of Christmas Love, it now read "Christ was Love". And He is, and He was born out of love to be the Savior of the world.
Another Advent event that we celebrate is JOY. What would Christmas be without joy? Try to imagine the joy that was felt in the hearts of shepherds when the angels gave them the instructions to go to Bethlehem to see for themselves, the Savior of the world, born to us.
The people we see in the Christmas story experienced things that were never seen before and have not been seen since. In this time of Advent, we look at some of these Bible characters, studying their responses to the birth of the Messiah and how to apply lessons to our lives today.
“And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name.’” —Luke 1:46-49, NKJV
It’s hard not to be intrigued and impressed by Mary. She was just a teenager, some say between 13 and 16 years old, when an angel appeared to her. I can just imagine how a teen today would have reacted if an angel of the Lord showed up in their room. My guess is that the immediate response would be fear, screams or crying. The sheer overwhelming nature of the experience would be enough to cause that reaction.
However, when the angel appears and brings a joyful message—“Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” The Bible says that Mary was “troubled.” The angel even encouraged her with, “Do not be afraid.”
One would expect that Mary would struggle with this revelation and abrupt change in her life. Who wouldn’t? After all, things seemed to be going okay. She was even engaged to a man named Joseph, but now she would be the gossip of the town. A scandal like an unwed pregnancy would not go unnoticed, and answering the critics by saying that an angel visited her would likely cause more questions than answers.
But Mary was clearly no normal teenager! After her initial response, Mary embraces her calling as the earthly mother of Jesus. And she sings a song that is recorded in Luke 1:46-55. It is there that we get a glimpse of the joy of this young woman who considers herself blessed!
Of course, the story doesn’t end there, and things don’t get any easier. At the end of Mary’s pregnancy, she had to make the difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. And then she delivers the Christ child in a manger.
She could have been bitter with God thinking that since she is carrying His son, He would at least provide a decent place to give birth. Was she bitter? No. As she held her child, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, she pondered all that had taken place, keeping it in her heart. She allowed the Joy of the Lord to fill her heart.
As you enter this Advent season, maybe this year hasn’t gone how you planned. Maybe you expected your life to be much different than it is. Maybe you’re even mad at God and blame Him for your circumstances. If so, it’s okay to be troubled, but I invite you to do as Mary did, and rejoice in the midst of your pain. Lay it all at the feet of the One who came to save you, whose birth we celebrate. Despite the struggles, Mary considered herself blessed because of what God did for her, and you can too as you ponder how He has blessed you.
You might ask, why do we call this the Advent season. Advent means “arrival,” referring to the arrival of Christ into the world more than 2,000 years ago. As we near Christmas, we’re reflecting on how certain people in the Bible responded to the birth of the Messiah.
In Luke 2:10-12 we read, “Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.’”
Imagine you are a shepherd in ancient Israel: Your job is mundane, dirty, and maybe even a little frightening. You’re out in the wilderness, away from town, and the only light you see at night comes from the fire around which you are huddled and the moon hanging overhead. With that small field of vision, you’re supposed to not only keep track of your sheep, but also protect them from attack.
Suddenly, a supernatural brightness—“the glory of the Lord”—blinds your eyes, and there’s somebody there, unlike anything you’ve seen before. Perhaps you immediately realize that it’s the angel of the Lord, or maybe you are so consumed with confusion that it takes a minute to sink in that this being is from the heavenly realm. Either way, you’re so awe-struck that the angel’s first words are, “Do not be afraid.”
I wonder if the shepherds collapsed to the ground during this overwhelming experience. We know they felt fear, of course, but imagine the flood of emotions as they begin to realize that the angel of the Lord is proclaiming the news of the arrival of the Messiah!
This is a hope that they had in their hearts for several hundred years. What is the Messiah? Who is this One they hoped for? The word “Messiah” or “Anointed One” (or in Greek, “Christ”), is taken several passages in the Bible. But as far back as the book of Daniel 9:25-26 and even farther, the Messiah is mentioned. Daniel 9:25-26 tells us, “Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.
26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.”
The term “Messiah” took its meaning from the Jewish practice of anointing their priests and kings. But this term was applied in a special sense to the future Ruler who would be sent from God to sit on the throne of David forever.
Likewise, according to 1 Peter 1:11, the Old Testament prophets predicted “the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow”. The Messiah’s coming was not a secret left in a corner, but the repeated revelation of God to His people in the Old Testament.
Here are just some of the clues about this coming that God gave in the Old Testament:
• The Messiah would be the seed/offspring of a woman and would crush the head of Satan (Genesis 3:15).
• He would come from the seed/offspring of Abraham and would bless all the nations on earth (Genesis 12:3).
• He would be born in Bethlehem of Judah (Micah 5:2).
• He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14).
• He would have a throne, a kingdom and a dynasty, or house, starting with King David, that will last forever (2 Samuel 7:16).
• He would be called “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Everlasting Father,” “Prince of Peace,” and would possess an everlasting kingdom (Isaiah 9:6-7).
• He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, righteous and having salvation, coming with gentleness (Zechariah 9:9-10).
• He would be pierced for our transgression and crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5).
• He would die among the wicked ones but be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9).
• He would be resurrected from the grave, for God would not allow His Holy One to suffer decay (Psalm 16:10).
• He would come again from the clouds of heaven as the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14).
• He would be the “Sun of Righteousness” for all who revere Him and look for His coming again (Malachi 4:2).
• He is the One whom Israel will one day recognize as the One they pierced, causing bitter grief (Zechariah 12:10).
This One, promised since Genesis 3, would come and rescue all of mankind. For the Jewish people, this is the One they had been longing for—the One they had hoped for. And the shepherds are some of the first to hear of His arrival.
If the knees of the shepherds hadn’t buckled by that point, you can be sure that they did when suddenly the skies lit up and one angel became “a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’”
It’s no surprise that they immediately ran to find the Child in the manger, and returned passionately glorifying and praising God! Fear, confusion, awe, joy—the shepherds experienced the gamut of emotions that historic night.
How about you? As you read this passage, are you still filled with awe? Do you empathize with the confusion and fear? Can you feel their joy? If not, re-read Luke 2 and try to envision it from the shepherd’s perspective once again, and pray that the Holy Spirit will fill you with His love, His joy, and with Hope of His promised return.
And if you’re not feeling those elements of Advent, maybe you need to pause, and think about the most precious gift that anyone could ever receive—THE GIFT OF GOD’S ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, JESUS CHRIST.
Anyone who has never accepted Jesus as their Savior can’t imagine or know the love, joy, and hope that we, as Christians feel this time of year.
Jesus came to save the world from the grip of sin. But first you must ask Him to forgive your sins and be part of your life.
As you contemplate Christmas, ask yourself, “what are some ways that Jesus’ birth brings me joy?” How is your life different today because of that pivotal moment in Bethlehem?
Prayer: Dear God, This Christmas season, help me to focus on the incredible heavenly appearing of Jesus in this world, and what that has meant for all of mankind. Renew my passion for You. As King David prayed, we ask, “Restore in me the joy of my salvation!” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
