CHRISTMAS CHEER
There's a Christmas song titled, Holly, Jolly Christmas. It starts out, "Have a holly jolly Christmas; It's the best time of the year. Now I don't know if there'll be snow; But have a cup of cheer". I wonder what's in that cup? But Christmas is a time of cheer. You might respond with, "not this year. The Christmas cheer has been replaced with Christmas fear!" I hear you.
But even though there might be some Christmas fear this year, that doesn't mean there can't be any Christmas cheer. There was both fear and cheer surrounding the events of the first Christmas. Obviously their fears didn't come from COVID and their cheer didn't come from a cup. Let's see what did cause their Christmas fears and Christmas cheers.
1) Christmas fear.
Fear is not an emotion we would normally associate with Christmas. But for some, fear may be a part of their Christmas season. They're afraid they won't be able to find the perfect gift for the people on their list. They're afraid people won't like the gifts they bought. If they're shipping them they're afraid they won't arrive on time. They're afraid their Christmas party won't go well or something will go wrong with the dinner.
So, although fear isn't something we normally think of during Christmas we can see how things like fear and worry can be a part of Christmas. What about the fears surrounding the first Christmas? Let's start with Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, Jesus' relative, born about six months before Jesus.
Luke 1:5-15, "In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years.
Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth."
Zechariah was a priest and it was his turn to burn incense in the temple. When the angel appears Zechariah is startled and gripped with fear. One might think, 'he was upright and blameless so what reason would he have to be afraid'? No matter how righteous you are, if you see an angel your heart will surely skip a beat.
And it's not like angelic appearances were commonplace. In fact, God had pretty much been silent for the last 400 years! So this came at a time when it was least expected; despite being in the temple. There was another reason Zechariah would've been fearful. Going into the temple and burning incense was no minor thing; it was a serious endeavor.
Some think Zechariah's duties were being performed in the Most Holy place. A priest was the only one allowed to enter the Most Holy Place only once a year. Tradition records that the people would tie a rope around the ankle of the priest who entered the Most Holy place so if he died while he was in there, for whatever reason, the people could pull him out without risking their own life by going in. That's how serious this was.
So when the angel appeared, part of Zechariah's fear may have been due to thinking he was in trouble for not performing his duties correctly. But the angel quickly sets Zechariah's heart at ease. "Do not be afraid". How often has the Lord done that for you? We get into fear mode and God's comfort is right there calming us down, telling us to not be afraid.
Then the angel tells him his prayers have been answered, he and his wife will have a son in their golden years. Not just any son, but a remarkable one; great in the Lord's sight and filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. He will be a joy and delight to you and to many other people as well. How special is that? Zechariah had just prayed to have a child.
God not only answered, he gave them the privilege of being chosen to raise John the Baptist! Has there ever been a time when God not only answered your prayer, he gave you more than you had asked for? So, what started out to be a fearful moment for Zechariah turned out to be a very special one.
Joseph. Matt. 1:18-21, "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
The fear in this situation wasn't the angelic visitation, it was the fear of staying with Mary. What was there to be afraid of? Ridicule. People would be laughing at Joseph for being foolish enough to stay with her after what she had done to him. There would've been contempt towards Mary, the woman he loved. There would be sharp remarks and talking behind backs. What would his parents think? What if they forbid him to marry her and threatened to have nothing to do with him if he went through with it?
Vs. 24 says when Joseph woke up he did what the angel told him. His fear of marrying Mary was eased by the angel's revelation. Has that ever happened to you? You were afraid to do something but when more information was revealed it calmed your fears?
Some of our fears are based on our perspective. Joseph had a certain perspective of Mary's situation. Understandably so-who wouldn't have had Joseph's perspective? And the truth that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit was stranger than fiction. As absurd as it was, Joseph's perspective was off.
Although what the angel told him didn't make a lot of sense, at least he would be relieved to find out Mary didn't cheat on him. Joseph may still have been somewhat afraid to do what the angel said but he obeyed anyway. Sometimes our fears are minimized before they are removed.
Mary would've had the same fears-even more. Even though they were only engaged, back then it was viewed as if they were already married. That means Mary could've been stoned to death for adultery. That's scary! So how comforting would it be for Mary to have Joseph stay with her and face this together?
Have your fears ever been generated by the actions of others? You knew that you were doing the right thing but it was going to generate a lot of negative feedback? But your faith and courage overrode your fears and you went ahead with what you knew you needed to do. That's what Joseph did. He knew what he needed to do but he had some fears going into it.
Have your fears ever been minimized by the actions of others? You had someone who supported and encouraged you as you faced your scary situation. That's what Mary had in Joseph.
In the cases we looked at you have initial fear a 'don't be afraid'. That's how it works sometimes. First there's something that causes fear-bad news, an accident, a diagnosis, a negative situation, etc. And you're like, "Oh, no, what am I going to do now?" And then, the Lord comforts you. "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you". And then God sends people to your side to help strengthen you.
