Two Stories
Isaiah 9:2-7 Luke 2:1-20
We have been blessed to once again hear the stories of prophecy and of the birth of a babe who was God in the flesh…our savior…our path to eternal life.
To close out our Christmas season of celebration I want to share two more brief stories…perhaps you’ve heard them already. Stories that answer the questions…why…and what can we expect.
The first story came to us from Paul Harvey.
The man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man.
“I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service.
Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound…Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud…At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window.
Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them…He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms…Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn.
And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me…That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him.
“If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to the safe, warm…to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.” At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.
The second story was written by Mary Stevenson…in 1936…to share her experiences and thoughts on what we can expect from this savior. I first heard it at a performance of the Singing Christmas tree my first Christmas in Greenville. It brought tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart. It greatly helped push me forward on my Christian journey.
Here’s her story:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints…other times there was one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish…sorrow…or defeat…I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
That if I followed you,
You would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I need you most, you have not been there for me.!
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have seen only one set of footprints is when I carried you.”
Joy to the world. The Lord has come…has come to lead…to save…and to be with…you and me…at this time of joy…at times of hurt and pain. Truly there is joy to world…joy to you and me.
As we put away the decorations and gifts…as friends and family depart from our annual reunions…let us not put away this good news nor depart from the babe born to lead and to save us.
Instead let us be among those who cherish and share the good news daily…who…like Jesus… reach out to those seeking shelter from the storms of life…to those struggling as they walk through the sands of life…
To those in our families…those in our church…and to our neighbors…around the corner and around the world.
Category: December 2016
Joseph Did
“Joseph Did”
Isaiah 7:10-16 Matthew 1:18-25
Joseph and Mary were pledged to each other. In that relationship they were called husband and wife but had not yet married…and they had no marital relations. The pledge was as legally binding as marriage. Joseph had a difficult decision to make. Being a righteous man he did not want to go against God’s laws. To marry Mary would be the same as admitting guilt…even though he was not guilty. To have a public divorce…which was the only way to end the relationship legally…would have exposed Mary to public disgrace. Joseph’s compassion would not allow him to do that to her. So…he decided to have a private divorce before two witnesses…then dismiss her quietly. That way he could maintain his reputation while still showing compassion to Mary.
Apparently…Mary had not explained her visit from the angel to Joseph. Joseph resolved to dismiss Mary only after her condition became visible. The angel’s words show that Joseph did not know that the Holy Spirit had played a role in Mary’s pregnancy. So…Joseph thought he had only two options…divorce Mary publicly or dismiss her quietly. But…God had another option.
When you stop to think about it…and listen to God…he’ll show us options that we might not have considered. Just as God showed Joseph the best option…He does that for us. We should always seek God’s wisdom in prayer and through intentional listening…turn off everything but your ears and heart…especially when our decisions affect others.
The angel called Joseph “son of David”…indicating that Joseph had a special role in a special event. The angel told Joseph to marry Mary and that the child to be born would be in the royal line of King David. Joseph was not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife…no matter what the social repercussions might be. The angel told Joseph that Mary had committed no sin. Instead…the angel said that the child conceived in her was from the Holy Spirit. God himself had caused this pregnancy…and the child would be very special…God’s son.
When facing big decisions….some people freeze with fright. What if I make the wrong decision? What if I miss God’s will? What if….?
To make good decisions…first take all of the worries and put them under God’s promise…God cares for you…watches over you and guides your steps.
Joseph came to the best decision he could on his own…but God had other plans and made them clear. Most of our decisions will not be overruled by angels…but that’s no reason for lack of confidence in God. To make good decisions…pray…evaluate all the options…talk with trusted friends and advisors…then act in faith. God is with you every step.
The angel’s message not only included a decision for Joseph…it also told him what was to come. The angel seemed to have no doubt that Joseph would hear and obey. Mary would give birth to a baby boy. Joseph was to name the child Jesus. The name means “the Lord saves” in Greek. Jesus’ name showed he would be the one who would bring God’s promised salvation. The baby Jesus would be born to save his people from their sins. From the very start Matthew attempts to explain that Jesus would not save the people from Rome or from tyranny. Nor…would he set up an earthly kingdom. Jesus would save people from sin.
