Journey week #5

Journey week #5

12/30/12

 

Did you get what you wanted for Christmas?  Some did.  Others might not have…but that is kind of the nature of Christmas isn't it?  It is full of surprises.  Some good, others disappointing.

Even our study of the Christmas Journey has been like that.  There have been some really neat things like seeing pictures of some of these places we have heard about…We remember learning about Nazareth and Sepphoris and how Mary was a poor girl that may have lived in a cave.

We remember learning about Bethlehem, both ancient and modern, and how it means "field of bread".  We know now that it is now surrounded by the wall of separation.

We remember learning about Mary's visit to Elizabeth just 6 miles from Bethlehem and the song she sang.

In addition, we remember Mary and Joseph's journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, through famous places like the valley of Jezreel, and Jacobs' well and the difficulty of that journey.

·        In this last week if you were in the study, you may have been surprised to find out that there probably wasn't an inn or an innkeeper in the Christmas story?  The word that has been translated "inn" is actually a guest room.  Since Bethlehem was Joseph's hometown it is much more likely that there was no room in the guest room of the family home, so they fixed up the garage or basement for them.  The stable was essentially the family garage.  Alternatively, since it was almost certainly a cave stable, you might think of it as fixing up the basement for the newlywed couple.  That's a surprise isn't it?

·        Similarly, the manger was probably not a wooden box as we envision it.  Wood was a precious commodity in that part of the country.  More likely, it was a stone feeding trough.  Wade told me if I wanted to be authentic next year and have a stone manger, I had to carry it in myself.  Therefore, I think we'll stick with the wooden one.

·        Then there are the wise men.  There are a few surprises there. 

o   How about, they likely came only 600 miles from modern day Iraq.  If they were on camels that is only a 3 week journey.   Like across Iowa twice.  I always thought it took months for them to get there. 

o   Additionally there may not have been three.  There are three gifts, but the Bible doesn't say there were three Magi.

o   Finally, a Magi is not a king.  They were more like scientists or college professors, they spent their life studying the stars and interpreting what their movements meant.  Frankly more like astrologers than kings.

You can read more about all of this in the book that we have been using.

 

However, today I want to talk about the angels.    What's so surprising about angels?  Well, first of all this is the 4^th time we see angels in this story.  (One each at Mary's, Joseph's, and Zechariah's annunciation and now to the shepherds)  Nowhere in the Bible do angels appear more often than in the Christmas story.  Angels are messengers.  Messengers from God to people.  God had been trying to get his message of good news and great joy across for 5000 years.  His message kept getting lost somewhere in the spam filter of our brains.  This time God was just bound and determined that we would get the message. 

So far, God's message has appeared to a respected, but skeptical Jewish priest (Zechariah) and a poor little girl named Mary.  God's message came to a down-to-earth, common, Jewish laborer (Joseph), and if you count the message to the wise men, it appeared to a bunch of foreigners with their heads in the stars (the Magi).  God used a mass marketing advertising campaign before Jesus was ever born to make sure that, if not everybody, at least somebody was listening.

 Today we read of perhaps the most spectacular angel message of all-- this is the Super bowl commercial of angel messages. 

8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.¹⁰But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.  ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.'  ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ¹⁴ 'Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!'

 

Let's look at the angel's message, because I think it will tell us something important about God, something essential to understanding Jesus, and something fundamental to understanding what it means to be a disciple of the newborn king.

 

1.     First, we have to understand the audience.  Good advertising is always directed at a particular audience.  There were in that region- around Bethlehem- Shepherds.  Now shepherds were among the lowest class of workers in Israel.  The only thing lower would have been someone who had an unclean job like swineherd or picking up dead carcasses or tax collector.  Shepherds were dirty, smelly, perhaps a little rough around the edges-- but they were also, for the most part, humble, honest people.  Notice it was not just to regular shepherds that the message was directed.  "There was in that region shepherds out in their fields keeping their watch over their flocks by night."  This was the night shift of shepherds.  Talk about the lowest of the low.  These guys are the underlings that worked for the shepherds who went to be with their families after a hard day in the field.  It was to these second-class shepherds that the angel's message came.

 

2.     The first thing the angel said was "don't be afraid for behold."  This must have been quite a shock to the shepherds.  "Don't be afraid for behold." 

