This year is the 33rd anniversary of the “Home Alone” movie where a young boy named Kevin McAlister was accidently left behind and alone in his home during the holidays while his family causing young Kevin to have to set up bungling traps for “to be” burglars- “Harry and Marv.”
The last 33 years have brought a lot of changes in the world. In the movie when Kevin goes shopping on his own, his grocery bill came up to $19.83. Yet, recently someone recently purchased the same items and published the results saying: “The grand total is $63.73 and when you add the $5.25 tax; you get $68.99.” Then they said: “I am surprised we don’t have more Harry and Marv’s running around stealing food out of our pantries.” ?
Yet, on the fun side, Catherine O’Hara and Macaulay Culkin reunited in Hollywood for a “Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony”. Here’s their picture in 1990. (Show picture)
And here’s their reunion picture: (Show picture)
Times changes and marches on. Yet, one thing does not change; none of us like to feel alone. Yet, 52% of Americans say that they “feel alone” or “lonely” on a regular basis.
It is interesting that God cares about loneliness. One of the first things that God is recorded saying in early Genesis is that he saw Adam and said: “It is not good that man be alone. “ Genesis 2:18
Can I make a confession, if I were the only man on earth, that verse would apply. I don’t like being alone. Some people love their “alone” time. God bless you strange people. I’m not an “alone” guy; the movie “Home Alone” is a horror flick for me. I love to be around people.
Being alone can be a challenge.
Transition:
The birth announcement of Jesus as exciting and challenging all at the same time.
In short, it would usher into her life a consistent reminder of how alone she was. Here, the “mother of the Lord” would feel loneliness. Likewise, you might be surprised to know that Jesus would even face loneliness. The worst would be on the cross when He would say: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
So what does Mary teach us in the Christmas story about her response to loneliness, especially at Christmas time? What does she teach us about how Jesus brings hope to the lonely and fills us lives in the empty spaces and stages of life that bring loneliness?
Transitional Sentence: Jesus brings hope to the lonely through:
I. Living Inside Us
Vs. 35- “The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “
Explanation:
One of the great mysteries of the Christmas story is that fact that God came to live inside Mary. It’s miraculous in so many ways.
The Bible tells us that God cannot be contained. It reads: “But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain Him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?” 2 Chronicles 2:6
Solomon who was the wisest man to ever live was smart enough to understand that “nothing could contain God.” He could not be put in a box and still can’t. Yet, do you know what is dumbfounding about Christmas; not only did God contain Himself to a box; but that box was a virgins womb.
Christmas ought to blow your mind-- and if you understand God-- it will. You can’t avoid it. Think about what the Psalmist said: “If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in the grave, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” Psalm 139:7-10
Christmas reminds us of how radical God’s love for us is. He downsized to the size of an embryo. He who created all things was created in a mother’s womb. He who could not be contained; became contained.
Have you ever had one of those lollipops that takes hours to melt down in your mouth? That’s what this fact is like for us. It takes hours, days, a lifetime of Christmas’s to break it down, and to try to digest it.
Yet, God describes the miracle of the incarnation by telling her that the Holy Spirit is going to get involved. He said: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “
Do you know how all this information broke down for Mary? She just simply understood one fact that she could understand: “God was going to be in her.”
The fact is: Jesus is called Emmanuel which means: “God with us” but even better; God goes the next step with us. He indwells us. Guess how? Through a miracle of the Holy Spirit.
What amazing about the incredible plan of God was that at Christ’s birth; the God who Solomon said could not dwell in temples; would dwell in womb of Mary; yet when you are born again; that same God who could not dwell in temples would make you the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”
I Corinthians 6: 19 says: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
Listen: What Mary experienced in her womb; you and I experience in our heart, all through the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit.
Do you know the implications of this? The implications are powerful! The truth is God made a way for you to never be alone. He is not only Immanuel-- God with you; He is God in you through the presence of His Holy Spirit.
Look at your neighbor and say: “You are never alone!” That is absolutely 100% true if Jesus is your Savior! Yes, hope has a name and it is Jesus.
Illustration: Bring your baggage
Have you ever heard someone say: “Come on over and pop in for a visit.” That’s a common phrase in England but in 2007 when Queen Elizabeth traveled to the United States; that pop-in visit proved what a visit from the Queen required.
An newspaper article explained: “travel to the United States this week, a lot of planning will have gone on before the popping begins.
