It’s Not a Competition

December 22, 2024 homily by Pastor Galen on Luke 1:39-45 for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” — Luke 1:41-43

Planner or Procrastinator?

Christmas is 3 days away, and some of you are already planning when to take down your Christmas tree and lights, while others, like our family, only put up the tree yesterday! Some of you have long since purchased and wrapped all your gifts, mailed your cards, and finalized your Christmas meal menu, with nothing left to do but enjoy the celebration. Meanwhile, others of us will spend the next few days scrambling with last-minute shopping and will still be putting ribbons and bows on packages come Christmas morning.

The different ways that we prepare for Christmas highlight the differences in our personalities and cultures and family traditions. But however you prepare for Christmas, and whatever your Christmas celebrations look like, the most important thing is that we remember that Jesus is the greatest gift that has ever been ever given, and truly it is because of Jesus that we have a reason to celebrate. 

Mary and Elizabeth

Mary and her cousin Elizabeth’s preparations during the months leading up to that first Christmas could not have been any more different either. Mary was a young woman — still a girl, really, engaged to be married, with no thoughts of becoming a mother any time soon. She was happily going about her wedding preparations when an angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her that she would soon give birth to the Savior of the World. She was of course confused as to how all of this would come to pass, but the angel assured her that the child in her womb would be conceived by the Holy Spirit. Mary was no doubt flooded with both excitement and uncertainty as she processed all of this information. Excitement to be chosen to bear the Messiah, but uncertainty as to whether others would believe what the angel had told her. And so upon receiving this news, she promptly left for the hill country to spend time with her cousin Elizabeth, who was also preparing to give birth to her firstborn child.

Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah, on the other hand, had been married for many years, and had been longing to start a family, but it just hadn’t been possible. In fact, at this point, it seemed that it would never happen, as they were well past the typical child-bearing years. When Zechariah was told by an angel that Elizabeth was to give birth to a baby boy, and that their son was to be the forerunner of the Messiah, Zechariah struggled to believe it. But Elizabeth knew that her prayers had been heard, and that the very thing she had been longing and preparing for for so many years was about to take place.

Although Mary and Elizabeth’s preparations for motherhood may have looked very different, what strikes me is that both Mary and Elizabeth were completely open to what God wanted to do in and through them. They had confidence in God and who God had made them to be. And they were completely supportive of each other and the roles that they each had to play in the unfolding story of God’s redemption of the world.

Indeed, when the angel appeared to Mary and explained that she was to be the bearer of the Messiah, Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). And when Mary went to visit Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, Luke tells us,

…the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” (Luke 1:42-43).

Jesus Christ is the Lord

It’s worth noting here that Elizabeth was the first person in Scripture to call Jesus “my Lord” when she refers to Mary as “the mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43). This is significant because the fact that Jesus is Lord is one of the most fundamental truths of Christianity, and so Elizabeth could be considered the first Christian theologian! And how exactly did Elizabeth come to know and understand that Jesus is Lord, even before he died on the cross and rose from the grave—in fact, even before he was born? It was because she was filled with the Holy Spirit, as we see in verse 42. 

Elizabeth was able to see and recognize Jesus for who he was and is because she had opened herself up to God’s work in her life, just as Mary had done. Although they had very different roles to play, and although their seasons of preparation looked very different, these two women had eyes to see how God was at work in them and through each other, and they supported and encouraged each other in the roles that God had given each of them to play in redemption history. 

It’s Not a Competition

There’s a lot we can learn from Mary and Elizabeth about what it means to be open to the Spirit’s work in our lives, and how we can support and encourage others along on their spiritual journeys. 

Although Christmas is often referred to as The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, the reality is that Christmas is often a time when we are prone to comparison and sometimes even to competition. When I was in school, I remember the day after we came back from Christmas break all of the kids would ask each other what they got for Christmas to see who got the best presents. As we get older, there’s a tendency to compare ourselves to others when it comes to gift-giving and decorations and our level of preparedness for Christmas. Even for me as a pastor, there’s a temptation for me to compare the quality of our Christmas programming or the attendance at our Christmas Eve services with that of other churches and ministries.

