I Like to Picture Jesus As... (Matthew 2:13-23)

Sermon as preached at Lambs and Evington UMC on 12/29/13

Image Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library

In the movie Talladega Nights,  there is a scene that I have always found hilarious, but I find it to be even funnier now at this time of the year. In the movie the famous race car driver Ricky Bobby is gathering at dinner with his family and best friend and he begins to pray and starts his prayer with “Dear Lord baby Jesus”  Throughout his prayer he keeps referring to Lord baby Jesus, until his wife finally cuts him off and says, “Hey you know sweetie, Jesus did grow up, you don’t always have to call him baby, it’s a bit odd and off-putting to  pray to a baby.” I like the Christmas Jesus best and I’m saying grace. When you say grace you can say it to grown up Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus or whoever you want. After some more arguing Ricky’s friend jumps in and says, “I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt,  because it’s like a want to be formal, but I’m here to party too. The kids jump in I like to picture Jesus as a ninja fighting off evil Samurai.” So finally Ricky begins his prayer again, “Dear 8 pound 6 ounce newborn infant Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just and infant and just so cuddly, but still omnipotent… and he finally continues and finishes the prayer.

            Now this example is of course over the top, but it does make us wonder how do we actually think of Jesus?  At this time of Christmas it is normal for us to think about Jesus as a little newborn infant, it is in fact what we are celebrating with Christmas, but as the season ends as we move on further into the calendar that’s usually not how we picture Jesus anymore. We begin to picture Jesus as an adult, we picture Jesus as  he performs his miracles, as he goes about his ministry, and yes as he dies on the cross at Calvary. After Christmas we jump from newborn baby Jesus to 30 year old grown adult Jesus. That leaves a lot of years of Jesus’ life in between. And it is not our faults that this is the way that we transition our thinking of Jesus, because it is the way that the Bible itself moves. In between the time of Jesus’ birth and the visit from the magi, to the time of Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, one of the few stories that goes into any detail about the life Jesus in between happens when Jesus was twelve. Jesus and his family were traveling together and thinking Jesus was with other family members, Mary and Joseph lost Jesus. When they backtracked, the went to the Temple to find Jesus listening and asking questions of the teachers. Other than some other smaller stories about Jesus being taken to the temple for consecration, or being told that he grew and was full of wisdom we really don’t know that much about much of Jesus’ life. What happened between this story where Jesus is twelve, and the adult Jesus that we find being baptized? The answer is we really don’t know all that much. So then the question to ask is what happened between the time of Jesus’ birth and this story of Jesus at twelve years old? While we still do not know that much about Jesus himself, but thanks to our scripture for this morning we do know a lot about what was going on with him and his family at that time.

            Our scripture starts by saying, “after they had left,” but who are “they?” well if we were to backtrack a little in our scripture we would find that they were the magi, or the wise men as they have been traditionally called.  Word had gotten out in the land that a child had been born that who was being called the King of the Jews. King Herod, gathered all of his best advisors together to figure out exactly what was going on and who this child was. He then sent out the three magi to go to Bethlehem and find this baby child, because he claimed he wanted to offer him praise as well. Herod had much more sinister intentions however, he saw this baby child as a threat and wanted to find a way to get rid of him. The magi find the baby child and pay their respects, but they were told in a dream that Herod had bad intentions, so they returned to their country by a different route.

            That brings us back to our scripture for today. Herod finally realizes that he had been tricked by the magi, that they were not coming back to report the location of the child. Herod gets angry, he gets rash, he wants to get rid of this threat so bad that he does the only thing that would seem to guarantee the end of this child, and the end of the threat to his power; Herod orders all children in and around Bethlehem that were two years or younger. This surely would do the trick.

            It probably would have too, except an angel came to Joseph and said, “"Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."  The angel warns Joseph and in doing so foils Herod’s plans. Joseph takes Jesus and Mary and they move to Egypt, where they wait until Herod dies and they can return back to home. How long that will be no one really knows, but now they sit and they wait. Sadly this is how our dear savoir is forced to spend much of his early life.

