Well, Christmas has come and gone with a fury once again. I hope that it was a time of joy and celebration for you just as it was for me. One of the funnier aspects of Christmas is the “what now” moment that comes after the holiday has passed. I’m referring to that sense that we all have usually somewhere around Christmas evening or possibly even the next morning where we ask ourselves, “What now? Do I have to go back to ‘normal’ life? I can’t even remember what life was like before Christmas?” Ok, maybe it’s not quite as extreme as that last question, but there is a sense in which everything that we were doing in our lives that wasn’t Christmas related has become a momentary blur. Unfortunately for many of you, the world that awaited at work wasn’t as confused or forgiving. This is especially true for preachers, or at least as far as our preaching is concerned. Personally, everything that I had focused on for over a month now was centered around the birth of Christ. I have to admit that I had to go back and reread my last couple of sermons from before our Advent season to refresh my mind as to where we were going in John. So, I want to do you a favor and give you as brief of a recap as I can as to where we are in John’s gospel.
At this point, we are well into Jesus’ earthly ministry. He has performed miracles such as the healing of the lame man and the feeding of 5,000 (which we said was closer to 15,000). He has gained somewhat celebrity status amongst many who are hearing of the works that he has done. Word of the phenomenon known as Jesus is starting to spread across the land and the leadership in and around Jerusalem is becoming very annoyed with this fact. Our last text from John’s gospel saw Jesus going to Judea to attend the Feast of Booths. After initially declining to attend out of fear for his life, Jesus not only went, he went there and at some point began preaching and teaching. We saw the Jews, and particularly the Jewish religious leaders, question how Jesus could say such things. They questioned how Jesus could say all that he was saying since he had no real education. Upon hearing their questions, Jesus spoke of being sent from the Father and said that the authority that he had to say such things was from God Himself. He spoke to correct all of their misunderstandings about him, his ministry, and the authority given to him.
In our text today, we find that many additional people have gathered around and are hearing this conversation between Christ and the religious leaders in Judea. You see, the people knew that the authorities were seeking the so-called Messiah to kill him. If you will remember, all of the people who were talking about Jesus during this festival were doing so in private so that they didn’t face any punishment from the guards around the city. We’re reminded of that again in this text by seeing the surprise that exists among the people there when we find the words, “Is not this man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him.” It’s at this time where many of these folks are apparently getting their first look at Jesus as being the Christ, the Messiah, the one that they have heard so much about. You see, they have seen Jesus before, but they have never been told that he was the Christ, that he was the Messiah. They have seen this man and they somewhat know who he is, but they most certainly do not expect him to be the Messiah. We find the people saying, “Can it be that the authorities really know that this man is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” You see, the people knew that Jesus was from Galilee, whereas the Messiah was to be a native of Bethlehem or, according to some traditions, of unknown origin. Well, we know very well that although Christ may have grown up in Galilee, he was indeed born in Bethlehem. We looked at that very text a couple of times during our Advent series. It’s similar to how even if you are a citizen of one country and you deliver a child in a foreign country; your child is actually a citizen of either the foreign country or both countries. No one in Judea knew that Christ was actually born in Bethlehem, they just considered him to be from Galilee.
Jesus hears the questions from the people and he answers them saying, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” In actuality, neither Bethlehem nor Galilee were Jesus’ ultimate place of origin; He came from the Father. Jesus is telling the people that where he came from is less important that who he came from. He is telling them that his miracles and his teachings are of greater importance than his family tree and the location of his birth. Jesus is speaking about the closeness of the relationship between himself and the Father. He knows the Father, and not just from a distance. He is from Him; there is an intimate relationship there that no one can comprehend. Jesus isn’t standing before them because of his own want and desire to be with them, but because the Father has given him a very specific purpose and mission to accomplish with his life.
God’s plan, God’s will is always accomplished. Notice the words of verse 30, that even though the authorities were seeking to kill him, no one laid a hand on Jesus during this discourse with the religious leaders and the people of Judea. The reason why Jesus was not touched even though he was supposed to be killed is because that wasn’t God’s plan. God’s plan for Christ’s life did not involve his being arrested (as we will see next week) or killed at this time. The purpose of these events was found in the final verse of our text today, “Yet many of the people believed in him.” I find this statement both hilarious and tragic at the same time. Here is a group of people who seemingly have known Jesus to some extent and have seen him numerous times for years, yet they had no clue who he really was.
I have a younger cousin named Neil; he is my dad’s younger brother’s oldest son. When Neil was younger, he spent his summer as a lifeguard at a local golf course pool. There was a restaurant at the golf course where golfers and folks using the pool would go and eat. Neil would often go in and eat lunch from the restaurant since it was easier than going somewhere else to get food. About halfway through the summer, he noticed that there was this man who was sitting by himself every day eating lunch. No one even came to sit with him or really ever even talked to him. One day, Neil decided that he would go over and talk to him. To make a long story short, Neil ended up eating lunch with that man almost every day for an entire month. He was telling some of us about this man several months later and my dad asked him who the man was. He told us that his name was Davis Wade. My dad immediately stopped what he was doing and asked, “Davis Wade?” Neil replied, “Yeah, or at least that’s what he told me.” I was curious as to why my dad cared, so I asked him, “Dad, who’s Davis Wade?” My dad replied to me by saying, “Oh, only the founder of Alfac insurance and the guy who donated the nearly $50 million it took to expand Mississippi State’s football stadium. You know, Davis Wade Stadium?” You see, this man was someone who everyone knew his name because of his contributions, but very few knew who he was. Needless to say, my cousin was shocked that this man who he had started eating with sometime ago was indeed the same Davis Wade who founder Aflac insurance and had been such a generous philanthropist.
