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Good Morning!
It is
good to see you in worship, given the fact that you only have
a few more hours before all the stores close. I'm guessing
that you are among that small percentage of people who have
your Christmas shopping done!
I
don't know how it is with you, but every year as my family
grows older the shopping grows more and more challenging;
especially the nieces and nephews with their changing interests
... too old for toys ... not knowing their taste in music
or clothing. And especially my parents, who already have everything
they need, and for whom buying another knick knack only adds
to an overstuffed house of things sitting here and there.
Every
year I find it more difficult to find the ultimate Christmas
gift for members of my family. So I, like many of you, have
often resorted to the notorious "Christmas list".
Right after Thanksgiving you decide whom it is that you intend
to buy for and make a list of what it is they want. You go
out and buy it, wrap it, and put your name on it. Then come
Christmas morning you watch as they open it and pretend to
have a look of surprise.
But you
know, there just isn't much fun in this kind of shopping.
It feels more like a trip to the grocery store ... or a whole
number of grocery stores. I find myself going from one store
to the next, trying to find the item on the list, and then
trying to decide which one is the better brand until my head
starts to spin. The excitement just isn't there.
In fact,
my sister-in-law often jokes about how much easier it would
be to just have each of us go out and buy what we want for
ourselves ... the frying pan that she wants, and the popcorn
popper that I want. We could wrap our own gift and put a tag
on it that says it is from each other.
More often
that not, with the large number of chain and department stores,
when I really don't know what to get someone, I buy them a
gift certificate. In many ways, I believe this is the way
to go. Think about it. You save both money and time not having
to buy a lot of extra wrapping paper and tags. You save space
and the headache of trying to keep track of various receipts.
You don't have to worry about size, or even know what they
want or like ... just pick a price you want to spend, and
choose a store.
All of
which brings me to the question. What would happen if we received
a gift that we really didn't think we wanted? One without
a price tag or receipt? One that's not the right size? Fails
to fit our taste or isn't what we expected? How would we respond?
What would we do with it?
In this
morning's gospel reading, Mary receives such a gift. One without
a price tag, doesn't fit, not exactly what she hoped for or
expected. Yet, I'd like to suggest it is these features which
help to make it the ultimate Christmas gift. I'd invite us
to take a few moments to look at each of these, beginning
with Mary receiving a gift that has no price tag.
I suspect
I'm like many of you. When I go to the store to buy a gift,
I have a pretty good idea of what I want to spend. So, I look
at the tags before making my final choice. But you can imagine
what it would be like to simply go into the store and buy
something without ever looking at the price tag; to walk up
to the cash register with something you might have guessed
was $25 and hear the cashier say $150 ... and then, because
you really care about the person, buy it anyway!
When the
angel comes to visit Mary with news about the gift she is
about to receive, Mary has no clue what it's worth, nor does
she have a clue what it will cost her. The only thing she
does know is that it is given to her freely and unselfishly
out of love.
The second
thing about the gift promised to Mary this morning is that
it doesn't appear to be the right size ... it doesn't fit.
Here we have a teenage peasant woman giving birth to a king.
She's not even married yet! And when we hear the song Mary
sings, it is the same song sung by Hannah and Rebekah in the
Old Testament. A song usually sung by old women that are thought
to be barren, suddenly learning of a pregnancy. It doesn't
fit for a young virgin to be singing Hannah's song.
Kind of
like the story told of parents who order a kit to make a tree
house from a mail-order catalogue. They spend Christmas Eve
assembling the kit only to discover they had received plans
for the tree house with the materials for a sailboat. After
sending a letter of complaint to the company, the parents
received an apology stating,
"While
we regret the inconvenience this mistake has caused you,
it is nothing
compared to that of the man who is out on a lake somewhere
trying
to sail a tree house."
But does
Mary's gift not fit? Or is it perhaps that the gift
is a one-size-fits-all? God's grace and love in the Christ
child is given irregardless of age, sex, social status, or
place.
Which
brings us to the third feature of Mary's gift. Mary's gift
is not what she had hoped for ... doesn't seem to fit her
taste ... not what she expected. How many expectant mothers
do you know who would have liked to travel ninety miles on
a donkey in their final trimester of pregnancy? How many mothers
do you know who don't dream of their son growing up, getting
a nice job and settling down with a lovely wife and child.
