And Mary said: “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.” — Luke 1:46-49 (NIV)
The sound of Christmas music is everywhere! It is in the supermarkets, the malls and in our churches. People have listened to Christmas music for weeks at parties in schools, offices and homes — trying to bring in some hope, love, peace and joy. Everyone is singing!
Even Mary is singing in our Scripture found in Luke’s Gospel. There she is glorifying God for allowing her to give birth to the greatest gift of all, our Savior. The Bible tells us when Mary found out she had been chosen to be the one to deliver God’s gift to the world, she was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Mary’s praise for God came from within, and that caused her to sing.
Speaking of singing, I am reminded of a movie called, “The Sound of Music.” In this five-time Academy Award-winning movie, there is a song called “My Favorite Things.” The lyrics in verse one mention “brown paper packages tied up with string.” Now, it’s Christmas. I can only imagine there are a lot of packages under your tree. And, I am sure the packages under your tree are wrapped in beautiful paper. So ponder this: If there was a package under your tree wrapped in brown paper and tied up with string and there was a beautifully wrapped package, both with your name on them, which one would you open first?
Challenging question, isn’t it?
You see, a gift isn’t supposed to come in a brown paper package. But maybe that’s why a lot of people have missed out on the gift God sent to us a long time ago. God sent His Son as a gift, and this gift brought hope, love, peace and joy to the world. And this gift didn’t come in a beautifully wrapped package.
You see, Jesus was born into a refugee family. His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, sought refuge in Bethlehem, but there was no room in the inn. He was not born in a beautiful palace or warm hospital. He was born in a smelly stable. Not a very pretty package, is it?
This reminds me of how we think about Christmas in our world today. Some of us are so busy unwrapping the beautifully wrapped packages the world has to offer, we miss out on the package sent by God. Sweet Baby Jesus is the greatest gift the world has ever known. And this gift has your name on it! Remember, God gave to us the Christmas gift that won’t break.
Rev. Dr. Marion J. Miller is the lead pastor of “Later @ St. Luke’s,” an evening multicultural worship service at 6 p.m. at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. Check out her webpage at stlukesumc.com/worship/LATER. She may also be contacted at (317) 846-3404 or millerm@stlukesumc.com.