These people in Judea had seen the man Jesus numerous times. They had heard all of the tales of the Messiah’s works as well. Yet, they had no clue that the man known as Jesus was that very Messiah. He was right there in front of them the whole time, but they were completely blind to it. Unfortunately, the same can be said of many people, even Christians, in our own day-and-age. Christ is right there for all of us to see. He is all around us. There are things that happen each and every day that let us know that God is real and He is ever-present in our lives, but we don’t see Him. I see it every day; there are people in this world who God has so richly and mercifully blessed, yet they can’t and don’t see Him. So many who think that all that they have is because on them and their hard work and their determination. Why, even the fact that the sun comes up, stays up for a relatively known amount of time, and then goes down is proof enough that God is there. He has given order to the world around us, yet there are those out there that us this as proof of His non-existence. Friends, it is our job and duty as Christians, as possessors of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to share the good news with all those around us. It is our responsibility to point others to Christ. How, when we know the answer to the question that everyone is asking, can we remain silent and not help them to see Christ? You don’t ever know when that person is seeking and searching for an answer, for THE answer. What a joy, what a wonderful blessing it is and would be for each and every one of us for God to use us to point others toward Him. Friends, allow yourself to be an instrument of God, used to point the way to Christ, used to point the way to the light in the darkness. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Luke 2:8-20 "The Angel's Message"
As we continue our Advent series in preparation for celebrating Christmas in just a couple of days, I want to remind you quickly about where we were last week. If you recall, we looked at the same passage of Scripture, except our focus was on the shepherds who received this message instead of the angels who delivered the message. We ended by asking the question of why God would send His messenger to speak to shepherds instead of someone else. We noted that there wasn’t anything inherently wrong with the shepherds, but they were really of no status. Their work kept them fairly isolated from much of the population of many cities and so they were somewhat unknowns in their various communities. They also weren’t the most religious of people for a couple of reasons; the first being that their work prevented them from being able to leave their flock in order to attend worship services. The second reason why they weren’t seen as being very religious is because the fact that their jobs required them to handle animals all day long. You have to remember, that in the Jewish culture, this would have been seen as a very unclean job, and so their attendance at worship services would have offended some of the Jews. However, like I said last Sunday and a moment ago, there isn’t really anything wrong with shepherds in terms of their morals, but they probably aren’t the best candidates for taking a message from God to the people. If you will recall, we said that this was actually a very good thing from our perspective. We noted that it showed us that the Gospel is not just for those in ivory towers with royal blood or advanced education. The Gospel isn’t just for those who have been theologically trained or who have been born into wealthy families. No, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone; for all of mankind.
The thing that we took from our look at the shepherds was that God loves sinners. It’s the old adage of “love the sinner, hate the sin.” We live in an area where when asked about a particular person our answer is usually the same, “Oh, they’re good people.” I’ve often wondered what someone must do to not be considered good people, but that’s not the point. The point is that although they may be good, there is still some aspect of their life that needs improving, and that goes for all of us. Yes, it even goes for preachers. There are many times when I feel like it is more true of preachers than of other folks. However, we don’t have to be blameless in order to receive God, His Son, and His Gospel. We don’t have to live a life to perfection in order to receive our heavenly gifts of grace and mercy and salvation. And the reason that I can make that statement this day is because of the message that the angles had for those very shepherds that we spoke about last Sunday. Perhaps it would be more exact if I said that it was because of the one who the message was about instead.
So, let’s look for just a moment at the angels and the message that they had for the shepherds. We see in verse 9 that at first appearance there is only one angel that comes before the shepherds. However, the presence of this one angel is enough to illumine the entire night sky and also to fill the shepherds with fear. And this isn’t an uncommon reaction. You see, many times, particularly in the Old Testament, when God (through various forms such as smoke, fire, or angels to name a few) comes near His people and reveals Himself to them, fear is the reaction, and it’s no different today. All of us have had moments when we felt God speaking directly to us. Maybe it was telling us to make that commitment, to opt out of that choice, or to make a difficult decision based on the needs of others instead of ourselves. I know that my reaction has often been one of fear. I can tell you that a little over a year ago that God very clearly through a series of events was telling me that I was to go to Houma, LA and shepherd the flock of this church. All that I could think of was fear; fear of the unknown. I was scared to death because God had given me, and specifically me, a direct calling with my life.
You see, in addition to that fear that I felt, there was also a sense of ease because I knew that if this was what God was specifically calling me to do, then He would be with me each and every step of the way. That’s what we see here with the shepherds. If you will recall, even though they have such fear in their hearts at this moment, once the words of the angel end, their immediate reaction is to go to Bethlehem to find and see and worship and adore this child. The angel tells them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” So the angel tells them not to fear and that the message that they are receiving is a good thing. The angel is telling them that the Messiah, the long-awaited, God-appointed ruler of His people has been born and that they can find this child in the town of Bethlehem. After giving the shepherds these words, there isn’t just one angel before them anymore. No, instead there is now, “a multitude of heavenly host praising God.”
So the scene has gone from one angel giving this good news to a group of shepherds to a sky full of angels signing and proclaiming the words “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased,” or as some of us may have learned it, “peace and good will toward men.” The difference here is really a matter of interpretation. What I want all of us to focus on for just a second is not just the message that the now army of angels is proclaiming, but that they are so boldly and lovingly proclaiming. You see, the amount of angels in the sky at this point is thought to be equivalent to the stars. This is an army of angels that in mere moments could wipe out every human on the face of the earth; these angels are heavenly beings. The good news that they are bringing to the shepherds isn’t something that will save them. Yes, we may say that it is their job to proclaim God’s word and to sing praises to Him, but it’s more than that. It doesn’t take us very long to look at a person’s body language and how they carry themselves for us to know whether or not what they are doing is something that they love. My wife is a teacher at Oaklawn Jr. High in East Houma. The kids that are in her school can tell which teachers care about them and are excited to be there and which ones have a countdown in their heads that ends with the releasing of students. You see, just because it is the job of the angels to proclaim this news, doesn’t mean that they have to give it all they have, but they do. The entire army of angels shouts with as much might as they have the good news of the birth of Christ.
