I sat down recently to spend a few minutes reading my Bible and decided to read the Christmas story in Mark. I couldn’t remember ever reading the Christmas story in that gospel, so I thought I’d give it a whirl.
Well, it appears Mark believes in cutting to the chase.
There’s no mention of a manger. No Mary and Joseph. No baby Jesus. No bright star or angels or heavenly hosts. No silent night. No holy night.
As a matter of fact, if Mark was the only gospel where Jesus’ entrance to this world was mentioned, Christmas would look vastly different.
There would be no gifts.
There would be no Linus delivering the stellar line in the Charlie Brown Christmas special.
There would be no lights shining so brightly.
There would be a wild looking man named John the Baptist dressed in leather and camel hair, preparing the way for Jesus by preaching one message. A message we don’t typically hear at Christmas.
A message that’s rough around the edges and little hard to swallow alongside my sausage balls and cheese blintzes.
Repentance.
That one word sums up the beginnings of the Christ story according to Mark.
“And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins…” (Mark 1: 4-5).
This is about the place in the sermon where I start hoping some people I know are really paying attention. I climb up on my mental high horse and think, “Thank you Lord for this message all these people need to hear- because you know how they act. You know how selfish they are. Whew. And you know so and so just needs a full out repentance revival. Mercy!”
It’s a that point, Jesus whispers to me. It’s a message to you and you alone. You need this message, Lysa. I am calling you to repent. This is the way you need to prepare for Christmas in your heart this year.
“I will send a messenger ahead of you, who will prepare the way- a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’ ” (Mark 1:2-3).
The girl who can be such a mess.
Hears the messenger calling for repentance.
So, she makes Christmas not the same old story but a message meant for her heart.
And she whispers once again, “I’m sorry Jesus. Forgive me. Heal me. Restore me. Those little places I excuse. Those same old things that trip me up. The pride that keeps me thinking it’s someone else’s fault. The busyness that makes me forget to stop and consider my ways- my thoughts- my actions. You, Messiah are the best match for my mess.”
I doubt this will ever be the most popular version of the Christmas story but for me this year, it’s perfect.
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It is the perfect message indeed, Lysa. I’m surrendering my whole mess to Him and seeking Him above all else this season – this day.
This is great, Lysa! Isn’t it so true that, when the message is repentance, we think its for the other guy! Thanks for the reminder – we are all dressed in the clothing of the sinner, much in need of the Savior, born on Christmas Day!
Thank you, Lysa. This is just what I needed to hear.
Thanks for helping us look at Christmas from a different perspective, because actually that is the reason God sent his son to die.
John was the one sent to help prepare the way for Him.
Excellent post
Thank you for posting this. It hit home.
How true! Jesus came to give repentence for ALL us sinners, not just the other guys! We tend to focus soo much on a manger, stars, Bethlehem, stable, etc. that we tend to forget why He came.
Thanks for the reminder that He came to help us Messed up Girls!
Great message. I too am one messy girl and this is such a good reminder of how we are called to interact with our Lord. Thank you. Merry Christmas to you!
This is so needed for me too, thank you! One good thing about feeling like a mess and a failure is that it makes me all the more grateful for the gift of forgiveness and salvation.
I’ve been walking this walk of faith for a long time, but I still need to hear John”s clarion call to “Repent!” daily.
You’re right, this isn’t the typical Christmas message we read or hear this time of the year but vital, vital, vital.
Realmente essa não é a mensagem de natal q vemos por aí. Mas é essa q faz todo o sentido em minha vida, em nossas vidas! que possamos compartilha-la cada vez mais!
obrigada Lysa pela mensagem.abçs
Lysa… two words: Thank you.
Getting down off my high horse now so I can bow facedown.
Thank you, Lysa, for this humbling reminder. It was exactly what I needed!
Beautiful…Amen Sister!
I was reading this beautiful piece not knowing who the author was and thinking this sounds just like my favorite “teacher”. Thus it was no surprise when I came to the part where it was written, “this message is for you, Lysa”. Awesome! This message was for me too. I love how Jesus works and I am delighted even at the messages that sting. If He didn’t love me (all of us) so much, He wouldn’t take the time to gently guide and correct me.