I was interested in the combination of Greek words here because they are so vivid and active.  .  The root of the word "to be fearing" is connected to the word to flee.  In other words, don't be running away like a frightened lamb.  The word for "behold" means, "be perceiving," "reflecting on", "really soaking in the sight".  The angel said, "Do not be fleeing but be seeing" Don't be fleeing, be seeing!

 

3.     What did he want the shepherds to see?  He wanted them to see "good news of great joy."  It is news of great joy, not great fear.  How long do you suppose it had been since these lowest of low, night shift shepherds had heard good news?  As we look back on 2012 how long has it been since we have heard good news.

a.     There isn't much good happening in Washington, or Cairo, or Jerusalem.

b.      There is Newtown Connecticut, the Trayvon/Martin case, and the Colorado shootings.

c.      There is Hurricane Sandy, gas prices and Jerry Sandusky. 

d.     There is the death of American icons Whitney Houston, Norman Schwarzkopf, and Joe Paterno.

A person just gets beaten down by all the bad news.  When you are already on the bottom of the social ladder like the night shift shepherds, there isn't very far to go down, but that doesn't make the darkness any easier.  We are all ready for some good news aren't we?  I for one would like to be able to watch the news without being afraid of what bad thing has happened today. 

          If it wasn't' obvious already with the message coming to the lowest of the low, the angel says it is for all people.  Not just the rich or just the poor, not just the priests and Pharisees, not even just the Jews or just the Christians.  This is good news for all people everywhere!

4.     The good news is "He is here!"  God is born among us as Savior, messiah and lord.  "To you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the lord."  A Savior, Messiah and Lord.  I don't know about you, but I could use a savior.  I need someone to save me from a life of complete narcissism focused on wanting "more, more, more." I need someone to save me from screwing up my marriage.  I need someone to save me from being the worst person I can be. I need someone to save me from my guilt and shame, from hopelessness and despair, from fear and death.  I need someone to save me from my self-centeredness, self-absorption, resentfulness, bitterness.  I need someone to save me so I can be loving and seek justice and offer compassion.  Don't we all need someone to save us from the ugliness of our shared human condition?  Don't we all need a Savior to make us the people God wants us to be?

I don't know about you but I could use a divine king or messiah to lead me out of the brokenness that is in me and deliver me some healing and hope not only to myself, but to those around me and around the world.  Don't we all need a messiah?

Don't we need a Lord, a good God to show us something other than the cold gray walls of the prisons we have built for ourselves?  Someone to live for, someone to honor and obey and serve?  Don't we all need a Lord?

We need a savior, a messiah, and lord.  The angels said, "To you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is the messiah and the lord."

 

5.     13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 
14 'Glory to God in the highest heaven,    and on earth peace among those whom he favors!'

 

This is the tag line at the end of the commercial.  It is God's tag line saying, "I'm God, and I approve this message"

 

We started looking in this angel passage for something important about God, something essential to understanding Jesus, and something fundamental to understanding what it means to be a disciple of the newborn king.  What have we learned?

 

First, what do we learn about God.  The consistent lesson through all of the Christmas story—in fact all of scripture is God's message is intended for ALL people.  God's message that came to the lowliest of the low shepherds also came to men and women, wealthy and poor, religious, non-religious, and even people who followed other religions like the Magi.  The angels say "to you and to all people."  To all people and to you.  No matter who you are, no matter what kind of life you live, no matter how religious you are or are not, no matter what you have done or used to do, no matter what family problems you have, or how you have hurt your loved ones, no matter what you think in the dark quiet corners of your heart; God's message of love for you reaches out from God's heart to yours.  To you and to all people…

Second, what do we learn about Jesus?  What does the angel say?  "A savior who is Christ the Lord."  The good news of great joy is that we have a savior who is Christ the Lord.  A SAVIOR who saves us from our past and our present sin, guilt and shame.  A Savior that brings forgiveness of sin and hope for a better relationship with God.

The angel also calls Jesus, CHRIST (which in Greek is the messiah) who comes to loosen the grip of sin in our lives.  He comes to beat the powerful hold of evil in our hearts.  The angel tells the shepherds and all people that the Christ may come riding on a donkey instead of a white horse, in a stable rather than a palace, but he still offers us the hope of a life free of the power of sin.

