Love Came Home to Save
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Intro
jab 1
With the exception of those delayed gatherings, the last present has been opened, the last egg nog enjoyed, and you might be trying to decide how long you can or should wait before starting to take all the Christmas down.
My hunch is that most of you shared laughs, probably tears, hopefully some quiet moments of peace, in the midst of high emotion and stress.
Before we leave Christmas behind us, I want to reflect one more time on the first family to “celebrate” Christmas.
We have reflected on the Love of God in Christmas, the love we ought to have for one another, both emphasized by our wonderful children in the play.
We have talked about this house, the structure that makes up the body of Christ here in Hockinson. One built as we love God, love people, both in and out of faith.
That we do that in prayer, in knowing GOd, knowing people, Serving God and others, worshipping God, living lives that bear witness to the love of God, being stewards of all He has given us as we proclaim to the world that Jesus is Lord.
As I ponder the lyrics of “Mary did you know?”, I wonder if she ever imagined the thousands of church gathering that would take place someday pointing all eyes on this little baby.
She probably didn’t know that the holiday celebrating this night would result in songs like “I want a hippo...” or the brand new “Santa Claus has a dirty job”, or movies like Elf and a Christmas Story.
That there would come a day when people would argue about how early is too early for Christmas movies, and neighbors would wonder when that guy next door would finally take down his lights!
There were definitely some things Mary knew. She was a student of the Word. She probably couldn’t read, but she would have been raised breathing in the stories, writings, and psalms like air around her.
Those things Mary knew spoke to what she was looking for, what the Old Testament writings were pointing toward in a Messiah.
Imagine for a moment yourself in Mary’s shoes.
You are pregnant but not married…in a culture where that is absolutely a sign of shame. Even if your fiance, Joseph is the father, to be pregnant before the wedding was scandalous.
Joseph believes you, an angel came to him too…but who else will?
So Mary, hearing from the angel that her relative Elizabeth was also carrying a miracle child, sets out in a hurry to visit her, looking, I am certain for at least one friend who will simply receive her, who will understand.
And Lizzy comes through! As soon as Elizabeth hears Mary’s voice she jumps as her own baby leaps inside her womb, crying out that the mother of “her Lord” has come! and then offers what must have been the most encouraging blessing:
luke 1:45
Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill what he has spoken to her!”
Imagine the emotional relief to hear someone react with blessing and praise rather than shock or confusion. This moment unlocks something in Mary and out of that base of God’s word in her heart she bursts into a song that tells us exactly what Mary did know about this baby boy…listen to the song. We’ll break it down and seek to understand what Mary has to teach us about this kingdom the Messiah will bring, how it shapes and changes this “home” we call the church, but first…simply listen.
And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy. His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him. He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors.
pray
Before we look at the bright side, let’s look at the reality of the world around us. This part, not much different than Mary’s world.
oops
We live in:
We live in:
ugh
Circumstance
Circumstance
Mary lived in a world where you couldn’t trust the political authority. You depended on them…roads, defense, but you didn’t trust them. There were concerns over liberty, justice, oppression, poverty, and so much more. Fierce arguments were all around about the best way to deal with the issues. From compliance to revolution, the people were divided over how to handle all these issues.
Whether you vote right, left, or sit on the outside of both, this feels familiar. We need infrastructure, we depend on the government to handle many things…but still see concerns over liberty, feeling that things are unjust, seeing oppression, poverty and worse…We each bring a perspective that results in us seeing some injustices, some fears, some solutions more directly, but they are all there.
Add to that the challenges of life. How will you eat? Where will you live? What will you do, how will you get there?
What do you do about the child that has walked away, the marriage struggling, the job at risk, the home in disrepair, the loneliness threatening to overwhelm, the consequences of your own mistakes and the mistakes of others…which leads to another part of reality...
Sin
Sin
You have it. I have it. That inclination to try to rule. Rather than allowing God to sit on the throne, we decide what is right and wrong.
We pursue our desire, what makes us comfortable, over what most rightly reflects the design God gave us.
We create false identities rather than accept the gift of who we really are as God’s image bearers.
