Christmas Expectations!
What Difference Does Christmas Make
Luke 1:46-55
December 2, 2018
It feels so strange for me to think that the Christmas season has officially begun. Yes, according to stores that started on November 1st, the day after Halloween. To be honest, I’m not really into listening to Christmas music yet. Singing the songs at church is good, but listening on the radio . . . I’m not there yet. I may get there on December 23rd. That’s just me.
So, as we have moved into this season what are you expecting? What are you looking forward to this season? Is there anything that you are hopeful about? With that in mind, for the next 4 weeks, we’re going to be looking at Christmas Expectations!
Most often, when it’s Christmas time, we’re looking forward to the good things. We’re hopeful there will be those magical moments, the family get togethers, friends coming together. In some ways we envision a Norman Rockwell painting. These all look like magical moments.
A George Bailey reunion like in “It’s a Wonderful Christmas.” A family having fun with Christmas decorations. Then there’s that great family who’s really happy to see one another. And dad showing some love to mom.
But . . . that’s not what always happens. We end up making a mess of the Christmas tree, and just like this clerk from 1947, we are exhausted too. The hoped for joy, becomes filled with disappointment. The kids have a melt down because they didn’t get a new PS4, but got socks and underwear. There’s Uncle Frank who always brings up past hurts. Aunt Agnes is always angry, and makes everyone uncomfortable. People are walking on egg shells . . . and you dread the family event and even Christmas. And there’s that dreaded gift that says,
“Some Assembly Required!”
Now, I don’t want this to be a downer sounding sermon or series, and hopefully you will be filled with God’s presence and love as we move through this advent series. But we also need to be real about our expectations!!
Sometimes, there’s a gap between our expectations and our reality. Sometimes we experience more of a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. As a result, we may ask some questions about Christmas, it’s relevance in our world, wondering where the real hope and joy is to be found. And ultimately, why? Why Christmas, what’s it really all about? And these are very real questions, and really they’re the cornerstone for Jesus coming into the world.
And we don’t realize that some of these questions were being asked at the very first Christmas. Things didn’t necessarily go according to plan for Mary and Joseph. We think of them smiling and filled with joy. And they were, but they expected to be at Bethlehem Memorial Hospital, not a barn with animals all around them.
So, what difference does Christmas make? What’s the real and true difference that God offers us? To start to answer that, I want to look at the story of Mary as she visited her cousin Elizabeth.
We see this young teenage girl who is pregnant and not married. Mary sings a song called the “Magnificat.” That’s the Latin translation of "magnifies," which is how Mary starts this song.
In this passage, Mary shows us a few things. Firstly, She speaks about a very personal God. Listen to the first 4 verses ~
46 And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for He has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. – Luke 1:46-49
Isn’t it amazing what Mary’s saying!? She’s an unwed, pregnant teenager, with a bizarre story, it could be a new reality TV show, and here she is praising God for choosing her! This sounds so real and authentic. It’s like this praise is coming from deep down in her soul. She pours out her heart, giving thanks to God.
I’m not really sure many of us would have felt like Mary did. Mary’s a nobody, she’s a woman, she’s not married and she’s pregnant. That wasn’t something you wanted in those days.
People know enough about the birds and the bees that Mary couldn't just say, "Hey! Good news! I'm pregnant, but don't worry, no man was involved!" That sounds crazy today and had to be absolutely ridiculous then. Would you believe your teenager with that kind of story?
Mary was fully aware of her place in the world. She's an unwed, engaged, pregnant teenage girl, living in the sticks of Nazareth - - and she’s got some crazy story about how she got pregnant.
Yet, Mary was told by the angel Gabriel, she would be the mother to the Son of God. He was the one all Jews had been looking forward to. He would be the King of kings! A Mighty Ruler! A Warrior and a High Priest!
With that in her mind, Mary recognizes that God was doing great things for her: even though she was undeserving of it, even though she couldn't muster anything to warrant it. That's why she praises God from the depths of her soul. She proclaims God has done great things for her! People will call her blessed!
You see, we see something in Mary that’s so important for us to hold onto during this season, but not just in December, but throughout the year. Jesus coming into the world, for her was deeply personal. That’s kind of obvious. She was the mom of the Savior. But Christ's coming is also deeply personal for us.
When we think about Christmas, it’s not just some holiday season where we eat more, party more, become a scrooge and get away with it, have days off of work.
Christmas needs to be deeply personal for us as well. God, the Father sent Jesus into the world for each one of us. You’re not some nameless, faceless fluke of creation. God sent His Son for me and for you! You were created with a purpose in mind. God has big plans for you, whether you know it or believe it or not.
When we see and experience Christ - - when we personally experience Him coming into the world as our Redeemer and Sustainer, we must believe and trust that this is personal. It is the Creator of the universe coming here for me and you.
When we say yes to Jesus we become God’s son or daughter. It’s through faith in the One whom he sent for us, Jesus, Emmanuel! God With Us! That’s God’s promise to you and I. A deeply personal gift for you and I. And this makes Christmas deeply personal, for all of us.
