Advent Week 3 - December 13, 2020

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Luke 1:26-38

Christmas is NOT the same this year. And really, it should never be. And honestly, it NEVER is. Even with the same people gathered in the same house, serving the same food--it’s never actually the same. The same is an illusion. Change is a constant. In us, in our relationships, in our world. Change is everywhere and the same really doesn’t exist.

Who we were in 2019 was different than who we were in 2018. Right? Our perspective, our challenges, our motivations--all different. Some years the changes felt slight, and some moderate, but some years, the changes felt huge.

That’s the case every year.

I’m not trying to be dismissive of what’s changed this year and all we’re missing. This is a year of HUGE change and dramatic loss. I miss

singing together and sharing meals, and cookie exchanges. I miss caroling and the concert at the Kibbie Dome. I miss being with family and taking trips. I miss you. I miss having you in this space and sharing our Sunday mornings like we used to.

AND…(not but, and) perspective matters. Christmas is not the same this year and we can absolutely lament that. But it’s a bit easier to tolerate if we acknowledge that the truth isn’t different than any other year. Christmas is always different. Sometimes there’s a new baby in the family, sometimes an empty chair. Sometimes the big meal is burned, sometimes the bird is still frozen in the middle. Sometimes snow flies and we sled and sometimes the roads are icy and it’s not safe for everyone to make the trip. Sometimes we’re enjoying a recent renovation and sometimes the basement is flooded.

Right? Christmas is full of follies and turns, and those are the things that we laugh about, those are the stories we tell for years. Christmas is never the same. Including this year. And if we can make it through burnt pies and frozen turkeys, hospital stays and flooded basements, divorces and death, then we can make it through this. And, not just with drudgery, but also with joy….yes, joy is possible, real joy, genuine joy.

After all, joy is about perspective too. Joy comes from being attuned to the little things--gratitude for what we do have and can do. Joy comes from laughter--a willingness to acknowledge and accept that things won’t go as planned. So when they don’t, when things are messy, or burned, or still frozen in the middle….or maybe even worse, we can still find cause for laughter. Joy comes from the hope of the season. Joy comes from being deeply connected to Jesus--right? Even if everything else falls apart--no tree, no lights, no special meal-- we still have the Christ-child. We still have God’s greatest gift to the world--God in the flesh, Immanuel--God WITH us--when it’s messy when it’s hard when things don’t go according to plan. We still have Jesus. And in that gift is joy.

And if that feels like a platitude, something someone (like me) says to make you feel better or to silence your frustrations, I would invite you to pray and ask God to show you how it might be something more.

Believing in Jesus is about a relationship. Believing in Jesus isn’t about what’s in our head (though as Methodists we do think that what we think matters) but believing in Jesus is about choosing a relationship--one that is illuminated and defined by the God we come to know in the person of Jesus--God in the flesh.

And I think the difference between talking about or knowing (with our head) the gifts of the season--hope, peace, joy, and love and experiencing them in a way that is life-changing is that relationship. I find myself convicted that we can have true hope, peace, and joy despite the current challenges because of what I have lived through my relationship with Christ. And what I know and find in the scriptures is that that gift is for all of us. It’s not just for preachers, it’s not just for choir members, or regular churchgoers, it’s for all of us.

So if you’re in real need of one of God’s special gifts--if you need more hope and light, more peace and perseverance, more joy and perspective, then ask for it!

I know I didn’t talk too much about our scripture today….but from my preacher’s view...Mary is the model for our own faithfulness. Her plans were turned upside down. The things she had imagined and dreamed and planned for did not go as planned. Sure, she became the mother of God--that’s a big deal, and probably rocked her world. Everything would have to be reimagined and in addition to the wonderful gifts she would find in raising her precious child, there would also be incredible pain, loss, and heartbreak. She would see the worst of the world lashing out against her baby boy. Many things would not go as planned. Not just the start of her marriage. But for decades to come.

And yet, Mary had joy...joy for the promise of the Messiah. Joy for the hope he would bring. Joy for the gift of freedom and care the oppressed would encounter because of him. Joy that God had chosen her. Joy that God would rescue Israel.

The birth of Jesus is defined by things not going according to plan. And despite that….God was at work and there was joy.