Mary's Song

 What is the biggest surprise you have ever had? David Redding describes his surprise about a time in his earlier years when “coming home” meant so much to him. He had been away at war and was coming home after several years. When the bus dropped him a long way from home, he wondered if Teddy, his beloved dog, would still remember him.

So, coming home that first time from the Navy was something I can scarcely describe. The last bus stop was fourteen miles from the farm. I got off there that night at about eleven o’clock and walked the rest of the way home. It was two or three in the morning before I was within a half mile of the house. It was pitch dark, but I knew every step of the way. Suddenly, Teddy heard me and began his warning bark. Then, I whistled only once. The barking stopped. There was a yelp of recognition, and I knew that a big black form was hurtling toward me in the darkness. Almost immediately, he was there in my arms. To this day, that is the best way I can explain what I mean by coming home. [1]

That is the kind of surprise Mary received after traveling the 100 miles from Nazareth to Judea to visit her relatives, Zechariah and Elizabeth. When Mary entered the door, she received a reception she could not have imagined. The Holy Spirit was waiting for her: just six months in the womb, John leaped for joy. Then, Elizabeth prophetically announced that Mary was the mother of the Messiah. Mary responded with a beautiful song. Mary, with an unspeakable joy, sang the first song of the Incarnation. “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46). Though none of us can make God bigger, we can enlarge how we see and experience him. We magnify God when we take him into our thinking and see new aspects of his greatness.  This is what happened to Mary. After her divine encounter with the angel Gabriel, she began comprehending his message, which enlarged her thinking about God. Her soul enlarged the Lord, and her mouth poured forth greater thoughts than she had ever felt.

Mary sang: “From now on all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). This is a statement of wonder and surprise that all future generations would call her blessed. It had to be an incredible thought; no wonder she surrendered it to God in praise.

Mary says that God fills those who are hungry: “He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty” Luke 1:53). Those who come with hunger for God will find something, and those who do not will go away empty. Spiritual hunger is the prescription for good spiritual health. Nothing could be a greater liability than a spirit of self-sufficiency. When we come hungry, we will find spiritual food from God.

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[1] Charles Swindoll, Joseph, (Word Publishing, Nashville, TN., 1998), p. 165-166.

 

The Sonrise

The closing lines of Luke’s first chapter describe the birth of Jesus using an incredible metaphor: a coming sunrise. Luke writes, “because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven” (Luke 1:78).

I love to look at the sunrise with all its splendid colors. I stepped out of my office yesterday to watch the sunrise. I watched as the light started to come. I could see the backlit trees where the intensity was growing. Then suddenly, the sun appeared—that overwhelming ball of light. I immediately had to turn my eyes away. What a powerful metaphor describing God’s Son coming to this dark planet, which we call Christmas. Jesus’ earthly life began as he was born of a virgin in a lowly stable.

The night before that sunrise had been long and dark. As the centuries passed, his people waited and always hoped; only occasionally were there flashes of hope from God’s Word. The prophet Malachi said, “But, you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall” (Malachi 4:2).

Having been raised on a farm, I have seen the calves leap when they are released into the pen. It is quite a sight to see. They leap as if to say, “I am “finally free.” We can also be thrilled about this event like no other in the history of the world. Christmas brings us joy, not just for celebrating the traditions but for the long-awaited sunrise.

God waits for us to acknowledge that we need his grace. He is not moved if we depend on our own righteousness. However, when we recognize we are desperate and willing to repent, he receives us with open arms.

Once, while I was away speaking in California and my family was back in Puerto Rico, I received a call from my son, Eric. He said, “Dad, we have a serious problem. We locked the keys in the car. I know you have an extra set under the car, but I can’t find them. I don’t know what to do.” I told him where to lie down, which arm to lift, and in which direction to move it until he found the keys. That is the way it works with God. You start by saying, “I don’t know what to do.” “I” need help.” “I have a serious problem here.” God knows what to do but won’t until we acknowledge our distress.

God will allow himself to be found if we humble ourselves: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, (Jeremiah 29:13-14). When you play hide and seek with a small child, you let yourself be found. It is that way with God when we really want to find him.

The Little Ones

 Yesterday, I plugged my phone in to charge it, and it gave me a message that I was charging it too often. It said I should charge less if I wanted to extend the battery’s life. Now, that is simply a phone that is too smart for its own good. Today, we look at a passage where Jesus’ disciples had gotten too smart for their own good. Mark tells us (Mark 9:33) that they got into an argument over which of them was the greatest. Then they asked Jesus, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1).

Were they arguing about who had done the greatest deeds?  They had seen Jesus do some remarkable things, and they themselves had done some pretty heady stuff. Peter, for example, had walked on water. He witnessed the transfiguration. The temptation to be proud is almost overwhelming in moments like these. They were all thinking, “We have done some pretty remarkable things,” which caused them to ask this ridiculous question: “Who among us is presently the greatest?”

Jesus answered by bringing a child in front of them. He told them they had to become like children if they wanted to go to heaven.

What is so surprising about that is that children were the lowest of the lowest in the ancient world. They had no clout and no importance, especially girls.  Jesus told them, “And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Matt 18:5).

Each child is distinct, with its own personality and traits. Each one is a gift from God. We must treat them with dignity and refrain from comparing them. Each one of us is a gift from God as a Child of God.

Jesus warned those who do not value children. He uses some of the strongest languages ever.

Matthew 18:6-7 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!

He goes on to warn us that if we are sinning or causing these little ones to sin, we should deal with it and cut it out immediately. If what we see, do, or think affects others in a bad way, we should consider how God feels about these little ones. Jesus goes on to tell us that these little ones have angels in heaven advocating for them (Matt 18:10). Do we really want to despise what God values?

 

 

Grace That Transforms

 Grace—God’s grace is one of the most beautiful words in any language. Luke gives us a wonderful story of grace in chapter 7. First, there is the unnamed woman. She had an understanding of grace that few people have. Living in a day where grace rarely showed its face, having been transformed by grace, she captured the meaning of grace. We know nothing of this woman other than that she was a sinner. She was very aware that it was Jesus who had changed her life. This woman came boldly to express her gratitude to the one who showed her that grace.

Simon is a curious Pharisee who wants to see Jesus close up. He is intrigued by Jesus but clearly has not had the same personal encounter with him as the woman. Inviting Jesus to a meal allows Simon to observe him. This woman came in without an invitation. She came up behind Jesus and wept, her tears falling on Jesus’ feet. She was broken and contrite. Her actions were very unusual but considered an outrageous act by Simon’s standards. Most everyone was uncomfortable with her act, except Jesus, so no one said anything. Jesus never said anything to her, so she stayed and even went so far as to dry his feet with her hair.

The murmurs gave way to an embarrassing silence as the woman remained bent over the Lord’s feet. To the Pharisees, this was a terrible breach of social morality. She clasped an alabaster vial of concentrated perfume with which she anointed Jesus’ feet. The woman had come because of her overwhelming gratitude and this was her exorbitant expression of it.

Jesus was aware of what Simon was thinking, so he told him this story: Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. (Luke 7:40-43). The difference between the two debts would have been enormous.  However, what they both had in common was a debt they could neither one pay. Jesus had made an assessment of Simon and the woman.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.  You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven” (Luke 7:44-48).

Jesus nailed it! The more we are forgiven, the more we love. The more we realize that we have been forgiven, the more we love.