So join in with Mary to praise God during this Advent season, because he has personally extended himself to you in sending Jesus. Thank him because he's initiated something none of us deserved or earned. Welcome him in because he's God—not merely some celebrity or hero—and he's come to you through Christ. Magnify God in that you show him bigger and more significant in your life and in this world by prioritizing what he thinks, what he's like, and how he would have us live, because the greatest one has come to you through no effort of your own.
Christmas makes a difference because God has personally extended himself to us in sending Jesus. But Mary doesn't stop there for all that long, though it's a profound place to sit in. She continues singing and moves to a chorus of the global implications of Christ's coming.
The next thing Mary says in her song is about the world ~
50 And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. – Luke 1:50-53
Do you hear what Mary is saying? There’s a world view that God had in mind and Mary picked up on that. Not bad for a young teen.
God plans to dramatically change the world with the coming of His Son.
There’s all kinds of thoughts and movements in this cosmic drama which are going to play out. There will be the extension of God’s mercy to those who fear God. That mercy is found in Jesus. Remember, this type of fear isn’t about being afraid that God is going to smite you, but it’s a reverence for God. It’s holding God above everything in life. It’s holy worship of God. And when you have that, you receive God’s mercy. Not just Mary, but the world has that opportunity, as well.
It’s also looking at this last verse which bookends the good news for those who are in Christ. Those who are hungry will be filled. When you’re spiritually hungry and seek after God, you will find Him. He will not hide from you. He will fill you with good things. So, with the coming of Christ, God shows His strength in bringing the low and hungry to be high and filled. And He extends His mercy to all those who embrace Him as Lord and Savior.
Yet, on the other hand, Mary sings something totally outrageous. She sees how God is going to extend His arms, not just to help the hungry and downtrodden, but how God is going to confront the arrogant, the proud and those who sit on their thrones. Listen again to her words ~
51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
52 He has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;
To these folks, God's strength comes against them to send them away empty-handed. Mary believes that with Christ's coming, God shows His strength in confronting the powerful and self-sufficient rich to overthrow and empty them.
I read that this song was banned in the 1980s from being read in public in Guatemala because it was considered politically subversive. Can you imagine that? A Christmas song was banned for threatening the powers that be! That’s crazy?
Yet, consider the immediate audience for Mary. What do you think King Herod would think? Remember, he’s neurotic, crazed, scared and the power hungry king of Israel. When he heard Jesus was born a king in Bethlehem, what did he do? He wanted Jesus killed. When that failed, he slaughtered all boys younger than two years old in that whole area. Herod would have come unglued with Mary saying his rule was as good as done. And if that's how Herod would react, then how do you think his king and superior, Caesar Augustus, would react? That was treason. It was grounds for death, and it’s what the Romans used to crucify Jesus.
Now, stick with me for one more minute and understand this about her song . . .
Mary sings in the past tense. She wants us to see that what God has declared is as good as done. This isn’t hopeful dreaming, it’s an expectation of God’s reality in our world.
With Christ's coming, she sings that God's justice has begun. In her eyes, this is a foregone conclusion. The humble will be lifted up. The hungry will be fed. The proud will be brought down, even those on thrones. And the rich will be emptied. So why is this so sure with Christ's coming?
God sent Jesus so that He would be the King of kings and Lord of lords. He came as a king who would use His authority to lay down His life on a cross. In this way, Jesus paid the penalty for our sinfulness, so that God’s justice would not come against us.
That’s why Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 ~
21 For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21
It was Christ who would be sacrificed for our sins. We would be made righteous before God, even though we’re not, because Christ is the One and only righteous one. Now we could experience God’s peace and grace!
In the final two verses - - Mary sings ~
54 He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy,
55 as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His offspring forever.” – Luke 1:46-55
Mary ends with words of national importance. The Jewish people would hear these words from Mary and celebrate. They would know that God will bring mercy to the people of Israel. Just as God spoke to their fathers, to Abraham and his children, Isaac and Jacob - - - God will also speak to the people of Israel of this generation.
God had always promised the Messiah would be coming. The people held onto these words. They were expectant that the Messiah was coming, yet, when He came, they didn’t believe it.
Jesus’ birth didn’t come at some random time. It was planned out by God. He knew what was happening and how it was happening. Mary sang for joy about a God who is magnificent.
The birth of Jesus wasn't the unlikely fulfillment of a bunch of coincidences that some random people wishfully spoke hundreds of years prior. Jesus Christ's coming was a matter of God fulfilling his long-standing promise to His people.
When we experience Christ's coming at Christmas, it means God is fulfilling His promises.
All those promises God has made to us through Christ. That promise of forgiveness by receiving Christ. That promise He'll never leave us or forsake us. That promise of life with God now - - today - - - and that promise that God will take our hands and lead us into eternity with Him. Add to that any promise God has made to us.
You can take it to the bank because God is a God of His word.
So follow her lead - - and praise God during this Advent season, because in sending Christ, God has fulfilled His promises to us.
You may be looking for that great Norman Rockwell Christmas. And I hope you get it! I hope I do!! But whether we do or don’t, our Christmas Expectations shouldn’t be diminished because God has fulfilled His promises to us. He has sent His Son, Emmanuel . . . for you and for me. That’s worth singing about!
