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Weekly Message

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

12/29/2019

 
On this “in-between” week, I thought we would do something fun for our message.  We’ve all heard of Hallmark’s “25 days of Christmas” or their “Countdown to Christmas.”  Today, we are going to chat about the 12 days of Christmas.
We all have heard and sung the catchy and crazy accumulative Christmas song about the 12 days of Christmas and the many gifts our “true love” gives to us.  We have even heard Jeff Foxworthy’s spoof on this song.  It’s fun to sing, if a bit confusing.  There are several versions of “the gifts” out there – especially as you get higher up in the days.
So, let’s take a  look at the song, and explore each of the days’ gifts.

When are the 12 days of Christmas?
  • Many believe that the 12 days of Christmas are the 12 prior to Christmas (Dec 12 – 24)
  • In Western Christianity, this is the time period from Christmas Day, 12/25, through January 5th – the day before Epiphany (when the Magi visited the holy family (Gleeson).  So, for us, today is the 5th day of Christmas.
  • For some cultures, gifts are given on every one of the 12 days, but in most Latino cultures, gifts are given on January 6th, on the Day of the Kings (sp = La Fiesta de Reyes, or el Dia de los Tres Reyes) (Bratcher) in memory of the gifts that the Magi gave to baby Jesus and his parents.

The earliest known written version of the “12 Days of Christmas,”  which was printed without accompanying music, goes back to 1780 and the English children’s book, Mirth With-out Mischief.  However, many scholars believe the poem is French in origin and started out as a game to test memory that revelers played at Twelfth Night parties.  The song can be a bit challenging, especially if you have been enjoying the Christmas spirits a bit.  The rules were that if you forgot the words, you’d have to give your opponent a kiss or grant them a favor (Gleeson).
    Over the years, the cumulative verse poem, “where each patterned verse contributes to a longer narrative” – shifted and changed over the centuries.  It wasn’t until 1909, when English composer Frederic Austin added music to the poem (Gleeson).
    Some even believed that this poem/song was written and used as an “underground catechism” to help share the important tenants of the Catholic faith in England during the period of 1558 to 1829 when Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England.  During this time period, it was prohibited by law for ANY to practice their faith – private OR public.  It was a crime to BE a Catholic (Stockert).
    There is varying information on this claim.  So, whether you believe this is true or not, using the 12 Days of Christmas song to help young people and adults alike remember important parts of our faith is a pretty creative way to do so.  Let’s take a look and see:

Each verse of the song begins with:  On the # day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…… According to the articles I found on-line,
  • My true love – refers to God (Bratcher)
  • Me – refers to every baptized person who is part of the Christian faith (Bratcher)

We are going to take a look at the song verse by verse without repeating the previous days.  We will sing the verse, then pause briefly to talk about the Christian “meaning” given to it according to Dennis Bratcher’s article posted in 2005.  We will do that through all 12 days, then we will repeat Day 12 and test our memories and go through all of the 11 previous days.  So, let’s start the song.

On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  A partridge in a pear tree.
  • The partridge in a pear tree obviously refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose birthday we celebrate on 12/25 – the 1st day of Christmas.  In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge who feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, recalling the expression of Christ’s sadness over the fate of Jerusalem found in Luke 13:34 - “Jerusalem!  Jerusalem!  How often would I have sheltered you under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but you would not….”

On the 2nd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  2 Turtle Doves.
  • These represent the Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God’s self-revelation in history and the creation of people to tell the Story of God to the world.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  3 French Hens.
  • These represent the 3 theological virtues:  Faith, Hope and Love found in 1 Corinthians 13:13

On the 4th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  4 Calling Birds.
  • These represent the 4 Gospels:  Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  5 Golden Rings.
  • These represent the first 5 Books of the Bible, what is also called the Pentateuch:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which give the history of humanity’s sinful failure and God’s response of grace in the creation of a people to be a light to the world.

