There must be MORE to Christmas than being weary

Sermon Notes: There must be MORE to Christmas than being weary, worn out and totally exhausted. JESUS is the MORE we are all searching for! Luke 2:1-7.

Question: Have you ever stopped to really imagine how utterly exhausted MARY must have been by the time she gave birth to JESUS on that first Christmas Day?

‘Mary and Joseph set off on this horrendous journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem v4. Depending on the route they take, it is somewhere between 80-100 miles across mountainous areas, through valleys, and across desert wilderness.

Mary may have ridden in a cart pulled by a donkey, she may have walked some parts of the journey, but she is worn out, weary and exhausted, desperate for somewhere just to lie down and rest her weary body. Days away from giving birth to her baby, without any medical assistance. This is Christmas for Mary.

For many people today, maybe for you or for those you know… People are absolutely tired, weary, worn out by the time they reach Christmas Day. We are utterly exhausted by CHRISTMAS, and yet Christmas was NEVER meant to be like this. Christmas was always meant to be about ONE thing and ONE thing before all other things.

CHRISTMAS is about CHRIST,
CHRISTMAS is about the PERSON of JESUS.

Question: What can we do, what practical steps can YOU take in these next 12 days to draw close to JESUS?

1: You need to fight to make time, time everyday to sit down quietly, to close the door and turn off the phone and open your heart to spend time intentionally drawing close to God.

2: You need to intentionally carry on that relationship through the day, whether it’s quiet or even / especially when it’s busy.

I love those words of JESUS in Matthew 11:28:

‘Are you tired? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unfolded rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.’ Matthew 11:28-29. The Message.

For Mary, her weariness, her exhaustion, resulted in the beauty of holding and beholding the Father’s GIFT, the Saviour of the world, the Christmas JESUS. In love she holds JESUS close to her and adores JESUS as she treasures all these things and pondered them in her heart, v19.

Q: Who is this child? What is the significance of all these things? What story has she been caught up into that is so much bigger than her own story?

For this is NO ordinary child that Mary is holding and beholding. This child she is gazing upon in love is NO One less than the Saviour of the World. The very GOD of HEAVEN, here in flesh and blood, here on earth as a fragile vulnerable little baby…ONE of US!

BUT for us, unlike Mary, our exhaustion, our weariness, our tiredness at Christmas robs us of that very JOY! The JOY of beholding JESUS. The JOY of drawing close in adoration and enjoying Jesus.

Question: What can we do, what practical steps can YOU take in these next 12 days to draw close to JESUS?