Like many of you, I watched the LSU/Alabama game this past year that took place at Tiger Stadium. Watching it on television I got the feeling that it was so loud that it was almost an act of God keeping so much crazy and chaos confined to one location. One announcer said, “If Tiger Stadium was a dome, it would have lost its roof tonight.” Yet, somehow, I don’t think that this scene in Baton Rouge, one of the loudest and craziest, that I can ever remember, holds a candle compared to the scene that night outside of Bethlehem. It’s at this point where I want to ask you one simple question. I don’t want you to respond aloud or anything like that, but just think to yourself. If the angels, who were already heavenly beings and weren’t worried for themselves about the salvation that was to come with this Promised Messiah, were as loud and a joyful in their rejoicing as they were, what do you think our response ought to be? The angels didn’t and do not need forgiveness; they’re already without sin. They didn’t need for Jesus to die. They had never rebelled against God, but you and I have. All of us, we are the ones who are in need of Jesus. We are the ones who are in need of forgiveness. We are the ones who are covered in sin. Yet, I would be willing to bet that very none of us in this room have witnessed an event where people worshiped in a greater or louder way than the angels that we are told about in our text. I doubt that any of us have ever seen anything close to such a sight. Just as I said a moment ago, I know that myself and many of you have seen passion that rivals that of the scene that we have here, but I doubt it was a worship service. It may have been a sporting event, graduation, some type of reunion, birth of a child, or even the moments after avoiding a disaster, but it probably wasn’t a worship service. That’s not to say that they don’t happen, but they don’t happen as frequently as these other events.
You see, if the angels are excited about the Gospel, shouldn’t we be even more excited? After all, we’re the ones who are the beneficiaries of all that is to come. As we all prepare our homes, our families, our schedules, and whatever else there is to celebrate Christmas; as we leave this place and for most of you hopefully rejoin us tomorrow evening; let us prepare our hearts. We need to take account and be reminded of the message that was received that day, but we also need to be reminded of the joy, the excitement, and the passion that filled the worship and praising of the angels. If the birth of Christ means so much to a group that really gains nothing from his presence on earth, shouldn’t that very same birth mean so much more to a group that quite honestly gains everything from what is about to come? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The thing that we took from our look at the shepherds was that God loves sinners. It’s the old adage of “love the sinner, hate the sin.” We live in an area where when asked about a particular person our answer is usually the same, “Oh, they’re good people.” I’ve often wondered what someone must do to not be considered good people, but that’s not the point. The point is that although they may be good, there is still some aspect of their life that needs improving, and that goes for all of us. Yes, it even goes for preachers. There are many times when I feel like it is more true of preachers than of other folks. However, we don’t have to be blameless in order to receive God, His Son, and His Gospel. We don’t have to live a life to perfection in order to receive our heavenly gifts of grace and mercy and salvation. And the reason that I can make that statement this day is because of the message that the angles had for those very shepherds that we spoke about last Sunday. Perhaps it would be more exact if I said that it was because of the one who the message was about instead.
So, let’s look for just a moment at the angels and the message that they had for the shepherds. We see in verse 9 that at first appearance there is only one angel that comes before the shepherds. However, the presence of this one angel is enough to illumine the entire night sky and also to fill the shepherds with fear. And this isn’t an uncommon reaction. You see, many times, particularly in the Old Testament, when God (through various forms such as smoke, fire, or angels to name a few) comes near His people and reveals Himself to them, fear is the reaction, and it’s no different today. All of us have had moments when we felt God speaking directly to us. Maybe it was telling us to make that commitment, to opt out of that choice, or to make a difficult decision based on the needs of others instead of ourselves. I know that my reaction has often been one of fear. I can tell you that a little over a year ago that God very clearly through a series of events was telling me that I was to go to Houma, LA and shepherd the flock of this church. All that I could think of was fear; fear of the unknown. I was scared to death because God had given me, and specifically me, a direct calling with my life.
You see, in addition to that fear that I felt, there was also a sense of ease because I knew that if this was what God was specifically calling me to do, then He would be with me each and every step of the way. That’s what we see here with the shepherds. If you will recall, even though they have such fear in their hearts at this moment, once the words of the angel end, their immediate reaction is to go to Bethlehem to find and see and worship and adore this child. The angel tells them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” So the angel tells them not to fear and that the message that they are receiving is a good thing. The angel is telling them that the Messiah, the long-awaited, God-appointed ruler of His people has been born and that they can find this child in the town of Bethlehem. After giving the shepherds these words, there isn’t just one angel before them anymore. No, instead there is now, “a multitude of heavenly host praising God.”
So the scene has gone from one angel giving this good news to a group of shepherds to a sky full of angels signing and proclaiming the words “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased,” or as some of us may have learned it, “peace and good will toward men.” The difference here is really a matter of interpretation. What I want all of us to focus on for just a second is not just the message that the now army of angels is proclaiming, but that they are so boldly and lovingly proclaiming. You see, the amount of angels in the sky at this point is thought to be equivalent to the stars. This is an army of angels that in mere moments could wipe out every human on the face of the earth; these angels are heavenly beings. The good news that they are bringing to the shepherds isn’t something that will save them. Yes, we may say that it is their job to proclaim God’s word and to sing praises to Him, but it’s more than that. It doesn’t take us very long to look at a person’s body language and how they carry themselves for us to know whether or not what they are doing is something that they love. My wife is a teacher at Oaklawn Jr. High in East Houma. The kids that are in her school can tell which teachers care about them and are excited to be there and which ones have a countdown in their heads that ends with the releasing of students. You see, just because it is the job of the angels to proclaim this news, doesn’t mean that they have to give it all they have, but they do. The entire army of angels shouts with as much might as they have the good news of the birth of Christ.
