Mary\'s Christmas

Luke 2:1-20

What does Christmas mean? For those of you attending this service on Christmas Eve, it is more likely to mean ?a celebration of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.? But you might be surprised at what many Americans believe.

In a survey conducted by Lifeway and published by USA Today, 74% felt that Christmas was ?primarily? religious. But when asked what that meant, 89% said ?give gifts?, 86% said ?spend time with family and friends?, 80% ?put up a Christmas tree?, and 79% said ?play holiday music.?

When it comes to religious activities, 58% said ?encourage belief in Jesus Christ?, 47% will attend a service, 34% will watch Biblical Christmas movies, and only 28% will read the Christmas story.

Ed Stetzer, head of Lifeway Research said: \"It\'s alarming to me that while nine in 10 celebrate Christmas, only six in 10 encourage any belief in the source of Christmas and only three in 10 actually read the story of Christmas.\" In fact, when asked, only 37% of the 2,110 responded that Christmas is about Jesus at all. More than that (45%) said it was a time for family and friends.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-12-20-unchristmas20_ST_N.htm?csp=YahooModule_News

A survey for TheSite.org found that 48% surveyed (nearly half) found Christmas was a time to ?enjoy booze and presents.? (http://www.thesite.org/community/beheard/surveyresults/christmascracker)

If Christmas is more about family than Jesus, more about getting gifts and downing drinks?why celebrate it at all? Some Christians don?t. Jesus never commanded us to do so. Jesus was likely not even born on December 25^th. Some feel, in fact, that Christmas is nothing more than a renamed Roman holiday that celebrated boozing it up at the end of the year and that many of our cherished traditions like the Christmas tree are nothing more than borrowed pagan rituals.

So bah-humbug and let?s just do away with Christmas since no one cares and it isn?t even Christian in its origins.

You know, if it wasn?t for Luke we wouldn?t probably celebrate the birth of Jesus at all. He?s the only one that records the nativity. Matthew talks about Jesus? birth but only that it took place in Bethlehem. He focuses more on Joseph and Herod than Mary and the baby Jesus.

Of course we are not going to do that. But in thinking about what we do know about the birth of Jesus I was struck that Luke, who is the only one who really writes anything in detail about the birth, in fact, focuses on Mary, and the account of the birth and raising of her oldest boy.

What was Christmas like for Mary? The ordeal began some nine months earlier in Luke 1:26 ? 38 when the angel Gabriel came to tell her that she would conceive and give birth to a son and should name Him Jesus. Imagine you are a girl of about 14 and a virgin and an angel tells you that God?s Holy Spirit is going to fertilize one of your eggs and you?re going to have a baby?

Her response: ?I am the Lord?s slave ? May it be done to me according to your word.? She had several problems to confront?the first of which was telling her family and her betrothed that she was pregnant but still a virgin. Then came the nine months of waiting and wondering as her belly grew bigger and the eyes of those in Nazareth grew wider.

Then on that night, having travelled a long distance to an unfamiliar village, she has to give birth in less than ideal conditions. She had no family to help her save her husband. 14, maybe 15 years old and she?s having God?s baby. The stress physically would have been one thing, but the stress emotionally realizing how special this child was, would have been incredible.

The two of them were then alone with this little baby, lying in a feeding trough?wondering ?what now?? Into that dark night a group of shepherds intrude?we don?t know how many really but that room or cave or whatever it was, was suddenly filled with people who relayed this incredible story of more angels and pronouncements. Then they too left the couple alone.

Luke 2:19 says Mary was ?treasuring? all the words spoken to her. It means ?to keep closely together? to preserve. And she ?meditated? on them, which is a word that means ?to throw together?. It?s a difficult word to translate in its context but most likely means she ?put it all together? in terms of what this child meant though her part in it all was still somewhat of a mystery, a mystery that deepened only days later when they took the baby to be circumcised and she was told that ?a sword will pierce your soul.?

In the end there is no question what Christmas is about: Jesus the Son of the Most High who entered humanity in order to save humanity. No family gathering, gift giving or receiving or tradition should overshadow that.

But I would like to submit that sometimes I think we fill a void with activity and tradition to avoid the difficult truth that we are much more like Mary than we are comfortable with. The birth of this child is announced to us. Coming into our lives He makes changes to us that others notice and don?t always approve of. We sometimes just feel alone, outcast, not knowing what to make of Him or Him in us.

When that happens I suggest two things:

1. 1.Lean into the mystery just as Mary did
2. 2.Lean on the One who came. His name is Emmanuel which means God with us.

Mary said ?May it be done to me according to your word.? You are doing things in my life I don?t understand and are not always very comfortable. Sometimes I just feel along in all of this and without a clue. But I trust that You have a plan for me and it is a plan for good though right now may seem uncomfortable. Lord help me to realize all of the ?stuff? that surrounds our celebration of this day are but window dressing. You are and always will be the one and only thing that matters!