LUKE 1:26-38

[26] In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

[27] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.

[28] And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

[29] But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.

[30] And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

[31] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

[32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

[33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

[34] And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

[35] And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

[36] And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

[37] For nothing will be impossible with God.”

[38] And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year but you and I both know that it’s also a season that brings with it a lot of stress and distress.  So the next time you’re feeling a little overwhelmed and, you know it’s only a matter of time before that happens, here’s a suggestion. Sit down and listen to Bob River’s version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.”  His version is called “The Twelve Pains of Christmas” and it is hysterical.   Have you heard it? It ends like this:

The twelve things at Christmas that are a pain to me…

Singing Christmas carols
Stale TV specials
"Batteries Not Included"
No parking spaces.

Daddy by me something!
Salvation Army

Five months of bills!

Facing my in-laws.

Sending Christmas cards.

Hangovers

Rigging up the lights and

Finding (the perfect) Christmas tree

If you’re a person who likes things to be perfect then Christmas isn’t for you.  Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year but it often gets messy. It can be a messy blessing. Of course Christmas has always been a messy a blessing. It was a messy blessing right from the start.  Just look at Mary.  Mary got to be the mother of the messiah and it was a tremendous honor but it was a messy blessing that brought with it a lot of tears and fear. 

That’s why Mary reacted the way she did when the angel Gabriel appeared to her. 

 Gabriel greeted Mary with those words, “Hail O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

When Mary heard that did she jump up and down and squeal with delight?  No.  Luke says “she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.”  When Gabriel told Mary that she was going to conceive in her womb and bear a son did she jump up and down and squeal with delight then?  No.  Luke says she was dumbfounded and asked, “How can this be since I am still a virgin?”

Mary was apprehensive and afraid because she knew that things were going to get messy for her and she was right.  Look at what Mary had to deal with after she became great with child.  Matthew tells us in his gospel that Joseph wanted to get rid of her.  Mary also knew that people were going to drag her name through the mud when they saw her baby bump.  That’s because Mary wasn’t married.  Now today an unwed mother isn’t a big deal but back then it was a big deal.

If all of that wasn’t bad enough just look at what Mary had to deal with after Jesus was born.  Because she was the mother of the messiah Mary had to deal with the emotional pain of seeing her son criticized, condemned and crucified. Imagine what it must have been like for Mary to stand there at the foot of the Cross and see the blood flowing from her son’s hands and feet.

Yes it was a blessing to be the mother of the messiah but it was a messy blessing.  It was a messy blessing that brought with it a lot of tears and fear.  Come to think of it that’s the way it is will just about all of life’s blessings. 

When a bride and groom say their “I do’s” we all celebrate and wish them well in their journey together as husband and wife.  As the years go by though there will be times when things get a little messy.  The husband could loose his job.  The wife could become disabled and unable to take care of herself.  Eventually one of them will die leaving the other one behind to cope with the pain of a broken heart.

When a child is born that’s a time to celebrate and pass out a few cigars.  As the years go by though there will be times when things get a little messy.  If you’re lucky you won’t get a call at 2 o’clock in the morning telling you that your teenage son is in jail.

One woman knew very well that children can be a messy blessing. children can be.  After praying for a child she and her husband were quickly blessed with four children one right after the other and that’s when the fun began.  The mother writes,

“I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen

floor searching 
for baby chicks. I tried to be understanding... 
when they started a hotel

for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, 
although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs. 

When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and 
rolled up in  a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess.. 



“My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas  pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds 
and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine.  My five-year-old shepherd had practiced

his line.  ‘We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.’ 

But he was nervous and said,  ‘The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes.’ 

My four-year-old "Mary” said, ‘That's not 'wrinkled clothes, silly. 
That's dirty, rotten clothes.’ A wrestling match (then) broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost 
her left wing. I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, 
"Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived. My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe 
and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, ‘We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, 
common sense
 and fur.’ The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation.”

Yes, even the most wonderful blessings can get a little messy at times.  Here’s one more for you.  Do you remember Jack Whittaker?   I thought about him this week while wading through all the hype over that $550 million jackpot.

Jack Whittaker was the guy in the cowboy hat from West Virginia who won a $312 million dollar jackpot back in 2002.  According to a newspaper, “Just eight months after (Jack Whittaker) made his big score, he was robbed of $545,000 in a strip club. A month later, his granddaughter died of an overdose from drugs (that she) bought with an allowance from him.  A short time later, his daughter also died of a drug overdose.”  In a tearful interview he sobbed and told reporters, “I wish I’d torn that ticket up.”

Mary will tell you that there’s a messy side to every blessing.  So, when you find yourself in the messy part of a blessing what do you do?  Do you scream and get angry?  Do you sit down and have a good cry?  Or you could feel sorry for yourself and give up? Or you could do what Mary did and what did Mary do?  Mary put her trust in God and said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Mary will tell you that the best thing you can do is put your trust in the Lord knowing that God is waiting for you in that messy blessing.   A nurse found that out when things got a little messy a couple days before Christmas.  She wrote these words,  “I am a geriatric care manager and many of my clients families live out of state.  This year, a sweet old lady that I care for, Alice, had gone through a particularly rough time. She had been in the hospital twice and then to a rehab nursing facility. In November I was finally able to get her back to her "home" in to an 'assisted living facility'.  Alice has dementia and thought her daughter was coming to visit on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that was not going to happen she was so sad and tearful. Knowing that her daughter was coming after Christmas was not enough to cheer her. I hated the idea of her being alone on the holiday!  On Christmas Eve, I surprised her by asking if she would like to go to a candlelight service at church that night.  Instead of taking her to my church, I took her to her old neighborhood church where all her friends were. We got there early and I got us a seat where her friends could see her as they came in. God and his angels had a hand in the plan and it worked out perfectly.  All of her friends seemed to be there and rushed over to greet her and sit with her.   The candlelight service was a beautiful, tearful affair and Alice got lots of hugs and love.  The truth of the story is that  I am the one who got the best gift; the smile on Alice's face and the feeling that I made a difference. “

Yes, Christmas can be a messy blessing but just remember this.  In the messy part of that blessing and all your blessings God is waiting for you with a little peace on earth and goodwill for all.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

December 2, 2012