 

Finally, the angel points to the fundamental nature of Christian discipleship.  God's message is good news of great joy… Jesus brings salvation and hope… but none of that means a thing unless we make Jesus LORD of our lives, king of our days and ruler of our nights.  Yes, he was born in a stable; no, he doesn't have all the trappings of worldly authority and power.  But as disciples of the Lord of Life we must submit ourselves to the humble baby king, and give ourselves to the one who broke the silent night with the cry that brought salvation and hope to all who will humbly bow before his manger, his cross and his throne.  

 

Are you willing?  How badly do you want salvation?  How much do you need hope?  

Are you willing?  Willing to lay your sins down for the one who was laid down in a humble manger for your salvation?

Are you willing?  Willing to lay your life before the one who laid his life down to free you from the death grip that sin has on your heart?

Are you willing?  Willing to bow in humble adoration and submission before the King of Creation, the Lord of life, the babe of Bethlehem?

Are you willing?  Let's use this time of singing Away In A Manger to say "yes."  Yes, Lord.  Starting today I am willing to call you my savior, My Christ My  Lord.

As we sing, as we pray, you are welcome to join me at the altar rail or in your seat to give thanks, worship him, and to lay your life before him.  Let us sing. 

Journey #4 12/23/12

The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem!

After four weeks of studying this story, we finally come to the part that most people call “the Christmas story.”  They might say that everything before this was setting the stage.  In musical terms, they might say that all that came before was prelude.

They may be right, because even as Mary and Joseph travel this road from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the whole story of God’s acting for humanity is laid out before us.

I was taught that Mary and Joseph likely took an eastern route from Nazareth along the Jordan River to Bethlehem.  This would have been the safer route, skirting the territory of the Samaritans and it would have been an easier route in some ways.

Adam Hamilton along with some scholars suggests that they would have taken the more direct route because, even though it went through the heart of Samaritan territory, with Mary 9 months pregnant they would have taken the shortest route possible.

If that is correct, the journey would have headed south from Nazareth.  As they left Nazareth by the south way and descended from the hills, how could they not admire the beauty of God’s creation?  The valley is called the Jezreel valley.  Jezreel comes from the Hebrew word that means “God sows” reminding us that God has in his wonderful power sowed the seeds of creation.  God in his wonderful grace planted humanity in this creation to flourish and take care of it.

 During these first two days of the journey, they would have walked through the valley that was at the heart of many great Biblical events. The valley is bound on the East by the Jordan River-- on the other side is the wilderness in which the Israelites wondered for 40 years.  On the West, it was bordered by Mount Carmel the sight of Elisha’s famous showdown with the priest’s of Baal.  On the south was Mount Gilboa, the sight of King Saul’s death.

The Jezreel valley was the site of many battles fought as the Israelites moved into the Promised Land.  The Bible tells us that this is the site of the victory of Gideon, against the Midianites, the Amalekiltes, and the Children of the East.  Later it was the location at which the Israelites, led by King Saul, were defeated by the Philistines.  It is the area that Jehu confrontation with Jezebel which ended with Jezebel being thrown out the window and eaten by dogs.

 

Through this valley of wars, Mary bears the child that we will know as the prince of peace.  As they journeyed through Jezreel, they may have passed Megiddo, also called Armageddon.  Armageddon is the expected location for the final battle at which this child, the prince of peace, will destroy the prince of darkness and establish God’s rule forever.

As they ascended the Mountains of Gilboa, they would have passed thousands of olive trees.  From which came the oils of anointing used by the high priest to anoint every king in Israel’s history.  This olive oil would later be used by the disciples to heal the sick, by Mary Magdalene to anoint Jesus’ feet, and was brought by the women on Easter morning to anoint the body of Jesus.  In fact, Messiah means, “Anointed one.”

Passing through the mountains would have been a slow, difficult 2-3day trip.  They would probably have spent the night near the spring that provided water for the father of the faith, Abraham.

Another night was probably near Sychar and the ancient city of Shechem the location of Jacob’s well where Jacob settled after making up with his brother Esau.  This is also the well where Jesus would meet the Samaritan woman and offer her “living water.”

Finally, as they head toward Jerusalem they encounter the most difficult part of the journey.  The hills get steeper.  The fertile valleys are gone.  You can imagine Mary saying, “I don’t think I can go any further.”  And Joseph reassuring her, “We’re almost there dear.  Just a little further.”

