Hava MARY Christmas?

Well, I’ll go ahead and get this started…I guess everyone has too many Martha things going on right now to respond…just kidding!

There is a gem buried in the midst of the Christmas story that is most insightful about another Mary Christmas moment. The angels had just appeared to the shepherds and had told them “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord”. A “great company of heavenly hosts” had appeared, etc…It then says the shepherds were spreading the good news of what they had seen and were told - and it says everyone was amazed! But while everyone else had a reaction of amazement to this news, Mary (the mother of Jesus) had a different kind of reaction from everone else. One that was deeper, personal and reflective:

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

I hope we can all take a moment, like Mary to ponder what the birth of Christ means to us personally. I am someone who loves symbolism and analogy so something I always ponder at this time of year is that we celebrate Christmas at the time of year when the days are shortest and darkest. Yet at this darkest moment, Jesus Christ, the light of the world, breaks into this world. It doesn’t matter to me that Christmas may or may not be the actual time of year of Christ’s birth…to me the reflection is true that in my darkest hour he brought light and love and life to me. So I treasure and ponder that in my heart.

Jeff,

You did a good thing my man, you have made me think about a Sunday sermon/discussion past 3pm on Sunday.

I love the push of the series that you began this weekend. I mean what if we were more Christ like during the Christmas season? Funny to think of it that way isn’t it? So I get it, the premise makes sense and I’m 100% with you in philosophy but… I’m having a hard time with the focus of these ideals specific to just the Christmas season. As a follower of Christ I grow just as weary of the “push to be Christian” during the holidays as I do of the overt commercialism that comes with the holidays. I understand the hook to focus on Christ more around Christmas but it all feels a bit like a high school mountain top experience.

I guess what I’m saying is, what if we acted on the idea of living out the kingdom everyday? What if each day was a celebration of Christ’s birth, sacrifice and resurrection?

You know, I think the truth is that I strive for consistency in my life and definitely in my spiritual life. I think if I’m honest what I’m looking for is validation that my ideal of consistency is a healthy target.

Yesterday we had the most challenging Christmas discussion I’ve ever heard. I love the idea of relational giving all through the year. A Great way to broaden our ideas on how to show love the way Jesus did.

My mind is busy trying to challenge myself not just now but all the time. The test we took helped me see through all the material stuff and realize I too want a more intense way to show caring and giving back to those who care the most. IMHO, I see this message as the true meaning of giving.

My “Mary” Moment was yesterday night when I saw a movie with my daughter called “The Christmas Shoes.” I had just heard the song from the group NewSong that the movie was based on. I could actually see and feel the love of the giving when the man paid for the shoes for the boys mother. What a great example of giving in the truest sense. That man reached out when he was hurting himself and felt his heart grow. My daughter and I spent time yesterday talking about giving and what we would like to do regarding relational giving. This movie illustrated what we talked about in church. I admit that we both cried just seeing the intensity of the giving, and our hearts were touched by God’s love.

Great Work Jeff and the worship team!