In many ways, this is a natural tendency that we have as humans — to compare ourselves with others. We look for validation from others. We find pride in winning competitions — whether real or imagined, and we feel better about ourselves when we feel that we’re doing better than those around us. Or we feel depressed when we feel that we’re lagging behind. 

While competition can be healthy when it comes to sports, I want to suggest that competition has no place in our celebrations of Christmas. It doesn’t matter if you gave or received the best gifts or had the best holiday decorations or cooked the best holiday ham for Christmas dinner. What matters is that you see and recognize Jesus for who he is, and that you make him the Lord of your life, as Elizabeth did. What matters is that you open yourself up for God to work in your life, however God sees fit, as Mary and Elizabeth did, and that our Christmas celebrations point to the best gift of all — the one who is the true star of Christmas and the light of the world — Jesus Christ.

Avoiding the Comparison Trap

And so what can we do this Christmas season to avoid falling into the trap of comparing ourselves to others, and to keep our focus on the true reason for the season?

1. One way I do this is by reminding myself that everyone is doing the best they can. This allows me to have grace with myself, and with others. When I’m tempted to compare myself with other pastors or to compare our Christmas Eve attendance with that of other churches, I remind myself that we’re doing the best we can with the resources we have. If we had all of the resources of a megachurch, then we probably would have 1,000 people attending our Christmas Eve services too! But we’re doing the best we can with the resources we’ve been given. When I’m tempted to compare myself with other neighbors who went all out decorating their houses for Christmas and I didn’t even have time to put our little Christmas candles in our windows, I remind myself that I’m doing the best I can with the time I have.

The same perspective applies when we’re tempted to judge others. Let’s assume people are doing the best they can with what they have. Let’s extend grace to those who didn’t send us a card, call, or give the gift we hoped for. Everyone is managing more than we realize, and a little understanding goes a long way.

2. Carve out at least a few minutes to sit in silence with the Lord sometime this week. Maybe it’s coming to our Christmas Eve Candlelight service, and singing Silent Night. Maybe it’s waking up a few minutes early on Christmas morning, or staying up a few minutes late in the evening, and just watching the twinkling lights on the tree. (And if you didn’t have time to put up a tree, just light a single candle.) Remember that often God shows up in the stillness and quietness, not in the big flashy lights and fancy presents. Remember that Jesus was born in the humble town of Bethlehem, and laid to rest in a manger, rather than a golden cradle. 

Fight against the urge to buy one more Christmas present or send one more card. Remember that Christmas was traditionally 12 days, so you have plenty of time to give gifts, and you can always send a New Years card if it’s not going to get there in time for Christmas. What’s more important than the gifts we give, the decorations that we put up, is that we remember the best gift of all — Jesus Christ

3. Finally, rather than wallowing in self-pity or comparison or competition, let’s ask God to help us be a blessing to others. Maybe you don’t have anyone to spend Christmas day with, but you could spend the day volunteering to serve those in need. Maybe you don’t have a lot of financial resources to buy gifts for others, but you have time to give. The reality is that many of our friends and loved ones crave our “presence” more than our “presents!” Call a friend or loved one on the phone or send them a card. It doesn’t matter if you get their voicemail or if the card doesn’t get there before Christmas — they will just be grateful that you thought of them and made the effort to reach out. 

And so this Christmas, no matter how we celebrate, whether we have waited until the last minute to prepare or not, may we be gentle with ourselves, and with others. May we give each other and ourselves the benefit of the doubt, and may our celebrations point to the greatest gift of all — our Savior and our Lord, Jesus Christ. 

Amen!

Questions for Personal Reflection in Response to Today’s Sermon:

1. How do your Christmas preparations reflect your personality, culture, or family traditions?
2. Are you tempted to compare your Christmas celebrations to others? If so, how does this affect your sense of joy?
3. In what ways can you support and encourage others in their spiritual journeys, as Mary and Elizabeth did for each other?
4. How can you make time to reflect on the gift of Jesus amidst your celebrations? What simple traditions or practices (e.g., lighting a candle, sitting in silence) can help you focus on Jesus as the “reason for the season”?
5. In what ways can you use your time and presence to be a blessing to others this Christmas season?