THE LORD IS WITH YOU

December 7, 2003

Rev. John W. Fowler

Scripture: Luke1:26-38

What difference would it make in your life for you to believe that the Lord is with you in this Christmas season? In the story “Christmas Trouble” by John Sumwalt, an old woman discovered that God was with her. The story follows:

One December evening a group of college students was gathered in The living room of a tiny apartment where their advisor lived, drinking hot chocolate and basking in the afterglow of a caroling experience they had shared at a local nursing home. It was the campus of Christian fellowship group led by Professor Joshua Josephson. The students called him Professor Josh for short. He taught physics and chemistry, and because the college was too small to have a chaplain or a chapel, he had started a Bible study group which met every Friday night in the basement of one of the dormitories.

Every year Professor Josh took the group caroling, and afterwards he invited them back to his apartment for hot chocolate and giant popcorn balls made from a family recipe which he claimed had been handed down for several generations. This year, as it usually did, the conversation got around to the meaning of Christmas. Stories were told of Christmases past, of presents given and presents received, of family gatherings and candlelight services. Everyone had something to tell about the Christmas pageant in their home church and the parts they had played as children.

After a while Professor Josh broke into the conversation and said, ‘I have a Christmas story I would like to share with all of you.

“In the little country church where I grew up,” he began, “we had a tradition of Christmas caroling in the homes of all the older persons who were unable to come to church. The tradition was started when Miss Bower and Miss Dickenson were our pastors. I never knew their first names. People always referred to them as Miss Bower and Miss Dickenson. They were a tandem. For some reason the bishop always appointed them to serve together, and that’s the way people always spoke of them. It was impossible to think of one without the other. TheY shared all of the pastoral duties. One preached one Sunday, the other the next. One was in charge of the Sunday school and the Youth Fellowship group, the other met with the Women’s group and the Men’s Brotherhood. They used to say that Miss Bower was the best dart ball player the Brotherhood ever had.

“It was Miss Dickenson who organized the caroling expeditions. Miss Bower stayed behind to prepare cookies and hot beverages for the party they always had afterwards at the parsonage.

“The incident I am going to tell you about occurred before I was born. In those days most of the farmers in that part of the country still farmed with horses. When it came time for caroling, they would get out the bobsleds and sleighs which had been stored away all year in the backs of machine sheds and barns. They would pack about a dozen people into each sled, about half as many into each sleigh, and cover everyone with lap robes and horse blankets. Then they would bring out heated soap stones and tuck them down into the straw in the bottom of the rigs to keep their feet warm.

“There is nothing like a sleigh ride in the country with bells ringing and snow glistening on a moonlit night. Sometimes they would pull right up to the windows and sing without getting unbundled. At other places people would insist that everyone come inside so they could see their faces and feed them cookies while they warmed themselves around the stove. The old people looked forward to their coming. For some who couldn't get out at all, and who had no family to come to them, it was the only taste of Christmas they would get. There were always a lot of tears and hugs as the last of ‘Silent Night’ was sung and the last ‘Merry Christmases’ were said.

“There was one place where the carolers never received a warm welcome. Old Mrs. Higgens lived all alone in a big farmhouse up at the end of Wheat Hollow. It was the farthest place out on the carolers’ route, almost six miles from the church. Mrs. Higgens had been a widow for years. Her children and grandchildren all lived in distant cities, so she rarely saw them. In fact, she rarely saw anyone. She hired one of the neighbors to do her shopping, and as far as anyone knew he was the only one who ever spoke to her. Every year when the carolers turned up the long lane which led to her house, they would see lights in her kitchen window, but by the time they pulled into the yard the house would be dark. Miss Dickenson always insisted that they sing a few carols anyway, but every year there was no response. The house always remained dark.

“One year just before caroling time, Miss Dickenson went out to see Mrs. Higgens. Mrs. Higgens must have known who she was. Perhaps she had been expecting her? For whatever reason, she let her in. She took her directly into the parlor, invited her to sit on the davenport sat herself down on the matching chair, folded her hands in her lap, and said, ‘Reverend, I’m so glad you've come. I’ve been wanting to ask you to pray for me.’

“’Oh,’ said Miss Dickenson, ‘what would you like me to pray about?’

“’Well,’ said Mrs. Higgens, ‘I would like you to ask god to forgive me. I can’t find the words to say it myself.’

“’For what do you need to be forgiven?’ asked Miss Dickenson.

“At that point Mrs. Higgens broke down and the tears flowed for quite a while. ‘It’s a long story,’ she said. ‘Years ago, before we moved here and before my husband and I were married, we found out that I was expecting We were engaged to be married, but we were waiting for him to graduate from high school and get a job so he could support us. When we learned about the baby we were beside ourselves. We didn’t know what to do. Well, before we could do anything or tell anyone, we were in an accident. We went caroling with a group of kids from the church. One of the horses bolted. The sleigh in which we were riding overturned and everyone was thrown into the ditch. No one was seriously injured, but it was quite a jolt and that night I lost the baby. Somehow, I don’t know how, we managed to keep it from our folks. They never found out. The next hear Frank and I were married as planned and we moved out here to this community partly to get away from the memory of all that. We figured it would be a fresh start for both of us. When you started to bring the carolers around at Christmastime, it brought back all of those memories. And with Frank gone and me here with no one to talk to, it has become more that I can bear.’

“’I understand,’ Miss Dickenson said. Then she invited Mrs. Higgens to kneel down with her and they prayed together.

