Sermons in Brief - Mini Messages from Pastor Harmon

"Quiet Contemplation" - Luke 2:8-20 - Second Sunday of Advent

Three scenes in which Mary, the Mother of our Lord, plays a starring role have been our guides these Sundays of Advent. In these scenes Mary offers us an example of a Christmas attitude which, if adopted, could change our entire Advent season! Scene 1 is where Gabriel announces that hers would be the womb to carry the Messiah. Her child would be called the Son of God. To that announcement she said "I am the Lord's Servant - May it be to me as you have said." This is the ATTITUDE OF SUBMISSIVE SERVANTHOOD.

Scene 2 is where in the home cousin Elisabeth she breaks forth in song and sings what we call "Magnifcat." "My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior." This is the ATTITUDE OF MAJESTIC PRAISE.

In Scene 3 we follow the awestruck, stumbling, bumbling shepherds as they find Mary and Joseph and the baby. Along with their adoration and worship they tell Mary about an angelic messengers who announced "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people." They tell her of Angelic choirs singing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.". In response to this the Bible says "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Here is the ATTITUDE OF QUIET CONTEMPLATION. 3 attitudes which, if adopted, could change our entire Advent season!

This morning I am going to urge you to take time during this week before Christmas for Quiet Contemplation. But I want to issue you a warning: Quiet Contemplation is not for the faint of heart. It will be easier for some personalities than others. As you know quite well it is popular to break down our personality, character, individuality into four PERSONALITY types. There are many combinations of personality types but 4 basic ones. Author and speaker Gary Smalley compares them animals:

THE LION

• The Lion personality likes to lead.
• The lion is good at making decisions and is very goal-oriented.
• They enjoy challenges, difficult assignments, and opportunity for advancement.
• Because lions are thinking of the goal, they can step on people to reach it.
• Lions can be very aggressive and competitive.
• Lions must learn not to be too bossy or to take charge in other's affairs.
• Strengths: Goal-oriented, strong, direct.
• Weakness: Argumentative, too dictatorial.
• Limitation: Doesn't understand that directness can hurt others, hard time expressing grace.

LIONS MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH WHAT I SUGGESTING ABOUT QUIET CONTEMPLATION. They could organize us all to do it but might have a bit of a challenge sitting still for awhile to practice it themselves.

THE OTTER

• Otters are very social creatures.
• Otter personalities love people.
• They enjoy being popular and influencing and motivating others.
• Otter can sometimes be hurt when people do not like them.
• Otter personalities usually have lots of friends.
• They love to goof-off. (They are notorious for messy rooms.)
• Otters like to hurry and finish jobs. (Jobs are not often done well.)
• Strength: People person, open, positive.
• Weakness: Talks too much, too permissive.
• Limitation: Remembering past commitments, follow through with discipline.

OTTERS MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY WITH QUIET CONTEMPLATION because they cannot stop playing, or going to Christmas parties long enough to practice it. They don't like to stop, or be quiet, or be alone long enough to enjoy it. 

THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER

• Golden Retrievers are good at making friends.
• They are very loyal.
• Retriever personalities do not like big changes. They look for security.
• They can be very sensitive.
• Very caring.
• They have deep relationships, but usually only a couple of close friends.
• They want to be loved by everyone.
• They look for appreciation.
• Strength: Accommodating, calm, affirming
• Weakness: Indecisive, indifferent, unable to express emotional, too soft on other people
• Limitation: Seeing the need to be more assertive, holding others accountable

THE GOLDEN RETRIEVER WILL HAVE AN EASY TIME WITH WHAT I AM RECOMMENDING IF ONLY BECAUSE THEY WANT TO MAKE PASTOR HAPPY! 

THE BEAVER

• Beavers are busy and well organized.
• Beavers think that there is a right way to do everything and they want to do it exact that way.
• Beaver personalities are very creative.
• They desire to solve everything.
• They desire to take their time and do it right.
• Beavers do not like sudden changes.
• Strength: High standards, order, respect
• Weakness: Unrealistic expectations of self & others, too perfect.
• Limitation: Seeing the optimistic side of things, expressing flexibility

BEAVERS HAVE TO STOP WOKRING LONG ENOUGH TO QUIET THEMSELVES AND TO PRACTICE QUIET CONTEMPLATION.

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Why do I talk about personalities? Because Mary sets an example for us which I think will contribute to our celebration of Advent. But this example of Quiet contemplation will be difficult for some. We must decide its imperative and step outside our comfort zones. "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

"Treasured up" or "kept all these things" (KJV) means she gathered all the events she had experienced and been told about (just as you ladies do with your scrapbooking materials). It means to " to keep closely together, to protect them from getting damaged, to store information in one's mind for careful consideration, hold or treasure up (in one's memory). Our daughter Stefanie ishaving some great experiences teaching school. We tell her she needs to write them down so she doesn't forget them. For example one little girl said: "we're baking fudge brownies for Santa Clause. It was my dad's idea." Stef needs to treasure, keep, conserve, preserve these memories. That's what Mary did!

