Tuesday, December 13, 2022

Birth Announcements

 


God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon today is entitled Superman, Caesar and a Savior, and my focus is our Gospel (Matthew 1:18-25). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s Superman!

Superman, my favorite superhero. I read Superman comic books, and watched the TV series and the movies. Superman was born Kal-El on the planet Krypton to Jor-El and Lara. Rocketed to earth, found and adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent, they renamed him Clark. He grew up in Smallville, where he and his adoptive parents discovered his superhuman powers. Fortunately, for us, the Kents taught Clark to use these powers responsibly to help others and fight crime.

Superman. Who is he? Where does he come from? Questions we ask about people. Whether it’s the new pastor, student, boss or neighbor, we want to know their origins. We inquire where this person was born, where he went to school, who his parents were, and if he can produce a birth certificate.

Aware that people want to know, parents proudly announce to the world the entry of sons and daughters. A few:

We joyfully announce the birth of Lauren Anne June 21st at 5:15 p.m. 7 pounds, 4 ounces.

Our home has grown by two feet! David Jonas Peterson born on November 22nd. Weight: 8 lb. 3 oz. Length: 17 inches.

Look who dropped in! Please share our joy at the arrival of our daughter Meredith Teresa, May 23rd. 6 lb. 11 oz.16 inches.

Who will ever forget this one: The Duchess of Cambridge has been delivered of a son. 22nd July 2013. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24pm. The baby weighs 8lbs 6oz. The Duke of Cambridge was present for the birth.

The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well and will remain in hospital overnight. … The Royal Family even announced the medical staff, and posted a formal notice of the birth in front of Buckingham Palace.

What does this have to do with the angel’s message to Joseph? It’s a 1st century birth announcement. Birth announcements, even during the day of Mary and Joseph, were a big deal. In 1st century Rome there was no bigger birth announcement than that of Caesar Augustus. Archeologists discovered a proclamation in Turkey that dated back nine years before Jesus’ birth.  The inscription says that it was good for the city to celebrate the evangelium, the “good news,” of the birth of Caesar Augustus, the savior of the world. Romans saw Augustus as the son of god, since his father through adoption, Julius Caesar, had been deified. Moreover, the author used the term “good news” in relationship to an individual, Augustus, almost at the same time as the birth of Jesus.

Not to be outdone, Matthew announces his own good news, the birth of humanity’s Savior, Jesus son of Joseph, son of David, Son of Abraham, Son of God. The most obvious feature of the birth announcement in Matthew is that Joseph, not Mary, is the primary actor. Whereas Luke emphasizes the passivity of the human response to God’s action – “Let it be done to me according to your word,” Matthew stresses the active component in the human response.[1] Three times the angel instructed him to do something, and Joseph responded to God’s command.

An upright man, Joseph must divorce Mary, not out of anger but out of religious conviction. No matter how much he loves Mary, it is his religious obligation to annul the marriage contract.[2] It is not his choice to forgive her and act out that forgiveness by marrying her. Justice demands that Joseph follow the law.[3]

Follow the law. Act justly. … I studied church law for two years, and worked with two canon lawyers for 5 years after I was ordained. Preparing for my colloquy exam, I read Walther’s and Pieper’s works, where I discovered that Law is as important in the Lutheran Church as it is in the Catholic Church.

Sam Berry’s Handbook of Science and Christianity[4] is a powerful reminder that laws govern our universe. Talking heads, twitter feeds and political pundits constantly remind us that constitutional law governs our nation. Follow the law. Act justly.

We also know that there are exceptions to laws; that not every person is subject to every law; and that mercy tempers justice. Joseph must divorce Mary to demonstrate that his love for God is stronger than his love for Mary; and, even though he determines to divorce her quietly so as not to humiliate her, God’s angel annuls Joseph’s plan.

Addressing him as “son of David,” the angel reminds us that Joseph’s role is linked to his Davidic descent. Joseph is not responsible for Mary’s pregnancy, but he has a major role to play in the drama of salvation history. God would bring about salvation for humanity through Joseph’s family. As a “Son of David,” Joseph’s role was to simply acknowledge what God was doing and name the child. By doing this, according to the law, the boy is authentically his.

I cannot help to think that Joseph was a man of faith. True, he observed the law and acted justly. Any good man would have done the right thing to prove his love for God. But Joseph also realized that authentic obedience to God meant that he possessed enough merciful courage to make things right all around.

Joseph’s lesson to the Christian today cannot be lost in the sentimentality of the Christmas story. Joseph demonstrates that the only way we become convinced of our own power, dignity and the power of God is by actually participating in that power – by crossing a line that has a certain degree of nonsensicalness and unprovability to it – which is why we call it faith. In crossing the line and obeying God’s command to take Mary as his wife and name the child, Joseph acts in a new way. Acting in a new way, Joseph demonstrates to us that faith is only demonstrated when we act on what we believe to be true, and not simply acquiesce to man’s law and justice.[5]

Perhaps his meditation on God’s mercy moved Joseph to do likewise. I cannot help but think that God acted with mercy towards Mary and Joseph, just as He did towards us by giving us His Son, Abraham’s son, David’s son, Joseph’s son – as our substitute on the Cross. For that act of divine mercy, I am eternally grateful to God.

I am grateful that Matthew and Luke pondered and answered the questions about Jesus’ identity and origins. In their own ways, they answered the questions: Who is he? Where does he come from?

These questions – pondered by Christians every Advent – allow us to focus on God’s Law and Gospel with a bit more joy as we muddle through dreary days and long nights. By answering questions of Jesus’ identity and origin, the Holy Spirit guides us as we, like Joseph, make daily choices about life and relationships, sometimes based on justice and law, and other times based on faith and mercy.

Not all choices are as clear cut and as easy as choosing a gift for under the tree. For Christian of the 21st and the 1st centuries, choosing Christ may result in the end of some relationship and possibly the end of life. Look no further back in history than the 20th century when despots and dictators martyred millions of Christians in Mexico and Latin America, in China and across Asia, in Russia, Germany and throughout Africa – and in “pregnancy centers” throughout America. I wonder the outcome if good and just men and women would have acted according to God’s Law, Biblical Justice and Divine Mercy – if people of faith would have been attuned to God’s Word as Joseph was.

Advent is a wonderful season to ponder Jesus’ identity and origins, to ponder our personal relationship to Him. As we read Matthew’s infancy narrative, let us turn the page to find the line where the Roman centurion, whose allegiance and life rested in the hands of Caesar, courageously proclaimed, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” Owning that statement in the age of the Caesars and in our age makes all the difference in life and death. As we await the Day of the Lord, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.



[1] Douglas Hare, Matthew, p. 8

[2] Hare, p. 9.

[3] Deuteronomy 22:23-24.

[4] R.J. Berry, The Lion Handbook of Science and Christianity, Lion Hudson plc: Oxford, 2012.

[5] Richard Rohr, Yes, And …Daily Meditations, Franciscan Media: Cincinnati, 2013. p. 58

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