There was a musical that came out some time back that I truly enjoyed (thanks to my wife’s encouragement). And, in that musical, there was a song that came to my mind as I was preparing for today’s message. From Rogers & Hammerstein’s ‘The King and I,’ the song was “Getting to know you….” Do you remember that one? Here’s why it hit me so strongly…
Getting to know God–desiring to do so–is the beginning of true worship. And, the more we get to know God, the more we will come to LOVE GOD. But, it takes time to get to know God and to know if he’s our ‘cup of tea,’ doesn’t it? Today, we’re going to be talking about Worshiping Fully in our lives—in this season, in particular. And, we’re going to enter into the Christmas story to learn to do just that. Here’s today’s scripture reading from the Gospel of Luke. Listen carefully to what happened to Mary…
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 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. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” 34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” 35 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. 36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.” 38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. – Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)
Folks, if we truly want to get back to the stable and worship the Christ-child this Christmas, we need to enter Christmas:
THROUGH THE INVITATION: MARY. We need to worship like Mary during this season…
Mary was a teenage girl … engaged to be married to a poor carpenter by the name of Joseph. She lived on the dusty fringe of the Roman Empire—just another powerless peasant living in an insignificant town (that is, until God got involved). But, she was the young woman to whom God extended an invitation—an invitation to become the mother of the Messiah…
In Luke’s account, it was the angel Gabriel who came to her and let her know that she—lowly, young Mary, had found favor with God. She was to give birth to a child, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and she is to name him Jesus…
So, what was Mary’s response to the invitation (v. 38a)? Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Her response was simple … yet inspiring. What an attitude! What a Godly attitude!
Then, what does Mary do … after she responds in such a glorious way? Mary worships… through song! Joining the rich tradition of Jewish poets and prophets, she composes a song in devotion to her Lord (Luke 1:46-55): Scripture tells us that Mary responded:
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. 47 How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! 48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. 49 For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. 50 He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. 51 His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. 52 He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. 54 He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. 55 For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”
Mary’s song is known as the Magnificat … because through it she magnifies God, giving her whole attention to him as she worships him fully. So, how can we join in Mary’s Magnificat? With Mary as our example: Let poets pen odes, let musicians compose songs, and let prophets call us to see what God sees: the birth of his Son means the beginning of the end of injustice! We too need to worship God fully … in honor of that. We also need to enter the Christmas story this year…
THROUGH THE HOLY DRAMA: JOSEPH. We need to worship like Joseph during this season…
Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, has a problem. His fiancée is pregnant … and the baby isn’t his. In Joseph’s world, this was beyond unthinkable! Joseph could have exposed Mary to public shame, not to mention punishment. But, he decided to break it off quietly—an honorable man in every way…
Then the angel showed up. In a dream, a messenger of God appeared to Joseph to let him know that this wasn’t really about him. It was about something much bigger … and it was God’s plan! Joseph was not to break off the engagement. Why? Because the baby she was carrying was of God … and God needed Joseph to help raise this child—whose name was to be Jesus, meaning ‘salvation’ or ‘God to the rescue!’ Any way Joseph looked at it, what was going on here was HUGE…
The way that Joseph worshiped fully … was to be obedient to what God called him to do, whether he totally understood it or not (by faith)! Joseph’s part in the Christmas story reminds us that while the call of God isn’t always easy or conventional … it is always right! We too need to worship God through our obedience this season—worshiping the Christ-child fully in faith! We also need to enter the Christmas story…
THROUGH RESPONDING TO THE CALL: THE SHEPHERDS. We need to worship like the shepherds during this season…
Another of God’s messengers brought the Good News of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds. These particular shepherds, just to remind you, were:
- The third-shift workers of their day…
- Despised by most people…
- Considered thieves by many … unfit for more respectable occupations…
- Not allowed to testify in a court of law—that untrustworthy…
- Largely shunned by the mainstream population…
So, these shepherds … who found their place on the outskirts of town … were the motley crew that God chose to share the Good News with first! We’re reminded by the shepherds that we’re loved by a God who sees the overlooked in society. He looks at our hearts, not our status…
Immediately after hearing from God, the shepherds went to witness the miracle for themselves and they continued to worship even after the angels left! Let’s enter into the Christmas story this year by fully giving of ourselves in worship in this way even after the excitement of others has gone! Then, let’s learn to enter the Christmas story…
EVEN FROM A GREAT DISTANCE: THE WISE MEN. We need to worship like the wise men during this season…
The Wise Men (Magi) were not from there. Did you know that? They weren’t just going across town to take part in a worship service that first Christmas night. It was much more involved than that; there was a much greater investment in worship for them … in these ways:
- They made a long & dangerous journey, risking their lives to go to a faraway place to worship the King!
- When they found him, they didn’t just throw a buck at him and decide that was good enough for Jesus; instead, they offered him costly gifts…
These men were not playing the worship games of which many today are guilty; these gifts of gold and precious spices nearly cost them their lives before Herod…
This year, if we’re to worship the Christ-child fully, our worship must be reborn. The wise men show us what happens when someone gets a glimpse of just how worthy Christ is!
So, the question this year is this: Will we—like those wise men—travel across the world to meet him, confront dominant world systems, and give our all for our King?
Following up on our stewardship series last month, I want you to know that both the Stewardship Committee and our Church Council decided—in faith—to release the Christmas Eve offering this year, giving it in its entirety to worship from a great distance! That’s the hardest part you know—to release what God’s given us. But, in faith, the leadership of DUMC is willing to take that step. And, folks, I’m telling you right now, God will honor this kind of giving!
Partnering with Living Water International, we’ll be helping work toward the elimination of the water crisis in our world. Again, there are many in Third World countries that do not have clean water to drink today; if we can help with this, we will literally be saving lives in the next year. We’ll be working toward others not only having clean drinking water, but getting to know the Living Water—Christ—as well… Now, that’s justice … God’s way!
As we go through this season, we need to begin to take a new look at our lives—not only individually, but corporately—and be honest about who or what it is that we’re really worshiping this season. If the answer is Jesus, then the world won’t have too much trouble figuring out that He is WHO we’re all about—that Jesus Christ is the one who we worship fully—not just at home, but to the ends of the earth…
Like Mary, we need to sing in worship to our redeeming God. Like Joseph, we need to worship through obedience without regard to the cost. Like the shepherds, we need to take the time to leave our busyness to worship Christ. And like the Wise Men, we need to be willing to confront anything that stands in the way of our worship, whether worldly powers … or our own fears. Are you ready to get to know God better (“Getting to Know You…”)? Let’s be about worshiping Christ fully this season … in all that we do!
Worship Fully!
Image Credits: “The Nativity Story” by New Line Cinema