            Think about it, I mean really think about all that this family has faced in such a short time. Mary and Joseph had to struggle with the news that Mary would bear the Son of God. Then they had to travel to Bethlehem for a census, Mary would give birth to Jesus in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. Shepherds would come and pay homage to Christ, and Mary would ponder all of this in her heart, and later magi would come from the east and bring gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. If all of this was not wild and strange enough, they now had to flee the land that they knew, and had to become exiles in a foreign land.   Oddly, they would become immigrants in Egypt, the very same land that God had helped the Israelites and Moses escape from centuries before. On top of all of this while they were gone the children of all the people of Bethlehem and its surrounding areas were being killed, all because Herod wanted just one child dead, their child,  Jesus. Imagine the fear, the guilt, the sadness that must have accompanied Jesus and his family for much of the beginning of his life. When the Gabriel angel came to Mary a few years ago he promised her that he brought news, but so far she had faced much more hardship than any seemingly good news.

            Why did all of this have to happen this way? What is the point of all of this hardship? Did it mean anything at all? These are difficult questions that Mary and Joseph had to face, but as our scripture for this morning shows us, there are answers to some of these questions.  In particular our scripture answers whether or not all of this means anything at all. We find that much of what happens to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is the fulfillment of scripture. The family had to flee for their lives and live as exiles in Egypt, and while this all seems just circumstantial, that they just needed a place to flee after being warned about Herod, we see that the prophet’s said, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” The death of so many children at the hands of Herod was so tragic, and yet this tragedy was also foretold, “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”  Even when Herod passes away, and the angel tells Joseph it is safe to return home, but not to Judea because Archelaus was ruling there, but instead to Galilee, this too had special meaning because the prophets foretold, “He will be called a Nazorean.” So many of the events in the early part of Jesus’ live, even the tragedies had a special meaning, because they all pointed toward Jesus being the fulfillment of scripture. They all pointed towards Jesus being the Messiah. So to answer the question of whether all of this means something, well the answer is yes. It means that Jesus is the Messiah.

            This however does make the other questions much harder to answer and can create some dangerous ideology if we are not careful. We have seen that these things happening point to the fulfilment of scripture, but why did scripture had to be fulfilled this way?  Why did the family have to flee from the land the loved? Why did so many young children have to die? If we aren’t careful we can start to think that since it is fulfillment of scripture, that God had somehow scripted it all to occur in this way. This is quite easy to follow, but if we follow this train of thought then we are saying that God wanted countless numbers of innocent children to be murdered, just so Jesus could fulfill some prophecy. I am not willing to say that. Do I have the perfect answer to why these things happened, no, but I don’t believe that God creates evil but instead finds ways of extending grace in the midst of hardships, These evil things have happened and yet God still gives hope to the world, by showing that in spite of the evil and because of the evil Christ has come. Christ has come to conquer sin and death, Christ has to set us free, and Matthew points to the words of the prophets to make his point.

            We will never be able to ever fully explain why evil exists, why hardships happen, why something that is supposed to be so good can be so difficult, but same time I think we also have a distorted view of what is good.  We hear that something is good news and we automatically assume that means easy. We hear good news and we imagine some far-fetched idea like winning the lottery and relaxing on the beach on a private island, and then if the good news doesn’t match this idea, then we are disappointed, we get upset at the first sign of difficulties. And yet if we look at some best times in many of our lives, we will see that there usually is a lot of difficulty that comes with. Good news you got into the college of your dreams, but that also means the work will be harder, you will be graded harsher, and the students around you are just as smart if not smarter than you. Good news we’re getting married, but we all know that marriage is a commitment and alongside the joy is also many struggles and hardships. Good news you’re having a boy, but that means 18 years of struggling to raise him, from being woken up late at night at the beginning to staying up late at night worrying about the decisions he’s making when he’s  a teen and everything in between, parenting is also a struggle. All of these things, getting into college, getting married, having kids, are things that most of us would recognize as good news, things that most of us who have experienced any of them treasure as some of the best news in our lives, and yet we all would laugh if someone told us it was easy.

