Treasuring the Birth of Christ this Christmas Morn

Treasuring the Birth of Christ this Christmas Morn

Luke 2:1-19

Have you ever had a day where things came at you so quickly that you don't even have time to absorb all that's going on, but then later, in a quiet moment, you are able to reflect on all that happened, not only thinking about it, but letting the emotion of it sweep over you?

I remember the day my daughter Jennifer got married. It was an incredible day - a wonderful, amazing day. But it was also an incredibly busy day. The activities started early in the morning and it was one thing after another coming at us so quickly that it was hard to take it all in. After it was all over, probably around 10pm I remember walking out to the parking lot to my car and for pretty much the first time all day it was quiet. Peaceful and quiet. And the emotions hit me of all that had happened and what it all meant. Joy and happiness, along with some bittersweet sadness and the realization that life had just changed forever all swept over me in that moment. Finally in the quiet there was time to process what it all meant.

Luke tells us that something like that happened to Mary. Things were coming at her so fast that it was overwhelming. An angel appeared to her and announced that she would have a child conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. Then her fiancé Joseph found out she was pregnant he decided to divorce her, and would have except that at the last minute an angel intervened and told Joseph that the baby inside of Mary wasn't the result of unfaithfulness, he was the Son of God. Then the census forced them to travel to Bethlehem which was so crowded because of the census that there was no inn open for them to stay in. At the last minute they are offered a stable, and Mary gives birth to a son in a noisy, smelly stable. Then while they're still trying to process all that had happened, some shepherds break in telling this fantastic story about angels that appeared to them heralding the birth of the Savior. It's one thing after another coming at Mary, rapid fire.

But after everything quieted down and the shepherds left, Luke writes that Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. Mary treasured and she pondered. In her heart and mind she was working through what all these things meant, turning them over in her mind but also treasuring them in her heart. She wasn't just thinking about the facts, she was allowing the emotions to sweep over her, to treasure the riches that God had blessed her life with. This Christmas morning, I want to encourage all of us to take a few minutes to do the same: to ponder and treasure all these things. To do that, we need to do what Mary did: we need to quiet our hearts.

Christmas can be a busy, noisy time - let's quiet our hearts

Things had been crazy and wild and wonderful for Mary, but verse 19 is a quiet verse. She found the time and quieted her heart to take in everything that had happened, to ponder what it all meant, and to treasure it in her heart.

Christmas can be a noisy time for us. A lot of it is good noise: shopping for presents and parties, Christmas music, favorite Christmas movies, getting together with family, Christmas services, and many other things make it a wonderful time of year, but also a busy - and noisy - time of the year. We hear about Jesus, we talk about the birth of our Savior, we sing about joy to the world, but the depth of meaning and joy that is the message of Christmas can fail to penetrate our hearts in the hecticness of our schedules. And if you're like me, that hecticness and noisiness gets into your mind so that even when the outside is quiet, the inside - inside our minds and hearts - is still noisy and active and hectic. To connect with the deeper meaning of Christmas and to connect with what it means to our lives we need to quiet our hearts and our minds.

So let's take a moment right now to pray and ask the Lord to quiet our hearts in His presence. To silence the noise so we can hear His still small voice. Let's pray.

Mary pondered and treasured all that God was doing on that first Christmas morning, and it is most appropriate that on this Christmas morning we also ponder and treasure all that God did and continues to do through the birth of Jesus. As the full meaning of all that took place swept over Mary, she must have been amazed at the size and scope of all what was taking place in her life.

1. Mary pondered the enormity of what God was doing that Christmas morning

God was doing something massive right before Mary's eyes. Sometimes it's good to look at something that is so much bigger than we are and just be awed by its size and scope. To look at the stars at night and think about how vast the universe is, and how small we are. Janice says that being by the ocean does that for her. It's so big that it helps her put things in perspective - our lives (and problems and weights and concerns) seem smaller, and that can be a good thing.

All that God was doing at Jesus' birth was massive. Thousands of years of promises made by God were fulfilled that Christmas morning. Thousands of years of prayers for the Messiah to come were answered that Christmas morning. All of redemptive history before Jesus was born pointed to this moring, and all of redemptive history since his birth would point back to that morning. Think about just that aspect of how big what God was doing for a moment: when we were born we all entered history, and we make our splash on history. Most of us (let's be honest), that splash is a pretty small one. Maybe more like a plink than a splash. Barely a ripple. Really famous or really powerful people might make a greater impact on history but it's still just a ripple that, for the most part, is forgotten before too long. Jesus didn't make a splash, his birth was a tidal wave that not only rippled forward for all history carrying everything in its wake, but it also rippled backwards for all history carrying everything before him in its wake. Jesus didn't impact history, he was and is the epicenter of all history. All that God did before his birth and all that God has done since his birth is completely centered on him. That's huge!

Mary might have reflected on the fact that her baby son was born not only the king of Israel, but the King of kings and Lord of lords. And he was born the Savior of the world. She didn't know all the details but one day he would give his life up to be crucified in order to save all who believe in him. The Lord of the universe was lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes, how amazing is that? This Christmas morning we should treasure Christ by thinking about the enormity of what God was doing when He sent Christ. It is good for our souls to see how small we are, how small our lives and how insignificant our struggles are, when compared to the vastness and enormity of Christ coming to earth as a baby.

2. Mary also pondered the intimacy of what God was doing that Christmas morning

Mixed in with the enormity of all that God was doing must have been a sense of the intimacy of what God was doing - how personal and close and intimate God's work was in and through her.

I mentioned that I enjoy looking at the stars at night to consider their vastness, and it helps me realize how small I am, but there is also a coldness and insignificance that it makes me feel. I am awed by stars millions of light years away, but I never feel loved by them. They are enormous but they aren't intimate. The universe is vast and enormous, but it is also distant and cold and impersonal.

But as Mary held baby Jesus, she could feel the warmth of his body, the warmth of his breath on her face. God singled out Mary and chose her for the honor of being the mother of the Lord, the Savior, the Son of God. That Jesus was God and the Messiah and the Savior was enormous. That Jesus was her baby boy was intimate.

Christmas is about God's vast and glorious plan of salvation, but it comes to each of us in a very personal way. Jesus doesn't save us en masse, he saves each of us individually as we come to him in faith. The Savior becomes my Savior, your Savior. This Christmas morning, let's treasure the intimate love of our God. He knows and loves you. He knows you so intimately that he has counted every hair on your head. And if a few fell out this morning when you brushed it, God updated His number! Why? Why would Jesus even tell us this? He's telling us how valuable we are to God our Father.

What God did at Christmas is as vast (vaster) in scope than the universe is in distance. But it is as intimate as a baby lying in a mother's arms. It's about Jesus drawing near to you and to me in loving relationship. There is no problem too big or too small that you can't bring it to the Lord. There is no worry you can't lay at his feet. No sin you can't confess honestly to the Lord and ask his forgiveness for. No part of your life that God doesn't know about or care about.

And if you've never known the intimate and enormous love of God personally, won't you ask Jesus into your heart to be your Lord and Savior this morning. What better day could there be for inviting Jesus into your life than Christmas Day?

Let's quiet our hearts and ponder the birth of our Savior, and treasure him. He is our dearest friend, our Savior, our King, and our greatest treasure. Let's come and offer him our worship, love, and praise this Christmas morning.