CELEBRATING BABIES!

 

Do you like looking at and holding tiny babies? Everyone does. Mothers and fathers, grandparents and godparents, aunts, uncles and siblings – everyone – loves holding a baby. When each of our four grandchildren were born, I couldn’t wait for my turn to hold them. Holding a baby makes you feel awesome, and every Christian has wanted to hold the Baby Jesus because that would be the most awesome feeling!

Everyone does not have the same love and respect for babies as Christians. We read in our Gospel (Matt 2:13-23) that Herod was angry that the Three Wise Men returned home without telling him where the Baby Jesus was born, and had his soldiers kill all the male babies who were two years old and younger.

Herod was evil, but he was not the first ruler to have babies killed and not the last either. Today, we have rulers in the world and our country who think it is okay to have newborn or preborn babies killed. It’s not a happy topic to discuss in the Christmas Season or anytime, but St. Matthew wanted Christians to know that such evil exists, but this evil act fulfilled a prophecy.

The Prophet Jeremiah had a vision that God would gather all of His people and protect them from evil (Jer 31). The Lord said among the people He would protect are women ready to give birth to a baby. Still, God heard Rachel weeping and crying for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they were no more. That means that someone killed them. But when God gathers us in his arms, men and women rejoice because He turns our sorrow to into gladness.

The Baby Jesus grew up to announce the Good News. Jesus died and rose from death to save us from evil people like Herod and to live joyfully as Christians. That is the Good News that we celebrate all year round. With that, we pray.

Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Remember, Resolve, Relate

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon today is entitled Remember, Resolve and Relate, and my focus is Isaiah (63:7-14). 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 we 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.

Back in the day, I was a huge fan of Law and Order, when Jerry Orbach played Detective Lenny Briscoe. Long before Orbach was Detective Briscoe, he was a El Gallo in The Fantasticks singing “Try to Remember.” I am not going to try to sing it for you, but I open 2023’s first sermon by citing the last verse.

Deep in December, it's nice to remember, although you know the snow will follow. Deep in December, it's nice to remember, without a hurt the heart is hollow. Deep in December, it's nice to remember, the fire of September that made us mellow. Deep in December, our hearts should remember and follow.

With apologies for mentioning December on New Year’s Day, I cite this song because our reading from Isaiah opens with, “I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

Those who participated in our study of Isaiah may recall that typically in the Bible, those remembering what the Lord has done begin by talking to God about God, and especially about what he did for his people. The two references to kindness or steadfast love in verse 7, mean every possible aspect and display of divine love covering the deeds for which God is to be praised; and the many good things which He did to meet his people’s needs. Steadfast love also includes the emotional quality of compassion. In other words, God has a heart for his people.

Isaiah speaks of how the Lord’s love began. It all started when God chose to save his people. Isaiah ponders aloud that the Lord instructed Moses to “say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son’” (Ex 4:22). Later, God told Moses, “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” (6:7).

God gave Israel an identity, and furthermore he saved and redeemed his people. Israel responded with a commitment to be faithful to God and his ways, and the Red Sea completed and sealed the whole work of salvation. Through this Exodus event, God brought the people into a father-son relationship with himself. God also accepted the implications of that relationship by doing what was necessary for his people. Whether or not God’s people lived up to their promise to be faithful is another matter.

Isaiah explored the relationship between God and his people from the perspective of the Lord’s side. In any relationship, the faithful party is afflicted or distressed, meaning God identifies with his people and shares their suffering. When God’s people were suffering, he shared their pain. God was afflicted. God was distressed. God’s heart went out to them. Before I move on, I ask you: When you were in pain because of an injustice done to you, whether it was an accident that left you in great physical pain or limited your ability or whether someone else damaged your reputation or broke your heart; whatever it was, did you recognize that God was sharing your pain? God’s people should have recognized that.

Because God’s people turned elsewhere for blessings, they insulted God and wounded his holiness. Even in Isaiah’s day, Jerusalem’s leaders, once righteous and just, became harlots and murderers. They accepted bribes and welcomed thieves. They no longer sought justice for the widow and the orphan (Isa 1:23-24). Psalm 78 details in short order how God remained faithful to a rebellious people, and their unfaithfulness could not stand before God’s eyes. Hence, those who refuse God’s ways became and become his enemies.

