It was about a month ago when we started hearing about supply chain problems and how many things were going to be hard to find this Christmas. As I listened to people talk about this on TV, they said that if we wanted to have a good Christmas we had to go out and get all our gifts now, or else we would have a lot of unhappy people on Christmas morning. What they were telling us is that Christmas is all about getting the right gifts. It never seemed to dawn on them that we could have a good Christmas without lots of gifts. In fact, maybe the supply chain problems will give us the opportunity to celebrate a radically different and better holiday.
If 2020 was the pandemic Christmas when we couldn’t travel or be together, 2021 is turning into the supply chain Christmas where we might not be able to get all that we want. As difficult as this may be, maybe the supply chain Christmas will remind us that Christmas really isn’t about the stuff we give but the love we share. Maybe being forced to buy fewer gifts can help us experience a Simple Christmas filled with the presence of God and not just the presents we put under the tree.
This Advent and Christmas season we are going to look at the first Christmas and focus on its simplicity. While it is an absolutely amazing story that talks about God coming to earth as a baby to love us, forgive us, and redeem us from sin and death, it is also powerful in its simplicity. A simple star in the sky guided the Wisemen to Jesus. A simple invitation from the angels filled the shepherds with joy. A simple choice to love brought Joseph and Mary together, and a simple step of faith started the whole thing. We hear about that step of faith in Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Mary took a simple step of faith and said yes to God, but before that step, there were a few other steps she had to take first. The entire story begins with these simple words, Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you. When God tells Mary that she is favored, it was God telling her that she was both loved and chosen. Mary was troubled by these words because she didn't see herself this way. She didn’t see herself as anything special, she was just a girl. Mary was just an ordinary girl who has recently gotten engaged and is planning on a quiet life with her husband. With this greeting, however, Mary had to start seeing herself differently. She had to see herself as loved and chosen and blessed by God. Her first step of faith was to see herself as favored.
The first step of faith we need to take is to see ourselves as favored by God. You are loved by God. Completely and unconditionally, you are loved by God. You are forgiven by God and you have been chosen by God to be one of God’s children. You are not alone. You are not forgotten. You are not broken and cast aside. You are favored and loved by God. In many ways, faith begins with this first step, to see ourselves as loved and chosen and favored by God.
It can be hard for us to feel favored in this season. For many people, family gatherings can be painful. Our families are broken. We might not be where we want to be in life. Old grudges and past hurts are often brought up and the days can be dark and difficult. Or maybe you are feeling alone. Whether it is the breakup of a relationship, or the loss of a loved one, or family too far away to visit, being alone makes it hard to feel any kind of love or blessing. Even in the midst of lots of family and friends it can be easy to feel alone. If this is where you are today, it’s hard to grab hold of this, but hear God say to you, Greetings favored one. The Lord is with you.
God is with you. God does love you. God is present with us in this season and every season and maybe the simple step of faith you need to take is to just see yourself as favored and loved by God. This entire season is about seeing ourselves as so loved by God that He was willing to come and literally be with us, and walk with us in life. See yourself as loved. Hear God say to you that you are favored, and know God is with you. Take this first simple step of faith.
The second step for Mary was that she was going to have to step into a new calling and change the direction of her life.
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Up until this moment, Mary’s plan had been to be a good wife and mother. Now she is being called to be the mother of the Messiah. The new direction for Mary’s life is to raise the Son of God. This was going to be different. This was going to be difficult.
Not only do we need to see ourselves as loved and favored, but we also have to be willing to step into the new calling God has for our lives. We aren’t just a child of God, God calls us in unique ways to accomplish specific tasks. God shapes each and every one of us in special ways so that we can carry His love to the world. Paul uses the image of the body to talk about how each one of us is unique in our calling and how God wants to use us for His purpose. We need to embrace that calling even if it means changing direction, even if it is going to be difficult.
It took me a long time to embrace the call of being a pastor. I tried several other things and put God off many times before I finally stepped into the call God had for me. Stepping into being a pastor meant I had to change directions. I had to head back to school. I had to learn how to trust God in new ways, and it hasn’t always been easy, but when we follow God’s call we can find the simple peace of God’s presence with us.
What is the unique call God has placed on your life? Who has God called you to be beyond a son or daughter? What gifts has God given you that only you can use for His kingdom? Lean into that calling and find a way to take one simple step in that direction.
For Mary, this meant stepping out into the unknown. She even says to God, how can this be? She is questioning how she can be pregnant as a virgin, but she is also saying, how can I do all this? How can I raise the Messiah, the son of God? How can I raise someone who will rule over all of Israel? I don’t know how to do any of this. How can this be?