The royal visit will last six days. The planning began eight or nine months ago, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said.
Every step of the queen's route must be gone over — all corridors, for example, must be wide enough for her to pass people without touching them. Her preferences in food — reported not to include fish — must be conveyed to her hosts; a plane must be chartered and the interior configured to make it fit for a queen.
And then there's all that packing to be done.
She must bring, of course, gowns, crowns and other queenly accoutrements. Black garments are always included in case events suddenly call for mourning. She'll need at least one diamond tiara and, of course, the requisite assortment of hats.
The queen also has to bring gifts, such as brooches, cufflinks, pens and the like. There are boxes of royal papers to which she must attend. And she has been reported to travel with as many as 50 pairs of white gloves: They get soiled when she shakes hands, and soiled gloves would never do.
The queen has been reported to always travel with an assortment of personal items, as well — photos of family members, a certain type of water, homeopathic remedies, special jams, and her favorite tea along with her favorite teapot.
How much does all that weigh? It is reported that she traveled with 2 to 3 tons of luggage.
Application:
Christmas reminds us that God doesn’t show up into our life with a bunch of baggage. In Mary’s womb, Jesus just brought Himself just like you and me when we showed up in our mothers womb.
In our souls, He does not show up with a bunch of baggage; He just comes and lives in us, guiding us, comforting us, being personally involved in our live. The message is clear; He shows us for us....not necessarily Himself.
He comes so that we will never be alone.
In John 14:18 Jesus said: “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you.”
That’s what He did at His birth and does as well when you are born again. He comes to you and lives inside you. Assuring you that you will never walk alone.
Mary found hope in knowing Jesus would indwell her; and you should as well.
Transitional Sentence: Jesus brings hope to the lonely through:
II. Providing A Family For Us
vs. 39- “Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city in Judah and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.”
Explanation:
God provided hope for Mary and her loneliness by providing a family of faith for her. There’s a lot of speculation about the Christmas story, but at first glance it’s easy to see that when Mary was given the announcement of her pregnancy; there were not a lot of people in her life to believe her or stand in faith beside her.
Initially, Joseph did not believe her; he sought to put her away privately.
Later, her additional children (James, Joseph, Jude and Simon) would not believe her; because John 7:5 says: “...not even his brothers believed in him.”
Yet, Mary not only believed the announcement of Gabriel, she responded in affirmation and excitement of God’s choice of her as the mother of the Messiah.
Nonetheless, this did not negate the challenges of loneliness that Mary felt. It is suggested that it was probable that her own parents did not believe, nor did she have any local friends from Nazareth that would agree with this story of virgin birth.
Yet notice, God did not leave Mary without a family of faith. Notice what we read in verse 39. We read: “Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country to a city of Judah.
There God had prepared Elizabeth and Zacharias to receive Mary. Elizabeth was the cousin of Mary and Zacharias was a priest who served the Lord. Prior to Mary’s arrival months before God had worked a miracle in Elizabeth’s womb herself.
She was a woman, past her childbearing prime. Who by God’s grace allowed her to become pregnant with a boy named John who would become the forerunner of Jesus.
In verse 41-43 we read about what followed after Mary entered their house. It reads: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she cried out with a loud voice, Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how is it that the mother of my Lord would come to me?”
Do you see what is happening here? God’s Spirit filled up Elizabeth and before she knew it, she was prophesying. She became the mouthpiece of the oracles of God. Before Mary could ever tell the news that came from Gabriel’s lips; Elizabeth was shouting and celebrating the revelation of the Lord.
Not to mention, notice what John the Baptist did in Elizabeth’s womb-- he leap for joy! There was wonder in the womb! John was not just affirming the sanctity of life; but was declaring the salvation of the Lord!
Do you see what’s happening here? An unborn baby is worshipping!
Mary was not alone. An angel from heaven celebrated her news! Her cousin Elizabeth celebrated her news and an unborn baby even joined in the celebration!
In verse 44 we even read the words of Elizabeth saying: “For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!”
There were two witnesses that wiped out Mary’s loneliness that day:
a) The witness from the womb. (John the Baptist)
2) The witness from the woman. (Elizabeth her cousin)
God was affirming that with Him you always have a family. When her family and fiancée didn’t believe, he had a family of faith nearby to fill up the lonely places in her heart.