On the 9^th or 10^th day, they would have crested a hill and seen Jerusalem laid out before them.  This was the city of David, and it was dominated by the temple the symbol of God’s very presence in Israel.  Of course, this would not be the last journey to Jerusalem.  There would be others and of course.  There would be one very bad one when Mary would come to stand at the foot of the cross, as the child she carried on this journey, would hang as a grown man for the sins of the world.

From Jerusalem, it was only 6 miles, another hour and a half, to Bethlehem.  The last leg of the trip went through the arid and rocky hills of the Judean countryside.  Until on the 10^th day, they arrived in Bethlehem.

For Mary and Joseph the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a hardship and a nuisance.  They were just enduring the hardship of living in an occupied country, pushed around by the whims of by the Caesars and the Governors.  They could not see what was to come of it.

They couldn’t yet see the angel choir singing “Glory to God.”

They couldn’t imagine the shepherds rushing to the stable to see the baby.

They did not know that the Magi were already beginning their journey to pay homage to the little king.

They couldn’t imagine the crowds thronging around him, the sick pressing him for healing, the crowds calling out, and “Jesus save us?“

If they had known of the journey Jesus would take on the other end of his life; the journey to Jerusalem and the journey to the cross, then the journey of the first Christmas would have been too much to bear.

They certainly could not imagine that 2000 years later we would spend 5 weeks studying their story and seeking to make it our own story.

They couldn’t see any of that.  Yet they made the journey.  Step by dusty step they faithfully made their way to Bethlehem.  Why, because Caesar said they had to?  Maybe.  But did you ever think that maybe Caesar was part of a bigger plan too.  Just like Abraham, and Moses, and Joshua and David and Jeremiah and Elisha and Mary and Joseph and you and me.

The Christmas story is not about what happened 2100 years ago on a silent night in the little town of Bethlehem.  The story of God’s incarnation does not begin with the angel’s annunciation to Mary.  The story of Emmanuel does not begin with Joseph’s faithfulness.  

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the climax of the saga God’s continuing efforts to be in relationship with people.  Coming to be with us as a baby is the absolute clearest way God could say “I am with you” which is what God has been telling his people through all of history.  Abraham, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Isaac, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Jacob, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Moses, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Wonderers through the wilderness, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Joshua and Samuel, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Saul and David, “have faith, for I am with you.”  Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai and Zechariah, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Mary and Joseph- even though I am asking you to believe the almost impossible.  Even though you will have to sacrifice everything.  Even though you can’t see how this is going to end, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Peter, Paul, and all the Christians through the ages, “have faith, for I am with you.”

People of Reinbeck, even when the world is filled with school shootings, and suicide bombers, and lunatic dictators, even as we know Christian brothers and sisters gather in Palestinian held Bethlehem under the watchful eye of Arab guards with machine guns, the Christmas message is, “have  faith, for I am with you.”

Even as Christians around the world are forbidden to worship on Christmas Eve, Christians in Nigeria are killed, and the faithful in China are imprisoned for their faith, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as the nation faces the so-called fiscal cliff, and our trusted leaders demonstrate abject selfishness and failure of vision and leadership, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as the doctors say “it is cancer,” or MS, macular degeneration, or diabetes, or heart failure, or depression… the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Even as your aging parents say hurtful things to you, your spouse betrays you, your children's lives swirl around the proverbial drain, the Christmas message is, “have  faith, for I am with you.”

Even as your finances are a mess, your job is less secure, and your future is far from certain, the Christmas message is, “have faith, for I am with you.”

Jesus did not come to this earth in a vacuum.  He came to an underage girl from a poor family, in an occupied corner of the world, under the weight of brutal taxation in a stable among those who would fear him and try to kill him.  And in the midst of that, the Christmas message was still, “have faith, for I am with you.”

It is not a new message.  It is not the kind of message that gets put up in lights or is tweeted and retweeted but is the most fundamental message of God’s work in history.  It is the most fundamental message of the Christmas story.  It is the most important message we could hear and share this Christmas.

 “Have faith, for God is with you.”  Immanuel.

Journey Week 3 Sunday message 12/16/12

Journey Week 3 Sunday message

If you were scared and in trouble, what would you do?  Where would you go?  To whom would you talk?

Mary was scared and in trouble.  She had the strangest experience when an angel came to talk to her.  The angel told her that she would get pregnant even though she was a virgin, and she would be the mother of the messiah.

She was scared and in trouble.

