Opening and Introduction
Christmas is a pretty busy time of year isn’t it? Do you ever feel like you don’t have enough time to get it all done? Ever feel like the season is so wonderful to experience, but there’s just is so much going on.
In our text today, Mary is experiencing a season like this too. She’s been through a crazy lot of activity. And after the baby is born and the shepherds leave, she has some time to think about all that’s happened. Our text today says:
“Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.” (Luke 2:19, CSB)
Tonight, we’re going to take a closer look at the wild events leading up to this scene in a stable, to see what Mary was really thinking about, and look at how she used a small quiet time in her life to re-examine events. Then, we’re going to take a look at how we can use the breaks in our busy life, to experience the joy of Christmas, in a deeper way this Christmas.
Blaze of Activity
Let’s start with some basics of the story. Mary was a young girl, probably around 15 years old. Anyone remember what it was like to be 15? It’s an age of growing in puberty, of giggly emotions and unexpected excitement. A time of acting before thinking.
About 9 or 10 months before Jesus was born, this young girl was met by the angel Gabriel with a message from God. Her relative, Elizabeth was going to have a baby. And oh, by the way, you’re going to have one too. And your baby, He’s going to be God’s Son.
Mary understood where babies come from and as a virgin, there should be no possible way that she could have a child. Yet, that’s exactly what this messenger tells her is going to happen. Mary was scared being confronted by an angel, and had to be a bit confused with the message.
Then there’s a bigger question. How is she going to tell Joseph, her fiancé? They weren’t living together, because they weren’t married yet. But they had a legal obligation to each other since engagement was a first step in marriage.
Since this wasn’t Joseph’s child, this baby belonged to someone else, and that sounds a whole lot like adultery. The penalty of adultery was pretty severe. Was Joseph going to turn her in, and have her stoned to death? Was he going to abandon her? What was going to happen when Mary broke the news?
No-one was going to believe that an angel talked to her. Mary had to be nervous. Somehow, she finds the strength to let Joseph know.
As expected, Joseph had a tough time believing this outlandish story and decided to quietly divorce Mary. And then, Joseph is greeted by his own angel. In a dream, the angel tells him
“Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:20, CSB)
Joseph decides to keep his wife. That had to be some sort of relief to Mary.
Then Mary visits Elizabeth, a relative of hers, who was thought to be too old to have a baby, but they were having one. While there Mary probably heard of Zechariah being visited by yet another angel. Amazing things are happening.
Shortly after Mary returns home, the Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus, orders a census. The census requires that people be counted in their home town. In Joseph’s case, that required traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which was about 30 miles away.
It doesn’t sound like a long distance, until you consider that the distance would have to be covered by walking or riding on an animal.
Have you ever seen a pregnant woman walk when she’s close to having a baby? It’s not fast, it’s not comfortable, and it’s usually not very far. Even sitting seems to be a chore sometimes.
Mary is very close to having her child. Walking doesn’t sound like fun, but neither does bouncing around on a donkey. To add to the difficulty, it probably took a couple of days to get there, all while surrounded by crowds of people who are traveling too.
So, Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem, and find no place to stay. With all the people travelling for the census, anyplace that was available is now taken; there’s no place to lie down. No Holiday Inns, No Motel 6. But they find room in a stable where they can lie down with the animals. So, when Jesus is born, there’s not a lot of options, so He’s put into a feeding trough used for animals.
Shortly after He’s born, our text picks up the story with unannounced guests. Shepherds rush into the stable to meet their Lord. They explain that angels, for a fourth time, have told them that their Savior and their Messiah was going to be lying in a manger. And that’s exactly how they find the child Jesus.
Then the shepherds return to continue watching their flocks. And that leaves Mary, Joseph and Jesus, in the stable by themselves. It’s then that Mary has a quiet moment to think on all of the events over the past few months, and perhaps think on the future of raising a savior of the world.
Any parents here? Did you ever think about how to set your children up for success, prepare them in the best way possible for life? Some parents look for the best schools. Others look for ways to train them for life. Mary had a different problem.
How do you raise a child to be the Messiah? There’s no school for that, no training manual, there’s no place to go to learn about it. I wonder if Mary thought about that.
Busy Time
Mary had a really busy couple of months. She faced surprise and fear, and questioned what to do next. She juggled places to be and things to do with events that were pushing her in all sorts of directions. She didn’t rest as much as she would like. Yet she still wanted to participate in events that were unfolding. She probably wasn’t completely prepared when Jesus arrived.
Does any of that sound like your schedule around Christmas? Do any of us, question how you’re going to get everything done? How to balance life, with work, and Christmas activities?
Around Christmas, there’s always a lot going on, and often we’re filled with emotions of joy and happiness as we celebrate. But we may also experience times of stress, of crazy schedules and a shortage of time. Sometimes, there’s a struggle between what we want to do and what we’re able to do. There can be a lot of noise that might pull us away from celebrating.
There are so many events that we really want to be a part of. Yet some of those same activities create real challenges for us.