Stepping into God’s calling for our lives often means stepping into the unknown, but the beautiful thing about this story is that God shows us what happens when we step out in faith. Mary questions how God will do all of this and God’s reply was simply, look at your cousin Elizabeth. Everyone said she was barren and would never have children, but she is pregnant. What God is saying to Mary is this, look, if I can do that…. I can do anything. God assures Mary that He can and will accomplish everything that needs to take place in her life. He gives her the assurance she needs to trust Him even in the midst of uncertainty and the fear of the unknown.
It is not easy to walk by faith and not by sight, but if we are willing to take a single step forward in faith, God will not only be there but God will show us the next step. And then the next. And then the next. Notice God doesn’t answer all of Mary's questions and explain how it will all happen, God just points to a situation where His power and love can be seen and says, take one more step with me.
In this season, take one more step with God and allow Him to show you His power and His love. Maybe it is a step into a deeper relationship with God. Maybe it is a step into a new calling, or simply seeing yourself in a new way and as a new creation. We might not know what it all means, but take one step of faith and allow God to give you the assurance of His love and power with you.
The last simple step of Mary is an important one in this supply chain Christmas of 2021. She gives her self and not her stuff. Mary gives God her life. She gives God her body, her time, her energy, and her love, and it was that simple step that changed everything. It not only strengthened Mary’s relationship with God, but it brought God’s love into our world. This year, the simple step of faith we can all take is to give more of our self and not more stuff.
We all know the supply chain is broken. Some of the gifts you want to get this year will not be available. It’s not the end of Christmas, it just might be the beginning of a better Christmas. This year give a better gift! Give the gift of your self.
Parents, give your children a coupon for weekly game nights, or special Saturday breakfasts. Give each child a special gift certificate for one day out to do whatever they want to do. Take them on an adventure they will never forget.
Give your spouse a date night, or be willing to do the work they usually do around the house for one week, or for one month. Honor them in some way that will remind them of just how much you love them.
Maybe you have heard this recently. It is the answer that an older parent gave to their grown child when they were asked, “what do you want for Christmas?”
What do I want for Christmas? I want you. I want you to keep coming around, I want you to bring your family around. I want you to ask me questions, ask my advice, tell me your problems, ask for my opinion, ask for my help. I want you to come over and rant about your problems, rant about life, whatever. Tell me about your job, your worries, your families. I want you to continue sharing your life with me. Come over and laugh with me, or laugh at me, I don’t care. Hearing you laugh is music to me.
I spent the better part of my life raising you the best way I knew how, and I’m not bragging, but I did a pretty good job. Now, give me time to sit back and admire my work, I’m proud of it. I’m proud of you. I want you to spend your money making a better life for you and your family because I have the things I need. I want to see you happy and healthy. When you ask me what I want for Christmas, I say “nothing” because you’ve been giving me my gift all year. I want you.
Truly the greatest gift we can give to anyone is our time, our attention, our focus, and our love. In a virtual world, one of the greatest gifts we can give is to actually sit with people in person to talk, and laugh, and share. It is truly the gift or our presence that makes a difference.
Christmas is the gift of God’s presence in the world in the person of Jesus. Mary’s gift to God was the gift of her presence. She gave herself fully to God for His purpose and plan. The most powerful gift we can give, and maybe the simple step of faith we need to take today, is to give the gift of our presence, our self, to God and to others.
I want to invite you to celebrate this Advent and Christmas season in a different way. Don’t think about presents to give, think about how to give your presence to God. Worship fully. That doesn’t mean just showing up, it means showing up with an open heart and mind and allowing God to shape us. Allow God’s word to be present in your life. Read the gospels this season and see what the person of Jesus did as He was present with us.
Be present with God, and be present with others, both family and friends. Make this a simple Christmas that can truly be like no other and take some simple steps of faith.
Next Steps
A Simple Christmas - A Simple Step of Faith
Read Luke 1:26-38
Four simple steps of faith:
1. See yourself as favored
◆ What does it mean to be favored?
◆ What did this mean for Mary?
◆ What does this mean for you?
◆ How can you begin to see yourself as loved and chosen by God?
2. Step into a new calling and change the direction of your life
◆ What did this mean for Mary?
◆ Beyond being a child of God, who has God created you to be?
◆ How can you keep stepping into that new identity?
3. Step into the unknown (walk by faith not by sight)
◆ What were the unknowns for Mary?
◆ What uncertainty do you face today?
◆ How has God given you assurance in the past?
◆ What assurance do you need from God today?
4. Give your self and not your stuff
◆ How did Mary give herself fully to God?
◆ How can you give yourself fully to God?
◆ What would it look like for you to worship fully?
◆ Find ways to give more of yourself this Christmas?
This year, give coupons and gift certificates for family meals, game nights, and date nights. Give the gift of your service to those in need. Find ways to give less presents and more of your presence.