Like many of you, I watched the LSU/Alabama game this past year that took place at Tiger Stadium. Watching it on television I got the feeling that it was so loud that it was almost an act of God keeping so much crazy and chaos confined to one location. One announcer said, “If Tiger Stadium was a dome, it would have lost its roof tonight.” Yet, somehow, I don’t think that this scene in Baton Rouge, one of the loudest and craziest, that I can ever remember, holds a candle compared to the scene that night outside of Bethlehem. It’s at this point where I want to ask you one simple question. I don’t want you to respond aloud or anything like that, but just think to yourself. If the angels, who were already heavenly beings and weren’t worried for themselves about the salvation that was to come with this Promised Messiah, were as loud and a joyful in their rejoicing as they were, what do you think our response ought to be? The angels didn’t and do not need forgiveness; they’re already without sin. They didn’t need for Jesus to die. They had never rebelled against God, but you and I have. All of us, we are the ones who are in need of Jesus. We are the ones who are in need of forgiveness. We are the ones who are covered in sin. Yet, I would be willing to bet that very none of us in this room have witnessed an event where people worshiped in a greater or louder way than the angels that we are told about in our text. I doubt that any of us have ever seen anything close to such a sight. Just as I said a moment ago, I know that myself and many of you have seen passion that rivals that of the scene that we have here, but I doubt it was a worship service. It may have been a sporting event, graduation, some type of reunion, birth of a child, or even the moments after avoiding a disaster, but it probably wasn’t a worship service. That’s not to say that they don’t happen, but they don’t happen as frequently as these other events.
You see, if the angels are excited about the Gospel, shouldn’t we be even more excited? After all, we’re the ones who are the beneficiaries of all that is to come. As we all prepare our homes, our families, our schedules, and whatever else there is to celebrate Christmas; as we leave this place and for most of you hopefully rejoin us tomorrow evening; let us prepare our hearts. We need to take account and be reminded of the message that was received that day, but we also need to be reminded of the joy, the excitement, and the passion that filled the worship and praising of the angels. If the birth of Christ means so much to a group that really gains nothing from his presence on earth, shouldn’t that very same birth mean so much more to a group that quite honestly gains everything from what is about to come? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Luke 2:8-20 "Why Shepherds?"
Each worship service during our season of Advent has begun and does begin with something a little different. Where we would normally have a Call to Worship (a text of Scripture designed to prepare our hearts for the worship that is to come), we have recited a litany of purpose that corresponds with the lighting of a candle on the Advent wreath. This is not a new tradition for this church or a tradition that is by any means exclusive to this particular congregation. Why, I would be willing to bet that most, if not all, Christian churches have some sort of Advent wreath lighting tradition within their congregation. However, there is a difference that exists amongst many Christians congregations as to what they call the candles and the different Sunday’s during Advent. Some churches just refer to them as the first, second, third, and fourth Sunday’s in Advent followed by the Christmas Eve service. Some have different names for each and every service which all have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, none of these titles or names are any more or less correct than any other method, they are just differences in worship. It’s the same as there not being a correct form of music (traditional, contemporary, or blended), but there are preferences. You may have noticed that we have referred to the three candles thus far as the Prophecy Candle, the Bethlehem Candle, and the Shepherd’s Candle. The final two are the Angel’s Candle and the Christ Candle. Each of these names celebrates a particular aspect of Christ’s birth as it is recorded for us in God’s word.
The first candle that we lit, the Prophecy Candle, also called the Hope Candle, celebrates the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah. Our text for that Sunday even looked at those very words of the prophet Isaiah that foretold of Christ’s being born of a virgin. We have a great sense of hope because of this fulfilling of prophecy because it lets us know that God is faithful and will keep the promises that He has made to us. The second candle, the Bethlehem Candle, also called the Candle of Preparation, is a celebration of God’s keeping of His promise that He made through the prophet Malachi when He told His people that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. The people of Bethlehem are to prepare and to get ready because they are to welcome God Himself in the person of the Messiah. We looked last week at the events of the magi going to Herod and Herod sending them to Bethlehem to find the child. We saw that once the magi arrived that they presented the newborn baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We saw that their reaction to coming into the presence of Christ was not one of doubt, but one of worship and adoration. They fell down and worshipped him. You see, we too are to get ready and prepare to welcome and to receive God. We don’t receive Him the exact same way as the people of Bethlehem did, but it isn’t as if God is any more or less active in our world today as He was back then.
This brings us to our third candle, the Shepherd’s Candle, or the Candle of Joy. The first thing that people always want to ask about this candle is, “Why is that candle pink when the other candles lit prior to Christmas Eve are all purple?” Well, you’re in luck today if that is your question because I’m in somewhat of a trivia mood; what all of y’all down here call lagniappe. You see, it was once a tradition for the pope to give someone a rose on the fourth Sunday of Lent before Easter to “liven up” the somber tone of the season. Prior to the commercialization of Christmas as we know it today, Advent was also a solemn time, as people fasted to prepare for the holiday. The rose custom became part of the third Sunday of Advent, and eventually the third candle turned pink as well. We call this the Candle of Joy as well because of the joyful message that the angels have for the shepherds. Now, some have argued that perhaps we should have this be the Angel’s Candle, but I want us to look at our text for today and see why it is a celebration of the shepherd’s, as receivers of the good news, just as much or more so than the angels as givers of the good news.
Let’s look at our text for today and see the joy that we have because of the good news received by the shepherds. Our text begins by telling us that somewhere near the area where Jesus had been born, there are these shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock during the night. An angel appears to them and tells them of the good news of the birth of the long-awaited Messiah. Now, we won’t look at the words that the angel spoke to the shepherds today. We will do that next Sunday when we look at this same text once again from the perspective of the angel and the multitude of heavenly hosts. What I want to do today is to look at the reaction of the shepherds after hearing from the angel beginning in verse 15.
