The Amazing Story of Christmas
By Rev. Brent J. Eelman.
Luke 1: 46-56 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." And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.
"It’s the most wonderful time of the year." Those are the words of the secular carol that in many ways captures the hearts of people during this season. It is more than just a buying frenzy. We can complain about the commercialization of the holiday, but underlying it all is the reality of human hopefulness. We go through the familiar songs and the stories. The television this week will run the holiday movies and we will experience once again the drama of Scrooge, The Bishop’s wife, It’s A Wonderful Life, The Velveteen Rabbit and all the others. These are the stories of hope that capture our soul, hope that can stand up the cynicism of this age, hope even in the most hopeless of human situations.
So we watch Scrooge, the miserable miser, and for just a moment we participate in the hope that human nature can change. We believe that something beyond this life can enter ours and transform it.
We are touched by the presence of the angel in the Bishop’s Wife and once again we experience some hope that priorities can change, that idealism and faith will triumph.
We watch It’s a Wonderful Life and once again are touched that even in the midst of despair and depression, life is good, and that we do make a difference, and we do have a purpose. Life itself is meaningful and each of us significant. It’s the most wonderful time of the year, because the sophisticated cynicism of our age confronts the human spirit and all its hopes. But these stories filled with hope are possible because of one story… the amazing story of Christmas, and if we look at the hopes that are reflected in our Christmas stories we will see that they are but modern versions of that first story. I As we move toward the end of this millennium a number of news programs have been interviewing people asking them what is the most significant question or problem that we human beings face. The question was posed to President Clinton. He responded that the most important question is: "What is the meaning of life?" It is not a new question. I like best in the children’s book The Velveteen Rabbit. The rabbit asks the Skinhorse: "What does it mean to be real?" Humanity struggles to understand the meaning of life. We struggle to be real. Deep in our being we believe that we are more than a lump of flesh and bones, but that we were created for a purpose. Even in the midst of tragedy and horror, we still believe. The question about the meaning of life is at the heart of the first Christmas story.
Today’s text is the Magnificat or Song of Mary. Let’s set the scene. Mary is a teenage girl, pregnant and unmarried. Her betrothed, Joseph, faces a difficult choice, end the relationship quietly or marry her. Both have implications. Joseph would become the father, who isn’t the father if he marries her. If he does not consummate the marriage, Mary faces a desperate situation. She will be alienated and regarded as impure. She and her child will be forced to beg and glean for a living. A sixteen-year-old should not have to wrestle with the meaning of life, and yet often circumstances are such that they must. And they do. Mary’s song should be a blues, but it is a song of rejoicing!
The child kicks in her womb, and the young woman speaks ecstatically, and in those words are captured the amazing story of this season. Her words capture the hopes that we attach to this season. Her words capture the human search for meaning, even in times of despair. The hope that she sings is a revolutionary hope. It is a statement that the injustices, the sorrows, the pains, the despair that exist in the world will be reversed. It is a statement of hope that says a new day has begun.
But it is also a statement about the meaning of life. What is the meaning of another pregnant teenager? Everything! She declares who she is. She is not a statistic! She is not a tragic story. She is not in despair. She is a servant of God. She may regard herself as lowly and unimportant, yet she knows that the God whom she serves looks with favor upon her. God loves her. Thus she magnifies God. She glorifies God with her entire being, and in good Presbyterian form, enjoys the presence of God in her life.
It is the Christmas story. What hope should this young woman, Mary, have? She should despair her circumstance, and yet she sings of hope. Her life is transformed and filled with joy and hope. It is the Christmas story and all the stories that fall on our ears in this holiday season find their genesis in that story. II But let us not lose the message of that story. We hope and we search for meaning. The great literature, music, films and art express this search. But our advertising does also. Something seems to be missing. Something is not here. There is part of us that wants to believe that what is missing is a Pentium III computer, or the latest toy, or some article of clothing…we might take a step from the realm of the material, and speak of relationships that are missing in our lives…. We can fill our lives with things and people… and still know that ancient hunger. It is a hunger and thirst for purpose and meaning in life. It a hunger for hope, genuine hope that will transform and change the absurdity and pain of our existence. The Christmas story, the amazing story speaks to that hunger and feeds it. Mary, the mother of Jesus, gives us the key to the treasure chest of life’s meaning. III The first is to serve. Mary describes herself as a servant of God. That is the right relationship between a person and God. We live in a day and age of technology, tools and technique. We hope and we pray for a God who will serve us, but Mary turns that view upside down.
One of the great stories of western literature is the Fisher King. Ultimately it is a story of the human search for meaning. It is the story of the Holy Grail, the chalice of Christ from the Last Supper. The knights must leave the security of the castle to pursue the Grail, and to find it, they must answer the question, "Whom does the Grail serve?" The answer is "The Grail serves Christ" It is a wonderful story of the human search for meaning, and it concludes that we discover meaning by serving and loving God. We were created to serve God and to serve those whom God loves… our fellow human beings.
But there is more. Mary says: "My soul magnifies the Lord." We were created to glorify God. I keep thinking about Mary and her miserable circumstances, and am moved by the spirit that is able to rise above these things and sing. I am moved by the reality that with all the gifts that will be given this season, each of us is offered a wonderful gift. It is the gift of hope and purpose. We unwrap that gift by glorifying God. We unwrap that gift by singing and magnifying God. The gift becomes a reality as we use it…serving God and others.
It is an amazing story and I believe all the stories of this season, the stories that touch and grab our hearts, find their genesis in this story. And so we sing this season: Come let us adore him, come let us adore him. Christ the King.… In that adoration and service. The amazing gift is given. Through serving the child in the manger.. we are made real.
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