·        Can you imagine being 14 and trying to get your parents to believe this kind of story?  I can imagine Mary’s dad responding with something like, why can't’ you just once, tell us the truth.

·        Can you imagine trying to convince your fiancé?  I’m sure she imagined Joseph just going ballistic when he found out.

·        Can you imagine knowing that, if no one believed you, you might be stoned?

·        Can you imagine the prospect of giving birth when 1 out of 20 births resulted in maternal death?  Not to mention all the other possible complications.  Not to mention just the sheer pain.  That would be scary for anyone, even if you weren’t 14 years old.

My guess is that Mary was scared, really scared.  So scared that I can’t imagine that she told anyone.  After all, maybe it wasn’t true.  Maybe the angel was wrong.  Maybe she misunderstood.  I think Mary probably kept this as a secret.

Because the angel mentioned Elizabeth, however, perhaps Mary thought Elizabeth was the only person in the world who might understand.  Mary just HAD to talk to Elizabeth

Remember that the angel told Mary that Elizabeth was 6 months with child.  We read in Luke chapter one the story of Elizabeth’s child who would grow up to be John the Baptist.  Elizabeth and Zechariah were unable to have children.  When Zechariah was serving in the temple, an angel came to him and told him that Elizabeth would bear a child.  Zechariah didn’t believe the angel so the angel struck him speechless until after the baby was born.  Zechariah came out and of course could not explain what they angel said.  But Elizabeth did, indeed, become pregnant and was in her 6^th month.

.  Mary HAD to see Elizabeth, but it just wasn’t as easy as telling her mom, “I'm going over to Elizabeth’s house for a while.”  Because Elizabeth lived in Ein Kerem, a little village on the edge of Jerusalem.  By air, it is about 80 miles from Nazareth to Ein Kerem.  By foot, going around Samaria, because the Jews didn’t travel in Samaria, it was a lot longer.  It may have taken a week or even longer.  Somehow, Mary convinced her parents to let her go, or maybe she ran away, I don’t know.  Somehow, she finds herself on the road to Ein Kerem.

Can you imagine how long that trip must have seemed?  She was not only worried, and scared and embarrassed; she was also hot, and dusty, and tired.  As you approach Ein Kerem today,  you might first stop at Mary’s spring.  Some Christians say that this is the place where May met Elizabeth.  Up the hill, however, there is a church called the church of the visitation.  In the courtyard of the church, you find this very cool statue commemorating Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth.

 When the two pregnant women met, a strange thing happened.  The baby inside of Elizabeth jumped, or maybe it kicked.  But it wasn’t just a normal kick.  Something was different.  Elizabeth would have been used to kicks to the bladder and jabs in the ribs.  There was something special about this, however.  When the baby kicked, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she delivered a message from God.  That message was ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  The Plaques behind the statue say those words 42 times in 42 different languages.     This passage is actually the inspiration for the Hail Mary which is often used by our Catholic brothers and sisters.

Hail Mary Full of Grace. Our Lord is with thee. 

Blessed art thou among women.

Blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus…

That is a strange thing to say… do you suppose Mary felt blessed at that moment?  Let’s see… we said worried, scared, embarrassed, hot, dusty, and tired.  I don’t see blessed in there.  At that moment, I just don’t think Mary felt very blessed,  

We  normally think of "blessed" as lucky.  If we have everything we need and some of what we want, we consider ourselves blessed.

It might be food, or housing, or money, or material things, or family, or friendships, or spiritual blessings.  If we have what we need and some of what we want, we consider ourselves blessed.

So how is Mary blessed?  Mary was poor, pregnant, afraid she had lost the respect of her friends, the trust of her parents, the love of her fiancé, she might be killed, and on top of that, she wasn’t sure that she wasn’t going crazy!  In our sense of the word blessed, Mary was not very blessed.  Elizabeth was saying something different, however. 

 Biblical blessing has to do with God’s grace resting upon a person or people as they are in relationship to God, and as they participate God’s plan.  You know like, blessed to be a blessing.

When Elizabeth says you are blessed, your child is blessed, and by the way, in case you didn’t hear me the first time, you are blessed, she is telling Mary that God is with her- God is working in her.  Elizabeth is saying, Mary you are part of God’s plan.