We see that the immediate reaction of the shepherds is to want to go to Bethlehem. It seems like this group of shepherds simultaneously have the same thought, and that is to go to Bethlehem. I equate this to whenever Amy and I are sitting at home during the afternoon trying to figure out what to eat for dinner and then all of a sudden a commercial comes on with a great looking pizza in it. Two people who think so very differently are for a brief moment completely linked and are on the same page. We don’t even really have to tell the other one what we are thinking to get the message across. I imagine that this is similar to how the shepherds felt after hearing about Jesus from the angel. So, they go to Bethlehem to find Jesus. Much like the magi last week, they arrive and find Jesus, his father Joseph, and his mother Mary all there in the manger. They take one look at the child and they know that every word that the angel has said to them is true. Of course, you would think that they would have known that already since it came from an angel of the Lord, but that’s another matter entirely. They tell Mary and Joseph all that the angel told them. They leave out no detail and all those who are present to hear this are awestruck at the words of the shepherds.
Verse 19 tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” My first thought is wondering what this might mean, but think about it. This is really the first account of someone other than her family openly admitting, at least publicly, that this is indeed a virgin birth. I’m sure that even though Joseph knew that she was carrying the son of God, there had to be many in the land who thought that she was crazy. At best, they probably considered her to be a liar. They said that there was no way that this woman could have conceived a child without having ever knowing her husband or any other man. How Mary’s heart must have raced and fluttered as each and every word escaped the mouths of the shepherds. It’s not as if she needed that vindication, but I’m sure it was not unwelcome when it finally came.
After spending time in Bethlehem at the manger where Christ was born, “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.” Very similar to the magi last week, the shepherds are completely overwhelmed by what they have just seen. They know without a doubt that this child is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of God that have been given about the Savior that was to come. There is one question, however, that I want to explore before leaving this text today. That question is, “why shepherds?” Why were these shepherds among the first to hear about this child? Why were these shepherds among the first to see this child? You see, the shepherd was thought of as being an average person. There was nothing really special about the vocation of shepherd. He was an average, every day, blue-collar worker. And I think that that is the very reason why these shepherds were given the privilege of being among the first to experience Jesus Christ. The announcement of this child to these men shows that God is committed to all of humanity and not just a select or chosen few. Those “on whom God’s favor rests” include those whose claim-to-fame may be nothing more than that they wake up each day and pursue a living in service to God.
Friends, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all mankind. It isn’t for those of us in nice, clean church buildings. It isn’t just for people who are generally good-at-heart or who usually do the right thing. No, the Gospel isn’t just for one class, one ethnicity, one status, or one type of people. The Gospel is for all who have ears to hear and eyes to see. We celebrate this day a Savior who is for everyone. We celebrate that we have a God who cares for all of us no matter who we are or what we have done. Shouldn’t our response to this wonderful news be the same as the shepherds? Shouldn’t we go about our day “glorifying and praising God for all” that we have heard and seen and are experiencing this day? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The first candle that we lit, the Prophecy Candle, also called the Hope Candle, celebrates the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah. Our text for that Sunday even looked at those very words of the prophet Isaiah that foretold of Christ’s being born of a virgin. We have a great sense of hope because of this fulfilling of prophecy because it lets us know that God is faithful and will keep the promises that He has made to us. The second candle, the Bethlehem Candle, also called the Candle of Preparation, is a celebration of God’s keeping of His promise that He made through the prophet Malachi when He told His people that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. The people of Bethlehem are to prepare and to get ready because they are to welcome God Himself in the person of the Messiah. We looked last week at the events of the magi going to Herod and Herod sending them to Bethlehem to find the child. We saw that once the magi arrived that they presented the newborn baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We saw that their reaction to coming into the presence of Christ was not one of doubt, but one of worship and adoration. They fell down and worshipped him. You see, we too are to get ready and prepare to welcome and to receive God. We don’t receive Him the exact same way as the people of Bethlehem did, but it isn’t as if God is any more or less active in our world today as He was back then.
This brings us to our third candle, the Shepherd’s Candle, or the Candle of Joy. The first thing that people always want to ask about this candle is, “Why is that candle pink when the other candles lit prior to Christmas Eve are all purple?” Well, you’re in luck today if that is your question because I’m in somewhat of a trivia mood; what all of y’all down here call lagniappe. You see, it was once a tradition for the pope to give someone a rose on the fourth Sunday of Lent before Easter to “liven up” the somber tone of the season. Prior to the commercialization of Christmas as we know it today, Advent was also a solemn time, as people fasted to prepare for the holiday. The rose custom became part of the third Sunday of Advent, and eventually the third candle turned pink as well. We call this the Candle of Joy as well because of the joyful message that the angels have for the shepherds. Now, some have argued that perhaps we should have this be the Angel’s Candle, but I want us to look at our text for today and see why it is a celebration of the shepherd’s, as receivers of the good news, just as much or more so than the angels as givers of the good news.
Let’s look at our text for today and see the joy that we have because of the good news received by the shepherds. Our text begins by telling us that somewhere near the area where Jesus had been born, there are these shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock during the night. An angel appears to them and tells them of the good news of the birth of the long-awaited Messiah. Now, we won’t look at the words that the angel spoke to the shepherds today. We will do that next Sunday when we look at this same text once again from the perspective of the angel and the multitude of heavenly hosts. What I want to do today is to look at the reaction of the shepherds after hearing from the angel beginning in verse 15.
