ADVENT 2019: Week 03 – “Let It Go” Luke 1:39-56; Matthew 1:18-19

LET IT GO. Perfect song for this season. Think about it…. It’s the middle of December - and has it hit you yet?   You know what I’m talking about… the Christmas RUSH. The way Jesus gets kinda pushed to the side so we can get the meals cooked and the goodies baked; we can get to all the pageants and plays we need to get to; and we take out a second mortgage just to make sure everyone gets exactly what they want…  And at the end of it all - another Christmas has come and gone and all you have to show for it is the Visa bill and the terrible mess you have to clean up after everyone leaves.

And each year we think we have it under control, but that usually doesn’t happen. And when Christmas Day has come and gone, we wonder why we can’t ever enjoy the season as it was meant to be enjoyed.

This Christmas, I want to encourage this congregation to live counter-culturally; to make some determination to take steps to stop the madness. I know it feels as though there’s nothing we can do, but I believe that’s a lie; I believe we can learn to put our foot down and make the hard decisions that need to be made in order to take back this amazing time of the year.

If you take a good look at the Biblical Christmas account, you’ll see some CRAZY things going on. Chaos, and complexity, and conflict. What we read of is NOT what is typically pictured on the front of Christmas cards. But even through the crazy, people like Mary and Joseph and the Shepherds were able to let that all go; and they were able to receive the blessing of being part of a life-changing event.

This morning, I think we need to learn how to let it go. To look past the chaos, to defy the commercialism, and to seek a way to end conflict that so many people experience at Christmas time. If we can do that, we will be able to guard against the culture’s desire to make our hearts frozen.