We have had a little touch of winter this week. It reminds us that the days of slippery roads and bitter cold are just around the corner. Let's face it, the beauty of freshly fallen snow is breathtaking. Driving in it is something else. Anyone who lives in the Midwest understands that one of the first responsibilities of winter driving is to keep the windshield washer fluid full. During the winter months slush, snow and ice can make it very difficult to see out your windshield. I've had to pull over to the side of the road on occasion to clear ice out of windshield wipers or to wipe off a windshield that had become so blurry I couldn't see. And any driver knows if you can't see clearly, you are one step away from disaster.
But this is not only true of winter driving. This morning I want to talk to you about maintaining a clear focus in the Christmas season. At Christmas time it is easy to get so caught up in the activity and demands of the season that we don't even notice that our sight is becoming hindered. We don't see that our values and perspective are becoming clouded. It is common for us to travel through the holiday season without even realizing where we have been. If we want to experience the Christmas we have always longed for, we must maintain a Christ-centered focus.
During this Advent Season we have set out to look at Mary and to see what we could learn from her. In our text this morning we see the wonderful words called the Magnificat. What makes these words so powerful is realizing what was going on when Mary said them.
The story of Mary is wonderfully powerful. A common teenager (with an uncommon faith) is asked by God to be the Mother of the Messiah. She is asked to give her body as a home for God incarnate (God in human form). Rather than object, or even ask a host of questions (like I would do), Mary says, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."
Nothing is said as to when Mary became pregnant. We can only speculate that at that very moment when she agreed, the child was placed in her womb. She went straight to the home of Aunt Elizabeth and when she arrived she was blessed as the Mother of the Lord. Mary then utters this tremendous song. She worships, testifies and rejoices in the midst of this tremendous (and terrifying?) calling from the Lord. This is a woman who saw clearly. Her vision was unencumbered.
You see, what is most remarkable about this story is what we don't find,
Do you understand how astounding this is? Consider how different things might have been if she had counseled with her friends first. Consider how different things would have been if she had counseled with her Rabbi first. Do you think these counselors would have told her to "go for it?" I don't think so. I think anyone she talked to would have built doubt in her mind.
And what if she had stopped to consider what could happen.
We lose our focus when we allow other voices to crowd out the voice of God. We lose focus when public opinion and divine counsel are given an equal footing. Mary didn't let that happen.
Let me suggest three evidences for Mary having a clear focus. First, Mary listened. Mary heard the angel. She heard what the angel was asking and heard what the angel was telling her to do. We have such a difficult time discerning the voice of the Lord in our lives . . . too many competing voices. We hear the voice of public opinion, the voice of our sinful desires, the voice of fear, the whisper of Satan and his army.
The story is told of a native American from a reservation in the southwest part of the country who won a trip to New York City. He chose to cash in his prize at Christmastime. Among the holiday lights, amplified music, bustling shoppers, and jammed traffic of Manhattan, the young man walked alongside his host, wide-eyed, drinking in the sights and sounds of Christmas in the city. As he passed a shrub near a busy intersection, he stopped and reached down to street level retrieving a small cricket. "How in the world in all this city noise could you have heard that?" his host exclaimed, amazed.
Just then as a commuter bus pulled to the curb and a mob of humanity pushed and shoved to board, a quarter fell out of someone's pocket and landed on the cement. At the sound of the coin hitting the pavement, a dozen people turned to see where the money was. "You see," said the visitor, "we hear what we are accustomed to hearing, no matter how noisy it might or might not be."
We can be trained to hear the negative in any comment; trained to hear the opening for exploitation; trained to hear fear. In the midst of a deafening gymnasium a player can learn to hear the voice of the coach or of a teammate. Mary, had learned to hear the voice of the Lord. She had trained her ear for His whisper.
Second, Mary submitted. She could have complained. She could have resisted. She could have tried to buy more time. Instead, she was willing to accept as good whatever the Lord gave her. Mary believed that God was in charge and that God is good. If it came from His hand, then it was beneficial, even if she didn't understand at the time. I could learn a lot from Mary. Much that comes my way I greet with grumbling and complaint. This last week the people of Paducah, KY. were encouraged to realize that the Lord's plan is good . . . even when circumstances are confusing. I know I would struggle if it was my child who had been killed. But God is good. Hearing those words is one thing, submitting to that truth is another.
Thirdly, Mary obeyed. She went to see Elizabeth. Her obedience served as a wonderful confirmation of the angels' words. Her obedience also served as a great testimony to the wisdom of God in choosing Mary for this responsibility. How simple and clear life would be if we would learn to do what God tells us to do. We spend much of our time trying to "figure out" what God has already made plain. The focused person sees God's will and does it.
It's so easy to lose our focus. We can be busy doing things that seem religious. We can fight for good causes, we can campaign against sinful abuses and still lose our focus. This Christmas I read a fun and powerful little book called AWAY WITH THE MANGER. In this book a city is torn apart over whether or not a manger scene can be placed on the property of City Hall. It gets very heated at times. I won't tell you the plot but I do need to read to you something from the end of the book . . . something the Pastor says on Christmas day.
It's easy to hold a poster or wear a T-shirt, but it's harder to really live what you believe.
Now I've been talking to myself here the last few minutes as much as anybody. I got caught up in the fight and got swept along like a lot of you on both sides. But the whole thing comes down to this: if we believe that the God of the universe invaded time and space for us, how far will we go to communicate his message to others? How much love will we show to people who are against us?
The message of Christmas is this, friends. The same little baby who felt the straw in the manger felt the nails on the cross. The same baby those smelly old shepherds came to see was the very Lamb of God who came to take away our sins. And if we can sit here being forgiven by the holy God of the universe, and turn around and spit venom at the people who don't know him, then God help us. We've missed it, friends. We've missed the whole reason for Christmas. [Chris Fabry, AWAY WITH THE MANGER P. 91-2]
This Pastor had finally scrapped the mud from his windshield. He regained his focus. What about you? It's possible that you no longer see clearly. It's also possible that you see fine (You think) at present but you want to make sure you continue to see clearly. So, Let me give you ten ideas for how to keep your "windshield" clear this Christmas season. These are practical things you can do to keep the Savior in focus this Christmas (I'm grateful to David Mains for many of these ideas). What we are trying to do is emphasize that to experience the miracle of Christmas we must focus on what is truly God-honoring.
Do you see what we are doing? We're trying to regain our focus. We're trying to keep Christ where He belongs....in the center of our celebration. I encourage you to begin by doing what Mary did, tell the Lord that you want to glorify him this season. Ask Him to show you what He wants you to do.
I don't know what will help you. But what won't work, is getting so caught up in all the secondary things that we lose sight of what is truly central. And when we lose sight of what is central we are no longer honoring God . . . we are no longer celebrating Christmas. . . all we are doing is buying into the world's excuse for a party. I don't think you want that. I don't think you want to be distracted. You can't do all these things I've suggested and neither can I. But we can do some. Pick one or two and begin making Christ the focus of your Christmas.
And dear friend, as you move closer to Christmas do you understand what it is all about? All the gimmicks in the world will not work until you have come into a personal relationship with the Savior. If you want to start truly celebrating Christmas you have to start by turning to the one who alone can cleanse you from the stains of your foolish choices and rebellion in the past. You must start by letting Jesus be Your Savior. And the best part about it? You can do so right now. Receive God's gift for you . . . it will change your perspective on everything else. It will enable you to see clearer than you have ever seen before. It will be the first step in making this a Christmas worth remembering.