            The good news that Gabriel told Mary about nine months prior to Christmas, was indeed good news, but it was by no means easy news.  Mary and Joseph had to struggle the entirely of Jesus’ life. From the birth in the manger to his death on the cross and everything in between the good news of Jesus Christ on Earth was also difficult news for Mary and Joseph.  Maybe that’s why Ricky Bobby wanted so much to picture Jesus as an 8 pound six ounce baby Jesus. It all seems so perfect, so easy, when we picture Christ’s life as little sleeping baby. Cooing and laughing in the arms of the mother Mary. And yet we know that Christ did not come to Earth for and easy life, took on a life of hardships by taking on our brokenness, and yet living as an example of perfect obedience to God’s will, which of course included dying on the cross for our sins. Jesus’ life was not easy. As we have seen through our scripture for this morning it did not even take long for his life to become difficult; fleeing for his life, living in exile for much of his early life. But though Jesus’ life was not easy, it sure was good, Jesus fulfilled what the scripture spoke of, Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus Christ came to save.  So how do you picture Jesus. Does this change your view at all? Do you picture him as a baby, or as an adult? Do you picture him maybe as a teen or as a toddler and young boy like in our scripture this morning?  I like to picture Jesus as all of the above.  I like to picture Jesus not as any one image, but rather as a whole gamut of a live lived in accordance with God’s will. In fact it doesn’t matter how I picture Jesus, I just picture him as good news. 

Praise and Pondering (Luke 2:1-20)

Sermon as preached 12/24/13 at Lambs UMC

Image courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library

There is something so special about Christmas Eve. There’s a chill in the air, the sun has gone down, and there is that intense excitement, for Christmas is almost here. While Christmas day was always a wonderful day of joy and celebration with family, the excitement of opening up your presents early in the morning as a child, now a little less early, and yet even in childhood there was always something special about Christmas Eve. Whereas Christmas day encompassed the joy and love of the season, Christmas Eve seemed to be a time of great hope and peace, a time of mystery, and a time of expectation. It almost feels as if you are there, centuries ago on that very night in which Christ was born.

            And that got me thinking, what would it have felt like to be one of the members of that party present on Christmas night?  When we start to put ourselves in the shoes of those present at the birth we find that there are two very different perspectives on that holy scene, That of the shepherds, and that of Mary and Joseph. No disrespect to the donkeys and sheep in the manger, I just find it hard to place myself in their shoes. If we look at the shepherds story in contrast with the story of Mary and Joseph, (but primarily Mary) we see in our scripture that they had very different experiences of Christmas, and also very different reactions.

            Let us begin with the shepherds. The story starts something like this. It was an ordinary night, while some shepherds watched over their flock. It is the same thing they have been doing every night, the only real excitement coming when sheep veer from the group or when a predator is spotted. While standing on guard watching the flock suddenly the sky lit up and an angel appeared upon them. We must remember from our stories of angels in other books of the Bible, that typically these weren’t your pretty little girls dressed in white dresses, these angels were usually horrifying with multiple wings sometimes even with animal like heads. What a terrifying experience, it makes sense now why scripture tells us the shepherds were terrified. But the angel spoke to them and said, “Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors.”  The shepherds were stunned by this revelation, and said to each other, we must go find this baby. And so they went off to Bethlehem and what did they find, a baby in a manger just as the angel had told them. It’s true, this child is the Messiah, they began to tell those gathered at the manger. We saw the angel, they told us that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem and that we would find him in a manger, and here he is! What great joy! The savior is born. After paying their respects to Jesus and the family the shepherds returned to their flocks glorifying and  praising the Lord. The shepherds experience the joy and love of Christmas and responded through praise.