Every moment leading up to Christmas isn’t always the Peace on Earth that we look forward to. But even in the midst of all the activities, there are a few breaks between the crowds, and the chaos. Mary used a moment like that to meditate on what she’s been through. What can we use the time for?
Time to Reflect
Tonight, I’d like to share three ways that we can use those short moments of peace, and make God the center of our Christmas celebration, help us find our own way to meditate on what joy, a babe in a stable can bring.
First, use the breaks in our schedule to re-energize our faith. This is a busy time of year. We’re pulled in different directions and we can’t control all of the demands on our time. Some of our time might be occupied finding that perfect gift for our loved ones, or traveling to that Christmas event that is just so wonderful to be a part of.
Moving from place to place, requires us to navigate roads that are congested. It can be stressful just driving to where we want to go. Getting there may take longer because everyone else seems to be trying to get somewhere too. Once we arrive, it might be the same thing inside as we continue to battle the crowds.
A lot of those activities are things that we really want to do. We want to be entertained. We want to shower our family with love. We want to see the Christmas decorations, attend a concert, or go to a Christmas Market. We want to make the season memorable.
These are great things that we really can enjoy. But, does the traffic and the crowds and the hustle and bustle of the season dampen our joy? Do we get tired because of the fast pace of celebrating Christmas?
When our bodies get tired, we need to rest our muscles to get our strength back. When our minds are busily filled with thoughts, we need a moment to let our mind wander in more soothing things. Sometimes we might need to rest from the world to re-energize spiritually as well.
One of the titles that we use for Jesus, especially this time of year, is Prince of Peace.
Sometimes we might not feel the peace in Christmas. But perhaps in those breaks between the noise in our lives, we can focus on the peace of a child that came to restore man heal the world, and re-energize our spirit by embracing the love that God has for us all.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)
God sent Jesus to restore us from our sin. That took a lot of love and provided all the peace we’ll ever need. That’s the real story of Christmas.
Second, with so many things going on, perhaps we can learn to SAVOR the joys of Christmas.
We may have a favorite activity that we love to go to every year. Maybe it’s visiting with family and friends that we haven’t seen in quite a while, or maybe it’s that special holiday food, like eggnog, or one of my favorites, German gingerbread cookies.
The stores look different, our calendars look different, our neighborhood decorations look different. So many sights, sounds, flavors and relationships that only seem to happen around Christmas. For me, the list is a mile long of how I celebrate Jesus’ birth and what I’m grateful for.
One of the biggest blessings for me is dinner on Christmas Day. Due to some schedules, we move our big Thanksgiving dinner to Christmas and celebrate with my family, my brother’s family, and mom all gathered together. It’s a time of joy, and celebration, and catching up with loved ones, as well as playing a game of cards together.
God sent His Son and that’s the reason for Christmas. But we have been blessed in many other ways too. Perhaps we can reflect on these additional blessings that God has generously given to us.
What is it for you? What allows you to deeply experience, and appreciate the joy of Christmas?
Perhaps we can savor and dwell in these experiences, and use these memories to focus on some additional blessings that we can be thankful for.
There’s a Christmas song that we sing every season that captures what celebrating should look like. That song is called ‘Joy to the World’. In Luke chapter 2, angels announce to shepherds the good news:
“Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” (Luke 2:10, CSB)
This is the message that the shepherds heard and rushed to see the miracle child in a manger. What do we rush to enjoy this holiday season? Perhaps we can savor those moment and renew our joy in the season.
Third, is to linger with God who is always with us. It may not feel like we can slow down with all the busyness of the season. In fact, we may not want to slow our pace.
Mary couldn’t control how fast her life flowed. She didn’t schedule when the angel Gabriel showed up, or when she got pregnant, or when the census was ordered. In a lot of ways, she was just there for the ride.
But, even in the chaotic schedule that was Mary’s life, she found a moment to linger in the presence of God. She made God, the center of her life, even if just for a moment. Whether we think about it or not, God is with us every day, and every step of our lives.
As Mary thought about all that had happened, she spent time with God who was with her. She lingered in that moment, probably thought about who Jesus was, who He would become, and what He would accomplish.
Perhaps we can linger with God too. Perhaps we can remember how Jesus humbled Himself coming to Earth, remember the teacher that He became, or how He sacrificed Himself for our sins paving our path to heaven.
Jesus is Immanuel, which means, God is with us. The birth of Jesus is literally God with us.
Christmas isn’t about the presents, it’s about God’s presence with us. We all can spend a few quiet moments with God, and appreciate the most blessed gift we could ever receive.
Conclusion
Mary had a lot going on. But as the events unfolded, she found a way to use her time wisely.
We all have noise in our lives that can distract us and even pull us away from where God wants us to be. Wherever we go, whatever we do, find the means to use the breaks in our life to re-energize our faith. Savor those moments of that allow us to concentrate on what Christmas really means. And enjoy some time with God who’s waiting to connect with us.
Amen.