On the 6th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  6 Geese A-laying.
  • These represent the 6 days of creation, found in Genesis 1, that confesses God as Creator and Sustainer of the World

On the 7th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  7 Swans A-swimming.
  • These represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit:  prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and compassion found in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-11

On the 8th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  8 Maids A-milking.
  • These represent the 8 Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-10:  Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake

On the 9th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  9 Ladies Dancing.
  • These represent the Fruits of the Holy Spirit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as shared in Galatians 5:22

On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  10 Lords A-leaping.
  • These represent the 10 commandments:  You shall have no other gods before me; Do not make an idol; Do not take God’s name in vain; Remember the Sabbath Day; Honor your parents; Do not murder; Do not commit adultery; Do not steal; Do not bear false witness; Do not covet (Exodus 20:1-17)

On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  11 Piper’s Piping.
  • These represent the 11 Faithful Apostles as listed in Luke 6:14-16:  Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar (son of) Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas bar (son of) James.  The list does not include the 12th disciple – Judas Iscariot – who betrayed Jesus to the religious leaders and the Romans.

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  12 Drummers Drumming.
  • These represent the 12 points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed:
  1. I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
  2. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord
  3. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary
  4. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.  He descended into hell (the grave).
  5. On the 3rd day he rose again.  He ascended into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of the Father.
  6. He will come again to judge the living and the dead
  7. I believe in the Holy Spirit
  8. The holy catholic (universal) Church
  9. The communion of saints
  10. The forgiveness of sins
  11. The resurrection of the body
  12. And life everlasting

Well, it’s a good thing they didn’t include this language in the poem, it would be very hard to sing the verses.  But, it is extremely useful in helping us boil the key elements of our faith down into easy to remember chunks.

    Let’s sing the song one more time starting with Day 12 and adding each of the previous day’s gifts as the song invites us to.

    The next time you hear or sing the song, 12 days of Christmas, remember that there is always more to a song that just what the lyrics share.  The meaning behind the words has a story to tell.  And for those of us who are Christians, there is definitely more to the story.  We are to remember that the core reason we celebrate this holiday – this HOLY DAY – is because God Loved us so much that God was willing to give us the ultimate gift – God’s self, wrapped up in flesh and bone, in the form of a vulnerable baby whom we could all love and grow with as we forged a closer relationship with God through him.  I hope this Christmas has provided you with the opportunity to renew that relationship once again.

May it be so….. AMEN

Resources:
Bratcher, Dennis, Article “The Twelve Days of Christmas” published in 2005.  http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html
Gleeson, Jill, article “Here’s What to Know About the 12 Days of Christmas Meaning”, printed Nov 20, 2019.  https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/a29832797/12-days-of-christmas-meaning/
Stockert, Hall (Father), article “Origin of The Twelve Days of Christmas” An Underground Catechism https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/origin-of-the-twelve-days-of-christmas-10885?keyword=&mt=b&loc=9006758&n=g&d=c&adp=1t2&cid=8641161795&adgid=90568226081&tid=dsa-19959388920&gclid=Cj0KCQiA0ZHwBRCRARIsAK0Tr-rwcmLzyQNTaaVDc9x-INGTWTle5dIVtB_23kK2WVw821mGC384aKEaAkoeEALw_wcB

JOYOUS PRAISE

12/22/2019

 
On this, our final Sunday in Advent, it’s appropriate that we talk about Joy.  And what better way to talk about Joy, than to visit with Mary and hear her beautiful song of joyous praise to God, found only in the Gospel of Luke.

Why do we visit with Mary every year in the 3rd or 4th week of Advent?
    “Luke tells us a lot about how Mary responded to the angel Gabriel’s visit and message,” Timothy Keller says in his book “Hidden Christmas.”  He believes “it is to hold her up as a model of what responsive Christian faith looks like” (p81).

So, how does Mary respond?

When she is told that she is going to have a baby – God’s baby – does she just say:  GREAT!  I’m thrilled to be of service….. or does she have a different response?
It’s a little bit of both.  Yet, her “I’m thrilled to be of service” comes a little bit down the road.  (Keller, p81).
Luke tells us that Mary was first “perplexed and pondered” the angel’s greeting to her:  “Greetings, favored one!  The Lord is with you” (v29) (Keller, p81).
  • Like many of us, Mary was probably wondering if she was seeing things (Keller, p81).
  • As the angel continues with his message, and informs Mary of her pregnancy, she really begins to question what’s going on….. “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” (v34) she says.

When we think about how Mary’s questioned and asked the angel for clarification, we can see that “responding in faith is a whole-person experience that includes the intellect,” not just the heart.  No one can ever accuse Mary of responding in any way like “blind faith” (Keller, p81).
    Last week I mentioned that Jews do not believe that God could (or would) ever become a human being (Keller, p82).  So, it’s easy to see why Mary would be perplexed and question what she is hearing from the angel.