Jesus came to earth to save us because we can’t save ourselves from sin and its consequences. No matter how good we are, we can’t eliminate all of our separation from God. Only Jesus can do that. He and he alone came to save each of us from the power and penalty of sin.
Throughout his Gospel Matthew loved to quote or mention Old Testament scripture to show how Jesus fulfilled it. An example comes from Isaiah this morning when Isaiah prophesied that the savior would be called Emmanuel or “God with us.” The point Matthew made was that Jesus’ role was to be God with us…that Jesus would bring God’s presence to us. Remember….Jesus Christ…who was himself God…brought God to earth in his human body…living…eating…teaching…healing… dying. Matthew closed his gospel with the same promise. Jesus promised his followers he would be with them always…”even to the end of the age.”
Now… the angel had spoken to Joseph in a dream. When he awoke…Joseph did what the angel of the Lord had commanded…immediately. Joseph had been faced with a difficult choice after discovering that Mary was pregnant. Although he knew that…according to the custom of his time…taking Mary as his wife might be humiliating…Joseph chose to obey the angel’s command to marry her. He did not hesitate. The decision was no longer difficult for he simply did what he knew God wanted him to do. His action revealed four great qualities…righteousness… discretion and sensitivity…responsiveness to God…and self-discipline.
Joseph broke with tradition and took her as his wife…even though the customary one-year waiting period had not passed. Joseph did as God commanded and completed their marriage by taking Mary to live with him. No matter what others might think or say…Joseph knew God’s command…and followed it…in marrying and caring for Mary during her pregnancy.
Joseph changed his plans quickly after learning about God’s plan for his life from the angel. He obeyed God and proceeded with the marriage plans. Although others may have disapproved of his decision…Joseph went ahead with what he knew was right. Sometimes we avoid doing what is right because of what others might think. Like Joseph did…we must choose to obey God rather than seek the approval of others…rather than stick with man’s rules and ways that leave others hurting and alone…rather than be someone who is hurting and alone.
Joseph did.
The Belt Around His Waist
“The Belt Around His Waist”
Isaiah 11:1-10 Matthew 3:1-12
In the olden days…when I had a little time to watch some television for entertainment…there was a sitcom entitled “One Day At a Time”. It featured four characters…Ann Romano…a recently divorced mother…her two daughters Barbara and Julie…and the building superintendent Dwayne Schneider. Schneider was responsible for maintenance and repairs in the apartment building in which the three females lived. He wore a thick, heavy belt, loaded with all kinds of tools for making repairs. In nearly every episode he referenced one of those tools as symbolic of the tool or method he recommended one of the females use to fix a life problem. His analogies were pretty good…but they were also quite laughable.
Isaiah told us of another who would wear a belt…one equipped with only two tools. Superintendent might be a name appropriate for the wearer of this belt. And though he may laugh…his remedies are not laughable. The tools are righteousness and faithfulness.
Isaiah means that Jesus is righteous and faithful just by being true to himself. He never needs to fear himself or correct himself. Unlike every other human leader, Jesus Christ is clothed not with the trappings of human ego. We can trust him without being guarded.
What is our wound? What is our hurt? What is our loss? What is our anxiety? We can trust them all to Jesus Christ…without fear that he will use any tools other than righteousness and faithfulness to help us through the difficulty.
If we do hold back…we are saying that we are to be trusted more than Jesus is. We’re saying that he is no better than a pompous Assyria that conquered Judah…or the wishy-washy Ahaz. That is perhaps our greatest sin…to think and act as our own saviors…and by so doing to disrespect the savior of the world.
You and I might have good intentions. But…Jesus has good judgment and all power. When we start to trust him more than we trust ourselves…we’re beginning to understand what it means to trust him at all.
With righteousness and faithfulness the only tools on the belt around Jesus’ waist are you ready to let him use them? Are they also tools on your belt?
Matthew didn’t reference any tools on John the Baptizer’s belt…though John clearly understood righteousness and faithfulness. In his words and his actions John used those tools. He also showed us how to use those tools. Let’s look at John’s actions. Are they on our tool belt?
