Rediscovering Christmas
“…Tis a Gift to be Simple”
Focus: Rediscovering Mary’s Call to Humility and Simplicity
Luke 1:46-55
Pastor Sandi Evans Rogers
December 6, 2015
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
I remember the first time I shared these words,
they came straight from my heart…
it seems such a long time ago;
so much has happened since…
2
but I can still remember this moment as if it were just yesterday.
I can close my eyes, and remember…
I see myself at Elizabeth’s door way…
And the words flow again from my heart & soul:
“My soul praises the Lord’s greatness!
My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior,
because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant.
There are some moments where and when
we experience God’s presence so vividly
that they live in our heart and soul as a present moment - forever.
When His presence is so real,
You experience its transformational power in many ways.
For me, this season of my life,
the season God chose and invited me to be a part of His story,
has - and always will – allow me to live right in the midst.
It continues to impact how I live out my relationship with Yahweh.
Everything changed…
everything became different in my life…
everything began…
I was a young woman,
living at home.
My family were faithful followers of Yahweh.
They taught me to love
and worship Him as well.
They took me to synagogue and
taught me at home - the stories of God’s promises.
I especially loved hearing the stories of the great women of faith, like:
2
3
•
Sarah, the mother of our people
•
Deborah, the great and wise judge
•
Esther, the Queen who saved our people
•
Ruth, a compassionate and faithful daughter-in law-
•
Abigail, such an intelligent and brave woman
•
Hannah, a woman of longing and faith - to be a mother
These women have each been faithful
when Yahweh called them
they replied with humility, obedience and surrender.
What strength and encouragement they have brought to me.
Oh how they have inspired me!!
Then one day…
One ordinary day…something so extraordinary happened.
I had a visitor, a messenger of God.
His name was Gabriel.
When he first appeared - - I was startled;
NO, I confess I was - - frightened,
It was hard to take it all in…he called me
Favored One
and said
The Lord is with you
he recognized so quickly the fear in me…
he was startling,
but - - at the same time - he was so tender in Spirit, when he said,
“Do not be afraid”.
In those simple words,
with his spirit
3
4
came comfort and peace like I had never known before.
The fear; it was gone…
and my heart - - it became tender.
I could be present and attentive
in that very moment
and take in every word he said.
It was all so remarkable!
That God would come to me…
an ordinary, simple young woman…
to invite me to enter into His Salvation Story.
IN THAT MOMENT…where it seems time stood still for me
I had no idea how this invitation was to come about:
Gabriel said:
Conceive in my womb,
Bear a son
Call Him Jesus
The Son of the Most High
God will give Him the throne of His father David
His kingdom will have no end.
Really?
How could this be?
You see, at the time
I was betrothed to what seemed like an honorable man, Joseph
But we were not together yet…
promised...
but not together
What would he think…?
What would be ahead of me…?
I wanted to be willing to surrender all of who I had hoped to become,
so that I could serve Him.
4
5
To allow Him to do in and through me all that he wanted.
What I did know - - was that I wanted to say yes!
Please Yahweh, let me be your bondservant.
That was my heart’s desire that day - - it still is now!
“Behold, the bond slave of the Lord.
Be it done to me according to your word."
Once I said YES in surrender…Gabriel left - - - and so much filled by heart,
then my mind began to swirl… Was this real?
Why me?
Will others understand?
How do I tell Joseph?
What about my family?
The community?
Who will believe me?
I was in a place of AWE and WONDER…
What will my story now be?
How will God use me in His story?
I knew I needed space, to reflect - ponder
at that moment I had no idea
how much pondering
I would do over the years…
I needed support, and
someone who might understand.
Who might believe my story
someone I could trust,
someone who could share insight,
perspective, and wisdom.
5
6
Then I remembered…
Gabriel had shared that my cousin Elizabeth,
who had been barren for so long,
was now with child.
this too was miraculous news…
I thought - - - - she might just be the one.