Doubting and questioning, are important parts of being faithful and can be seen and heard in many forms in the Bible.
  • There is a kind of doubt that is the sign of a closed mind and a kind of doubt that is a sign of an open mind.
  • Some doubt seeks answers, and some doubt is a defense against the possibility of answers.
  • There are people, like Mary, who are open to the truth and are willing to relinquish control over their lives if they can be shown that the truth is other than what they thought.
  • And there are those who use doubts as a way of staying in control of their lives and keeping their minds closed. (Keller, p83)

What kind of doubter are you?
  • Are you more like Mary or….
  • more like the others who use their doubt as a means of slamming the door on God and keeping your faith at a status quo?

Keller tells us that “Mary’s faith happens in stages.”  He says, “Christian faith requires the commitment of our whole lives.  While it is possible,  few go from being uncommitted to being fully committed in a single stroke” (p83).
    Mary’s 1st response was that of “measured incredulity.”  She questioned what she was hearing.  And the question she asked, was one that invited further information; it sought to engage in a conversation to learn more – “How can this be?” (Keller, p84-85).
    Mary’s 2nd response is “simple acceptance.”  She says, “Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (v38).   I would bet that Mary isn’t truly convinced that God is going to make her pregnant through the Holy Spirit, and that the child she will give birth to will be God in human form.  Still, she is willing to take the chance, to say “Yes” to God, and to allow herself to be used for God’s purpose (Keller, p85).
    I think this is where we, humans, fail.  We want to only make a decision “for God” if, and only if, we can clearly see, hear, feel, and/or experience the truth and reality of God – rationally, emotionally, and personally.  But that isn’t “faith” is it?  Faith is believing and acting even without tangible proof that something is real.  “Sometimes, we can only do what Mary does – just submit and trust, despite our fears and reservations” (Keller, p85).  Sometimes we have to take the “leap of faith,” trusting that God will not let us fall.
    Mary’s final response to her visit with the angel comes only after she arrives at her cousin Elizabeth’s house.  When Elizabeth greets Mary and proclaims, without pre-knowledge, that Mary indeed carries the messianic child in her womb, Mary is finally convinced that she has truly experienced an encounter with God, and that she is indeed favored.  Mary is finally able to “exercise faith from the heart” as her joy bubbles forth in her beautiful song, the Magnificat, where she gives voice to her joyous praise for God, making connections to what God has done, and is doing, through her – a simple, poor, peasant girl from Galilee – and the promises God made centuries ago to Abraham, that God would save all people through him and his descendants.  Mary’s response has gone from simple submission, to giving her heart completely and joyfully (Keller, p86) to God.
    Mary’s final response is one of deep wonder.  She is not thinking about the costs to herself.  Instead, she has been caught up wholly – her thinking is convinced, her feelings captivated, and her will gladly surrendered.  In her song, we can hear a sense of amazement in her words:  that God has chosen her – “he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me” (v48-49) (Keller, p88).

Keller points out that “true faith is not something that you simply decide in yourself to exercise.  We are incapable, on our own, of simply believing in Jesus.  God has to open our hearts and help us break through our prejudices, doubts, and denials (p87) before we can truly believe.
    Keller also reminds us of the gift that we too receive from God: “Every Christian is like Mary” he says.  “Everyone who puts their faith in Christ receives the Holy Spirit” (p89).
  • Shouldn’t we all be amazed that we are Christians….that the great God is working in us (and for us)? That God favors us?

If we are to be like Mary, we must have faith that:
  • Questions openly, seeking to engage and learn rather than close ourselves off from God’s influence in our lives.
  • We must willingly commit ourselves to God’s service – even when we don’t have all the answers, even when we are still afraid and uncertain.
  • We trust that God will fill in the gaps and meet us where we are and take us to where God needs us to be.
  • We recognize that if we commit ourselves to God, we can trust that God is committed to us.