We see that the immediate reaction of the shepherds is to want to go to Bethlehem. It seems like this group of shepherds simultaneously have the same thought, and that is to go to Bethlehem. I equate this to whenever Amy and I are sitting at home during the afternoon trying to figure out what to eat for dinner and then all of a sudden a commercial comes on with a great looking pizza in it. Two people who think so very differently are for a brief moment completely linked and are on the same page. We don’t even really have to tell the other one what we are thinking to get the message across. I imagine that this is similar to how the shepherds felt after hearing about Jesus from the angel. So, they go to Bethlehem to find Jesus. Much like the magi last week, they arrive and find Jesus, his father Joseph, and his mother Mary all there in the manger. They take one look at the child and they know that every word that the angel has said to them is true. Of course, you would think that they would have known that already since it came from an angel of the Lord, but that’s another matter entirely. They tell Mary and Joseph all that the angel told them. They leave out no detail and all those who are present to hear this are awestruck at the words of the shepherds.
Verse 19 tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” My first thought is wondering what this might mean, but think about it. This is really the first account of someone other than her family openly admitting, at least publicly, that this is indeed a virgin birth. I’m sure that even though Joseph knew that she was carrying the son of God, there had to be many in the land who thought that she was crazy. At best, they probably considered her to be a liar. They said that there was no way that this woman could have conceived a child without having ever knowing her husband or any other man. How Mary’s heart must have raced and fluttered as each and every word escaped the mouths of the shepherds. It’s not as if she needed that vindication, but I’m sure it was not unwelcome when it finally came.
After spending time in Bethlehem at the manger where Christ was born, “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.” Very similar to the magi last week, the shepherds are completely overwhelmed by what they have just seen. They know without a doubt that this child is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of God that have been given about the Savior that was to come. There is one question, however, that I want to explore before leaving this text today. That question is, “why shepherds?” Why were these shepherds among the first to hear about this child? Why were these shepherds among the first to see this child? You see, the shepherd was thought of as being an average person. There was nothing really special about the vocation of shepherd. He was an average, every day, blue-collar worker. And I think that that is the very reason why these shepherds were given the privilege of being among the first to experience Jesus Christ. The announcement of this child to these men shows that God is committed to all of humanity and not just a select or chosen few. Those “on whom God’s favor rests” include those whose claim-to-fame may be nothing more than that they wake up each day and pursue a living in service to God.
Friends, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all mankind. It isn’t for those of us in nice, clean church buildings. It isn’t just for people who are generally good-at-heart or who usually do the right thing. No, the Gospel isn’t just for one class, one ethnicity, one status, or one type of people. The Gospel is for all who have ears to hear and eyes to see. We celebrate this day a Savior who is for everyone. We celebrate that we have a God who cares for all of us no matter who we are or what we have done. Shouldn’t our response to this wonderful news be the same as the shepherds? Shouldn’t we go about our day “glorifying and praising God for all” that we have heard and seen and are experiencing this day? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Matthew 2:1-12 "Just Fall Down and Worship"
In our text for today, there are several things that ought to jump out at us immediately. The first is that Jesus is born. Matthew doesn’t tell us the details like Luke does, in a text that we will look at on Christmas Eve. No, Matthew simply says that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but he also tells us that it was during Herod’s reign as king of Judea. This is important because it sets the stage for what comes next in the life of Jesus. You see, Herod was an evil and vile ruler. He was so insecure and threatened by anyone who might try and claim his throne that he even had numerous members of his own family executed just so there would be no debate. He also had been given the title of “King of the Jews” by the Senate in Rome and had gone by this name for close to 40 years. So, these magi arrive from the east because they have heard that the Messiah has been born. They hear people refer to Herod as king of the Jews and they just assume that it is him. At first, we may miss out on what happened here. You see, the title Messiah means long-awaited God-anointed Ruler, who would overcome all other rule, and bring in the end of history, and establish the kingdom of God and never die or lose his reign. Obviously, Herod has never been referred to as Messiah, nor should he have been. However, this doesn’t stop his feeling threatened at the news that the Messiah has now been born. What if the people catch wind of this and try and do away with Herod as king in lieu of this Messiah?
Trying to figure out how he is going to deal with this news that he has just received, Herod calls together all his top religious officials and asks them where the Messiah, the Christ, is to be born. He can ask them this because the answer was given more than 400 years prior to Jesus’ actual birth. Much the same way that you saw last Sunday that the prophet Isaiah foretold of Jesus’ being born of a virgin, the location of his birth was prophesied as well. The prophet Malachi had said, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” You see, God, through Malachi, has specifically told the people of Bethlehem that the king of kings, the ruler of all nations, would be born in their town. So, Herod’s scribes and religious officials knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, they just didn’t know exactly when. The presence of these magi from the east has given them the final piece of the puzzle. They now know that the Messiah is here, and he is in Bethlehem.
Now that Herod knows that the Messiah is here and where he is, he thinks up a plan to take care of the situation and to squash any claim that this man or any of his followers may have to Herod’s throne. He summons these magi from another land to him and quite honestly lies to them about his intentions. He says to them, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” You see, Herod has now given the magi their missing piece of the puzzle. He has told them where they may find the Messiah. He is simply pointing them in the direction that they need to go. His thought is that if these magi go and there is nothing there then he hasn’t wasted his time or even alerted anyone that he is looking for the Messiah. However, if they find the Messiah and then they come back and tell him about it, then Herod can use any of the people or forces at his discretion to take care of the situation. He is basically sending these magi off to unknowingly be his reconnaissance or scout team.
