The countdown to Christmas calls us to spend less so that we can worship and not worry...

This week, we are looking at an account of the Christmas story that is recorded for us in a letter in the Bible called the gospel of Luke. Wednesday, we discovered that Mary and Joseph responded to the birth of Jesus by following and fulfilling God’s commandments to dedicate their firstborn son to be Holy to the Lord. In other words, Mary and Joseph were following God’s command to dedicate Jesus to be wholly devoted to the Lord. Jesus was being dedicated to live a life that is separated to God and separated from all that is unclean. Jesus was being dedicated by his parents to live a life that was committed to God and the mission of God in the world. Mary and Joseph worshiped God by giving their son who was the Son of God back to God.

Today, I would like for us to look at the significance of Mary and Joseph’s actions in response to Jesus birth. I would like to answer the question “What does any of this have to do with how much money we spent, as a nation, on Christmas? What does this have to do with what Christmas calls us to when it comes to our spending?” We find the answer to those questions from Leviticus 12:8, in God’s command when it came to the days of purification:

'But if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, the one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.'"

Now look again at how Joseph and Mary fulfilled God’s command in Luke 2:24:

and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "A PAIR OF TURTLEDOVES OR TWO YOUNG PIGEONS."

You see, Mary did not offer a lamb and a young pigeon or a turtledove, did she? No, Mary only offered a pair of turtledoves of pigeons. And the reason that Mary did not offer a lamb was because Mary and Joseph could not afford a lamb. Mary and Joseph grew up in blue collar working class families. Mary and Joseph were most likely teenagers from a small town who were newlyweds and had little or no financial means.

Most likely, Joseph had just opened up his carpentry business. For Mary and Joseph, their response to Christmas; their response to what God was calling them to that first Christmas was not to spend more. Instead their response to what God was calling them to that first Christmas was to respond in worship to God through their obedience to God with whatever resources they had. And it is in this story that we see what Christmas calls us to. It is in the response of Mary and Joseph that we see what the countdown to Christmas is all about. You see, Advent, the countdown to Christmas calls us to spend less so that we can worship and not worry.

Where we can get off track, however, is when we spend our treasure during the countdown to Christmas with the wrong focus. We can get off track by focusing on what the culture calls us to when it comes to spending during the countdown to Christmas. You see, during the countdown to Christmas, we can find ourselves responding to our cultures call to worship the god of consumerism by spending more money that we do not have in order to impress people with gifts that they probably won’t even remember.

And when we respond to the cultures call to worship the god of consumerism by spending more, the result is worry. The worry that can come when we wonder how we are going to pay the credit card bill that is coming in January. The worry that can come when we wonder whether or not we are spending enough money. The worry that can come when we wonder whether or not we are impressing others with the gifts that we give.

Instead of focusing on responding to the countdown to Christmas by worshipping Jesus by striving to follow the message and teachings of Jesus and engaging in the mission that He has given us, we can find ourselves focused on spending more during Christmas in order to top last Christmas and then end up consumed with worry instead of worship. And as Luke continues, we see how one man responded to the call of Christmas in Luke 2:25:

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

Here we see Luke introduce us to a man named Simeon, who is described as a man who was righteous and devout. In other words, Simeon was a reverent, God fearing man, who strove to do what was right in God’s sight. The reason why Simeon was a righteous and devout man was because the Holy Spirit was upon him. Simeon was a man who God was active and present in his life and who led a life that was led by the Holy Spirit. Luke also tells us that Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel.  When Luke uses the phrase the consolation of Israel, he is referring to God’s promise of a Messiah or rescuer, who would bring the Jewish people back to God and back to prominence in the world.

Simeon was looking forward and counting the days until God would fulfill His promise to humanity. And Simeon was looking forward because the Holy Spirit had let Simeon know that he would see the Messiah enter into humanity before he died. So Simeon’s head was on a swivel. Simeon was looking forward to the day when he would be face to face with the one who God would send to provide humanity an opportunity to be rescued from the selfishness and rebellion that separated them from God. Luke then tells us what happens next in verse 27:

And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, "Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people Israel."

Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph’s response to the birth of Jesus by following and fulfilling God’s commandments resulted in Simeon experiencing an encounter with the Lord. The Holy Spirit led Simeon to Mary and Joseph and opened his eyes to see that God had fulfilled His promise. And Luke tells us that Simeon responded to what his eyes had seen by embracing Jesus and worshipping. As part of his worship, Simeon quotes from a section of a letter in the Old Testament of our Bibles called the book of Isaiah.

In Isaiah 49:6, the prophet Isaiah predicted and proclaimed that God would send a rescuer and deliverer who would bring salvation to all of fallen humanity. Isaiah proclaimed that this rescuer, the Messiah would make fully known God’s message of rescue and would provide rescue to individuals from all of the nations of the world. And this rescuer, this Messiah would receive honor and would enhance the reputation of God among the Jewish people.

And now Simeon was holding God in a bod in his arms. Simeon responded to this reality by stating “you are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word”.   You see Simeon recognized that his task had been completed; his role in God’s story was now complete. Simeon recognized that he could leave this earth because God had fulfilled His promise to send a rescuer that would bring peace on earth. God had sent the Messiah to bring a state of well being with God that comes as a result of one’s rescue from selfishness and rebellion through the life, death, and resurrection, of the baby in his arms. The baby that Joseph and Mary obediently named Jesus.

So here is the question: during the countdown to Christmas, are you responding to our cultures call to worship the god of consumerism by spending more money that you do not have in order to impress more people with gifts that they probably won’t even remember? Now, as I stated last week, I am not saying that we should not buy presents or give gifts during Christmas. That is not the point. The point is who or what is preeminent and prominent in your life? The point is how are you responding to the countdown to Christmas? Are you so focused on spending more during Christmas in order to top last Christmas that you end up consumed with worry instead of worship?

Because as we have seen this morning Christmas calls us to spend less so that we can worship and not worry. Christmas is about responding to what God has done to rescue us from the selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God. Christmas is about God giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. Christmas is about God sending His Son Jesus, as God in a bod into humanity so that He could allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Christmas calls us to respond to what God has done for us through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader. And Christmas calls us to live our day to day lives in a way that places our confident trust in Jesus and follows the message and teachings of Jesus by faith as Lord and Leader.

So, how are you responding to the countdown the Christmas? Are you responding by spending less so that you can worship and not worry? Or are you responding by spending more and worrying rather than worship.