Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-7 – Surviving Christmas
These two Grand Mananers took a ferry off the island and went deep into the woods on the mainland, searching for a Christmas tree.
After hours of subzero temperatures and a few close calls with hungry wolves, one Grand Mananer turned to the other and said, "I’m chopping down the next tree I see. I don’t care whether it’s decorated or not!"
For each of us, Christmas carries its own stresses. And none of us really knows what another person has to deal with. But, one fact is true: that for many of us, if not most of us, Christmas carries stress. For many of us, Christmas can sometimes be a hassle. I was talking with someone this week down at the Save Easy, and he said to me, “You know, I really think that how we celebrate Christmas misses the point of what Christmas is supposed to be.” And I agree whole-heartedly.
For too many of us, too often, we are relieved when Christmas is over. It’s not that we enjoyed Christmas – it’s that we survived it. We watched a movie this week called “Surviving Christmas”. It’s the story of a young millionaire who’s lonely over the holidays, and pays a family a quarter of a million dollars to live in their home, which is the house he grew up in, and spend the season with them. Typical mayhem ensues, and things work out for the best in the end. But the title captures a truth that many would sympathize with: I just want to get through this season.
For some, this season brings bad memories. Although I cannot prove it, I suppose that 1/12th of all deaths happen in December. Which means that Christmas is often associated with a loved one’s death. My good friend, Fred Whittier, pastor of Lower Hainesville Wesleyan, just lost his mom this week to cancer. Her funeral is tomorrow. This Christmas will linger on in his memory forever.
For others perhaps, Christmas is a reminder of how lonely you are. This season reminds you that you don’t really have close friends, or that you don’t really get along well with your family, or that your spouse is so distant from you.
And then there are the stresses of finances, and travel, and weather, and family concerns, and poor health. Some people hate the hurrying around. Some people hate shopping. Some people hate the dilemma of getting something wonderful for that person, but not going too far over or under what that person will spend on them. I think every person hates the materialism, but most don’t know how to avoid it. It’s no wonder Christmas becomes a survival sport.
One thing we often don’t take into account is the stress of that 1st Christmas season, when Christ was actually born. Let’s read the familiar passage, found in Luke 1:26-38.
Erica sang about Mary’s acceptance of God’s will, but what did that really mean? For one thing, for Mary to accept God’s will meant that her whole life was about to change. This was no simple decision of where to park in a parking lot, or which outfit to wear today. No, this was a life-altering choice. Joseph and Mary were planning, likely, on an uneventful life together. Have kids, earn a meager existence, grow old together, and be done. But for this young couple, Mary being only a teenager, Joseph older perhaps, perhaps not, for this couple to embrace God’s plans would change all that. Their lives would never be the same. I really think that the announcement by the angel Gabriel would have thrown all their plans into a state of confusion.
Yet I read 1:38 and I see a simple acceptance of God’s will. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.” In other words, “Lord, whatever you want is really what I want. Go ahead. As much as I need to give the Almighty permission to do anything, I give you permission to use me however You see fit.”
So here is this young girl, a young teenager, just found out she was pregnant, through no doing of her own, looking as if she had been unfaithful, her life spinning around, and yet… she trusts that the Lord’s plans are best. How can this be? How can she simply blindly accept this new twist of fate in her life? I suppose because she knew it was not fate guiding her life at all. It was the hand of the Almighty loving God that was guiding her. This change of plans didn’t sneak up on God. They didn’t take Him by surprise. No, they had been in His mind for eons.
We can see that Mary accepted the situation very well. Although her life was changed, and not always for the easier, she really adopted an attitude of praise through the whole thing. Listen to the song she sang shortly after the news: Luke 1:46-48. She actually praised God for this chain of events. She lifted up His name, not because everything was going according to her own plans, but because everything was going according to his plans. How different for most of us. We complain when things don’t work out how we want, even though God’s hand never left the situation at all.
And it’s a good thing that Mary learned to trust God. Because the birth of her 1st child, a very stressful occasion, was not going to be simple. You know the story: Luke 2:1-7.
So picture a very pregnant lady riding 70 miles on a donkey. Picture her having to go out to a stable, a cave full of animals, to give birth. Picture her disappointment when she realized she would have to put her son, the Son of God, the King of the universe, in an animal feeding trough. And then, just a few days later, she and her husband and newborn baby had to run away to a distant country, in order to avoid a homicidal maniac jealous of her baby. Can you picture this? Can you see the stress in her life? Can you see how our surviving Christmas really is nothing compared to Mary’s Christmas?
Yet, as far as we can see, she never argued at God’s plans. She didn’t fight back. She hid all these events in her heart, but that’s not the same thing as growing bitter about them. No matter what happened in her life, Mary accepted it as God’s plans for her. That’s how she survived Christmas. Because she knew that she was being led by a stronger and wiser hand.
I love the song, “Give” by the Christian group Third Day. The words are very simple. “You said all that follow You may find comfort and pain, blessings in hard times. Were I to leave, where else would I go? The words of life and of truth You hold. And all I want is love – I confess to this. I will take it, Lord, all You have to give.” Sometimes love comes as comfort, sometimes as pain. The existence of pain in your life is not proof of God’s rejection of you. No, pain does not mean the absence of love. In fact, as someone else said, “Sometimes love has to drive a nail into its own hand.” Sometimes love will involve pain.
But if you know that you know that you know that God loves you, no matter what, you can handle pain better. You can handle the problems better if you know that God is interested in every single part of your life, and no part eludes His vision, and He’s always working everything to bring it to your good. And Mary caught hold of this truth. She could survive Christmas and all the hassles and stresses that went with it because, ultimately, she knew that God had been mindful of the humble state of His servant. End of story.
And you know, no matter what stresses you have this season, you can survive Christmas too. Through the financial burdens, through the hurrying and worrying, through the bad memories, you can see past your limited vision and see what God is calling you to. You can do more than survive if you are willing to serve Him to the best of your ability, and accept whatever He gives you. That’s not mere survival. That’s life.
I’d like to share some last thoughts with you. These words were written by the Christian group Switchfoot. The song is called “Beautiful Letdown”, and they describe a person dealing with the pains and frustrations in his life, leading him to the point of understanding what’s really important. “It was a beautiful letdown when I crashed and burned, when I found myself alone, unknown and hurt. It was a beautiful letdown the day I knew that all the riches this world had to offer me would never do. In a world full of bitter pain and bitter doubts, I was trying so hard to fit in, until I found out I don’t belong here – I will carry a cross and a song where I don’t belong.”
And the song ends with the verse: “We are a beautiful letdown, painfully uncool – the church of the dropouts, the losers, the sinners, the failures, and the fools. What a beautiful letdown – are we salt in the wound? Hey, let us sing one true tune - I don’t belong here.”
It’s OK to be disappointed. It’s OK not always to get what you want. It’s OK not to fit in. It’s OK to feel alone, unknown and hurt. It’s OK to reach the end of your own limit, because that’s when God’s saving power kicks in. It’s OK to be humbled, because the Bible says God gives grace to the humble. It’s OK to feel weak, because the Bible says God gives strength to the weak. Listen – surviving Christmas and surviving life is not about getting your way, it’s about going God’s way. That’s the only fortress we have. That is the anchor to which we cling.