We are then told that as the magi went on their way to Bethlehem, that a star began to shine the way for them to Jesus. The magi were delighted by this, probably because after their first attempt to find Jesus ended with them in Herod’s presence, there was no way that they could mess up this attempt. They were finally going to find the true Messiah. They got to the place where Jesus was staying with his mother, Mary, and his father, Joseph. It’s at this point that I think many of us miss the most amazing statement in this entire story. Look at the reaction of the magi after they saw the child, “they fell down and worshipped him.” Yes, these are simple words and it doesn’t take a lot to understand what they mean, but think about what they are saying. Think about these three men, who have just come into the presence of Jesus as a newborn baby, and their immediate reaction is one of worship and adoration. There is no questioning or doubting amongst the magi. Isn’t it striking that we have Gentiles from the east (the magi) coming to worship the king, but in Israel, neither the king, nor the religious leaders, nor the people have the slightest idea that the Messiah of God has come into the world. Don’t get me wrong, some people know that there are those who are calling this child the Messiah, but they don’t really think that it is him. If they did they would not seek to kill this child, but they would seek him, much like these magi, only for the purposes of worshipping him accordingly. He is known by Gentiles, but concealed in Israel and that truth surely, my friends, teaches us that God must reveal Christ to us if we are to see Him, if we are to embrace Him.
Amy and I, along with the kids, spent last weekend back where we used to live, in Jackson, MS. We had a wonderful time catching up with friends who we hadn’t seen in quite a while. We got filled in on all the latest news as to who has changed jobs, gotten pregnant, bought a house, or had some other significant change. I am very thankful to Dr. Dick Gates for filling this pulpit last Sunday in my absence. Since he was here with y’all, we were given the chance to worship with our old church family at Grace Chapel EPC in Madison. As soon as I sat down in “our seats” (which oddly enough no one has claimed the third row from the front on the left side yet), it occurred to me: today marks only the third Sunday in the year of 2012 that I have not preached in a worship service. The act of attending a worship service and not leading or assisting in some way has somewhat become foreign to me. One of the stranger parts of the whole thing is that as I stand here before you today, I have absolutely no clue what you heard from this very pulpit last Sunday. I can tell you what the text and the title of the sermon were, but that’s about it. Sure I can guess as to a general theme, but nothing specific. As luck would have it, I heard a sermon preached from the same text although the focus of that message was on Joseph and how a Christian husband and father should act. The fact that two sermons could be preached by two highly gifted preachers on the same text and yet share hardly any similarities is astonishing to me. However, when we take into account that one pastor was at “his” church and another was doing pulpit supply, and that one pastor is in his late 40s and the other in his early 70s, and that one pastor is in a church that is finally starting to hit its stride so-to-speak after years of struggling along and the other is in what many of us would call a mega-church that has a long history of vital and active ministry, and that…well you get the point. These two men are coming to the pulpit but from different places in their lives and their ministries. The magi, Herod, the Jewish scribes and religious leader, and everyone else are all hearing the same things and they are for the most part all seeing the same things in the sky, but only some of them believe. The same way that two pastors can come to a text in different ways, these different groups of people are interpreting what is taking place differently from each other. The greatest difference is found in the fact that while both pastors are preaching the same gospel, the people of this day are not unified in their vision of the Messiah. Those who truly want to see him and are seeking him will find him, while those who seek only for themselves will not.
So, what’s the difference between these magi and those in Jerusalem? Well, I mentioned it just a bit ago, God has led them to Christ. He has given them the assurance of the truth that the one that they are seeking is indeed the promised Messiah. Their eyes are not blinded by their own selfish ambitions and their own desire to keep what they already have or possibly gain more. In fact, we even see them give away things that belong to them because of the mere presence of Christ. Now, the importance of these gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) and what they mean has been debated and we’re not going to take up that issue today, but the fact remains that they are presenting these gifts to a child. They know, because God has revealed to them, that this baby boy resting before their very eyes is the Christ, the promised Messiah. I don’t know if you have ever looked at a newborn baby, but it’s pretty hard to tell exactly who he is and what he is going to do with his life simply by looking at the child.
After seeing the child and having confirmed what they already knew to be true, the magi are once again spoken to by God, this time through a dream. God tells each of them that they are not to report back to Herod for his intentions are to harm the child and that they should return to their homeland. God has led them to Jesus and is now leading them away from Herod. As a side note here; yes, God could have led them away from Herod to begin with, but that was not the plan. Herod being alerted allowed for the prophecies of the Old Testament about the exile and the killing of children to take place. We may not understand it or like, but that’s the way it is. We may want to know why so many children were allowed to be murdered by Herod and his men and we are fine to wonder, but it was part of the will of God. There are bad things that happen in this life and God allows them to happen. The blessing, however, is that God can and does use those painful and emotional moments in life to work out His own will and to unfold His plan.
Friends, as we continue celebrating this Advent season, the birth of Jesus Christ, I want us to remember the reaction of the magi when they came into the presence of Christ. They didn’t run tests, ask questions, or use any other method to prove at they were right. They simply fell down and worshipped Christ Jesus. When we are faced with those moments of doubt, those moments where we question, those moments where all we want to know is why this is happening, shouldn’t our reaction be to simply fall down and worship. There is never a time in our lives, when prayers and shouts of adoration for Christ are not appropriate. The King has come, let us fall down and worship him. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Trying to figure out how he is going to deal with this news that he has just received, Herod calls together all his top religious officials and asks them where the Messiah, the Christ, is to be born. He can ask them this because the answer was given more than 400 years prior to Jesus’ actual birth. Much the same way that you saw last Sunday that the prophet Isaiah foretold of Jesus’ being born of a virgin, the location of his birth was prophesied as well. The prophet Malachi had said, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” You see, God, through Malachi, has specifically told the people of Bethlehem that the king of kings, the ruler of all nations, would be born in their town. So, Herod’s scribes and religious officials knew that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, they just didn’t know exactly when. The presence of these magi from the east has given them the final piece of the puzzle. They now know that the Messiah is here, and he is in Bethlehem.