Instead, Jesus leaves home, spends his adult life traveling
all over the country like a bum ... no job ... no place to
lay his head at night. And at the time when Mary is hoping
he'd settle down with a family, he's facing a prison sentence,
not to mention Mary having to stand by and watch him hanging
on a cross.
I'm sure
it's not exactly what Mary had hope for or expected ...
this outcome doesn't seem to fit her taste. And yet, how
often it is that the things we least thought we needed, wanted,
would benefit from, become the most precious, needed and appreciated.
On my
first Christmas home from college I received a gift from my
mother ... a knit hat with a scarf attached to it. I thought
is was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen and there was no way
I'd ever be caught dead wearing it. So, when it was time to
go back to school, I conveniently forgot to pack it. But before
I could get out the door, Mom saw it, picked it up and gave
it to me. Not wanting to make a scene, I took it, threw it
in the back of my car, and forgot about it.
A couple
of months later, on my way home late one day in a snowstorm,
my car got stuck in a snow bank a mile away from our house.
Guess what I found in the back seat? The gift I never wanted
and didn't think fit my taste. It certainly wasn't what I
expected but it turned out to be the most precious gift I
had received that year.
God's
gift of grace and love and incarnational presence coming in
the form of a baby in a manger, born out of wedlock by an
ordinary woman of Nazareth with no seeming importance seems
odd ... strange ... .or surprising at the least. Even more,
it adds chaos and messiness to what was expected. An yet,
it is the mess that is the message of Christmas ...
That
God's gift of grace and love comse to us in the most ordinary
and yet unexpected ways ... ways that given our druthers,
we probably wouldn't choose. Yet, beyond the tears, misunderstanding,
disappointment, and hurt, we discover the best gift of all
...
That
no matter how unpredictable, chaotic, scary, messy, or empty
life is, God is there.
Finally,
the fourth feature of Mary's gift ... .a gift without a
receipt. All of us have experienced standing in a line
after Christmas to return a gift that was broken, didn't fit,
or was out-dated. The huge pile of clothes, toys, and household
items behind the counter remind us all too well of the difficulty
we have finding a gift that will last.
But Mary's
gift is one that lasts. In fact, Mary can't take it back even
if she wants to. Now, I'm not sure if I'm the only one in
the room who can sometimes be a control freak, especially
when it feels like things in my life or around me are out
of control. Or when I, like Mary, feel limited in power or
choices. But, I suspect, there are a number of you (control
freaks, that is) since you are sitting here this morning with
Christmas under control instead of joining the chaotic mess
at the mall.
At any
rate, perhaps you can appreciate Stella's predicament. Stella
was doing a final check of the "things-to-do-before-Christmas"
list when she discovered she'd forgotten to send Christmas
cards. Though time was short, if she hurried she could still
get them sent out so at least they would be postmarked before
Christmas. So she rushed to the store and found several boxes
of cards already marked 50% off. Without reading or ever looking
at them she feverishly addressed and signed the cards. Then
dashing to the post office, she shoved them onto the counter
just as the clerk was reaching for the "This Window Closed"
sign.
On Christmas
day, when things had quieted down a bit, and some semblance
of order had been restored, Stella noticed one of the last
minute cards had been left over. Opening the card, she stared
unbelievingly at the words: "This card is just a note
to say ... A little gift is on the way!"
So much
for having things under control!
Mary's
gift of the Christ child is not something she has a whole
lot of control over. All she can do is decide how she will
receive it. She can squirm and feel uncomfortable. She can
make excuses about not needing or wanting the gift. She can
accept it sheepishly. She can suggest it's not the right time
and try to ignore it by putting it on a shelf or in the back
of the car to deal with later.
Or ...
she can do as she does. Embrace it with humility, praise,
and thanksgiving ... allow it to change her life ... and go
forth in obedience and love ... empowered by it.
My friends,
the same gift of God's grace, love, and incarnational presence
comes to us. It is the ultimate Christmas present.
It is
a gift ...
with
no price tag,
with
no receipt,
And though
at times we may not understand ... or think we want ... or
think it fits just how or when God's grace and love is made
known, it is still the most precious, needed, and sought-after
gift for our hearts.
Emanuel
comes. Receiving him depends on our willingness and longing
more than our ability or credibility. And it is those areas
of our lives which we feel least prepared to receive Emmanuel
that may reveal the very places he will offer the most growth
and use us the most completely. I pray you will be open to
receiving God's gift as it comes to you.
Merry
Christmas!
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