You see being blessed is this sense has nothing to do with what we have … being blessed is all about what we offer.  When we are in relationship to God, we are blessed.  When we offer ourselves to God to participate In God’s plan, we are blessed.  When God works in us to use us to accomplish God’s will, we are blessed.  We are blessed.  And we become living blessings.

Mary was literally carrying the greatest gift God would ever give to humanity, himself.  And because Mary gave herself to God for that task, she was blessed and was a living blessing.

Now Mary’s response is as interesting as Elizabeth’s proclamation.  Mary replies with what we call “the Magnificat,” which we sang as part of the scripture lesson today.  My soul gives glory to my God…. There are two or three sermons just in Mary’s poem here, but let me pull out one thing.

I have always been interested in the reversals in the gospel.  Things like “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.”  Or in Luke’s beatitudes “"Blessed are you who are poor“Followed by “But woe to you who are rich.”

Another is Jesus first sermon where he is citing from Isaiah,

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    And recovery of sight for the blind,
To set the oppressed free.

A great reversal is when we discover that God’s values are just exactly inside out from the world’s values.  Where we discover that God does exactly the opposite of what we might expect.

In the Christmas story, for instance God choosing a poor little girl from Nowheresville Israel to be the mother of Christ is a reversal.  Mary sings of that in the Magnificat.

 “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,

Do you see the reversal: the humble servant being called blessed?

She goes on

 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.

That’s the part that intrigues me.  He has brought down the rulers and lifted up the humble.  Filled the hungry and sent the rich away empty. 

The Magnificat gives us a pretty clear picture of who God is.  God is a God who turns the world on its ear by siding with the poor rather than the powerful, defending the weak rather than the rulers, choosing the hungry over those who are well nourished.

That is the nature of God.  And that is the nature of the incarnation we celebrate at Christmas.  God could have chosen to appear as a king.  He didn’t.

God could have chosen to appear as a great general.  He didn’t.

God could have chosen to appear even as the emperor of the Roman Empire.  But he didn’t.

God came to turn the expectations of the world upside down.

And God comes to turn our world upside down today.

Here we are in the middle of the Christmas shopping frenzy…  Let me ask you a question.  Think about how much you are going to spend on gifts this season. What is your gift giving budget?  Do you have that in your mind?  Now how much will you be giving to the poor?  It might be through the church or Salvation Army or something else.  How much will you be giving to bless the poor compared to how much you will be giving to those who are comparatively wealthy and really don’t NEED anything?  Most of us are probably getting a little uncomfortable right now.

Let me ask you another question

How much do you think you will spend on food this season?  Include your Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas Eve, and Christmas dinner.  Include anything you spent to host parties, bake cookies and candy, or go out to eat while you are shopping.  If you add it up, it will be more than you probably expect.  Do you have that number in your mind?  Now how much are you giving to the hungry.  Compare those numbers how much give to bless the hungry compared to how much you spend on food for those who could really benefit from skipping meal or two anyway.  Most of us are probably feeling a little more than uncomfortable right now.

Finally, if you can stand it, how much time are you spending decorating your house, shopping for and wrapping gifts, writing and mailing cards, preparing special dinners, going to holiday parties, going to special services and all the other special things you will do this Christmas.  Add up all the hours. Do you have that number in your head?  Now add up the hours that you will spend visiting someone who is lonely, comforting someone who is sick or grieving, doing an act of kindness for someone who might otherwise be forgotten, or raising money for charities that will minister to the emotional and spiritual needs of people.  I’ll even let you add in PRAYING for those people because I am pretty confident that even including praying the amount of time we spend blessing others won’t even compare to the amount of time we spend on ourselves and our celebrations.

Don’t hear me wrong.  I am not telling you NOT to celebrate Christmas.  I am asking you if you are being a blessing this Christmas season.  Are you being a blessing to those who are less fortunate than yourself?  Are you blessing those who are hungry or food insecure?  Are you blessing those who are lonely and forgotten?  Are you acting as an instrument of God for the God who sides with the least and the lost?  Are you giving your life to those who are the poor and the hungry?  Are you using this time to worship and serve the God who

Brought down rulers from their thrones
    But has lifted up the humble.
Has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty?

Some of you are… but we all have to ask ourselves if we are really being part of blessing this Christmas.

Matthew 25 offers a good way to examine our hearts. Imagine the baby in the manger miraculously speaking …

42  I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “(The babe replies), ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”

Have a blessed Christmas. 