Yes, it is perfect! And seems to be the focus for me this year too. I worked with kids in a Christian environment for so long that Christmas was all about celebrating Jesus’ birthday. But it’s more than cake and a birthday song on Christmas day. It’s celebrating the birth of our savior, the fact that we CAN repent and be made new and live new life! The Dayspring Christmas pattern line has really stuck with me this year as I celebrate the time when “Love Came Down.” So thankful He did…
Me too, Emily. So very thankful He came down. I know what you mean about the Jesus birthday celebrations with kids. I have one in a mental hospital right now – a daughter adopted from foster care years ago who’s still so broken. The Jesus birthday celebrations nearly mock me. I want so badly for my girl to find him… and it’s SO not about the little songs and tinsel. It’s this wild-hearted, powerful Savior. Oh, that she’d find Him this year….
Saying a prayer for your daughter and your entire family, Laurie.
Laurie,
Oh…this touched and broke my heart. I am and will continue to pray for your precious daughter…..and your family. Praying that she will feel the Lord’s love for her, that she will allow Him to fill up those broken and empty places in her mind and heart. He does have a perfect plan for her life. I know that this must be so hard for you…even in trusting His sovereignty…even in trusting in His perfect love for her….this is hard! God knows, He understands her (and your) pain, and brokeness…He came to save and to heal and bind up the brokenhearted. Trusting with you…that He will heal her completely!!
Laurie, I will pray for your daughter too…..how precious a mother heart is….your love and concern is written in every work in your post. We sisters in the Lord will bear your burden before our the throne….
You are right Lysa, it is the perfect Christmas story!!! No better gift can be given to Jesus other than ourselves! I am sure he is smiling down on you 🙂
I love this perspective on Mark’s gospel! Repentance is a beautiful thing- http://deevers.blogspot.com/2011/02/repentance.html
Wow Lysa—-Did I ever need this today!! Thank you so very much!!! I hope you have a very Blessed Christmas!!!!! Barb
This hits perfectly with where I am struggling in my walk right now. It is a good reminder as I celebrate Christmas and look to a new year and new repentance. A fresh start in my walk with my Lord and Master, my King.
Recently, I was reflecting on the “sound bite” message of each week of Advent. When lighting the first candle of the Advent Wreathe we reflect on the “Get Ready!” message. The second week, it is “Be Not Afraid!” and the Third week is “Rejoice!” (The fourth and still coming is “He is Here!” But we’re not there yet…)
So here I am walking through my life, stumbling thru the season and I get the “Get Ready…” Get ready for what? What do I need to do- OH my gosh the list of what I need to do is long, so overwheming, do I have to do it by myself?
And it’s all up to me. Repent.
I don’t know what’s going to occur and that makes me afraid. Fear is one of my things that I am very good at, very familiar with. And then this powerlessness weilds its ugliness and becomes control. Repent.
“Rejoice” message is elusive. Fragile. Foreign. It seems a little messy- because rejoicing is out there. My husband and I call me the Messy Girl!! And I am.
Oh Baby Jesus. How will you fiind a soft manger in my messy barnyard life?
It may never be the most popular, but it is (for me at least) the most needed version of the story! Thank you for the reminder to prepare our hearts.
Blessings!
Turning, repenting, bending low….
Thank you, friend — for sharing the message with another messy girl…
Great perspective, Lysa. I hadn’t thought about the Gospel of Mark in that way. We all certainly need to repent, but I can swallow John’s message better wrapped in the miracle of the Christ-child’s birth.
Amen!
I have been so pointing the finger at my husband. He kind of mentally checks out every year at Christmas. Don’t know why. We have two boys, 7 and 8 and it should be a wondrous time of year for them. This word smacked me in the forehead. I need to repent and deal with my own plank. It’s funny because on one hand I want to say thank you and on the other hand I want to say “rats” because I don’t want to really deal with my own stuff. But my family will be better for it. Thank you.
Not sure how I miss this post but tonight was the right time for me to read it. I too feel this is the thing lacking in MY LIFE so often.
Just last night we sit with a young couple who is struggling with their marriage and as the wife and I did dishes after a great meal she begin to confide in me. With an open heart she said, it’s my stuff I have to deal with now that he has apoligize and trying his best to be the man of God he needs to be. It is amazing how that stuff clears out when we repent. I was able to share there is usually not a week that goes by that I have to repent of some bad attitude, anger, judging and we have been married 48 years. Thank God, thank God for I John 1;9…..
Great soul searching post…thanks for the courage it took to post for God had to work on your heart first to make it so thought provoking.