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The Cure for a Rough Christmas is Christmas

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Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV)
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.



Having a rough Christmas season?  This time of year can be incredibly joyous or incredibly devastating, sometimes both at the same time.  I'm hoping that your Christmas season is more on the joyous side so far. Sadly the reality is, depression, despair, debt and desperation generally go up around the holiday season. (And that is just the D's!)  During a season that is supposed to be full of great joy and gladness, (10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. -Luke 2:10) why is there so much hurt and sadness?  Where has all the joy gone? Is there a leak somewhere? And why is it replaced with sadness, numbness, apathy and foreboding?

Something seems wrong with this picture doesn't it?  While there are many reasons for this lack of joy over the holidays, there is one reason at the center of all of the sadness and despair.  The reason for the grief and the pain and the hurt and the suffering in all of our lives, is brokenness. It is true, brokenness is the reason for the lack of joy this season. Something within us is broken and not functioning correctly. Something within us has caused us to have strained relationships, overspend, and overeat at holidays, something in us lies broken and shattered as we try to get through another holiday in light of our lost loved ones, our tattered hopes at nostalgia and our longing that we should be feeling something more substantial this Christmas. It lies broken like the wayward glass ornament on the garage floor.

We feel our brokenness so keenly because especially at Christmas, we hope that everything can be made right again.  We hope that our tattered dreams and our longing hopes and our broken hearts can be mended by this wonderful time that the people on the radio call "the most wonderful time of the year."  We hope, sometimes against hope, that our brokenness can be mended. But in order for that brokenness to be mended we must see that there really is brokenness in our hearts and lives.  And that brokenness is called sin.  It is sin that ultimately causes all our grief, the combination of our sin, others' sin or the effects of living in a fallen and sinful world. Sin is at the center of our brokenness. And that sin only has one remedy. A perfect Savior.

Consider Joseph - an honest hard working guy, recently betrothed, (the step between being engaged and married in their culture).  Consider if what happened to him before that first Christmas morning happened to you.  To put it briefly, he believes his soon to be wife has been with another man, is pregnant with someone else's child, lies to him about what happened and instead comes up with a story about angels and some other nonsense.  That is a rough Christmas. As he grabs the dustpan and the broom to sweep up the many shards of his broken dreams, he contemplates how to minimize the damage of his dashed hopes and keep his own sinful brokenness from coming out of him, God intervenes. 

The answer to his rough Christmas and ours, the answer to his brokenness and ours, the answer to his sin and ours, is the baby that is to be born of Mary. 21 "She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”   He has come to rescue all those who believe from the sin and brokenness of our lives and of this world.  It is true and it must be true, the answer to your rough Christmas and you brokenness and your sin is ironically, the first Christmas.  For on that day a Savior was born that your could place all of your hope and faith in.  A Savior that would rescue you not just from your tattered dreams and holiday blues, but from your and my deep brokenness and sin before a holy God.  This baby, born to be our Savior has come to rescue us through the cross. If we trust Him this Christmas he will begin and continue to restore our lives from the brokenness and sin. He will forgive us restore us to God and mend every broken thing in us.  The answer to a rough Christmas is Christmas.

PRAYING FOR A GREAT CHRISTMAS FOR EACH OF YOU.

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