Yet, in the midst of rebellion and the hostility it provoked, God’s tender mind always is returning to the beginning of that relationship. Isaiah balances the truth that while God hates sin, He loves the sinner, and that corrective measures are necessary to remind us, as today’s psalm (111) does: that if we want to be wise at any age, we must fear God. As God’s people today, we must have reverent respect for our God who holds in his hand the awesome power to punish us if we provoke him, but can be jolted out of hostility because he is simultaneously tender with us.

An illustration. If you have small children or grandchildren who seriously need a corrective spanking, you might know that at the moment your raised hand begins to move quickly towards the child’s derrière, you are suddenly jolted from your role as judge and executioner, and administer an alternative lesson. Perhaps that is the time to teach them that fear of losing the Lord’s love and protection is more important than fear of parental punishment.

Isaiah then reminds us that Moses knew that it was not the power of his arms that divided the Red Sea to guide the Israelites through their Exodus event, but the protective power of God’s arms. Through the depths of what should have been certain death, God guided his people through what looked like an insurmountable barrier standing in the way of their freedom and benefitting the pursuing Egyptian army behind them. In what looked like a bleak disastrous moment, God divided the Red Sea delivering his people into freedom and his enemies into defeat.

God’s Holy Spirit not only delivered his people from death, but also provided them with rest in a lush valley. This verse (14) reminds me of all the places around us where animals graze because of the abundance of grass and hay that God provides. There are dozens of farms in our area where families can raise vegetables and livestock to feed themselves.

Isaiah concluded his remembrance by asking God to think of all he did for his people in spite of their offenses. Although they were sinners, they were still God’s people. Although they never lived out their sonship, everything about them is attractive and lovely. Folks, Isaiah’s passage is not only about God’s people 2700 years ago, it is also about God’s people today. We too are sinners who fail to live up to being children of God, and yet, God still loves us, provides for us, and offers us not only his divine protection, but more importantly, eternal life and happiness here.

That brings me to resolve. When we resolve, we try to find an answer, a mathematical solution or simply make a decision. The word comes to us directly from the Latin word, resolvere, meaning to loosen, unyoke or undo; to relax, set free or make void. Resolvere is a combination of re, meaning back, and solvere, meaning to loosen, untie or release.

I chose to make my second point resolve and not resolution because the former means the firm determination to do something, and the latter is to do or not do something. A resolution is a fleeting moment in time. Resolve involves ongoing action with a fixed purpose or a dedication to the process. Today, millions of Americans will make resolutions, and by Valentine’s Day, only 25% will keep their resolutions. By the end of this year, only 8% will have kept their word. So, I took the time to explain the difference because many well-intentioned people simply don’t have the tools or knowledge to make their resolutions stick and accomplish their goals. In other words, anyone can make a resolution. Not everyone has resolve.

Now, don’t take my point as a judgment on you or anyone else. Take it as a challenge. Isaiah spoke his prophecies in order to challenge God’s people. When he recounted the Lord’s steadfast love and great goodness to Israel, and reminded them of their rebellious sinful lives, he challenged them to remember that even in their sinfulness, God still remained faithful. Isaiah challenges us to first praise God for what he has done for us in the distant and immediate past, and to guide us in the present through the Holy Spirit. When we have that in mind, we have the resolve to see through any obstacle.

So, I challenge you to make New Year’s resolutions and to ask God for the resolve to keep them. Let your resolutions be about your health, finances, relationships, personal disposition or anything else, but make sure that God’s will is your primary priority. Be SMART about your resolutions, that is, let them be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely (SMART).[1] In my footnote you can see who coined SMART goals, but since my sermon is not a lecture on business management nor a treatise on the history and development of New Year’s resolutions, let me move from resolve to relate, my third point.

We all understand what it means to relate. It’s a connection with anything or anyone. “I can relate to what you are saying,” means that, “I have gone through a similar experience, therefore, I understand and have feelings for you.” It literally means that we carry the same burden. Relating is vital not only in groups such as AA, but also in religion.

As members of Christ’s Body, the Church, we know that Jesus Christ relates to every one of us. He not only knows our human condition, but carried it to the Cross. There, he had it nailed. There, he redeemed our human condition and transforms us into someone we can be – faithful sons and daughters of our Father. Isaiah’s message reminds us of how God relates to us. In our affliction he was afflicted, and in his love and pity, God redeems and lifts us (v. 9). Because God relates to every one of us, it is possible for each of us to relate to one another.