NOTE TO SELF:  You must remember – even though we willingly put our faith and trust in God, this does not mean everything will go easy for us.  Look at Mary…..her life wasn’t easy; it wasn’t all sunshine and happiness.  Her “Yes” to God brought her plenty of ridicule, public humiliation, fear, and suffering (Keller, p98-99).
  • Even though Joseph married her, her virtue came into question.  Her son, Jesus was dubbed “illegitimate” in the eyes of many after they calculated the difference between when Mary and Joseph were married and the date that Jesus was born.
  • She and Joseph had to flea with the baby in the dark of night following the visit of the Magi.  An angel warns Joseph that King Herod is sending troops to kill their son for fear that he will seek to take over as “king”.
  • She becomes a young, single mother when Joseph dies sometime before Jesus reaches adulthood.
  • She must watch as Jesus is arrested, beaten, and crucified.
  • She must bury her only son – without time to properly prepare him and say the prayers of her faith over him.

Yet, in spite of all that happens, Mary remains faithful to her God.  Would we/Do we remain faithful in the face of similar situations?
  • No unfortunately, we don’t.
  • Too often we get mad at God and turn our back on God because God didn’t prevent the tragedies in our lives from happening.

However, faith should be somewhat easier for us, than it was for Mary.  One reason we can give ourselves to Jesus more freely, is because:  We know the ending of Jesus’ life-story.  We know that all he did, all he suffered and endured was for our benefit, and was out of LOVE for us.  We know that Christ walks with us through the darkest times and eventually brings good out of all it (Keller, p95-98).  And because of this, we can more easily trust that God is with us always.

Today, we raise our voices in Joyous Praise for all that Christ has done for us, is doing in us, and will continue to do through us.  With the courage of Mary, may we willingly offer ourselves as faithful servants of our Lord, so that God’s will may be accomplished for all people.

May it be so….. AMEN

Resource:
Keller, Timothy, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ, Chapter 5:  Mary’s Faith.  Viking-Penguin Random House LLC/New York, NY, 2016, p79-99

EMMANUEL — GOD WITH US AND IN US

12/15/2019

 
Some have argued that the supreme miracle of Christianity is not the resurrection of Christ from the dead, but (is actually) the incarnation (Keller, p44).
    Now, there’s a “churchy” word that we often throw around at this time of year without defining.  We assume that we all “known” the word, but do we?
What is the Incarnation?

Timothy Keller has a few different ways of defining the Incarnation in his book.
  • The incarnation is when the beginningless, omnipotent, creator of the universe took on a human nature without the loss of his deity, so that Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth, was born fully divine and fully human (Keller, p44).
  • “Immanuel” means the ideal has become real, the absolute has become a particular, and the invisible has become visible! (p48)
  • The Incarnation is the…history-altering, life-transforming, paradigm-shattering event of history (p48).
  • Incarnation is “in Jesus, the indescribable, unapproachable God becomes a human being who can be known and loved” (p53).
  • The Incarnation did not happen merely to let us now that God exists.  It happened to bring God near, so God can be with us, and we can be with God (p55).

Because of the Incarnation, we are given the opportunity to have a real, intimate, and lasting relationship with God in Jesus.
This is very different from what the Jews believe.  They believe in a God who was both personal and infinite, who was not a being within the universe, but was instead the catalyst of its existence and transcendent above it (Keller, p42).
    In the Old Testament, God appeared as a smoking furnace, a pillar of fire, and as a whirlwind or tornado (Keller, p53).  The closest we would get to visibly seeing God was to encounter one of God’s many messengers like both Mary and Joseph did.
Back in Exodus 38, while on Mt Sinai meeting with God, Moses asked to see God’s face, and he was told that if he were to look directly at God, it would kill him.  He was told, at best, that he could glimpse God’s back after God had passed him by (Exodus 38:18-23) (Keller, p53).
Yet, numerous centuries later, Jesus Christ – by his life, by his claims, and by his resurrection – convinced his closest Jewish followers that he was not just a prophet telling them how to find God, but was God himself, come to find us (Keller, p42).
    If Moses were to walk into our sanctuary today and hear us talking about the Incarnation, and listen to our various scripture readings like these through Advent and Christmas:
  • An angel tells Joseph in a dream, “…do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:20b-21)
  • “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’.” (Mt 1:23, quoting Isaiah 7:14)
  • “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14)

I imagine Moses would be stunned!  Keller says that he believes, “Moses would cry out, Do you realize what this means?!  This is the very thing I was denied!  This means that through Jesus you can meet God.  You can know God personally and without terror.  God can come into your life.  Where’s your joy?  Where’s your amazement? How can your lives NOT be changed?!” (p54).
    I think Moses’ shock would be spot on.  I really don’t think we are surprised and amazed with the idea, much less the reality, that God came to us in the form of a human infant, so that we might have a real relationship with God’s self in Jesus.  That God willingly became vulnerable and ordinary – he became fully human just like you and me (Keller, p47-48); that God emptied himself of his glory, of his divine prerogatives (Keller, p48); and willingly suffered so that we might be able to better connect with God.
    This God – the one who lived like us, who has experienced the darkness, rejection, pain, and suffering we go through, and then some – is a God who truly understands us and we can trust in God’s love and care for us (Keller, p52-53).

