What is the Christmas spirit?
How does one get into it?

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Luke 1:46-55 - The Magnificat

46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

These are revolutionary words.
Banned in India during the British rule and in 1980s Guatemala’s

Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“The song of Mary is the oldest Advent hymn. It is at once the most passionate, the wildest, one might even say the most revolutionary Advent hymn ever sung. This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary whom we sometimes see in paintings.…This song has none of the sweet, nostalgic, or even playful tones of some of our Christmas carols. It is instead a hard, strong, inexorable song about the power of God and the powerlessness of humankind.”

The Magnificat captures the true Spirit of Christmas.

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What is Mary saying?
The kingdom of God is coming. God is setting the world to right. Part of this move will be a move against certain kinds of people. Namely, the proud, the powerful and the rich.

Why would he be against them? Because they have no place in the kind of world God wants to build.

Matthew 23:1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries[a] wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.
8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

1 John 3:16-17
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

Christmas is the beginning of the celebration of the God who is moving against (or to reverse the fortunes of) the proud, powerful and rich.

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And Christmas is the beginning of the celebration of the God who is moving on behalf of a certain kind of person.

Those who fear God
- Healthy reverence for God and humility before God
- God is God and I am not

Hebrew OT word -> Anawim
- literally – those who are bowed down
- Lowly, poor, oppressed, marginalized
- People who have accepted this position in life
- Vulnerable, dependent, grateful to God
- This humility and grateful submission to God was seen as the ideal attitude/posture

Psalm 37:10-11
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land
and enjoy peace and prosperity.

Luke 4:16-19
16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The Anawim are the inheritors of God’s kingdom all throughout scripture, from the Psalms to the beautitudes.

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Want to recapture the Christmas spirit?
Where can it be found?

For the Proud and Powerful and Rich
Self analysis of your pride (inner-most thoughts)
- Cultivate the anawim spirit of dependence on God – fear of God
- Become meek
Align yourself with the anawim – join God in his work
- Where are you serving this Christmas? Who are you serving?
- Do something radical for the poor

For the Anawim - the hungry, powerless, poor
- Believe, know, trust – that the less you have, the more you hurt, the more helpless you are, the more this season is for you.
- Blessed are you for the God of the anawim is on the move and you shall inherit the earth

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Get a Nativity scene and spend some time reflecting on the shepherds. They represent the first anawim invited into the Christmas story.