It leads to most of the circumstances we just discussed, breaks families, ruins businesses, divides churches
It leaves guilt, shame, and broken hearts in it’s path.
And it isn’t some external force, Satan didn’t have to make us do it. Sin comes from us. Satan just had to give a little nudge. help us lose trust in God and his generosity and goodness, help us lose sight of the value of the person beside us.
It makes us users of others and feeling used by others.
One of the big problems with sin? Often it accomplishes what we want. We get the success, we get the comfort, we come to believe that we deserve good things…and if other people don’t have…it’s because they don’t.
which leads to the third thing Mary saw around her that we can see too:
Success
Success
We become victims of our own success and can feel really good while at the same time being really empty. We call that pride.
The Romans were not overly concerned with poverty or justice…as long as there was enough fear to balance ideas of revolt. They did just enough. There were refugee problems, hunger, racial tension, and all the same things we see today…in the most powerful country on Earth.
The kingdom of this world is built on those who can, taking advantage of those who can’t. Consider for a moment, do the painful work of looking to see where some of our comfort comes from. Who are the ones left behind? Not just here, but throughout the world. Who suffers for our convenience?
In our relationships, where does pride rear it’s head?
When we point out another’s fault “for their own good”...
When we press down another person’s feelings in deference to our own.
When come to believe in our own “rightness” so much that we feel we can force someone else to conform to our preferences.
When we are filled, and fail to have concern for those who are empty.
I think Mary saw a world not so different than ours. Then, moved by the holy spirit, she sings a song birthed and bathed in scripture proclaiming the kingdom her son will bring to bear.
She saw and we see the kingdom of this world…but love came to save by instituting a new kingdom.
And when we go back to this song, when I am convinced the Holy Spirit moved in the heart of this faithful woman who knew her scriptures to show her that indeed a new kingdom was coming!
Let’s look at circumstance, sin, and success through the lens of Mary’s song:
Love Came to Save us In:
Love Came to Save us In:
Circumstance
Circumstance
Right from the first words, what does Mary declare?
luke 1:46-49
And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
because he has looked with favor on the humble condition of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed,
because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and his name is holy.
Worship! She praises God. Not only because of what is, but because of what she believes God is doing.
What is it she sees first?
Because he has looked. She says what so many of the saints of old, Hannah, David, Daniel, Ruth…they have all been seen in their distress by the Lord.
How important is it to you to be seen? You know the answer if you have felt unseen and unheard.
If you are desperate for people to do it, you will either:
A. Be disappointed
B. Get your way…to your own loss and probably theirs too.
Mary knows who she needs to be seen by.
(we should see and hear one another…different topic…)
Mary, who has suffered shame and is misunderstood by most is seen by God.
More, she is recognizing herself as a part of a community that has been unseen.
The poor in Judea were not a priority for Rome.
The town of Nazareth was unseen even by others in Judea.
The poor the down cast…Mary identifies herself with these and declares that in God’s kingdom it is the humble who are seen.
She isn’t waiting for someone else to “do something”, she declares that in the midst of her circumstance: “The mighty One has done great things for me and HIS NAME IS HOLY!”
Her son, Jesus will bear this out. Come follow along as we study his life next year and you will see it everywhere…but here’s one:
They came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many warned him to keep quiet, but he was crying out all the more, “Have mercy on me, Son of David!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up; he’s calling for you.” He threw off his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus. Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Rabboni,” the blind man said to him, “I want to see.”
The crowd wanted him quiet. Jesus wanted him heard.
Jesus stopped, Then Jesus asked him what he wanted.
Even without super powers, Anyone could guess the miracle a blind man would desire. But Jesus not only sees him, but he asks the question so he can -hear- him.
Jesus was sent here to save us in the midst of (not always from…not right away) our circumstance. He also came to save us in our:
Sin
Sin
Mary is aware of her own need for mercy.
His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear him.
Luke 1:54–55 (CSB)
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering his mercy
to Abraham and his descendants forever, just as he spoke to our ancestors.
Sin is nothing short of rebellion against the king of kings. Treason. We treat is as small. We write off our sin easily enough:
I’m just short-tempered
At least I’m not as bad as...