What do you think…..
  • Are you amazed, in awe of what God did in Jesus Christ for us?
  • Do you find joy in the fact that Jesus came to wipe out all our sins and to give us eternal life?
  • Have you allowed Jesus to transform your life?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, then why don’t we live and act more like Jesus taught us?

Maybe, it’s because we can only read about and hear stories about Jesus.  We have never experienced Jesus as a living, breathing person.  So, it’s hard to really wrap our head around the idea that he is real.  We want to believe he is, but…… part of us holds back a bit.
  • Maybe because we don’t see any real consequences to us NOT living rightly before God.
  • Or maybe because it’s difficult to live as a faithful disciple.

It takes a lot of courage to truly believe in Jesus as a living breathing human being, who is also God come to be with us and save us from ourselves and the troubles of our world.
It takes a lot of courage to not just truly believe, but to live like we believe – as faithful disciples of Christ.  I know your thinking – what do you mean it takes courage to let our lives reflect Jesus’ teachings and ministry?
  • Well, in many non-western countries a profession of Christian faith can be dangerous to your very life (Keller, p57).
  • Fortunately, we don’t really have to worry about our life being in danger because we profess to be “Christian” – yet, there is increasing ridicule and contempt for those holding to historical – sometimes any – Christian beliefs (Keller, p57).

If we have the courage to live as faithful disciples, following Christ’s teachings.  Then, we must set aside our “right to self-determination”.  We must have the courage to do the things that our culture tells us we shouldn’t – deny ourselves of our own will, and trust in what God is calling us to do.  As a disciple of Christ, we must trust that God will guide us in what we should be doing, how we should be acting, and what we should be saying.  We must trust that in the end – all will be well, that God will take the good and bad choices we make, the kind, hope-filled, chaotic, and hot mess areas of our world and work them for good.  (Keller, p58-59)
    Most of all, we must have the courage to admit that we need God – that we cannot in order to be our best selves - to live our lives successfully, happily, and abundantly – we need God’s loving and guiding presence in our lives (Keller, p61).

Where do we get the courage to truly believe and follow Jesus; to know that we can give our entire life over to God and we will be better for it?
    We look to Jesus himself.  We must pause to consider what it must have taken for him to willingly come to be with us: to become mortal and vulnerable so that he could suffer, be betrayed and killed for us.  To remember that on the cross, he felt every human emotion of betrayal, fear, and pain – just as we would.  Yet, Jesus/God felt it was all worth it.  Jesus chose to go through all of this out of LOVE for you, for me, for every human being past, present and future around the world (Keller, p61).
    The true and ultimate gift we receive from God is LOVE – unconditional, unselfish, unstoppable, unimaginable LOVE.

May this year be the one that you truly come to know deep in your heart and soul God’s LOVE for you, and may it bring you hope and peace.  May you offer that same love back to God and pass it on to others.

AMEN


Resource:
Keller, Timothy, Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ, Chapter 3:  The Fathers of Jesus.  Viking-Penguin Random House LLC/New York, NY, 2016, p40-62.

PART OF JESUS’ FAMILY

12/8/2019

 
In today’s US culture and society, how do we identify who and what is valuable, important, most sought after, and what makes one “successful”?
  • Wealth – how much $$ you have,
  • Who you know
  • What you can do for others
  • Family name – “Kennedy,” “Gates,”
  • Job you have, where you work and live
  • Does ethnicity (color of skin, or where you were born) matter?
  • Does gender matter?