            Mary’s experience of that evening seems to be drastically different.    While the events of this evening were a complete surprise to the shepherds, the birth of this baby was no surprise to Mary, at least not anymore.  A little over nine months earlier an angel had already appeared to Mary telling her that she would bear the Son of God.  Her  relative Elizabeth and the unborn John the Baptist in her womb even jumped for joy when Mary visited them, because they knew what good news she had to tell.  Think about that though, that was nine months ago, for nine months  Mary has not only carried a child in her womb but also this knowledge, which brings joy for sure, but must also be difficult to bear emotionally. With every kick, every sleepless night of tossing and turning, every morning waking up sick, Mary is reminded that in her womb is rests the Son of God. It must have been difficult, I can imagine Mary questions what does it all mean? As they were in Bethlehem I’m sure Mary knew the day was approaching when she would give birth, so imagine the shock when there was no room in the inn, imagine the shock of having to give birth to the King of Kings in a manger. That’s not how it’s supposed to happen, is it? But then some shepherds show up, here at this manger. They tell the story of how they saw angels, how they were told to come here and find the Messiah in a manger in Bethlehem. Mary saw how these strangers, could be filled with such joy at the birth of her son; the same excitement and joy she felt when the angel came and told her the news. What does it all mean? You see, Mary’s reaction was very different than the shepherds who went home celebrating and praising the Lord; we are told, “But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.”

                Praise and pondering, These are two reactions that we see on that beautiful Christmas night. The joyful praise and celebration of the shepherds as the held back to their flocks, and the deep and peaceful contemplation of Mary as she takes it all in. It is only fitting that we tonight as we celebrate to coming of Christ respond in similar manner.  Like the shepherds we come to pay respect to the King of Kings and leave celebrating the good news. While we are here tonight we have sung together, prayed together, and soon with will celebrate holy communion together, and tomorrow morning the celebration continues, as we glorify the Lord through whatever Christmas traditions we have. While we sing the good news of Christ coming to all the world, let us also like Mary take time to treasure it in our hearts and ponder what it really means. The savior has come, born in a lowly manger, born to save the world, born for you and for me. Take time to ponder what this means for your life and treasure this feeling you get from that good news. Praise and Pondering, what a wonderful way to celebrate the coming of Christ. Celebrating Emmanuel, that God is with us.  May this night be for us as meaningful and powerful, as joyful and as moving as that silent night long ago.

Great Expectations (Matthew 11:2-11)

Image courtesy of HermanoLeon.com

Christmas day is fast approaching and with it comes the expectation of joy, peace, hope and love. We see the streets lined with lights, we put up our own decorations in our houses and yet for some of us the expectations are not met.  The lights don’t seem to shine as bright this year, the gifts we give and get become less exciting, visiting relatives and loved ones for some reason has become more like a chore rather than a joyous occasion. The loss of a loved one, or financial burdens have made this Christmas less of a White Christmas and more of a blue Christmas. Unfortunately for many of us the joy and excitement of Christmas time just doesn’t live up to expectations. Why is that?

            In our Scripture for this morning we see that expectations are not being met for many of those who were seeking the coming Messiah. As we know prior to the coming of Jesus, John the Baptist was out in the wilderness preaching and baptizing; preparing the way for the coming Messiah. For many his message was very persuasive, very exciting; that this Messiah that they had heard about, is now according to John the Baptist, coming soon.  John message was becoming so popular, so effective, that many of those who were in power were beginning to fear this message of a Messiah who would restore justice and topple the empire and so John the Baptist was imprisoned.