Friends, remember how good and gracious God has been and is to you. Resolve to seek first his Kingdom as your first resolution for 2023. Relate not only to your personal Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but all of your brothers and sisters in Him. When you do, may the blessings of our Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you and yours today and always. Amen.

 

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[1] SMART goals were developed by George Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham in their 1981 article “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management goals and objectives”.

Manger and Mangia

 

        Do you know the song, Away in a Manger? The first verses go: Away in a manger, no crib for his bed. The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.

Jesus slept in a manger. It’s called a manger because it’s related to our mandible or jawbone. We move our jaw or mandible to chew food. Cows do the same. So, a manger is the box where farmers put food for their cows.

        Most churches and homes have a little manger display like ours. Often, we see a stable, barn or cave with Jesus in the manger, Joseph and Mary on each side of him, and an ox, donkey and sheep. Some have angels, shepherds and wise men holding gifts.

        Churches did not always have nativity scenes like this. A man named Francis of Assisi created the first nativity scene. He asked real people to bring their animals to a cave near his home in central Italy 800 years ago. There they acted out the birth of Jesus. And soon, these nativity scenes were everywhere.

        I think it’s interesting that Jesus was born in a manger because it is a feeding box, and God feeds us through His Word. Jesus is the Word of God, and He feeds us by teaching us the Word of God.

        We love and obey Jesus, who feeds us the Word of God, and we also remember that He feeds us His Body and Blood in Holy Communion.

        Before you eat your Christmas meal, make sure you take a few minutes and feel deep in your heart the love you have for Jesus as an infant and adult who feeds our hearts, minds and souls every time we hear His Word and take His Body.

And now, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Can I Get a Witness?!

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon today is entitled Selection, Shepherds and Sending, and my focus is our Gospel (Luke 2:1-14) 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.

Selection. Anyone vaguely familiar with my sermons knows that I usually start each point by defining the topic. No less today. I chose to open this Christmas sermon with select because of its significance not only for lovers of Christmas, but also for lovers of college football. Today, the College Football Playoff is a postseason event to determine college football’s national champion on the field, while emphasizing the significance of college football’s unique regular season where every game counts. If you are really interested on how teams are ranked, how playoff teams are chosen, who governs the committee and so on, you can read all that on the Selection Committee’s website.

The word select means chosen from a number or group by fitness or preference; of special value or excellence; or judicious or restrictive in choice, or discriminating. The Latin word selectus comes to us from two smaller words: se meaning apart or away, and leg meaning to collect or gather. From all that we gather, we set aside the best. From all the vegetables I grew in my garden this past year, I select the best plants for next spring. Now, what does selecting the best garden vegetables or gridiron teams have to do with Christmas?

To understand the Infancy Narratives, those passages in Matthew and Luke that deal with the birth and human origins of Jesus, we need to know that these are not fictional accounts of the Evangelists. They are ways of understanding the roots of our faith.

Matthew opens his Gospel with a genealogy and then writes, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.” Luke dedicated the opening chapter of his Gospel to narrate the birth of John the Baptist. Chapter two begins with an historical setting, telling us that “a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.”

Both Evangelists tell us how others found Jesus. In our Gospel today, angels announce the birth to shepherds in the region, who became the first eyewitnesses of Christ’s birth. In Matthew, wise men from the East sought Jesus by following his star. After consulting the chief priests and scribes who knew the prophecies, Herod directed them to Bethlehem, a town 26 miles south of Jerusalem. Upon finding the newborn king of the Jews, these eyewitnesses worshipped the baby and offered him their extraordinary gifts.

So, here we have two separate accounts of eyewitnesses recounting how the birth of Jesus Christ, King of the Jews, occurred, and for centuries people accepted the accounts as Gospel. Yet, over 100 years ago, European Biblical scholars who began relying upon archeology, anthropology and comparative religions started to say, “Not so fast!” Their self-appointed task was to weed out supernatural mythological elements to discern the historical kernel beneath the elaborations around Jesus, particularly his origins. This became known as form criticism. Form criticism so influenced faithful Christians, including many pastors, to seek not the Jesus of the Apostles, Evangelists and early Christian disciples, but what the modern scholars sought – the historical Jesus. Today, many “Form Criticism Christians” sadly separate the “historical Jesus” from the Jesus of Faith.