Mrs. Higgens was healed of a painful memory and discovered that Christmas that God was with her. In a little village named Nazareth, some 2000 years ago a young teen-age girl also discovered that God was with her.

Mary was shocked when she heard the angel Gabriel’s greeting: “Greetings, you are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary asked, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born to you will be called the Son of God.” Mary’s response was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as You have said.” It was a response of remarkable faith. Mary believed that the Lord was with her.

When Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, she heard her cousin exclaim, “Why am I so blessed that the mother of my Lord should come and visit me?”

The babe in Elizabeth’s womb, who was John the Baptist, leapt for joy, when Mary arrived. This visit let Mary know THAT THE LORD WAS WITH HER.

When Mary and Joseph were warned in a dream not to return home by the angel because of the wicked King Herod that wanted to kill the child, Mary and her family went to Egypt and she knew THAT THE LORD WAS WITH HER.

When Mary’s boy was missing and she and Joseph finally found him in the temple after searching for three days, and his reply was, “Did you not know that I must be about my father’s business?” Mary knew THAT THE LORD WAS WITH HER.

When Mary’s son grew up and was just beginning his public ministry, they went to a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and they ran out of wine. She told her son about this but He said, “My time has not yet come.” She told the wind stewards, “Do whatever he tells you.”

That day the first miracle of our Lord occurred with water turning into wine and Mary knew THAT THE LORD WAS WITH HER.

When she was at the cross watching her son die a cruel and agonizing death, she heard her son on the cross say, “Woman behold you son.” And then Jesus looked at his disciple, John, and said, “Behold your mother.” Even on the cross Jesus was showing his care and concern for His mother and Mary knew THAT GOD WAS WITH HER.

And when Mary of Magdalene came breathless, excitedly shouting, “The Lord is risen!”, Mary knew that the Lord was with her.

Knowing that the Lord was with her gave Mary the courage to do God’s Will, not only in the birth of Jesus, but throughout her life.

How do you need to know that the Lord is with you this Christmas? Let me share with you three excellent biblical examples.

Moses (Exodus 3) was very reluctant to respond faithfully to God’s Call in the burning bush. He offered many excuses: “I do not speak well, they will not listen to me. Please send someone else.” But God convinced by saying, “I WILL BE WITH YOU.”

David faced a giant-sized problem (I Samuel 17) and really seemed to be a very poor match of 9’9” Goliath. What was the difference? David believed strongly THAT THE LORD WAS WITH HIM, and Goliath was defeated.

Are you facing a giant-sized problem this Christmas? You may be struggling with grief. David knew grief very well with the death of two sons and wrote in Psalm 23:

When Jesus appeared to his disciples, as their risen Lord, He gave them a Great Commission: 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. …which seems to be and impossible task, considering how they deserted Him when He was arrested, but He said: And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Knowing that God is with us gives a boldness to live our faith and share our faith at Christmas.

And continuing the story told by John Sumwalt: There was another young girl named Mary who discovered that God was with her:

“Not long after that, late one Sunday evening, Miss Bower and Miss Dickenson heard a knock on their parsonage door. When they opened the door, they were surprised to see that it was a girl named Mary from the Youth Fellowship group. She said she had to talk to someone. Miss Dickenson took her into the study, and before she could take her coat or offer her a chair, Mary blurted out that she was pregnant. She said she knew better and they hadn’t intended for it to happen, but it had happened and now what was she going to do? She said she was afraid to tell her folks and she didn’t know if her boyfriend would marry her. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to get married. She had almost a year of school left and were would they live? How could they afford to take care of a baby?

“Miss Dickenson listened, and when Mary was finished she said the usual things that pastors say to young girls who come to them in that kind of trouble. But Mary was not to be comforted. It was as if she hadn’t heard a word Miss Dickenson said. Finally, almost in desperation, Miss Dickenson told her, ‘You must tell your folks. I’ll go with you if you like. But before you tell them, I want you to pay a visit to old Mrs. Higgens.’

“If she hadn’t had Mary’s attention before. she had it now. ‘Old Mrs. Higgens?’ she said. ‘Why in the world would you want me to go and see her? Besides, she won’t see me; she won’t see anyone.’

“’Yes, she will,’ Miss Dickenson said. ‘I’ll arrange it.’

“The next day after school Mary drove up Wheat Hollow to see old Mrs. Higgens. She didn’t know why she was going, but she had told Miss Dickenson she would go, and so she went. When she got to the door, Mrs. Higgens was waiting for her. She said, ‘Hello, Mary,’ and then she ushered her directly into the parlor. She sat her down on the davenport, sat herself down beside her, and before Mary could say a word, she poured out her whole story, just the way she had told it to Miss Dickenson. And then she added one more thing. She looked Mary straight in the eye and said, ‘My baby would have been 62 years old this year.’

“By this time, of course, Mary was crying. Through her tears she thanked Mrs. Higgens and told her she knew now what she had to do.

“That year when the Christmas carolers drove up Wheat Hollow to Mrs. Higgens’ place, she left the lights on. And when they got to the door she invited them in and insisted that they stay for hot chocolate and cookies.”

And then Professor Josh paused for a moment before he said, “Mary Josephson was my mother. She never married my father, but she loved me and raised me as if I were God’s own beloved son.”

What difference would it make in your life for you to believe that the Lord is with you in this Christmas season?

The angel said to Mary, “Greeting, you who are highly favored! THE LORD IS WITH YOU.”