Illustration: Hiroshi gets a family
When I was in college, I had the blessing of knowing a guy named Hiroshi whose family was Buddhist. While in college many of us spoke to him about Jesus and as he heard and started reading the Bible Jesus drew Him to himself.
He was completely confident that Jesus was the Savior and sensed the drawing and invitation of Jesus to come live in his life. Yet, as he spoke to his parents, they explained that if he became a Christian they would disown him.
I remember the struggle he had from this. For months he read passages about family rejection and he came across Psalm 27:10 that says: “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.”
I remember the day when Hiroshi accepted Jesus and his family immediately cut him off, deemed him dead, they even had a funeral for Hiroshi.
Yet, long after college I remember hearing about Hiroshi. He met a godly woman, got married, and ultimately became a Pastor. His testimony was powerful as He spoke about how Jesus and other believers became a family and literally took him in.
He said: “God would not leave me empty; he filled me with more and more.”
Application:
Mary might have felt very alone, abandoned and rejected by family, yet God filled those empty spaces in her heart with more and more.
One of the reasons why God has given us other believers is to build deep relationships with like you would with brothers and sisters. As a matter of fact, that’s one of the core values of our church because it’s a Biblical mandate.
The church is God’s family. I Peter 1:3 says: “God has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family.”
You become part of the human race by being born, but you become a part of God’s family by being born again.
I Timothy 3: 15 says: “That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of truth.”
God gave support to Mary through other “believers” who believed God and knew she had been visited by the Lord.
In our world we need support. A building without supports will crumble and fall apart when the challenges and storms of life come along.
God did not want Mary to be alone, nor feel alone so He surrounded her with believers. He has done the same for you by giving you the church and other believers to help support and fill your life with His presence and to call us look at each other as family members as brothers and sisters.
Even if you are miles away from your birth family, or perhaps, you don’t have any family. You can still be with family this Christmas and every day of the year because you have been adopted into God’s family.
Ephesians 1:5: “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure.”
Transition: Jesus brings hope to the lonely through:
III. Giving Us Purpose
Vs. 45- “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what he had spoken to her by the Lord.”
Explanation:
One of the loneliest places in life is to feel lost in the world with no purpose for living. Live is lonely when it has no meaning.
If God asked you: “Why are you living? What would you say? Do you know the purpose for your life?”
Christmas was the moment when God revealed to Mary the purpose of her life. She was told that she was going to be the woman from whom the Messiah would be born. This was one of the greatest purposes for a young girl in human history.
Yet, did you know that God has a similar purpose for you? His purpose for you to love, live for, and give testimony to others about who Jesus is.
Mary did this by carrying Jesus in her womb, arms, and even the message of Jesus until the day she died. Jesus was the central purpose of her life. The same is true for you. You were created to
The Bible says: “Be careful how you live. Live wisely, not foolishly. Make the most of your time and take every opportunity to do good because evil is everywhere. Don’t live carelessly without thinking. Instead, make sure you understand what the Lord wants you to do with your life.” Ephesians 5: 15-17
Mary had already centered his life around God; so when God called her to carry Jesus physically, it was not a big stretch.
Elizabeth spoke a blessing over Mary’s life. She spoke about her and the life of blessing she was living saying: “And blessed us she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.” vs. 45Center your life around God and you will be ready to God to move you into the assignment of your life. It happened for Mary and it will happen for you.
Concluding Illustration: Empty boxes
Tony Evans tells a story about some wrapped Christmas gifts at his front door.
He said: “My wife took eight boxes and had them wrapped professionally. They were impeccably wrapped, topped with bows, and the nicest Christmas wrap that could be bought.”
He said: “As beautiful as they were, no one would touch them. While porch pirates were swooping in everywhere snatching brown, non-attractive UPS packages and Amazon packages-- these boxes remained untouched, unnoticed, although they were not attended to 24 hours a day.”
The reason why no one touched them was because although they glimmered and glowed on the outside, everyone knew there was nothing on the inside. The boxes were empty.
Christmas without Jesus is just like those boxes; it’s empty, lonely, and hopeless. Yet, on Christmas night God came down, and wrapped in the simple wrapping of swaddling clothes was the greatest gift that ever was given.
That hay filled manger was filled....filled with the good news-- the greatest news of all-- God has come to dwell in this lonely planet and fill it up with His hope- that hope has a name-- His name is Jesus.
