"Inviting Others to Christmas"
Luke 1:39-45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rev. Bruce Goettsche
Have you noticed what an odd time of year Christmas is? On the one hand, there is a great openness and cordial spirit among some people. Perfect strangers may strike up a conversation in a check out line. People seem more willing to help others. And there is certainly a much greater awareness of the needs of the people around us who are not as well off as we are.
But on the other hand it is also easy to become indifferent to the people around us. At Christmas people can also go crazy! Some consider every other shopper their mortal enemy. Some view every person in line at the checkout counter as if they are standing there for the express purpose of annoying and delaying them. We can get so focused and preoccupied with tasks to be accomplished that we walk right past each other without even seeing the other person!
This morning we are going to look at the story of Mary's relative Elizabeth and see if we can learn some things that will move us more toward the former approach to the season rather than the later. When the angel told Mary that she was going to be pregnant she pointed to her relative Elizabeth as someone who could testify of God's ability to do what He had promised. Elizabeth was probably Mary's aunt on her mother's side because we are told that Mary was descended from the tribe of Judah . . . Elizabeth was descended from the tribe of Levi. These lines of descent were figured from the father.
Speaking of lines of descent, you may have noticed that the genealogy in Matthew and the Genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3 are different. Matthew is most likely the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph. Luke is the genealogy of Jesus through Mary. By comparing these you see that both Mary and Joseph were both descendants of David (that is why Jesus is called a "son of David" 1:33) Joseph came from David's son Solomon, Mary came from David's son Nathan. So Jesus was descended from David biologically through Nathan and legally through Solomon.
But my focus this morning is not on the geneology of Jesus. I want to focus on the visit that Mary made to her aunt Elizabeth. Mary traveled 50-70 miles to visit her aunt. When she arrived Elizabeth greeted her warmly. She opened her home to Mary. She showed hospitality. This is where I direct your focus today.
FIRST, THIS WAS NOT CONVENIENT FOR ELIZABETH
In the beginning of this chapter we are told that this is Elizabeth's first child and for most of her life, she and Zechariah were considered barren. The fact of her pregnancy was a miracle. In verse 7 we read, "Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years." We are told in verse 26 that the announcement of Mary's pregnancy came in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. In verse 24 we are told that Elizabeth had gone into seclusion for five months. Was this because of the difficulty of the pregnancy???
I'm sure that Elizabeth was glad to see Mary but, at her age and her state of pregnancy a house guest that stayed for three month (v. 56) would not have been welcomed by most of us. But Elizabeth welcomed Mary with no questions asked. Well, not really. She did ask one: "why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" There is no complaint here. Elizabeth says she is honored to have Mary in her home.
There is an important and too often neglected principle here: one of the best ways to show the light of Christ is to open our homes to others. Relationships take a different turn when we share our homes with each other. Biblical hospitality is more than getting together with friends. It is a matter of sharing Christ with others through acts of warmth and kindness. Hospitality is a practical work of Christian faith. Jesus told us,
Peter told us, "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." (1 Peter 4:9). Paul wrote, "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." (Hebrews 13:1,2) Hospitality is a ministry.
Chuck Swindoll writes,
There's something about sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee or a sandwich. Something about taking time. . . making time. I am fully aware that there are times when we need to be alone. But not all the time. [Hope Again p. 191]
There is a second principle we must keep in mind: when we give of ourselves to others, we honor Christ. There is the great parable that Jesus tells in Matthew 25:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” [Matthew 25:34-46)
We show love for Christ by how we treat each other. Loving God is not primarily theological or theoretical . . . it's practical. Here's a great story to drive home the point,
The store owner said, "Do you see that bus bench over there? There's a woman who comes there every day around this time. She sits there for about and hour, knitting and waiting. Buses come and go, but she never gets on one and no one ever gets off for her to meet. The other day, I carried her a cup of coffee and sat with her for awhile.
"Her only son lives a long way away. She last saw him two years ago, when he boarded one of the buses right there. He is married now, and she has never met her daughter-in-law or seen their new child. She told me, "It helps to come here and wait. I pray for them as I knit little things for the baby, and I imagine them in their tiny apartment, saving money to come home. I can't wait to see them.
The owner continued, saying, he had looked out just now and there they were, getting off the bus. The look on her face when they fell into her arms and when she saw that grandchild for the first time was the nearest thing to pure joy he had ever seen. He said, "I'll never forget that look as long as I live."
The next day the same man returned to the convenience store. The owner was again behing the counter. Before he could say or do anything, He asked, "You sent her son the money for the bus tickets, didn't you?"
The store owner looked back with eyes full of love and a smile that was the nearest thing to pure joy this man had ever seen. He replied, "Yes, I sent him the money. I'll never forget that look as long as I live."
Is there someone you could reach out to? Is there some act of kindness you could do that would invite people to worship the Christ of Christmas?
