Announcements,
Fulfillments and Choices
Isaiah 61:1-4, Matthew 2:1-12
December 21, 2014
Grace Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller
If
We Had Been in Charge We have just listened to the wonderful
story of Jesus’ birth as told by Matthew. This story is fascinating and at the
same time illogical. I say illogical because it doesn’t appear that God thought
out this whole birth event very well. We Presbyterians, who pride themselves in
doing all things decently and in order, would have planned Jesus’ birth quite
differently.
A
Committee is Formed First of all, we would form a “Messiah Birth Planning Committee”
to decide where, how and when Jesus was to be born, and to whom the birth would
be announced. This committee would then send an overture to the General
Assembly with the following plan.
1.
Whereas it is vital to avoid even the slightest hint of scandal and
embarrassment, hereby let it be resolved that Joseph and Mary are to wait two
years after they are married to have their first-born child. The rationale for
this is that people would talk if Mary was already expecting a child when she
was married. After all, appearances
are everything, aren’t they?
2.
Whereas to make sure more people hear about the birth of the Messiah, hereby
let it be resolved that Jesus will be born in Jerusalem, the sacred and
influential capital of all Judaism. The rationale for this is to counter
efforts to have him born in the small, obscure and unimportant village of
Bethlehem, six miles to the south. After all, the most important people are
born and live in Jerusalem, don’t they? And
as they say in real estate, location, location, location.
3.
Whereas to assure the safest delivery possible, hereby let it be resolved that
Jesus will be born in Jerusalem’s renown Mt. Sinai Hospital with the finest
doctors in attendance. The rationale for this is that Bethlehem has no hospital
or doctors and the Messiah might even end up being born in a lowly, unsanitary
stable. After all, we can’t be too careful, can we?
4.
Whereas it is politically expedient to have Jesus accepted by the religious
leaders of the day, hereby let it be resolved that his birth shall be announced
at an executive meeting of the rabbis, scribes and Pharisees of the Temple and
regional synagogues so they would be the first to know. The rationale is that
it would just be good politics, wouldn’t it?
- Whereas the monthly progress of Mary’s pregnancy will be of intense interest to the world, hereby let it be resolved that a web site called www.messiah-is-born.org is created where every week of the pregnancy can be tracked by people around the world. Joseph and Mary would have their own blog. They would be on face book, twitter and Linkedin. In addition, a telephone hot line to each presbytery and to the General Assembly office will be available to answer any and all questions. The rationale is to communicate as fully as possible the months leading up to the birth.
- Whereas it is crucial that the news of the birth of the King of kings and Lord of lords is known by the most people, hereby let it be resolved that when the birth takes place, a press conference shall be called consisting of reporters and photographers from all radio and TV stations and from the Jerusalem Daily News. The rationale for this is that the news would travel more quickly than in just telling a few nondescript shepherds or a few Gentile camel riders.