The second word is "PONDERED." It is a compound word in the Greek from which we get "symbolism." It literally means "throw together." She threw together or put together the things which had happened and considered their significance--their symbolism. She gathered all the experiences up to now--all the wonderful, frightening encounters she had had, and thought about them. She Considered--Thought about-- Meditated --Contemplated them. That is what I urge each of us to do this last week before Christmas. Practice being a contemplative. Lions - relax control! Otters - quit playing! Beavers - cease busyness! Practice being a contemplative.

WHAT IS A "CONTEMPLATIVE"?

A true contemplative, historically and especially in Roman Catholic history, was an individual who dedicated their life to solitude and silence in order to pursue God. Contemplation became the loving gaze of the soul on God. A contemplative life was a life-long journey in order to draw apart and live lives of prayer and worship. Most of us not called to do that, but each of us can design some contemplative moments in our busy, hectic lives. We can draw apart in solitude and silence in order to get alone with God and ponder: Gaze on God.

Richard Foster, the Quaker, simply calls the prayer filled or contemplative life, "the steady gaze of the soul upon the God who loves us." St. Teresa of Avila, a mystic from the 1500s, says that "It is an intimate sharing between friends."

HERE'S WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST:

1. FIND SOME QUIET TIME AND A QUIET PLACE

2. LIGHT A CANDLE (or plug in the Christmas Tree)

3. READ SELECTIONS OF THE CHRISTMAS STORY FROM GOD'S WORD

4. PONDER WHAT MARY MAY HAVE PONDERED

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." What might Mary have "pondered"?

The Gift of Family

Elizabeth, her cousin, affirmed her. "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Joseph, her husband, Provided for her and Protected her. (In the new movie "The Nativity Story" Joseph is fleshed out as the righteous man that he is described in the Bible. She realizes what a truly good man Joseph is: helps her father pay his taxes, obeys God and doesn't divorce her, provides for and protects her on the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Take time to think about your family and the gift of Christmas memories in th family in which you grew up or the blessing of your family as it is now. I realize some have not had a blessed family that could be seen as a gift. Absent father. Addicted mother. Scattered siblings. Perhaps your blood family is not a blessing. The Psalmist said: "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families." God has a family for you--the Family of God, the Christian community. Ponder that truth.

The Blessedness of Being

Her cousin Elizabeth said of her "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!" Mary herself sang: "for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me. . ." We need to take time to quietly contemplate the blessedness of being--the person God has created us to be. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made." Ponder the blessings of the life you have right now!

The Joy of the Shepherds

The angel announced to shepherds: "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Quiet contemplation may take the shape of considering the joy of the Christmas story: Emmanuel God with us in Jesus. God comes into our lives. We experience salvation. We experience forgiveness. We have a personal relationship with God. Sins forgiven. Heaven is our home. Consider the joy.

Arthur Fogartie, a Presbyterian minister, was sent by his wife to get some last-minute essentials. He got caught up in the snail-paced shuffle through the cash register lineup. Here's his story, slightly adapted.

December 24 I stood in the grocery store line having followed my wife's instruction to the letter - well almost. While whatever brand of condensed or evaporated or gamma-rayed milk I clutched was technically correct, I somehow instinctively knew that 1,275 oz was more than I was supposed to buy. Hey, it was on sale. It was not exactly what my wife wanted but close enough for me.

So, I was in trouble.

The 11-year-old running the cash register was in the opening 48 minutes of his first day, mid-tape changing and chewing a finger nail while awaiting the return of the woman in front of me who had departed for the third time to get "just one more thing."

It was 4:45 p.m. The service I was to conduct started at 5:30 but still I had offered to go to the store to fulfill some primordial need to make Christmas Eve even more frantic.

When the woman finally decided she had everything she needed, they did a price check. Seizing the intercom handset like Captain Kirk ordering a full torpedo attack on the Klingons, the cashier intoned the secret code, which might as well have been a new language because nobody could hear anything over the Muzak. When the manager finally ambled up, having had enough time to wash his car with a Q-tip, several people huddled together and consulted lists of lists and then called the Psychic Hotline before guessing at the cost of the item.

So, there I glowered - in full huffy-puffy mode - moving to the top of Santa's not nice list. Finally it was my turn. I dropped my merchandise on the counter, shoved a 20 dollar bill at the cashier, while muttering "Come on, come on" as he scanned my item approximately one time for every day of the year - beep-beep-be-be-beep.

The total appeared. Somebody handed me a bag and my change. I prepared to execute my very best, "I cannot believe that you inconvenienced moi" stalk out of the store. Then the adolescent clerk body-slammed me onto the mat of Yuletide reality. "Merry Christmas, sir," he said.

Remember the joy.