I’m just a natural worrier
But it just had to be said.
Mary knows she needs mercy.
Mary was not perfect, she was not sinless, she was human.
But as she reflects on scripture, when she reflects on the character of God, she sees so clearly that God has always, always, always been merciful to sinners.
Taking people where they are and leading them forward. Never waiting for them to reach his standard to begin to relate to them. Always inviting, always running to those who will simply acknowledge their need.
As Jesus walked and taught, who did he choose? Who followed him most closely?
When he calls Matthew, a sinful tax collector, then invests time with Matthew’s social circle...
Stop for a moment…this is God in the flesh…He. Invested. In. Sinners.
His presence alone demands change…and they did…and when the self-righteous, the ones who couldn’t see their own sin came and complained?
But the Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus replied to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Then they said to him, “John’s disciples fast often and say prayers, and those of the Pharisees do the same, but yours eat and drink.”
I added a verse past where we normally stop this section. Jesus calls them out, confirms his mission to those who know they need a savior and they jump straight to another comparison, judgement, and fight.
If you focus on where other people fail (and let’s be frank, even if you would acknowledge your own sin…you can do that only so you can point out the way others are worse) the mercy of Jesus, the full measure of his grace will miss you.
Not because he isn’t merciful…but because you can’t receive anything when your fingers are pointing.
Jesus was born into this world to save us from our sin…but also in the midst of it. Not simply to pay the fee so your sin doesn’t count, but he did it while you were still sinning!
That’s like paying a gambler’s debt while he’s placing more borrowed money on the boxing match.
That’s like turning the other cheek after someone slaps you
Doing good to someone still set on harming you
It doesn’t make sense, it is logical nonsense…it’s…mercy.
God gives mercy to those who fear him.
Jesus Came to save us in our circumstance, in our sin and even…even in our:
Success
Success
Listen to this again:
He has done a mighty deed with his arm; he has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; he has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.
Ok…sounds like it’s no bueno to be proud, mighty, or rich. Not good things…except…do you see the mercy?
What happens to the proud when they are scattered?
What happens to the mighty when they are toppled?
What is the result when the rich are emptied?
And what does God do for the humble?
for the lowly?
For the hungry?
He shows mercy.
If I had a nickel for every time I heard a powerful man or woman of faith describe the worst times in their life, then pause…and say, I wouldn’t change a thing…because that taught me to
trust God
rest in God
experience God’s love and presence
Well if I had a nickel for each of those, I’d have a lot of nickels.
In the last picture from the life of Jesus, we hear him in essence embarrass his opponents, they are humbled before his response…or they should have been. They had the opportunity to be…
And I firmly believe it broke Jesus’ heart when they wouldn’t budge.
But Jesus will save you in the midst of your pride, wealth, and success if you will receive it. If you will recognize the humble position you are really in as you stand before the Lord there is mercy.
And please, if you are poor, don’t think you can’t be prideful, don’t think this isn’t you.
One of the stories that gets me every time is the rich young man who came to Jesus ready to receive mercy…except he wasn’t…he was looking for eternal life…but if it was going to cost him…well, after declaring to Jesus that he has kept the commands since his youth, Jesus says this:
Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
Jesus looked at him. Same thing God did for Mary, and he loved him, same way God loved Mary, and invited him into mercy.
The pride in the man didn’t want to be humbled. The rich didn’t want to be emptied. His might wouldn’t be toppled. And he went away grieving.
At Christmas time we celebrate the birth of our savior. We are reminded by Mary, that we also celebrate the birth of our king. A king with a kingdom. A kingdom of mercy, a kingdom of love, a kingdom where the humble are exalted, the lowly raised, the hungry filled.
For you this morning, if you (poor, rich or inbetween have never traded the kingdom of this world for the kingdom of the God who created you, today is that day. I urge you to make that decision and be restored to your God.
For those of us who have claimed Christ, are we living like citizens of the kingdom of our God, the kingdom of mercy, or the kingdom of this world?
As we step into a new year,
how will you fill the hungry?
how will you give hope to the hopeless?
How will you love the unlovable?
We are the hands and feet of the king and his kingdom.
Choose today to live like those in that kingdom.