For now, I am going to leave that, and tell you another story of a child named Lhamo Thondup. He was born on July 6, 1935, in Tibet. Today, he is known as the 14^th Dalai Lama, the symbolic leader of the Buddhists. Here’s the question: How do Tibetan monks know which boy to select when seeking the new Dalai Lama?

When a Dalai Lama dies – or even before his death – a successor is found. Traditionally, senior Tibetan monks conduct an elaborate quest to find a child who is the Dalai Lama’s next incarnation. The search involves consulting oracles, interpreting visions and reading spiritual signs.

The senior monks find clues from the deceased body of the Dalai Lama, such as the direction it faced or its posture. Dreams are also an important guide. The monks wait for a vision or insight into the whereabouts of the Dalai Lama’s rebirth. Once these visions and signs have been followed up and a potential child has been found, there is a series of tests to verify the rebirth. The child is presented with artefacts, some of which belonged to the previous Dalai Lama. If the child identifies which objects belonged to the Dalai Lama, it is taken as a sign.

The current Dalai Lama was found at the age of two after a senior monk saw his village and house in a vision. The boy – then named Lhamo Thondup – was able to pinpoint artefacts that belonged to the previous Dalai Lama, including a drum used for rituals and a walking stick. He reportedly said. “It’s mine, it’s mine.”

My point is that many educated people admit that it is acceptable to consult oracles, interpret visions and read spiritual signs to select the leader of Buddhists, but question the validity of the eyewitness testimony of wise men and shepherds regarding the birth of Jesus Christ, true God and true man. This eyewitness account piqued my interest as I was reading an article on Biblical form criticism and Bethlehem’s shepherds.[1]

Hence, my second point, shepherds. The article’s author discovered that the shepherds were important to St. Luke for a simple reason: They were the primary eyewitnesses of the events in Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth, and they passed down the story through established methods of oral transmission. The author did not discover this by sitting home reading books or surfing the web. He spent months in Jerusalem speaking to Jewish scholars who for decades lived in Palestine observing Bedouin culture and observed and recorded how the Bedouin or nomadic Arab tribes pass on their oral traditions. The Bedouin pass on their history using narrative poetry, which is very formal and must be memorized, and they rely on genealogies that must also be memorized. We find these genealogies in both Matthew and Luke. In addition, they use prose storytelling, essentially an informally controlled oral tradition, which has some flexibility and allows for personal embellishments – adding humor or characterization. However, these additions or elaboration do not alter the basic content of the story.

Does this mean that St. Luke met the shepherds and heard their story? It is not impossible, but we must remember that Luke wrote fifty years after the events. It is more likely that the shepherds shared the story of their experiences that night, and that their method of oral tradition kept the story fresh within the Bethlehem community. It was from the next generation that Luke heard the tale. So, did local shepherd families keep the story alive? Well, we know that in the mid-fourth century when the Empress Helen[2] discovered the birthplace of Christ, the site was identified because the local people remembered where the Christ was born.

An interesting note about these shepherds is that they lived outside of Bethlehem, which is south of Jerusalem, and the animals found in between these cities were often used for Temple sacrifices. Hence, some considered them to be especially sacred shepherds.[3]

Now, after the announcement of the Savior’s birth, they hastily went to the manger. Hastily indicates their obedience to God’s message, and echoes Mary’s obedience as well. The shepherds were about two miles from where the manger was located. They knew the location of the manger because they fed their animals there. From my house, I know that if I travel two miles, I would be at the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church or Montgomery Dam Road. So, it would not take hastily moving shepherds more than fifteen minutes to arrive at the manger.

When the shepherds arrived, they saw symbols: the manger, the wrapping and the animals. Most of us know that a manger is the feeding trough for animals, but in this manger in the City of David, God sustains man. The swaddling clothes are a sign not of poverty but rather one that shows Israel’s Messiah was properly received and cared for. In Scripture we read, “I was nurtured in swaddling clothes, with every care. No king has known any other beginning of existence” (Wis 7:4-5). Finally, the animals reflected what was foretold in Isaiah, “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand” (1:3). At last, it dawned upon the shepherds that now God’s people could begin to know their Master.