Journey week 2 12/9/12

The Journey: week 2 Bethlehem

Rumc

12/9/12

In most of our minds, Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, traveled to Bethlehem for the Census, and returned to Bethlehem when Jesus was born.  That is because we take Luke’s story, which revolves around Mary and Nazareth and we combine it with Matthew’s story, which focuses on Joseph and Bethlehem.  We roll them up on a nice neat ball, smooth out all the rough edges and put a nice neat bow on it.  That combined story is handy, but it is not quite biblical.

Before we journey 80 miles to Bethlehem for this week’s message, I suspect the first question you’ll ask is, “How did Mary and Joseph meet if they didn’t live in the same town?”  Great question!  The idea that they were childhood sweethearts may be romantic, but that may not be true.  It seems clear that Bethlehem was Joseph’s hometown.  Nazareth was Mary’s hometown.  Perhaps their marriage was arranged by their families.  Perhaps Joseph met Mary when he worked in Sepphoris and stayed in Nazareth. When we have to say we really don’t know something as important as how Mary and Joseph met, we are reminded that although they are major actors, the story is really not about them.

Whatever the case may be according to Matthew Bethlehem appears to be Joseph’s hometown.  Nazareth is not mentioned until Jesus is at least 2 years old.  So let’s start to get familiar with Bethlehem.

I said Bethlehem is 80 miles south of Nazareth.  It is nestled in the hills of the Judean countryside.  In those days, Nazareth was a town of about 500 people.  Today is a bustling city of 25,000. 

Unfortunately, this is what one sees as they approach Bethlehem today.  It is a 21-foot tall concrete wall topped by electrified fencing, two-meter-deep trenches, roads for patrol vehicles, electronic ground/fence sensors, thermal imaging and video cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sniper towers, and razor wire.

The ugly reality is that the land of Mary and Joseph is a divided land in the midst of an age-old war.  On this map, the white area is Israel.  The Gold area is the West Bank (Palestinian control) and Jerusalem is divided East and West.  The red flashing line is the “wall of separation” that Israel is building as an attempt to secure its border.  That is what one sees as they come to Bethlehem.   Let me tell you no matter which side you are on, there is enough madness and blame to go around on both sides of this dispute.

But back to ancient Bethlehem

It was a busy town that may have had many grain mills and bakeries since Bethlehem means city of bread.  Bethlehem was Naomi’s home and Ruth gleaned in the fields outside town.  Her great grandson David’s was born there and the field where he fought Goliath was about 12 miles away.  David was anointed king in Bethlehem and used Bethlehem as a capital city for a while.  Historically Bethlehem is one of the most important cities in Judah.  In addition, Bethlehem was Joseph’s home.

The traditional site of Joseph’s home is marked in a cave in the Church of the Nativity Complex under the church of St. Catherine.  It was here that he learned his trade, which we usually think of as a carpenter, but he could also have been a stonemason.  The word means one who builds with their hands.

Bethlehem is also the backdrop for today’s story.

After the angel told Mary that she was to bear the Messiah, she went to a Cousin Elizabeth’s house on the south edge of Jerusalem where she received affirmation and support.  (We’ll talk about that next week)  While she was there, Joseph went to visit her and found out that she was pregnant.  She told him the whole story about the angel and the Holy Spirit and everything, but who could believe such a wild story?  He wanted to but it was so hard!

His life seemed to be crumbling around him.  His beloved had apparently been unfaithful, and on top of that, listening to her story she may be hallucinating or even mentally ill.  How was Joseph feeling that day as he left Elizabeth’s house?  I suspect he was feeling just like we would feel upon finding out that the love of our life was pregnant by someone else, or had impregnated someone.  How about devastated, crushed, afraid, heartbroken and embarrassed.  Maybe we should even add angry and disgusted.  How could she do this?  How could Mary do this to him?  And who was the miserable animal who had done this to Mary?

Joseph left that day with his life upside down, his guts turned inside out, and his heart in his throat.  It was only a 6-mile walk back to Bethlehem, (about 90 minutes) but it must have seemed like 40 years in the wilderness.

Haven’t we all been there?  Haven’t we all experienced that 6-mile walk?

Maybe your 6-mile walk was when you experienced the unfaithfulness of a spouse or total betrayal of someone you loved and trusted.

