December 24, 2023
Well, I am guessing that most of you have been pretty busy! So, I want to take a moment to slow things down and give you a chance to take a deep breath. Just take a deep breath in and out. Just breathe. I want to say, from my family to every one of you, Merry Christmas! Pray you experience the joy of God this Christmas, more than ever!
I have a question: If a tree falls in a woods, and no one hears it, does it make a sound? There are scientific answers where they say if no one perceives the sound, there is no sound. But that doesn’t make much sense to me. I say Yes! The falling tree makes a sound!
If God does something great, but we don’t remember, did God do something great? Yes! But if we don’t look back and remember, we live as if God isn’t doing something great!
There’s a quote from the famous theologian, Dr. Seuss: “Sometimes you don’t know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” We’ve been talking the last three weeks about moments: Joseph’s moment of obedience, Mary’s moment of Surrender, and last week the Shepherds’ moment. In the story of Jesus’ birth, an angel appeared to the shepherds and said, “I bring you good news of great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you, you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” The Shepherds had their moment of no hesitation, hurrying to see the baby Jesus. They saw him and told everyone about what the angel had said.
There is a verse tucked in there, that is easy to miss: Luke 2 verse 19, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” I think she knew, “Sometimes you don’t know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” She must have been excited and exhausted! Still, she took a moment to think about it all.
Today we’re talking about a moment of remembering: Mary’s moment of treasuring up and pondering memories.
Mary was not carried around by angels. She didn’t have a life of ease. No, she was like all of us. She had the ups and downs of daily life. Lately she had been through a lot! She was pregnant, there was a census. Joseph tells her they have to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which is 90 miles, to register. Whether walking or riding on a donkey, that’s not easy when you’re pregnant! They probably had to sleep outside at night, while watching out for lions and bears and criminals! There was no Burger King, or Wawa or Scotto’s along the way, so maybe they had to just eat stale bread on their trip. The roads were dangerous roads. Then she gave birth, not with the help of a doctor, or midwife, not in a clean hospital, or at home, but out in a stable!
On the one hand, she’s so happy! The angel had told her that her baby would be special, and she loved her cute little guy! The shepherds said they heard from an angel that Jesus was the Messiah we’ve all been waiting for!
On the other hand, you know, how much can a person take? Her thoughts could have gone in a negative loop: I could be home right now! Stupid Joseph, why did he have to take this census so seriously? Stupid Bethlehem, why don’t they build more inns?
We all experience happy thoughts, but also negative thoughts. And which ones win out? When someone’s depressed, they find it hard to think of anything to be happy about. Life can seem hopeless. But if, like Mary, you make an effort to remember good things, you’ll be in a better mood, you’ll be less anxious and less stressed. You’ll feel calm and at peace.
Mary took a moment to treasure: to say, you know, God has really blessed me with good things in my life! I have things to treasure. And she also pondered: what is going on here? What is God up to?
Mary treasured. She looked at Joseph and maybe thought, “You know, he stood by me when he could have so easily NOT believed the story that our baby was conceived by the Holy spirit.” Maybe she looked at him in a different light and had peace. She treasured Joesph.
She looked at Jesus: the perfect little baby. I know she thought he was perfect! When my first baby was born, I thought he was the cutest baby in the nursery. That was not just me. Kevin heard what I said, he looked in the nursery, and he thought the same thing! Mary was in love with Jesus. Not because he was God’s son. But because moms love their babies! She treasured Jesus.
She thought about the shepherds and the good news they brought, that Jesus was a Savior. Mary even treasured the Shepherds! it was good to have visitors! Though she was probably glad they finally left, and she could take a nap! Mary treasured the people around her.
Then she pondered. What is going on here? What is God up to? She might have remembered the Scriptures. Mary didn’t know how to read. Maybe 1% of people could read back them, and no women. But she had listened to the Scriptures read in the synagogue. Growing up her family told her stories from the Scripture and quoted verses.
She thought, I remember that verse from Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel,” which means, God with us. And she thinks, maybe I’m the virgin. And she’s holding Immanuel, looking down at him and thinking, Yes, God is with me now and God has been with us every moment and every step of the way. Mary ponders, remembering the Scripture, and now she knows God is with her.
My challenge for you this week is to do what Mary did: stop and treasure the people around you. Think about how good it is that they are in your life and how God has blessed you with them. After you treasure, stop, and ponder. Read some Bible verses. Do they speak to you about how God is with you? Even while you live through difficulties, waiting and hoping for what you don’t have yet, God is with you. Even in uncertainty, God is with you. God is working, in his time bringing good into your life. God is faithful.
My hope is that you don’t let the good things God is doing in your life go unnoticed; that you look back and remember how good God is! Mary always looks so peaceful in the nativity. In the middle of the chaos she finds herself in: with a new baby in a strange town, animals around her, shepherds talking excitedly, Mary has more questions than answers. But she has this supernatural peace. She experiences the wonder of this moment. She probably thinks, “I never would’ve chosen to come here, and it’s not what I wanted for Jesus’ birth. But God has always been faithful. I feel peace, because God is with me.”
God is a friend that will never leave you. He’s a provider for your needs. He’s a healer. And no matter what you’ve done, he loves you perfectly. He is Emmanuel. God with us. Remember his goodness. Because sometimes you never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory. Amen.
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