Folks, there are many more details about the shepherds that are not going to impact how we live our faith. Therefore, I am going to move to my third point, Sending. Those who have studied the Prophet Isaiah know that there is a call to come to Mount Zion, that area of Jerusalem where the Temple is located. Over and again, we read “the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion singing” (35:10; 51:11). The point Isaiah and other prophets made is that the true presence of God on Mount Zion will be like that of an irresistible magnetic force drawing not only God’s chosen people, but also Gentile peoples of various races, religions, cultures and tongues because they too recognize the one true God and how His teachings best suit how men and women are to live. All people come seeking the Truth because they know the wisdom of the God of Abraham, Israel, Moses and David.

We recognize the Truth of God’s Teaching, God’s Law and Gospel that comes to us through the one true God in the Person of Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Trinity. It is why today, Jews and Gentiles are drawn not only to Mount Zion, but also to Bethlehem. People long to see what the shepherds and wise men saw – where God was born and dwelt. And thanks to the imagination of St. Francis of Assisi, people who cannot make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land are drawn to manger scenes in their local churches – recognizing that the true presence of the Living God is an irresistible loving force.

As Christians, we are called to come not to Mount Zion, but to Jesus Christ. Not only did Jesus draw men, women and little children to Himself to be His apostles and disciples, but He also taught that the way to the Father is through Him. We come to Jesus because we know that the Holy Spirit is in Him (Luke 4:18); and so, we who are burdened and weary come to Jesus (Matt 11:28). We who are hungry and thirsty come to Jesus (John 6:35; 7:37). We come to Jesus, assured that He will never reject us.

So, now, we are drawn together here in this space, where Christ is present to us in Word, Body and Blood, but soon you will be sent. For the Jew, the command is to come; for the Christian the command is to go. Immediately after Jesus called together His Twelve Apostles, He sent them into the world as lambs among wolves (Matt 10). In his high priestly prayer, Jesus said to His Father, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world” (17:18). His Great Commissioning included the command to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19-20).

My friends, as you go from here with the sending that concludes our worship, go not so much to celebrate Christmas by exchanging gifts with loved ones, but rather to make Christ known to all – that their souls may be saved. If we fail to do this, then the message of Christmas has been lost on us, and we might as well observe Kwanzaa and call it a day. But we won’t. We will go from here with hearts filled with joy and love. We will go from here like shepherds, not as original eye witnesses, but as witnesses of the living faith. We will never see the newborn Christ, but we have seen the risen Christ joyfully alive in one another’s hearts. That in itself is enough for us to say to one another, “Merry Christmas.” Amen.

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[1] Dwight Longnecker, “The Secret of the Bethlehem Shepherds,” The Imaginative Conservative, October 15, 2022. https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2022/10/secret-bethlehem-shepherds-dwight-longenecker.html

[2] Commemoration is observed May 21. file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Commemoration%20Biographies.pdf More information is on this page: http://ourredeemernewark.org/emperor-constantine-christian-ruler-and-helena-mother-of-constantine-commemoration/

[3] Raymond E. Brown, The Birth of the Messiah: A Commentary on the Infancy Narratives in Matthew and Luke. New York: Doubleday (1979), p. 421.

ADVENT ANGELS

 

Do you think that there are angels? The word angel means messenger, and most people do think that there are angels. The Bible teaches that angels were made by God during the six days of creation, although it doesn’t say on which day.

They do not have a body, but angels are powerful, intelligent spirits. Good angels guard and protect God’s children (Ps.91:11ff), but evil angels hold unbelievers captive (Luke 11:21f; Eph.2:2). Believers, however, can resist the temptation of evil angels through the power of God (Eph.6:10-17).

There are lots of books and songs and movies and shows about angels. As Lutherans, we sing about angels. Our songs include: The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came; Angels from the Realms of Glory; and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Do you know any of those? Maybe your parents know them. … Some people say that they have seen angels and talked to them, but none of them has ever had a conversation with an angel like Joseph did.

In our Gospel, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him not to be afraid of marrying Mary. He also told Joseph that the baby is from the Holy Spirit. Finally, the angel told Joseph that he will name the baby, Jesus. The name Jesus means he will save his people from their sins.

