ADVENT: WEEK 1 - SLOW DOWN

The Christmas season has a way of suddenly taking off on us. 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 just slow down and enjoy the season.

It’s an uphill battle, you know. In America we rush everything, don’t we? Stores now have Christmas items up as early as October. For weeks now, we’ve been getting Christmas catalogs in the mail. Christmas has become more and more about the almighty Buck.

But let me share with you one of the most profound verses in the whole Biblical Christmas account. 

Luke 2:19  But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

If anyone had reason to be frantic during that first Christmas, it would have been Mary, the mother of Jesus. From the angel’s announcement of an impending pregnancy, to the potentially awkward situation of letting her fiancé, Joseph, know what was going on, to a last-minute trip out of town to register for the census, to having to give birth in a stable, to having unexpected guests come over to see the newborn baby… one wouldn’t blame Mary for feeling frazzled!

But instead of being overwhelmed by the chaos, after all was said and done, Mary was able to slow down, to treasure the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, and ponder them in her heart.

Maybe that’s why God chose Mary for this amazing honor. Was there something about this young Jewish maiden that put her in favor with God?