The Christmas Question
If you’d like to check out the more in-depth message this article is based on, you can check it out here.
When did you start listening to Christmas songs? Be honest. Was it November 1st? October? Did you just skip the Thanksgiving decor all together and just go straight to Christmas? How far back did you start decorating your house with lights?
Do you get Christmas candles? Every year we seem to get the candles that smell like delicious food, especially pies, like this little imposter. So when I get home I think that Rachel has baked an awesome pie, when in reality, it was a scented wax liar that welcomed my nose into the house. And then I have to decide if the candle is edible. It’s awkward.
Christmas for most people, is more of a season than a day. Something happens to us that we can’t wait to get into ‘Christmas mode’. We want to feel Christmas sooner, we plan earlier, we tell ourselves that November 1st isn’t too early to listen to the classics and eggnog should be available year round. Note: There’s actually a petition for Walmart to sell this all the time by the way, you can sign it (like I did) here or simply make your own from a recipe. Can you tell I like this holiday drink?
But Christmas is unique in another way: Christmas is also the only time of year that we ask multiple people the same question and then follow it up with an action, every year. In fact because it only happens during this time of year let’s call it the Christmas question:
The Christmas Question: “What do you want?”
We love this question don’t we? Everyone likes gifts. Everyone wants to be thought of. Everyone loves the moment of surprise when they tear into their gift to see what someone who loves them got them.
How would you answer if God asked you this question?
We actually have two examples of God doing exactly that in Mark chapter 10, and the requests by the people who were fortunate enough to be asked, were very different. Jesus’ answer to them was very different and surprising as well.
I covered this first instance in another article I did recently, which you can read here, but here’s the recap:
1. God, I want GLORY.
In Mark 10:36-38 some of the guys in Jesus’ inner circle request that Jesus does whatever they ask of Him, and surprisingly Jesus obliges, he asks: “What do you want me to do for you?'“
They respond with a big ask: power and influence. They’re pretty sure Jesus is a powerful and influential guy, and if He’s anything close to who He says He is, Jesus has the power and influence Himself to grant their request. Jesus lets them know that their request is improper, misguided and contrary to what He’s trying to accomplish. They’ve been pushed around a lot by elected an un-elected officials, by other nations, or just by people with more power and influence than they possess. They want a turn. They want to be in charge for once, to give other people justice, to have things their way. But they’ve forgotten their limitations - they’re just people too, and people will misuse, abuse, or not use power effectively.
In the second instance, Jesus is approached by a guy on the side of the road, a very persistent guy. It’s right after the little chat Jesus has with his disciples about their unreasonable request. But this request is the right one:
2. God, I want MERCY.
Mark 1046-48 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
A beggar is on the side of the road, blind and without hope, until he hears about Jesus passing by. He’s heard that Jesus is a miracle worker, possibly close to God in a unique way and so He thinks, this is my chance. So he shouts as loud as he can. He can’t see Jesus to go up to him so he uses what he can to get Jesus’ attention.
Mark 10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
Success! Jesus notices Bartimaeus and calls him over. The man is overjoyed, so he jumps and runs (probably with some assistance) to Jesus. Jesus then asks this blind man the same question he asked His own disciples.
Mark 10:51 “What do you want me to do for you?'“
In the first instance the disciples ask for a blank check - “just give us what we want Jesus”. In the second instance, Bartimaeus begins his request begging for mercy -”have mercy on me!” Jesus’ question is really this: “In light of asking for mercy, what would you like me to do for you?”
If you ready the whole story from Mark 10 :35-52 you’ll notice a striking contrast between Bartimaeus and the disciples during their requests:
The disciples are in community and accepted; Bartimaeus is by the road, rebuked by people.
The disciples have their physical eyesight but are spiritually blind; Bartimaeus is physically blind but spiritually can see.
The disciples are already following Jesus but desire more; Bartimaeus desires something and follows Jesus when it’s given to Him, needing nothing more.
Jesus rejects their request for the disciples own glory; but Jesus grants the request for Bartimaeus’ own mercy.
Here’s the point: The Christmas story begins with God showing His mercy on a world that desperately needs it. Most of us want some form of glory - fame, prestige, power, money or a place of importance. As it turns out though, only God can be trusted with those things to their fullest extent.
We should first and foremost ask God for something He begins to bring during the Christmas season - Mercy. The entire story of the Bible is a cyclical pattern of us rejecting, spitting in the face of, ignoring or willfully antagonizing God; and yet He continues to show mercy. Mercy is there at the beginning of the Christmas story.
In the first Chapter of Luke where we often read of the Christmas story, mercy is a prominent theme: Mary sings a song of how God’s mercy will extend from ‘generation to generation’ (Luke 1:50). Her cousin Elizabeth who was known as a righteous, devout person, was celebrated by her neighbors and relatives as one who had been ‘shown great mercy’ by the Lord (Luke 1:58). Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, twice in his song to God, praises God for His mercy for their ancestors who often forgot or rejected God (Luke 1:72), but more importantly in God’s ‘tender mercy’ through the ‘knowledge of salvation, through the forgiveness of their sins.’
So how should we answer the Christmas question?
“God, this Christmas I want and need your mercy.”
In any given year we’ve said and done things we regret. We’ve ignored God when things are good and come back to Him when we’re in desperate need. We’ve been inconsistent with prayer, demanding with blessings and shouted at Him when we’re angry or confused.
And yet He keeps coming back, asking: “What would you like me to do for you?”
What would you like God to give you mercy for?
How can you accept that He’s already forgiven you for it, and granted that mercy - through Jesus Christ?
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