 As important as angels are to God, do you know who is more important to God? You! God made you even higher than the angels. God loves you so much that He gave you His Son as your Savior. So, while it’s important to believe in angels, it is even more important to believe in Jesus and carry Him in your heart like Mary did because Jesus saves you for his heavenly Father.

And now, let us pray. Heavenly Father, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named: Bless all children, and give their fathers and mothers the spirit of wisdom and love, so that the homes in which they grow up may be to them an image of Your Kingdom, and the care of their parents a likeness of Your love. We pray in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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. 22^nd 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 1^st century birth announcement. Birth announcements, even during the day of Mary and Joseph, were a big deal. In 1^st 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 21^st and the 1^st 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 20^th 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.

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[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

Highways, Wilderness and Waiting

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. My sermon today is entitled Highways, Wildernesses and Waiting, and my focus is Isaiah (35:1-10). 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 we 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.

Highways. People must love movies, TV shows and songs about highways and roads because there are hundreds of them. There were seven Hope and Crosby’s “Road” movies and several remakes of Mad Max. Audiences still enjoy Route 66 and Highway to Heaven. More than entertaining us, highways get us places, and tell stories about people.

When I was a student at Potter Township Elementary School in the 1960s, the Lothrop and Larson families moved from Potter to Monaca because their homes were located right where the I-376 interchange is located between the Beaver Valley Mall and the Shell Cracker plant. I am sure that you have memories to share how a highway changed life for you, and in a moment, I will touch upon the highway built by God, which has made all the difference in the world for all of us.

In secular terms, a highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. Highways connect cities and towns, and are maintained by counties, states and countries. Highways were originally the main roads that ran through towns and villages. The Romans get the credit for building a system of highways, but we find its use long before Rome came to exist.

We find highway is used frequently in Isaiah, we find earlier uses of the word in Judges and Numbers. “In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned, and travelers kept to the byways” (Judges 5:6). When Moses and the Hebrew people were in the Wilderness of Kadesh, his messengers went to the King of Edom. “Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory” (Numbers 20:17).

In Isaiah, the highway is sometimes translated as a causeway or raised road. It runs through the desert, which is transformed into an attractive landscape. We are not told where it goes, only who can and cannot be on it. No unclean person can be on this road. The prophet tells us that the unclean disqualified themselves by failure to use the means of grace. Those walking in grace availed themselves to grace. Whoever walks on this highway, even the simple and the fool, shall not stray.

Later, John the Baptist referred to such a highway leading to the Lord in his preaching. Referring to himself as a voice crying out in the wilderness, he said to the people, “Prepare the Lord's highway.” Luke elaborated on John’s prophesying by writing, “Make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (3:4-6).

In Mark, we find Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, sitting by the highway side begging as Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho (10:46ff.). In Luke, we hear in the Parable of the Great Banquet the master instructing his servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.” (14:23-24). And in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught, “You can enter God's Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way” (Matthew 7:13).

I suggest that the next time you are driving on any highway to recall this. God does not want us winding our way through a mountainous desert on a pothole-filled, two-lane road where drug lords rule. He wants us to come to him with pleasant companions on a four-lane highway through a garden spot where each new view is more charming than the last. This is what God promises to those who will abandon their trust in humanity and hurl themselves on him.[1]

We exit the highway and enter the wilderness. Throughout my years, I have travelled to some wild places. Driving through western Utah and Nevada, across New Mexico and west Texas, I wondered why anyone would live here? Travelling through the Holy Land and the Badlands, I wondered the same question. Even a couple of trips into the bush in Ecuador and Venezuela left me wondering the same. Then I realized after looking up the etymology of the word that I own a piece of the wilderness. The wilderness is a wild, uninhabited, or uncultivated place. The word in Old English is wild-deor, meaning wild animal or wild deer. I can see the wild deer emerge from the steep banks behind my house.

The word wilderness appears nearly 400 times in the Bible, and in almost every book. From Genesis when Joseph’s brothers throw him into a cistern in the wilderness to the mention of Mary fleeing into the wilderness in the Book of Revelation, wilderness has played a significant part in God’s plan of salvation. After feeding thousands, Jesus reminded the people that their ancestors ate bread in the wilderness (John 6:49). John the Baptist lived and preached in the wilderness, and following his baptism by John the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. The wilderness is spoken of in Acts by Stephen and Paul (chs 7 and 13).