Back in the early days of the US, people often would ask, “Who are your people?”   Your family heritage – who your ancestors are, where you come from – was really important.  I suppose in some circles that still is the case today, but not so much for the average US resident.
    Matthew’s gospel account of the birth of Jesus starts by providing a long, seemingly tedious genealogy (Keller, p20).  It’s Jesus’ “resume” of a sort.  Matthew feels it’s very important that we know “who Jesus is” and where he comes from (Keller, p29), that his family line goes all the way back to Abraham.
    In this way, Matthew reminds us that “Christmas is not simply about a birth, but about a coming, and that God had planned for the arrival of his Son before God even created the Earth.  This genealogy shows the extent God was willing to go in order to foreshadow the great person Jesus would be throughout the course of history.  And he does so by rooting him firmly in history” (Keller, p20-21).


In Jesus’ time and in the early days of the US, genealogical listings, or resumes, were meant to impress onlookers with the high quality and respectability of one’s roots (Keller, p29) – one’s ancestors.
    Matthew’s listing does the very opposite with Jesus. Rather than listing only the “important” people, his genealogy includes some “questionable” ones.  So, his genealogy is shockingly unlike other ancient ones.
In ancient patriarchal societies, a woman was virtually never named in such lists.  So, Matthew’s inclusion of 5 women in Jesus’ family tree is quite shocking.  They are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah, and, of course, his mother Mary.  They can be considered “gender outsiders” (Keller, p29).
    Another point of oddity and difference, is that most of the women in Jesus’ family tree were Gentiles:  Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites and Ruth was a Moabite.  It’s interesting that Matthew – a presumed devout Jew would include them, since to the ancient Jews, these nations were considered “unclean,” and to be avoided.  So we can consider these women “racial outsiders” (Keller, p30).


Why would Matthew make such a point of including these women in Jesus’ family tree?  Why didn’t he include the other women – like Sarah, Rachel, and Leah?  Why only this 5?
    Matthew wants us to take a closer look at the stories of their lives, to see what they have to tell us, and listen to how they can speak to who Jesus is.
When we do look at their stories, we see that they represent “some of the most sordid, nasty, and immoral incidents in the Bible.”  So, how can these stories help us better understand Jesus?
  • Tamar – had to trick her father-in-law, Judah, into sleeping with her (Keller, p30) and giving her children after the death of her husband, Er, and his younger brother, Onan, left her childless.  Judah treats Tamar unfairly when he orders her back to her father’s house rather than providing for her as the widow of his eldest son. Tamar feels that she is forced to take matters into her own hands to insure her future. Out of this dysfunctional family comes the Messiah (Keller, p30).
  • Rahab – was a Canaanite prostitute (Keller, p30) who helped to hide the spies that Joshua sent before his army into Canaan.  They were there to collect intell to aid in the Israelite’s conquering of the city.
  • The “wife of Uriah” – reminds us of the time when David was a fugitive running for his life from King Saul.  Five men went into the wilderness to defend him, and were dubbed his “Mighty Men.”  One of these brave men was Uriah – a friend to whom David owed his life (2 Sam. 23:39).  Yet years after David became King, he saw Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and wanted her for his own.  So he arranges to have Uriah killed.  After his death, King David claims Bathsheba as his own, and their firstborn son is Solomon.  Out of this dysfunctional family comes the Messiah (Keller, p31).


Based on their stories, these individuals could be called “moral outsiders” -  they were adulterers, adulteresses, prostitutes, and involved in questionable family relations, etc.  Even Jesus’s “prominent male ancestors – David and Judah – were moral failures” Out of this dysfunctional family comes the Messiah (Keller, p31).
    Interestingly, these individuals – the cultural, racial, and gender outsiders – would have been identified among those “excluded from the presence of God by the Law of Moses.”  Yet….they are ALL publicly acknowledged as the ancestors of Jesus (Keller, p32).
    Matthew does this specifically “show (us) that people who are excluded by culture, by respectable society, and even by the “law of God” can be brought into Jesus’ family.
    Here is these stories from Jesus’ family tree, we see that good can come out of dysfunction and tragedy.  We are reminded that your family history does not need to dictate who you are or what your potential is.  Who and what you become is your choice.


I believe that Matthew also included these stories to assure us that we can be – and are – part or Jesus’ family tree.  If we “repent and believe in him, the grace of Jesus Christ can cover our sins and unite us with him” (Keller, p32).
The amazing fact is that while culture and society may have deemed these individuals’ outsiders, “ceremonial unclean” and should be avoided lest they contaminate others, in Jesus that thinking is turned around.  His holiness cannot be contaminated.  In fact, Jesus’ holiness infects us by our contact with him.  Matthew claims that “all who come to him – regardless of who you are and what you have done, no matter how morally stained you are – he can make you as pure as snow” (Isaiah 1:18) (Keller, p32).