            In Matthew chapter 11 we find Jesus visiting John the Baptist in prison, the interaction between Jesus and John the Baptist is very interesting, but unfortunately we do not have the time this morning to explore it deeply; but the general overview is that John asks if Jesus is the Messiah and Jesus responds by showing all of the ways in which he has fulfilled the prophetic expectations of the Messiah. It is what happens after this encounter that I would like to take some time to look at this morning. After visiting John, Jesus  steps out of the prison and is followed by crowds and asked questions; quite typical for Jesus’ ministry. This time however, Jesus is apparently asked about John the Baptist. These people who had once heard John’s message in the wilderness and found it compelling were now complaining about John.  It probably came as a shock to them that one of these leaders who they had listen to proclaim the good news of the coming Messiah was now in prison; how could that be, maybe he isn’t someone worth listening to.  And did you see the way he looked and acted in the wilderness?  His hair was wild, and he wore camel hair and belt. Don’t forget he was eating locusts and wild honey.  This man speaks words of truth, but he doesn’t look like a man who should have any power, he doesn’t wear fine linen like the priests in the Temple, he smells, and acts very strange. Jesus, we like what this man has to say, but I just can’t get behind him, he’s not what I was expecting.

              Jesus responds to these followers rather harshly. He says, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?  What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”  Jesus questions the followers on what their expectations really are.  He says to them, look you went into the wilderness, away from the cities and the towns, away from the temples and the priests, so what did you expect to find and what were you looking for? If you were looking for a the safe, prestigious, well dress priests of the Temple, then why did you even come out to the wilderness in the first place, since you could find that in the city.  But no, you were looking for a prophet, and that’s what you found. In fact the one you found in the wilderness is more than just any ordinary prophet, this one, John the Baptist, is the one that Scripture has told us about, he is the messenger that you have been expecting who will prepare the way for the Messiah. And yet you went out  to the wilderness, found this exact messenger you were looking for proclaiming the good news you needed to hear, and you are telling me now, that it did not live up to expectations. What are you expecting?

What are you expecting? This is the very same we should asking ourselves during this season of Advent. As Christmas fast approaches, what is it that we are expecting?  Are we expecting  a great meal with family, are we expecting the house to be the cleanest maybe it has been all year with beautiful decorations all around?  Are we expecting to find that perfect gift for our spouse, or friend, or our kids?  Are we expecting our favorite Christmas songs to be played on the radio and in the stores as we shop, and are we expecting all of this anticipation and excitement to last after Christmas day?

            If these are our expectations for Christmas, then what happens when they fall short. What happens when our family can’t gather because of poor weather, or what if it’s the first Christmas since a loved one has passed away?  What if we don’t get that gift that we really wanted, or what if we can’t afford to buy the gift that that special person in our lives truly wants?  What if our tree looks ragged, and the lights don’t shine as bright; what if instead of playing What Child is this, the radio station keeps playing that Mariah Carey song? What if the moment we open our presents and have our meal, we are done with Christmas and life continues just like normal?

            If these are our expectations for Christmas than there is a good we will be let down.  Just like the early followers that we read about in our scripture who were distracted in their expectations, sometimes our expectations can become distracted as well. Sometimes in the busyness of putting up our trees, buying gifts and traveling we get distracted from our true hope and our true expectations. That Jesus Christ was born as a lowly infant and yet a mighty king. That in a world of brokenness and strife, the Messiah has come, Emmanuel, God is with us. If we approach this Christmas with the hope and expectation of the Son of God dwelling on Earth with us bringing us hope of justice, forgiveness, salvation, and restoration, then we indeed are approaching Christmas with great expectations, but with expectations that will never let us down.

Up From Stones (Matthew 3:1-12)

Image Courtesy of Hermanoleon Clipart

This morning marks the second Sunday of Advent, and as we gather this morning we gather as people eagerly anticipating the wonderful feast of Christmas. We have our favorite Christmas hymns stuck in our heads on repeat every day of the week, we have probably decorated our houses with red and green, tinsel and garland, and have hung our lights and ornaments on the Christmas trees. Most excitingly, there may even be a few gifts wrapped and securely placed on the tree, maybe even bearing our names, waiting, just waiting for us to open them on Christmas morning. We gather together each week, light another candle from the advent wreath and hear scripture about the coming of the Messiah, the Lord, Emmanuel, God with us.  We are full of expectation and excitement.  But our scripture for this morning teaches us a powerful lesson, one that seems so simple, so obvious and yet one that we tend to forget. That is that without Christ’s this celebration would not be possible.