- Whereas there will be many people coming to visit Mary and Joseph after the baby is born, hereby let it be resolved that Presbyterian women be in charge of providing foor and drink as a continuous potluck for all the guests. Each presbytery could take its turn. The rationale is to allow Mary and Joseph the freedom to interact with well-wishers without worrying about feeding them.If We Had Been In Charge Now I don’t know about you, but I never would have thought of saving the world as God did with a baby in a manger in Bethlehem. Yet, I guess we’re pretty fortunate that we weren’t in charge of such a venture, aren’t we? If we had been, Jesus probably would have ended up as the Mayor of Jerusalem, rather than as our Savior. We’d have had him being driven around in a Stretch Limo instead of walking into the hearts of people.We’d have provided him with body guards instead of allowing him to heal lepers and eat with tax collectors. And we surely would have had him living well into old age, honored and revered, rather than having him arrested and crucified as a common criminal on a cross.God Did It His Way However, as we know, God didn’t choose Jerusalem, select the finest hospital, or alert religious leaders or reporters. He didn’t establish a web site, blog or hot line. As a result, his decisions regarding the birth of his son don’t seem to reflect very sound public relations principles, do they? However, this shouldn’t surprise us. After all, in our Isaiah passage it says that the Messiah was going to bring good news to the oppressed, bind up the broken-hearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. This prophecy reflected this statement of God, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” [Isaiah 55:9]Far too often, we try to tell God what to do and when and how to do it. This attitude alone keeps us from experiencing the greatness of his love. What all of us must remember is that God does everything his way. He’s always done everything his way. And he always will do everything his way.And if we think about it for a moment, the story of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus is such a cherished part of our lives that it is impossible to think that the birth of Jesus could ever have happened any other way.Why? Because Kings who live in palaces don’t associate with the common people. Kings have body guards to protect them from the people. That would surely leave all of us out.But Jesus, the Lord of lords and King of kings, was born in a lowly manger and thus he walks among us and with us each day. It means that he can be born in our hearts as well. God’s choice of the lowly manger assures us that Jesus will save us, just as we are, sins, warts and all. We know how imperfect and sinful we are in thoughts, words and deeds. Yet we can come to God just as we are with confidence to receive his cleansing grace.Just as I Am In 1835, Dr. Cesar Milan asked Charlotte Elliott if she were a Christian. Charlotte was an invalid and felt useless to God. She also felt insulted, and told him to mind his own affairs. But after Dr. Milan left, she could not get the question off her mind, and she had him return and asked him how to find Christ. "Why not come just as you are? ", answered Malan. "You have only to come to Him just as you are ". She did, and wrote the beautiful hymn, "Just As I Am."As many of you know, Billy Graham used this hymn for many years at the end of his crusades. It was a call to accept Christ just as you were. You didn’t have to be older, more saintly, or better educated. You didn’t have to be baptized, be a Bible scholar or teach a Sunday School class. You could be physically or mentally challenged or a brilliant scholar or a superb athlete. It didn’t matter. You were invited to come to Christ as you sang:“Just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bidd’st me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.Just as I am, and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come, I come.Just as I am, - thy love unknown has broken every barrier down; now to be thine, yea, thine alone, O lamb of God, I come!”[by Charlotte Elliott and William B. Bradbury, 1835, verses 1, 2, 5]Afraid to Reveal Just as I am! That is a powerful and scary thought. I suspect that most of us would be ashamed to reveal to others every thought we’ve ever had, every word we’ve ever spoken, and every action we did or did not take.Why? Because some of those thoughts were impure. And some of the words were spoken in hate and revenge. And some of those acts and deeds hurt people. If people knew all these things about us, they might judge us, condemn us, and never associate with us again. The risk of revealing ourselves is to become an outcast. Because we’re afraid to tell others who we really are, we are very careful what parts of ourselves we allow the world to see. Most of who we really are inside we hide from the world.However, the good news is this! Even though God knows every single secret of our lives [Psalm 44:21], yet, because of Christ, we can come to God knowing he won’t judge or condemn us. Instead, he will love us and hold us close in his everlasting arms. Christ’s birth and atonement has made us clean. Christ presents us as pure and faultless to God even though we’re not.We Are The Reason For Christmas So we are the reason for Christmas! We are the reason the Prince of Peace was born! Why? Because we couldn’t save ourselves and needed a savior. Because God loved us more than anything in the universe, just as we are. Yes, the reason why Jesus was born was to save you and me and all other men and women and children of his creation.Final Thoughts Yes, God did it his way. And we should be thankful that he knew what he was doing. We should be thankful that in Christ we are cleansed from our unrighteousness. He called us to accept him as his children who realize we don’t have all the answers, and that God indeed knows best. As Travis Cotrell so beautifully put it:“I come broken to be mended, I come wounded to be healed, I come desperate to be rescued, I come empty to be filled, I come guilty to be pardoned by the blood of Christ the Lamb. And I’m welcomed with open arms, praise God, just as I am. Praise God, just as I am. Just as I am” [Travis Cotrell] Amen.
Matthew 2:1-12 NRSVIn the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;for from you shall come a rulerwho is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Isaiah 61:1-4 NRSV
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint
spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his
glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.