Mary Christmas

I think we had about as small a group in Bible study tonight as I have ever seen. 6 weeks ago tonight we had about the most I’ve seen at church on a Wednesday evening. It wasn’t for Bible study, although we certainly studied the Bible. It was for the last night of our dear Brother Spruill’s latest revival. But tonight’s study was just as good for me.

I remember pastor Spruill’s message that evening, it was on the Kingdom of God. And tonight’s study was about the King’s mother. Mary.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, as part of Christianity knows her. Holy Mary, Mother of God. The Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Mary. Joseph’s espoused wife. Maryam in Syric and Aramaic. Miryam in Hebrew. Maron in the Septuagint. Maria in the Vulgate. Possibly Mery or Meryt in Egyptian.

A German, O. Bardenhewer, in a publication dated 1895 (Der Name Maria. Geschichte der Deutung desselben. Freiburg) discussed 70 meanings for the name Mary.

Most a result, I imagine, because Jesus came into the world though a very humble, apparently very young, woman named Mary. And Jesus is the singular name that has most impacted the entire world.

But let me back up to the worship in music part of the service and discuss something that set my mind in motion.

We had a soloist tonight who has sung many times in our church. He was accompanied by his wife on piano and a young woman in our congregation who plays a violin as well as any I’ve heard. And I am a big fan of the violin. I sometimes like fiddle music, but mostly I have two favorite instruments. Violin and piano. And they both move me in ways other instruments can not.

The song they sang for us tonight I don’t remember hearing before. I was told tonight the song, written and recorded by Chris Rice, Untitled Hymn and known also as Come to Jesus, was released in the early 1990s. I somehow missed it then. But I’m a big fan, now! The words, which I won’t take the time to cut and paste into this entry, jerked me fully awake.

But let me print one line from each chorus.

Come to Jesus Sing to Jesus Fall on Jesus Cry to Jesus Dance for Jesus Fly to Jesus
I want to pull out the third chorus and talk about it a bit. Fall on Jesus.

When I thought about fall here are some of the things that processed in my mind faster than I could develop and certainly faster than I could write.

Fall on. Fall out. Fall for. Fall down. Fall back. Fall at. Fall line. Fall fast. Fall into. Fall behind.

And out of those I want to explore only one. Fall back.

Now if you were to conduct a survey as to the meaning of those two words used together you would get a variety of answers. I would hope you would. Fall back as in fall behind. Running but not keeping up. Fall back as in admitting defeat and retreating. Fall back as in fainting and falling backwards.

(Watch closely when people in movies, on TV and on stage faint. They will nearly always fall forward. That is, of course, so they can subtly break their fall. Men who really faint, normally fall backwards. Watch the groom or best man at a wedding. Women who faint, normally fall forward. No, I have no idea why. And it is only my observation, not statistical fact.)

Fall back as in giving up. But the song used only one adverb with fall. On. Fall on. Fall on Jesus.

Here is my thought in very short form. No matter why we find ourselves falling, as soon as we discover we are falling, do what ever it takes to fall on Jesus.

Twist and turn and move and cry for help and whatever it takes, but fall on Jesus. There is no sense in falling deeper than we have to. There is no sense in falling and pleading we can’t get up. There is no sense in falling and lying in the dust. Or rolling into the ditch. Or laying where we land until we die.

So we fall. It is just a fall. We are human. But we don’t have to fall away from Jesus. Because as we live a life dedicated to Christ we will not fall without knowing it. I am sure of that. We might find ourselves in the process of falling, but as soon as recognition comes, fall on Jesus.

So we fall. It is just a fall. We don’t have to say, “Woe is me, I’m down for the count.” Get the *%@@ up and run back to Jesus. If you are having trouble getting up, cry to Jesus. He loves coming back and picking us up. He’ll never come back and say, “Did it again? I’m about to give up on you.” He will come back, and come back, and come back 70 times 7, to pick us up.

But we won’t need picked up near as much if we will learn to fall TO Jesus.

So many more thoughts, but I’ll let the Holy Spirit help you with them. You don’t need me. Think about fall back as in regrouping, recommitting, renewing, and not as retreat. Think about fall down as a process in which you have time to fall TO Jesus.

Don’t think you need to worry about falling? Ah contraire my friend. If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT.

The other thing that got me excited this evening was this thought put to us by Kerry. Have a Mary Christmas.

Now in light of Luke 1:26-38 which was out text this evening, that is a powerful, and the best, thought I believe I’ve ever heard about Christmas.

Please, please reread Luke 1 and listen to what Mary tells Gabriel at the end of his announcement to her concerning Jesus.

And this is a card I am seriously thinking of developing and sending next year.

You can click to enlarge.

Thank you Pastor for the inspiration.