ELIZABETH OPENED HER HOME BECAUSE SHE HAD KNOWN GRACE HERSELF
As we said, Elizabeth had resigned herself to childlessness. Then God in one of His wonderful surprises did something incredible in Elizabeth's life. After receiving such a great gift, her heart that was filled with gratitude was eager to share her joy and to share God's grace with others.
It was an amazing thing that God did for Zechariah and Elizabeth (we'll talk more about them next week). But what God has done for everyone who comes to Christ in faith is far greater. Our Lord has freed us from a death sentence. He has freed us from drudgery. He has freed us from hopelessness. God has brought us not only forgiveness . . . he has filled us with life. If you use the analogy of a paramedic . . . God has not only kept us from dying . . . as has cured us of our terminal disease!
The Bible tells us that God wanted a relationship with His people but His people (us) continued to wander away from Him with indifference and arrogance. We did not want to submit to His Lordship. We did not believe His love. We did not trust His intentions. So we did our own thing. We knew His commands but ignored them. We developed an appetite for the immediate and the temporary and gave no thought to the eternal. And, when we did think about the eternal we imagined that it was something we could earn by being better than most people. We imagined ourselves to be "gods in the making".
In the midst of this arrogance, God did not turn away. He pursued us, provided for us, and sought to get our attention through the blessings and trials of life. In some wonderfully mysterious way, God became a man Himself. He showed us God's love and character by His acts of compassion and His straightforward instruction. His death on the cross was designed to eliminate a giant barrier between us and God - our past record. Christ died so that justice could be down (by punishing wrong) and so that we could be set free to love Him. Jesus because our substitute. He suffered what we deserved so that we could experience and know, what we could never deserve. The resurrection of Jesus proved that He was who He said He was . . . and consequently, that He did what He said He had done. Because of Jesus the foolishness of our past can be forgiven. The heinous things that we did are expunged from our record. The horrible things that have happened to us, can be overcome. The future that seemed so uncertain is guaranteed.
Now, in light of what God has done for us, should we not also be grateful? One of the best ways of showing gratitude is to extend love as He has loved us. We are called to give a message of hope and healing to a world running frantically looking for that very thing. And the best way to do this is to demonstrate love by opening our homes and our hearts. Christian Hospitality is one of the best ways to show our thanks to God.
ELIZABETH'S HOSPITALITY ENRICHED BOTH MARY AND ELIZABETH
Certainly Mary and Elizabeth encouraged each other. Elizabeth found strength in the wonderful confirmation of her baby jumping in her womb when Mary came in. And surely Mary found strength to go home and tell her "seemingly unbelievable story" to he fiancee Joseph.
As a Pastor I find that one of the most difficult things to do is go and visit people. It's not that it is distasteful, it is that it takes energy that is too often stolen by other demands. But one thing I have discovered, I never make a visit without feeling that I have been enriched. Hopefully, I have shown love to another . . .always I am glad I made the effort.
It is certainly possible . . . maybe even probable that you will never know how much your smile, your generosity, the meal you shared, or the card you send meant to someone else. But if you are ever on the receiving end you know that an act of kindness is never forgotten. . . by the individual . . .or by our Father in Heaven.
She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.
He remembered a past kindness of a friend
And wrote him a thank-you letter.
The friend was so pleased with the thank you
That he left a large tip after lunch.
The waitress, surprised by the size of the tip,
Bet the whole thing on a hunch.
The next day she picked up her winnings,
And gave part to a man on the street.
The man on the street was grateful;
For two days he'd had nothing to eat.
After he finished his dinner,
He left for his small, dingy room.
He didn't know at that moment
That he might be facing his doom.
He picked up a shivering puppy,
And took him home to get warm.
The puppy was very thankful
To be in and out of the storm.
That night the house caught on fire.
The puppy barked the alarm.
He barked till he woke the whole household
And saved everybody from harm.
One of the boys that was rescued
Grew up to be President.
All this because of a smile
That hadn't cost her a cent.
An act of kindness and love changes a life. Think about the kindness that have impacted you,
These are all acts that could fall under this heading of hospitality. Think of how you were changed . . . and then set out to pass that blessing on to others.
CONCLUSIONS
To wrap this up this morning I am going to give you some specific suggestions for this holiday season . . . some are mine and some of these are from the Mainstay Church Resources Advent devotional. Some you may find attractive and helpful. Others you may conclude are "not your style". How you FEEL about them is really not the issue . . . what you DO with them is the issue.
Use your imagination and ask God to give you some ideas. Remember the goal is not only to show someone a kindness. . . the goal is to point them toward the light of life; Jesus. Elizabeth welcomed her niece into her home even though it was not a particularly convenient time. She acted in this way because she had experienced God's love and was glad to be able to share it with others. I suspect that at the time, Elizabeth would have told you that letting Mary into her home for three months was really no big deal. That's what most people who practice hospitality say. But I hope you have seen this morning that simple acts of kindness ARE a big deal. They can be the very acts God uses to strengthen a weary soul, to reveal love to a hardened heart, or even to turn a rebel into a child of God.