John fearlessly denounced evil wherever he found it. Wherever John saw evil…in the government, in the Church, in the crowd…he fearlessly rebuked it. He was like a light that lit up the dark places. The Greek philosopher Diogenes said, “The truth is like the light to sore eyes. He who never offended anyone never did anyone good.”
There is still a vital place in the Christian message for truth even when offered as warning and denunciation. In this day of post-truth politics and leadership it is even more crucial. Are we ready to use that tool when it’s appropriate?
John urgently summoned people to righteousness. John’s message was not a mere negative denunciation. He positively told of the moral standards of God. He not only denounced people for what they had done. He called them to do what they ought to do.
John came from God. He came out of the desert. He came to people only after he had undergone years of lonely preparation. Do we spend time with the Bible…in prayer…in Bible study…ready to come to the world…with knowledge from God…to use that knowledge in righteousness and faithfulness in service to God through service to his people.
John pointed beyond himself. He was not only a light to shine on evil…a voice to rebuke sin. He was also a signpost pointing to God. It was not himself John wished others to see. He was trying to prepare them for the one who was to come. John was preparing the way for the king. The effective preacher….teacher…ordinary Christian points not at himself…but on the majesty…power…grace…and love of God.
We’ve all heard and seen the Reverend Billy Graham. He never pointed to himself…he always pointed to Jesus Christ and to God.
In John’s message…as it should be in ours…there is both a threat and a promise. He warned the Pharisees and the Sadducees that it would do them no good to plead that Abraham is their father. To the orthodox Jew of the day that was an incredible statement. To those Jews Abraham was unique. He was so unique in his goodness and his favor with God that his merits were believed to be good enough for all of his descendants, also. So the Jews believed that a Jew… simply because he was a Jew… was safe in the life to come.
I spoke with a friend earlier this week about his brother-in-law…someone I hadn’t seen in a decade. The man was the son of two pillars of their church and of the community. I last saw him at his father’s funeral …a time when all were certain that his father would be judged worthy and righteous…and be in one of those many rooms that Jesus had waiting in heaven. My friend told me that his brother-in-law had turned to drinking heavily…had lost his wife…been disowned by his children…and only saw his elderly mother when he needed money.
John was warning that you and I…like my friend’s brother-in-law… cannot live on the righteousness of those who preceded us. An evil child cannot hope to plead the merits of a saintly parent.
John’s threat came with a promise…but it also had a threat within it. John said that the one to come would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire…not the water of the Jordan River.
Now, fire has three characteristics…and John might have meant all three. Fire illuminates. Jesus is the beacon…the light…that leads people to the truth and guides them home to God. Fire is warm. When Jesus comes into a person’s life he kindles the heart with the warmth of love towards God and towards all other humans. Fire purifies. The purifying flames burn away the false and leave the true. When Christ comes into a person’s heart the evil is purged away. Christ brings illumination, warmth and purification into the heart.
But there is the threat of the threshing room floor spoken by John. When Christ comes a person must either accept or reject him. People are separated…like the wheat from the chaff…by their response to the call of Jesus Christ.
In all of John’s preaching there was one basic demand…and that demand was “repent”. That was also the basic demand of Jesus himself. That is the message we should heed…and share with others. Repentance then…and today…means to turn from evil…and instead turn to God…to turn from reliance on self or others…to reliance on God…to let the tools of righteousness and faithfulness…save us and guide us. John demanded that his people bring forth fruit that shows their repentance. Jesus does the same. There is comfort…not just challenge…in the message of repentance.
Repentance is always available. Repentance is like the sea…a person can bathe in it at any hour. The gates of repentance are never closed.
Repentance is completely essential. The world cannot continue to exist without God’s mercy and the gateway of repentance. If there was nothing but the justice of God it would be the end of all people and all things. The threat of the destruction of the sinner is cancelled by the acceptance of repentance for the sinner’s sins. Repentance lasts as long as life. So long as life remains…there remains the possibility of repentance. God’s hand is stretched out to each of us.
No situation is hopeless…and no person is beyond repentance.
Repentance is available to each of us…who recognize that on Christ’s belt there are the tools of righteousness and faithfulness…and know that he expects us to have those same tools on our belt…and to use them daily.