            Uh, Well duh Daniel, how could we celebrate the birth of someone that wasn’t even born?  That’s not really what I mean when I say that this celebration wouldn’t be possible. It is also not a critique of our culture around Christmas, while some bemoan the fact that the holiday season is become less “Christmassy,” I find it as a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Christmas exactly where it should be celebrated, in church.  It is more than this however, the reason that this celebration would not be possible is because of us. It is because without Christ we would not be part of the family; we would not be part of God’s chosen people.  Our scripture this morning makes this abundantly clear.

            Our scripture for this morning is probably a story that most of us have heard before. John the Baptist is out in the wilderness baptizing and proclaiming that the time is coming when the Messiah will come. He tells the people to prepare the way for the coming Lord. We see this in the other Gospels like Mark, Luke. In Luke we even see John rebuke some of those who were gathered there, calling them a brood of vipers, and telling them that God can raise from stones children of Abraham.  Our scripture from Matthew this morning however makes it abundantly clear why he says this, and to whom it is addressed.  Matthew tells us that the ones that John the Baptist is rebuking are none other than the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They are the ones in which he calls a brood of vipers, and it is in response to them that he says,  “ Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.”  But what does this all mean, and what does this mean for us?

            First and foremost we must recognize who John the Baptist is talking to in this story. He is talking to the Pharisees and the Sadducees, different sects of religious leaders in the Jewish faith at that time. These men were well educated and well versed in their reading and understanding of the Torah. They also were also strict observers of the Jewish laws and moral codes, and tried to protect Judaism against those who did things that they viewed as perverting the Jewish faith. While in the Gospels the Pharisees and the Sadducees are sometimes portrayed as the bad guys, and in some cases rightfully so, we should not be so quick to pass judgment upon them. These men simply wanted to preserve the sanctity of their faith and the Jewish teachings; they just sometimes missed the point of God’s love while doing it.

            It is one aspect of this strict adherence and dedication to the Jewish law that John the Baptist attacks the Pharisees and the Sadducees on. These religious leaders often viewed themselves as part of a separate, and chosen people, and rightfully so, since the Jewish people are in fact called God’s chosen people in scripture.  The leaders had strict laws of who then were and weren’t part of God’s chosen including to whom they were born, and also how they should live if they are part of God’s chosen people. This did not leave much room for evangelism, since it was already decided one must be a descendent of Abraham in order to be one of God’s chosen people. 

            And yet John the Baptist started to push these boundaries, started to live and act, and preach to those in a way that did not fit nicely into these boundaries. And yet for how radical John the Baptist may have been, he was now foretelling of one far more radical. One who would destroy the boundary between gentile and Jew and graft the Gentiles into that historic family. One who could make even the stones part of Abraham’s children, or in other words one who would make all part of God’s chosen people.

            What we must realize is that most of us were not part of the original chosen family. Unless you are of Jewish decent, we are all Gentiles. This celebration of Christmas, this celebration of God’s favor in our lives is only possible because Jesus came a made us part of the family, broke down the walls of exclusion and said that all human life is sacred, that God loves each and every one of us. As a church, both this local church and as part of the universal church, we must find ways of sharing this true Christmas gift. We must find ways to include the excluded, to reach out to those who might not fit our nice and neat cultural boundaries. As followers of Christ we must find ways to share that same acceptance and love to the world that Christ has shown for us. This is why in the United Methodist Church we have an Open Table policy when it comes to communion. It does not matter who you are, how old you are, what you have done, what you haven’t done, you are created in the image of God, and are invited to join in fellowship as we gather together to receive God’s grace. It is our job as Christians to take the grace that we receive, to take this moment of inclusivity and openness and find a way to take it into the world to share the good news that Christ has come, and that we can all be part of that chosen family.