Sermon I preached on Christmas Eve, 2005

Christmas Through Mary's Eyes
Text: Luke 1:46–55

1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This evening’s message comes from the Gospel of Luke 1:46-55 and is entitled “Christmas Through Mary’s Eyes.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Have you every wondered where we get all the different customs that we observe each Christmas season? Well I have. Many of these customs come from different cultures that have celebrated the Winter Solstice on Dec. 21st for thousands of years. For instance, for hundreds of years before Christ, people had worshiped the sun. Many who lived in the northern hemisphere noticed a time of the year when the sun god seemed to forsake them. Each day was a little shorter than the other. They thought that the sun’s light would leave them completely. But in the end, the god always relented and the days gradually became longer. At this time of the season people of northern Europe kindled lights and fires to help the sun god relight his lamp. They feasted and rejoiced at the thought of another spring. This was also the season when the ancient Romans would honor Saturn, the god of agriculture, with their Saturnalia festival. It was a time for visiting friends, exchanging gifts and for feasting and dancing. The Persians lit fires at the winter solstice in praise of Mithra, god of light. The ancient Egyptians held a festival that honored Isis, mother of the sun god Horus. All of these midwinter festivals hailed the victory of light and life.

2. We would probably recognize the celebrations of many ancient cultures around the end of December, even if Jesus hadn't been born yet. Did you know that Christmas was officially celebrated on December 25th in the year 350 AD when Pope Julius I set the probable date for Jesus’ birth? Christians had celebrated Christ’s birth into this world before then, but they had celebrated it at different times. Christians in most places accepted December 25th as the date of Jesus’ birth , but some disliked it because it was so closely linked with other pagan holidays. All of these celebrations have something in common; they all deal with celebrating life and light. Isn’t that what we do each Christmas season? We celebrate the birth of Jesus, the light of the world and His coming to save us from the darkness of all our sins and from the power of death. Christmas may mean different things to many people, but ironically many cultures throughout the centuries have celebrated the fact that during this time of the year light was coming back into the world. The reason Jesus’ birth is so special is that it reminds all of us that we’ve been given the gift of eternal life through Him. In heaven we’ll have an eternal light, because of the light that radiates from Him. That’s why I love all of the bright Christmas lights that we see around us during the Christmas and Advent seasons because they remind us of Jesus Christ’s birth into this world and His eternal light that He brings.

3. Mary says in Luke 1:46-48: "My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.” In many ways Mary is central to the Christmas story. This isn’t to say that she wants all of the attention put on her during this Christmas season. But what an honor and a joy it must have been for her to know that she was to conceive the Savior of the entire world! Can you imagine how she felt? She probably was scared at first, especially since she hadn’t formally married Joseph yet. The two of them were still engaged. In the eyes of the Jewish culture she was already married to Joseph, even though she wasn’t living in his home yet. She wasn’t supposed to have a child at this time and if the people found out about it she could have been stoned to death. Mary must have also known that many people would see that she was blessed at the fact that God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus, the Son of God. When she says that she’s blessed she doesn’t mean that all nations are going to consider her to be the holiest of all creatures or that she’ll be the mediator between God and man. What she means is that all generations are going to praise God because of the marvelous way in which He has honored her. We can see from the beginning verse of Mary’s song that she had a strong faith and was well-grounded in the Scriptures.

4. In Luke 1: 49 Mary says, “For the Mighty One has done great things for me-- holy is his name.” Mary knew that Jesus would be mighty. She may have been reflecting on Psalm 71:19 which says, “Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God, you who have done great things. Who, O God, is like you?" She’s thinking about the fact that God has lifted her from her humble state and bestowed on her the highest honor conceivable to be the mother of the Messiah. But, Mary realizes that the blessing of Jesus wasn’t just being given to her. It was also being given to all people. To you and to me. What she has experienced all people will also experience. The light of all the world was coming into the world. Mary knew that Jesus was God in the flesh. What wonder and amazement that must have been for her.

5. Mary also realizes that Jesus would be holy. Saying that Jesus' name was holy was very significant in the Jewish culture. To say that God is holy means that He’s separate and set apart. It means that God is lifted up infinitely high above all creatures. He’s above us including above all of our sins. This is described for us very well in Isaiah 6:1-5 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." There’s no doubt that Mary was conscious of her own sins and the fact that she was unworthy as Isaiah felt unworthy of bearing the Savior of the entire world, God Himself. Yet Mary knew that God was merciful and that He would make the world holy through His Son Jesus. Even today our world is craving for contact with something that’s powerful and just, someone that’s holy and that will cleanse us from all of our sinful deeds. You, I and Mary know that this powerful someone is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

6. In Luke 1:50 Mary says, “His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.” Here we can see that Mary knew that Jesus would be merciful. That He wouldn’t give us what we deserve, eternal punishment in hell, but the gift of eternal life through His death on the cross and sacrifice for all of our sins. Sure, Mary didn’t know how God was going to save the people from their sins, but she did know that this child that was going to be born was to be the way in which God would save His people. Keep in mind that if it wasn't for God's mercy, we would still view Christmas in the same way that the ancient cultures did. Only as a temporary solution to the problems of darkness and death.

7. The world needs to remember that Jesus is the center and focus of the Christmas season. Without him there would be no reason for celebrating the season of Christmas. He’s the reason for the season. Mary knew this from the start when she sang her song of praise to God here in the first chapter of Luke. If Mary were to see the way that many people celebrate Christmas today, she'd probably lament that they've missed both her Son and the point of it all. This Christmas season we’ve heard the stories of companies such as Walmart & Home Depot not allowing their employees to say “Merry Christmas.” There are also schools that have violated the constitutional rights of kids. Here’s a story of what happened to some kids at a school in Plano, Texas. When the children attended Winter Break Parties—formerly known as Christmas Parties—they were warned not to put anything of a religious nature in goody bags to be shared with friends. Teachers didn't hesitate to confiscate items like candy canes attached to cards explaining the Christian "Legend of the Candy Cane." Parents who helped out at these Winter parties, were told not to bring red or green napkins. After all, these were the colors of Christmas! Nor could students pass out tickets to a popular Christmas pageant held every year at a local church. They were even forbidden to say "Merry Christmas" to their classmates.

8. What a sad a story this is and I’m sure that Mary herself would be saddened at the thought of having the very name of Christ taken out of Christmas. As great as many of those ancient festivals that occurred before the birth of Christ were, we don’t want to take Christ out of our celebration of Christmas. Those ancient festivals that the Persians, Egyptians, Europeans and Romans celebrated were only concerned about life in the here and now. In C.S. Lewis’ book, "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe,” there’s a part in the story where Lucy is talking to Mr. Tumnus the fawn. Mr. Tumnus says that it’s been winter for almost 100 years ever since the White Witch had taken over. Lucy says that it must be great since they could celebrate each day like it were Christmas. But, Mr. Tumnus reminds her that there hasn’t been a Christmas for over 100 years. Lucy couldn’t believe this. How sad our world would be if this were so. If we had winter all year round without the season of light amidst all of the darkness. What Mary is reminded of in her song of praise to God is that Christ came into this world as a little baby to give us the gift of eternal life and His eternal light. How great a joy it is to know for all of us that He’s given us this great hope. What a joy it is to know that we are able to celebrate Christmas in the same way Mary did through her song of praise. It’s through the Christmas story that we know that one day we’ll go to heaven, a place where there is no darkness, where it’s a season of light all year round, because God Himself is there giving off that light. May we all remember that Christ is the center of the Christmas season and may we spread that message to all that we come into contact with, both this Christmas Eve and for many days to come! AMEN.