Then, at some point, something happened to alleviate your fears. Something didn't turn out as bad as you initially thought it would. A provision was made to take care of the matter. Whatever the case was, God provided a solution or remedy that replaced your fears with cheers.
2) Christmas cheer.
After Mary's visit from the angel who told her she would be having God's child she went to visit her relative Elizabeth. The angel had explained to Mary that even though she was well beyond her childbearing years, Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy. This shows that nothing is impossible for God. Let's see what happened when Mary arrived.
Luke 1:39-49, "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name."
Elizabeth rejoiced, John the Baptist leapt and Mary sang. The Holy Spirit was involved in all their actions and reactions. The Holy Spirit is always involved in turning our fears into cheers.
As soon as Mary spoke, John the Baptist started jumping for joy. The Holy Spirit revealed to this baby in a womb that the mother of his Savior had just entered the room. Although we may have some fears this Christmas, if we focus on the voice of God we will experience Christmas cheer; we may even do a Christmas cheer.
Elizabeth, through the Holy Spirit, knows what just happened and why. She looks at her young relative in a whole new light. She looks into the eyes of the mother of her Lord and she rejoices. She calls Mary and her baby blessed. Then she humbly expressed how she would be so favored by God to be in Mary's presence. Then she calls Mary blessed for her faith in believing the impossible.
At this point Mary may have been a little perplexed by what Elizabeth said. So, Elizabeth goes on to explain what she knew just happened with the baby in her womb. This was no regular kick and Elizabeth knew it. She knew something spiritual had just taken place. When you realize that the Holy Spirit just did something it makes you cheerful. When he reveals something to you or moves you in such a way as only he can, the spiritual emotion is almost overwhelming. Sometimes you can sense it welling up inside but then there are times when it comes out of nowhere and catches you off-guard-but in a good way-like it did for everyone here.
Then we have Mary's cheer as she breaks into song. Even though it says, "Mary said" this section is known as Mary's song. It extends down to vs. 55. Mary declares that her soul glorifies the Lord and her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. She worships the Lord and is given over to him in mind, heart and body. Her spirit and soul-all that she is praises and adores the Lord.
She knows that God has kept watch over her. She humbly acknowledges that because God has allowed her to carry the Lord that many generations from now she will be remembered and called blessed. She rejoices in the fact that God has done great things for her and she honors his holiness.
This may have been the point when Mary truly realized the enormity of what has happened to her. A simple girl has been chosen by God to carry his son. When the angel told her she was more confused than excited. Her fears of what that meant no doubt overshadowed the honor of being chosen from countless women to bear God's son. Now, after Elizabeth's words and John's leaping, it became clearer to her the privilege and honor she was given.
But that's how it works, right? We start out in fear and confusion but then the reality of how blessed we are to have the honor and privilege of being a child of God helps us to be more thankful, more joyous, more at peace.
Think about this: nothing had changed in Mary's situation. When she got back home she would still get the looks and the whispering. But what would combat the uneasiness of dealing with all that would be knowing that she was truly blessed. We need that perspective. We might still have to deal with our scary situation but we deal with it as a child of God who is blessed by God and has the spirit of God with us at all times. Christmas cheer.
Mary wasn't the only one who had a song. Let's finish by looking at how things turned out for Zechariah. Unfortunately, when the angel announced that his prayers had been answered and his once barren wife would have a son, Zechariah doubted. So, the angel caused Zechariah to not be able to talk.
After John was born they expected him to be named after his father or some other relative. So when Elizabeth said he would be named John, they were surprised, since no one in the family had that name. They went to Zechariah to see what he had to say. Since he couldn't speak, he wrote, "his name is John". At that moment, his lips were loosened and he could talk again. He praised God. What followed is known as Zechariah's song.
Luke 1:67-79, "His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us—to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
We see that Zechariah and Mary had their fears turned into joyful praise. That's what we do when our fears are turned to cheers; we praise-we show our adoration and appreciation. Zechariah prophesies about the yet-to-be-born Messiah. He praises God for the deliverance that his people have been waiting centuries for.
And he praises God that his son was chosen to prepare the way for the Lord. What father wouldn't be proud, knowing his son would be playing such an important role in the work of God? The salvation and redemption of our souls turns our fears into cheers!
Heb. 2:14-15, "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death."
There may have been some fears happening in the events surrounding that first Christmas, but the cheers overshadowed them. The cheer of blessedness, the cheer of salvation, the cheer of victory. Because Jesus came to earth and shared in our humanity, since he paid the price of our redemption at the cross, since he resurrected and destroyed the power of death, since we can have freedom through Christ, we can claim victory over our fears. Jesus has turned our fears into cheers.