Here lies the good news for us today….. We are ALL included in Jesus’ family.  Even before Jesus was born, God had already included everyone in Jesus’ family tree – cultural/ethnic/racial, gender, and even moral outsiders, all became insiders, all became family in him.
  • There is NO ONE who DOES NOT NEED the grace of Jesus, who is beyond his claim on their lives (Keller, p33).  We just need to recognize that we need his grace, love and presence.
  • There is NO ONE, not even the worst human being (we can ever imagine), who can fail to receive the grace of Jesus, if there is repentance and faith (Keller, p33).
  • Once we recognize our inclusion and our need for Jesus, our response should (must) be repentance and placing our complete trust in him.  Jesus showers us with grace and grants us peace.
  • In Jesus Christ, prostitute and king, male and female, Jew and Gentile, one race and another, moral and immoral – all people sit down as equals.  All are equally sinful and lost, all are equally accepted and loved (Keller, p33).


This is the good news that the birth of Christ brings to us this Christmas season - the gift we receive is God’s unconditional acceptance, forgiveness, and love for us.  There is nothing that we have done, or could do, that can or will separate us from God’s love in Christ.
    The Christmas message is of the coming of Christ, being born into human flesh to live among us once again, so that we may come to know, understand, and believe in the gift of God’s love for us.  To know that WE are ALL part of Jesus’ family tree, and that our place in it was decided before we were even born.
This gift alone can bring peace into our lives.  The peace that allows us to set aside all our worries and our doubts about the future.  We know that in Christ we have nothing to fear in our future - death has been overcome, our struggles will be used for good, our tears will turn to laughter, and we will have eternal life with the One who created us and continually seeks to transform us, the one who endlessly redeems us and who forever walks beside us, guiding us from darkness into light.

This Advent and Christmas season: may you accept God’s unconditional love and forgiveness, and deeply know God’s peace in your life.
AMEN
Resources:
​Keller, Timothy.  Hidden Christmas – The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ.  Penguin Random House/New York, NY, 2016, Chapter 2:  “The Mothers of Jesus,” p20-39.

A LIGHT HAS DAWNED

12/1/2019

 
Here we are at the start of a new church year.  The church is decked out in its holiday finery and we are ready to start our journey to Bethlehem once again.  This year, we will be using Timothy Keller’s book, “Hidden Christmas – the Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ” as our main resource for our Advent and Christmas season.

What are some of the first indicators that Christmas is coming – soon?
  • Decorations (trees and lights)
  • Music
  • Sales fliers – Sometimes as early as July “Christmas in July”; pre-Black Friday sales, seems there’s one just about every month now

Lights are definitely one of the first indicators that Christmas is coming.  They start to appear everywhere - lights on trees, candles in windows, and hanging on houses.  Some twinkling and some steady – multi-colored (or hued), as well as in cool and bright whites.  Everything seems as if it is wrapped in millions and millions of stars (p5), giving the world a more “magical” look.

    Keller reminds us that Christmas is the only Christian holy day that is also a major secular holiday – arguably our culture’s biggest.  This results in two different celebrations – each observed by millions of people at the very same time (p1).
  • In the secular world, Christmas is a festival of lights, a time for family gatherings, and a season to generously give to those closest to us and to those in greatest need.
  • Sounds a lot like the Christian celebration.
  • For Christians, the concern for the needy recalls that the Son of God was born into a poor family.  The “Lord of the universe” identified with the least and the most excluded of the human race (p2).
  • The emphasis on light in darkness comes from the Christian belief that the world’s hope comes from outside of it.

For Christians, of course, lights are not just decorative; they are symbolic.

When you think of light, what does it mean or represent for you?
  • Home
  • Safety
  • Warmth
  • Hope

For centuries, light has represented these things.  Many would place a candle in their windows to guide family members home or lost travelers to safety.  Lighthouses have been used to help keep ships on course and to guide sailors into safe harbors.  Firelight has always brought warmth and sustenance to those who use it.