Now that Herod knows that the Messiah is here and where he is, he thinks up a plan to take care of the situation and to squash any claim that this man or any of his followers may have to Herod’s throne. He summons these magi from another land to him and quite honestly lies to them about his intentions. He says to them, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” You see, Herod has now given the magi their missing piece of the puzzle. He has told them where they may find the Messiah. He is simply pointing them in the direction that they need to go. His thought is that if these magi go and there is nothing there then he hasn’t wasted his time or even alerted anyone that he is looking for the Messiah. However, if they find the Messiah and then they come back and tell him about it, then Herod can use any of the people or forces at his discretion to take care of the situation. He is basically sending these magi off to unknowingly be his reconnaissance or scout team.
We are then told that as the magi went on their way to Bethlehem, that a star began to shine the way for them to Jesus. The magi were delighted by this, probably because after their first attempt to find Jesus ended with them in Herod’s presence, there was no way that they could mess up this attempt. They were finally going to find the true Messiah. They got to the place where Jesus was staying with his mother, Mary, and his father, Joseph. It’s at this point that I think many of us miss the most amazing statement in this entire story. Look at the reaction of the magi after they saw the child, “they fell down and worshipped him.” Yes, these are simple words and it doesn’t take a lot to understand what they mean, but think about what they are saying. Think about these three men, who have just come into the presence of Jesus as a newborn baby, and their immediate reaction is one of worship and adoration. There is no questioning or doubting amongst the magi. Isn’t it striking that we have Gentiles from the east (the magi) coming to worship the king, but in Israel, neither the king, nor the religious leaders, nor the people have the slightest idea that the Messiah of God has come into the world. Don’t get me wrong, some people know that there are those who are calling this child the Messiah, but they don’t really think that it is him. If they did they would not seek to kill this child, but they would seek him, much like these magi, only for the purposes of worshipping him accordingly. He is known by Gentiles, but concealed in Israel and that truth surely, my friends, teaches us that God must reveal Christ to us if we are to see Him, if we are to embrace Him.
Amy and I, along with the kids, spent last weekend back where we used to live, in Jackson, MS. We had a wonderful time catching up with friends who we hadn’t seen in quite a while. We got filled in on all the latest news as to who has changed jobs, gotten pregnant, bought a house, or had some other significant change. I am very thankful to Dr. Dick Gates for filling this pulpit last Sunday in my absence. Since he was here with y’all, we were given the chance to worship with our old church family at Grace Chapel EPC in Madison. As soon as I sat down in “our seats” (which oddly enough no one has claimed the third row from the front on the left side yet), it occurred to me: today marks only the third Sunday in the year of 2012 that I have not preached in a worship service. The act of attending a worship service and not leading or assisting in some way has somewhat become foreign to me. One of the stranger parts of the whole thing is that as I stand here before you today, I have absolutely no clue what you heard from this very pulpit last Sunday. I can tell you what the text and the title of the sermon were, but that’s about it. Sure I can guess as to a general theme, but nothing specific. As luck would have it, I heard a sermon preached from the same text although the focus of that message was on Joseph and how a Christian husband and father should act. The fact that two sermons could be preached by two highly gifted preachers on the same text and yet share hardly any similarities is astonishing to me. However, when we take into account that one pastor was at “his” church and another was doing pulpit supply, and that one pastor is in his late 40s and the other in his early 70s, and that one pastor is in a church that is finally starting to hit its stride so-to-speak after years of struggling along and the other is in what many of us would call a mega-church that has a long history of vital and active ministry, and that…well you get the point. These two men are coming to the pulpit but from different places in their lives and their ministries. The magi, Herod, the Jewish scribes and religious leader, and everyone else are all hearing the same things and they are for the most part all seeing the same things in the sky, but only some of them believe. The same way that two pastors can come to a text in different ways, these different groups of people are interpreting what is taking place differently from each other. The greatest difference is found in the fact that while both pastors are preaching the same gospel, the people of this day are not unified in their vision of the Messiah. Those who truly want to see him and are seeking him will find him, while those who seek only for themselves will not.
So, what’s the difference between these magi and those in Jerusalem? Well, I mentioned it just a bit ago, God has led them to Christ. He has given them the assurance of the truth that the one that they are seeking is indeed the promised Messiah. Their eyes are not blinded by their own selfish ambitions and their own desire to keep what they already have or possibly gain more. In fact, we even see them give away things that belong to them because of the mere presence of Christ. Now, the importance of these gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh) and what they mean has been debated and we’re not going to take up that issue today, but the fact remains that they are presenting these gifts to a child. They know, because God has revealed to them, that this baby boy resting before their very eyes is the Christ, the promised Messiah. I don’t know if you have ever looked at a newborn baby, but it’s pretty hard to tell exactly who he is and what he is going to do with his life simply by looking at the child.
After seeing the child and having confirmed what they already knew to be true, the magi are once again spoken to by God, this time through a dream. God tells each of them that they are not to report back to Herod for his intentions are to harm the child and that they should return to their homeland. God has led them to Jesus and is now leading them away from Herod. As a side note here; yes, God could have led them away from Herod to begin with, but that was not the plan. Herod being alerted allowed for the prophecies of the Old Testament about the exile and the killing of children to take place. We may not understand it or like, but that’s the way it is. We may want to know why so many children were allowed to be murdered by Herod and his men and we are fine to wonder, but it was part of the will of God. There are bad things that happen in this life and God allows them to happen. The blessing, however, is that God can and does use those painful and emotional moments in life to work out His own will and to unfold His plan.
Friends, as we continue celebrating this Advent season, the birth of Jesus Christ, I want us to remember the reaction of the magi when they came into the presence of Christ. They didn’t run tests, ask questions, or use any other method to prove at they were right. They simply fell down and worshipped Christ Jesus. When we are faced with those moments of doubt, those moments where we question, those moments where all we want to know is why this is happening, shouldn’t our reaction be to simply fall down and worship. There is never a time in our lives, when prayers and shouts of adoration for Christ are not appropriate. The King has come, let us fall down and worship him. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)