Did you walk the 6-mile road during a medical crisis when you thought you or someone you love might have a serious medical problem?  You all know about one of my 6 mile roads with Amber’s heart surgery.

Is your 6-mile road a road of grief?  Facing life without a spouse, parent, child, or other close relationship is a long hard journey.

How about that job you lost, or the job you really wanted.  Was that a 6-mile road?

Have you walked the 6-mile road of bankruptcy or foreclosure?

Do you know all the twists and turns on the 6-mile road of bitter failure and lost dreams?

I suspect we have all been there.   Most of us have not been to the holy land but we know very well that 6-mile road that Joseph walked that day.  But here’s what I want you to see today.  While Joseph walked that long road back to Bethlehem…  At Joseph’s deepest darkest moment…  God was still at work in Mary’s womb… and (as we’ll see) God was still working in Joseph.  And at our deepest darkest moments…  God is still with us and God is still at work.

We are not the first, nor was Joseph the first to experience the jumble of emotions that we feel when we walk that 6-mile road.

735 years earlier, when Jerusalem was the capital of the nation of Judah (the southern kingdom), the kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Aram (which is modern day Syria) were waging war.  Since Jerusalem was on the northern border of Judah, the battle was just outside their city walls.  The people of Jerusalem were sure that they were doomed. These two big armies fighting in Jerusalem’s front yard were a real a serious danger.  The people and the king were almost in a panic. The prophet Isaiah gave a word of hope to King Ahaz.

Isaiah said God will give you a sign and before long the Kingdoms of Aram and Israel will be defeated and plundered by a common enemy.  God gave the sign just as Isaiah said, and within a few years, Asyria had captured and plundered both Aram and Israel.

Do you want to know what the sign was?… the sign was that Isaiah’s wife would have a child and before that child was able to know right from wrong the two nations would both fall to Asyria.

Isaiah put it this way:

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you^[c] a sign: The virgin^[d] will conceive and give birth to a son, and^[e] will call him Immanuel.(which means God with us)^[f] 15 He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. 

Bottom line…  Isaiah’s message was that God was still working even in the midst of this terrible situation.

720 years after that prophecy was fulfilled Matthew is writing about the birth of another child that would be a sign,  another child who will be called Emmanuel, another child that will prove that even in the midst of our deepest darkest moments God is still with us and God is still working.  Of course the Child Matthew is writing about is Jesus.  But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

I said God is still working.  We see God’s hand was working in Joseph even while he walked back to Bethlehem.  It was a long enough walk that he began to think again.  His head cleared and he began to think clearly again.  He was no less devastated, no less crushed, no less afraid, no less heartbroken, and no less embarrassed.  But God began to change his heart.  He began to think, “I do not want to see Mary killed for this.”  (That was the punishment for adultery, and this would be considered adultery.)

Maybe I will just end the engagement quietly. He would let people think whatever they are going to think about him.  He would still have to pay the bride price that was due at the wedding.  That was his legal obligation.  But then it would be over.

Having that settled in his mind he arrives home and falls exhausted into a deep sleep.

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew continues:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” [g] (which means “God with us”).

Now you see why I was talking about Isaiah.  Because Matthew quotes him right here the First chapter verse 23.  By quoting this passage Matthew is remind all who would read this story  that  God is with us and God will save his people.  Isn’t that what the incarnation is all about?  God with us?

God was with Israel and it was saved.

God was with Joseph and he got up from that dream and took Mary as his wife, becoming the guardian of the Christ.

In this story, God speaks two words to us today.  The first word is Immanuel, which means God is with us.

The second word is Jesus, which means God saves.

No matter how bad things look, “Immanuel” God is with us and “Jesus” is our savior.

No matter how dark your 6-mile road gets.  The God who is the creator of light is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how impossible your situation may seem.  The God for whom nothing is impossible is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how much you have been hurt, or how much your heart aches.  The God who healed bodies and cast demons out of the possessed is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter what kinds of obstacles are thrown up in front of you.  The God who calmed the storm is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how weak and weary you are.  The God who gave Jesus the courage to pray “thy will be done” as he faced the cross is working in you- God is with you and Jesus saves.

No matter how hopeless your life might seem.  The God who raised Jesus from the dead into glorious life is working in you - God is with you and Jesus saves.

My friends, never forget those two words.  Immanuel and Jesus.

God is with you and Jesus saves.

AMEN