The wilderness is a physical place, but it can also be a symbolic place. You may be isolated from others. That is your wilderness. You may be constantly exposed by evil. That is your wilderness. Then again, as the Prophet Hosea reminds us, the wilderness may be a place where God calls you and speaks tenderly to your heart (2:14). That wilderness attracts you and you should go there to experience intimacy with God.

The desert wilderness is where the early roots of Christian monasticism are found. Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the desert of Egypt, beginning around the Year 270. Anthony the Great heard a Sunday sermon stating that perfection could be achieved by selling all of one's possessions, giving the proceeds to the poor, and following Jesus. He followed the advice and made the further step of moving deep into the desert to seek complete solitude. Anthony and other Christians lived in the desert wilderness during the Diocletian Persecution, the last great formal persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire, beginning in 303 AD. Only ten years later, Christianity was made legal in Egypt by Diocletian's successor Constantine I. I am not suggesting you leave everything behind and move to the desert, but you should find a place, even in your own home, where you can be alone with God.

Personally, even though I spend the first hours of the morning praying, reading, studying and working on my sermons, I love the time outside where I hear nothing but the songs of birds and feel the breeze of the wind. Now, let me segue to my third point, Waiting.

Advent is a time of waiting. Sometimes, we wait longer than other times. Advent always has four Sunday, but this year, our Advent Season is a full four weeks. Today, we literally mark the midpoint of Advent by lighting the pink candle of the Advent wreathe, but much more importantly, by observing Gaudete Sunday. Today’s pink color is an ancient symbol expressing joy. So, we wait with joy in our hearts for the Christmas Season to begin and for the Second Coming of Christ.

While we wait, we do all the things necessary for the birth of any child. We stay busy, and as we engage in activities as a mother, father, sibling or grandparent, we also ponder thoughts, feel emotions, pray and work. When the moment of new life finally arrives, we behold the child.

Behold. Behold is not a word we us very often. It means to see or observe, and we favor those words over the archaic behold. It is used quite often in the Bible, almost 2000 times. In our study of Isaiah several weeks ago, the word behold is used three times in two verses in chapter 62. My study led me to the musings of John Oswalt, one of America’s leading scholars on Isaiah. He wrote how we all find ourselves in a situation where we are completely abandoned and rejected and then, unaccountably welcomed and taken in. If you have ever felt that, you should read Isaiah 62.

When Oswalt was in college, he admired a pretty, witty, popular girl in his speech class. The professor assigned each student a partner, and the assignment was to assess the personality of another class member through what we project while speaking. They were to share their observations with each other privately. Well, you guessed it, Oswalt was partnered with the girl he admired.

Upon learning this Oswalt wrote, “I can hardly describe the terror I felt. I knew that she was going to fillet me like a fish. I knew that when she finished with me, I would be able to slither out under the door of the room without opening it.” Then, he said, “To my surprise yet today, she singled out trait after trait of mine that she found attractive and compelling. She handled areas that needed improvement with tact and insight. In fact, when I left the room, I could have floated out the window. She had found some things in me that were valuable. I have never forgotten that gift.”

Oswalt’s point is that is what God does to each one of us. God says that he sees worth and value in you. In You! God wants to be with us because he likes us and that we are important to him. This is so because of who God is. “Because God is the kind of person he is, he is able to see all things in us that lie buried beneath layers of sin and shame. He is able to see possibilities where nothing but failure would be perceived by anyone else. But even more than that, he is able to uncover those hidden things, to let loose those possibilities, because he has taken all the failure, the sin, and the shame into himself. He is able to not only show us what there is but to set it free. He is able to give each of us on a cosmic and eternal level the kind of gift that girl gave me so many years ago in speech class.”[2]

Behold, the child of God this Christmas. See in that child one who will uncover hidden things in you; one who will let loose possibilities in you. See in that child one who takes all your failures, your sins, and your shame into himself. Behold, the child of God. Behold, the Son of God! My friends, as you wait for Christ’s Second Coming and Christmas, behold the wonder of God within you, and when you do, may the peace of God keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Amen.

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[1] John N. Oswalt, Isaiah: The New Application Commentary: From biblical text … to contemporary life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan (2003), p. 393.

[2] Ibid., pp. 656-657.