Good Morning Friends,
Ever wonder why most everybody is so happy at Christmas? Well, maybe not so much the last couple of years with pandemics and hurricanes. Anyway, today Christmas is just a few days away and though it has been a hard journey, I sense we will be singing and celebrating at a candlelight Christmas Eve service with more than just kind thoughts. The scripture of the season and the interpretation of the way our culture has applied it reminds me of the people in the Bible who reflected joy in their lives. Think of Simeon and Hannah and Ruth and Naomi and Boaz… but especially Mary and Elizabeth and the Magnificat, Mary’s hymn of praise to God. For here we find a member of the poorest class of her people having no political power or rights. Here we see the resilience of a young female in a culture that treats women as little more than property. She is an unwed mother, which is like a death sentence in her community. Her husband to be is seriously considering calling the marriage off, which could mean she would never find a husband who would have her. The birth of the child is coming and despite all she can be worried and sad about, the Bible tells us that she is so happy she bursts into a song that may be much better than our perceived joy of a modern-day Saturnalia. So, What Can We Learn About Hope, Peace, Joy And Love By Being Humble?
Scripture: if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NRSV)
Where you die, I will die— there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!’
Ruth 1:17 (NRSV)
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
Luke 1:46-55 (NRSV)
Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, “Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.” But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, “The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.” Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. ‘But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’
Matthew 22:1-14 (NRSV)
Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord; my strength is exalted in my God. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in my victory.
1 Samuel 2:1 (NRSV)
When she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine. She brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh; and the child was young. Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. And she said, ‘Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. For this child I prayed; and the Lord has granted me the petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.’ She left him there for the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:24-28 (NRSV)
Message: The song of Mary can become our song too regardless of the protocol for singing in church if we allow the Holy Spirit to form Christ in us. We are not meant to be separated forever. We are meant to be joyous and glad. But we are also called to be humble and repent. For Christ is coming to restore a separation that has been affecting us all but is also coming to restore justice and sanity. Today’s scripture weaves together to form an interesting storyline of marriage, worship, and commitment to community serving a greater purpose of healing. Mary and Ruth have something in common. Naomi’s life is reversed by Ruth’s blessings of total commitment. Mary says, in response to who God is and what He had done, and was about to do, that her soul magnified the Lord, and her spirit rejoiced in God, her Savior. The word “magnifies” here is the Greek word megaluno, a word meaning literally to cause to grow, expand or swell up. The word “rejoice” here means to be overjoyed, expressing unspeakable gladness…filled to overflowing. Genuine worship necessarily involves joy and gladness on our part. As Ruth’s life is reversed in her marriage to Boaz. Mary unknots our worries because of her witness. They both point us to the reality of and our invitation to be part of the great love story… Here our history is rewritten, and we are no longer separated. Here we get to put our lives in reverse and make up what has been lost in our past. Perhaps that is why we celebrate the love of Mary for her unborn son. We celebrate even the preparation for Christmas as a family. Here we celebrate because total commitment changes history. Here we discover the power of love for the generations. Friends, we have been invited to the party. Wisdom suggests we respond. Discover joy my friends in the humble heart of love.
And So, this year, let me wish you a Merry and Humble Christmas! Many do not count humility among the virtues. Pomp and wealth are often associated with happiness, but humility is a better road. Think about the humility of Ruth and Boaz. Think of Jewish mothers to be in the Christmas story. Think about Joseph and the sour pickle we all would be in if he had not humbled himself. Think about Mary and the vessel she became because of humility and the joy it brought her. And of course, think about Jesus the Son of God setting limits on himself for us, humbling Himself to exalt us. This season we are to embrace empathy, we are to embrace compassion, and we are to embrace humility as a means to experiencing a Merry Christmas. Do not forget that Christmas — at least the original model — is linked to humility. The thing is that humble people make other people more comfortable and bring the peace and healing we so desperately need.
Pray Jesus put a humble song in our hearts. Pray we proclaim the mystery of a peace that passes understanding. Pray we rejoice in the redemption promised. Pray we share in the continuing creation of the meaning of Christmas in our lives. Pray we feel like singing because God makes us happy. Pray we discover the special part we must play. Pray we have a revolutionary way of thinking because God turns the world upside down anyway. Pray that those who are filled with fear and worry, and stress and pain experience the stories of the women in the Bible who had a lot of reasons to feel like weeping but did not. Pray we too aligned our future to the promises of God. Pray we find joy in His changing history and through His unchanging love. Pray we dress the part for the wedding feast. Pray our cup overflows for Jesus who has saved the best for last. Pray our joy brings resilience. Pray our hearts magnify the Lord.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 