Gabriel had pointed me right in her direction
I went - - - and I went quickly!!
As I arrived,
I realized I was already carrying the Son of God in my womb,
I was once again astonished by God’s handiwork.
Just as Elizabeth and I met face to face,
John gave Elizabeth a good kick.
A LEAP she said.
It was that moment,
that Elizabeth‘s son was filled with the Holy Spirit.
I learned on that visit that Gabriel had also made a visit to Zechariah
and told him about John’s birth and
how John would be filled with the Spirit
even from his mother's womb.
I came to understand this to mean that the Spirit of God
would exercise unique control on John’s life
from the time he was in his mother's womb
until he completed his ministry.
Back to Elizabeth’s greeting…
when John stirred within her… she exclaimed,
"Mary, my child is leaping for joy.
The Holy Spirit has helped him before he can even speak
6
7
to bear witness to the Lord in your womb."
Lord in your womb…
I couldn’t believe what I heard,
she knew…how did she know?
Only Yahweh could have shared with her.
His Spirit now filled her as well.
Amazing
That was all the affirmation I needed.
This was ALL real.
I was beginning to see more clearly this amazingly,
remarkable plan of Yahweh.
He was about to change the course of all human history,
to re-write the story.
And here He is…right here among us,
in the midst of our greeting.
Being present with two, simple, humble women one old - once barren,
one young – once a virgin,
BOTH now with Child. Miraculous!!!!
I was so in awe by this vision of God I was seeing,
He was showing Himself as the Beloved of the lowly,
the humble,
that my heart was filled with joy.
I was able to see that one side of what God's holiness is…
to offer His mercy to those who have faith in Him,
trust Him and surrender in humility.
I remember singing:
"His mercy extends to those who fear him…"
7
8
"He has…lifted up the humble…"
“He has filled the hungry with good things."
I saw also saw another side of His holiness… that God opposes the proud,
the haughty.
So I sang:
“He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts”
“He pulled strong rulers from their thrones"
“He sent rich people away with nothing."
It is so clear to me that God is not partial to the rich,
the powerful,
or, the proud.
The Great Almighty and Holy Yahweh magnifies his greatness
by blessing
the lowly,
the humble who admire his greatness
and
by discrediting
the haughty,
the proud who resent his greatness.
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Such JOY – Deep AWE
This praise flows up from
… my very soul…why?
My God - - the One True God - - Yahweh
has saved me…
and was saving me
And
through my body
was providing a savior for the world.
An amazing reason to glorify and rejoice.
I wanted to stay in this moment…this place
I didn’t want to move for a bit…
To feel this immensely…to be steeped in the AWE.
8
9
This moment…this experience of the presence of God…
Truly transformed my life.
Etched into my very soul.
It was a moment of pure JOY…
Deep HUMILITY &
Profound GRATITUDE.
My life has moved past this point many times …
Moments of Fear
Difficult Times
Moments of Hope
Painful Places
Deep Questions
Silence
Distance
Experience of great JOY.
In many of these experiences…
I too would PAUSE
PONDER
Allowing the Holy Spirit to take me back
And REDISCOVER this very moment - - with him
The JOY of GOD’s PRESENCE
The SIGNIFICANCE of PURE WORSHIP
That God would choose an ordinary – humble woman like me…
To be a part of His Story for eternity.
I am blessed!
All who hear of my story, like you…Yahweh’s story in me…
Understand how blessed I am.
Not because of who I am,
But because of Yahweh…who He is.
9
10
Let me share one more thing before I go.
I hope it will encourage you…
Yahweh is still writing the story…His story of salvation for the world.
He is looking for faithful and humble servants –
Who will allow Him to tell his story through them.
He has a place for YOU…
But
you have to be willing,
so that when He comes to you,
you will make space in your life for Him.
Just like me…
He wants to use you too!!!
And - you will have no idea what all He has in mind when you say YES!
We can’t imagine…
We just don’t know…..
10