Light in the Bible is also symbolic more than literal.  In our Isaiah text when we hear of God’s light dawning on a dark world, the prophet is referring to the sun.  And, of course, sunlight brings illumination to things we couldn’t previously see in the dark of night.  Sunlight also symbolically represents life, truth, and beauty.  The sun gives life (Keller, p10) to all things that grow and breathe.  Night time is like a little death – everything goes into a time of dormancy, of rest – but sunrise is when everything awakens and is vibrantly alive once again.

We have defined “light,” but what about darkness?  How do we define “darkness” in the Bible?  The word “darkness” refers to both evil and ignorance (p6).

How/where do we see darkness in our world?
  • Violence, injustice, abuse of power, oppression
  • Homelessness,
  • People forced to flee for their lives
  • Families ripped apart
  • Bottomless grief    , incurable illnesses
  • Global warming, climate change and its effects on our world/lives

Keller says another understanding of “darkness” is the “way our world is in the dark and no one knows enough to cure the evil we are suffering here (p6).
              
So, where is our hope?  Are we just stuck with the world the way it is?  Is there anything we can do?

Here lies part of the problem. Vaclav Havel, 1st President of the Czech Republic, says – too often we/humanity think that WE can solve the problems of our world.  “Pursuit of the good life will not help humanity save itself, nor is democracy alone enough,” he says.  “A turning to and seeking God is needed.  The human race constantly forgets that they are NOT God, and that we cannot save ourselves,” Havel says (Keller quoting, p8).

    Keller tells us that the message of Christianity is that: “Things really are this dark, nevertheless, there is hope!” (p10).

So where does our hope come from?
The Christian message is all about hope.  The prophet Isaiah says: “on those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned (shined).” (9:2).  When we look at the words closely, we can see that the light has dawned upon the world – it didn’t come from within the world.  We are not the source of the light.  The light is outside of this world; it comes from God.  Remember, God alone has the life, truth, and ability to bring the hope that we lack and cannot generate ourselves.  Isaiah tells us that the light of life has come, “for to us a child is born, a son is given” (9:6-7).  The child brings the light; he is the light (Keller, p10).

    We hear these words from Jesus, himself in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

    Isaiah tells us that this child is the light for all people because he is “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” (9:6b).
  • Each of these titles are applied to God alone, until the birth of this child
  • Which means – HE is the Creator, HE is Divine, and yet he is born.  He is as human as you and me (Keller, p12-13).

As we begin our journey with Mary and Joseph once again – a path that will take us to a dusty stable in Bethlehem where we will kneel with shepherds beside a manger in awe that God chose that couple, that place and time and us to witness his entrance into our human existence as a beautiful, vulnerable infant.
  • If we truly believe that God was born in a stable, Keller says, then we have something that no other religion even claims to have:
  • A God who truly understands us from the inside of our experience (p14).
  • We can believe and trust that when we are going through something difficult, our God has walked the same path, and walks it now with us.
  • We can believe that Jesus knows personally what we are going through (p13).
  • No other religion says God has suffered, that God had to be courageous, that God knows what its like to be abandoned by friends, to be crushed by injustice, to be tortured, and to die (p14).
  • Jesus had the infinite highness of being the Mighty God, yet he became one of us, enmeshed in our condition, in order to know (deeply and intimately know) our darkness.
  • And he saves us by going to the cross.
  • He did it voluntarily, freely, and out of sheer love (p15).
 
Each year at Christmas, and every day in between, we receive this amazing, awe-inspiring, unconditional gift: “for to us a child is born, a son is given” (9:6-7).  The gift is ours for the taking, all we have to do is be willing to:
  • Admit that we are sinners
  • That we need to be saved by God’s grace, because we cannot save ourselves
  • We need to (and want to) give up control of our life to the one who knows us better than we know ourselves (Keller, p17)

In doing so, we are given the gift of new life through the inbreaking of God’s light in our lives.  We are able to have HOPE, no matter how “dark” things seem, we can trust that God is always with us because:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.  What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).  Nothing that life tries to dish out can steal our HOPE or our LIGHT as long as we allow God to guide our days and watch over our nights.

My friends, As you enter into the Advent Season, may your feel and know the warming presence of God’s light and love in your life.
May it be so – every moment of every day and night….

AMEN


Resources:
Keller, Timothy.  Hidden Christmas – The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ.  Penguin Random House/New York, NY, 2016, Chapter 1:  “A Light Has Dawned,” p5-19.

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