As we get ready for the Christmas experience, I’ve been reading the beginning of Luke… The birth of John the Baptist foretold, Jesus’ birth foretold, Mary pregnant with Jesus visiting Elizabeth pregnant with John…    And I’m struck by how these people, who—over the last 2000 years—have been mythologized, responded to these magnificent spiritual moments and the great responsibilities that followed.    I want to highlight a few phrases for us today…    When Zacharias is told that his wife will become pregnant with a prophet named John… the angel says, “Listen carefully…”    Luke 1:22 “When Zacharias came out from the Temple, he was unable to speak to them. They realized that he had seen a vision… and remained mute.”    Verse 24: “After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely…”    Verse 28, now with Mary, “The angel said, “Greetings favored one! The lord is with you.” But she was greatly perplexed at what he said, and kept carefully considering what kind of greeting this way…”    Do you notice any theme in these moments? These grandiose spiritual encounters… Moments that would change these people’s lives, and ultimately change the course of history…    Words like: Listen carefully… he remained mute… she secluded herself… she carefully considered…    When was the last time you listened carefully? Remained mute? Secluded yourself? Carefully considered?    For most of us, there’s not room to be patient, quiet, contemplative, being careful… Moving slowly… Deciding slowly… Having space to breathe and reflect and consider what’s in front of us.    Zacharias was so impacted that he knew words would minimize the magnitude of it all… Elizabeth needed solitude to receive the fullness of what was happening this late in life… Mary chose to listen, intently…    This all culminates in the actual birth of Jesus… Where the busyness of a small town and the pace of everyone running around forces a young woman to give birth in a stable surrounded by farm animals…    The Inn, too full for Mary and Joseph, over-capacity, too busy to consider making room, is a perfect metaphor for our lives.    Inundated by notifications, dings and buzzes, emails and likes and comments and news alerts… Every waking minute accounted for. One thing leading to the next… A subconscious fear of open time causing us to fill it all…    In pursuit of productivity, we’ve secretly convinced ourselves to fill every minute with something productive… something that ACHIEVES or makes us smarter or more informed or more prepared for that meeting…    The Inn is too full.    But guess what? Jesus came anyways.    It didn’t deter him… He took whatever space was available. In humility, became the most vulnerable thing on earth, in one of the most unsanitary places, at one of the most inopportune times…    And He continues to do that, doesn’t He?    If our lives don’t have space for Him, He comes anyway.    Those that have the wisdom and discipline to slow down might actually see Him coming… They might actually be ready… Their hearts prepared… The pace and breathing and heart-rate slowed enough to encounter Him…    Zacharias listened carefully… he remained mute… Elizabeth secluded herself… Mary carefully considered…    Each and every day invites us to either add to the noise or to absorb some of it—for ourselves and for others.    We can either heighten the level of activity and chaos and frantic living… Or we can de-escalate. We can pause. We can breathe. We can create space. And we can be prepared for whatever Jesus wants to do in our lives.    I truly believe that Jesus will interrupt our lives whether we’re paying attention or not… but how much better is it to wait and watch, than just fill our minds and hearts and thoughts and emotions with MORE, MORE, MORE…    So… in these last few days leading up to Christmas, I invite you to breathe… to listen carefully… to be silent for a few moments… To seclude yourself, whether its in your car or your basement or a quiet office… and carefully consider what this season means… What it represents… What Jesus might be up to in your life. And how the year ahead can be marked by Immanuel… God with us, in each and every moment of each and every day.    I love you guys, make it a good day.