So, here we are at the start of a new year. Christmas is just about over. Well, in a sense that’s true, but the birth of Jesus is not really something we leave behind us; we carry its consequences with us.
I sometimes think of the Christmas story as being like an episode in a long-running TV series. Each episode may be viewed as a separate story, but it only really makes sense if you have seen what happened earlier. And at the end of each episode, you sit there wondering what’s going to happen next.
In a way, the Bible is like a series of episodes that takes place over a very long period of time. Many episodes can be read on their own, but they also need to be considered as part of a continuous narrative. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for each episode to come along – they are all in the Bible for us to read now, from the very beginning. Having said that, we will have to wait for the last episode – the release date has not been announced yet!
We often (but not always, of course) start the Christmas story with an angel appearing to Mary, and end with the wise men heading back to their homes somewhere in the east. It is an important episode, but it only makes sense when we consider what happened earlier. The period of Advent, which led us up to Christmas, helped us do that. It can be hard for us to understand the joy of the first Christmas if we don’t realise the longing that God’s people felt.
The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus of course, but it’s also about some normal people made special by God. I mentioned that for any episode in a TV series, we love to know what happens next. Today, I’m going to look briefly at ‘what happened next’ to some of the ordinary people in the Christmas story. I hope you already know what happened to Jesus!
The Bible tells us that an angel visited some shepherds in the fields, and told them where to find the new-born Jesus. After they had seen the baby and his parents, Luke’s Gospel tells us that “The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.”
And that’s it; we aren’t told how many shepherds there were, or what their names were. “The shepherds returned”; after all, they still had sheep to look after. But I doubt that they returned to just ‘business as usual’ – their lives would never be the same again. Can you imagine anyone meeting Jesus in such a way and not telling others about it?
There were the wise men from the east too, who followed a star to the child Jesus. They worshipped him and gave him gifts. In Matthew’s Gospel we hear that “Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.” Again, we aren’t told how many wise men there were, exactly where they came from or what their names were. Like the shepherds, it’s hard to imagine that the wise men arrived home the same as when they left.
There are many times in the Bible when we are not told the names of people involved. Just a few examples: the Samaritan woman at the well is not named; the two criminals on either side of Jesus when he was crucified are not named, nor is the boy who donated his lunch to feed a large crowd. The recipients of many miracles are not named. For the host of unnamed people, including the Christmas shepherds and wise men, they only appear once – so knowing their names is not needed for later identification.
God knows everyone’s name, but it’s what people did that mattered, not what their names were. The shepherds were obedient to God and they spread the word of Jesus’ birth – their names didn’t matter. The wise men showed that Jesus would welcome non-Jews from a different culture – their names didn’t matter.
There are times when it seems God does want us to know the names of people he used in his plan for us all. In the Christmas story, Mary and Joseph come to mind. They both played an important part in what came next.
Mary and Joseph were changed by the Christmas story. On top of staying obedient to God, they now had the responsibility of bringing up Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the early life of Jesus, just enough episodes to create (together with a bit of guesswork) a picture of the roles Mary and Joseph played. They raised him up in the Jewish religion, making sure he kept the traditions and learned the writings and teachings. They protected the infant Jesus by taking him to Egypt to escape the murderous King Herod, returning to be part of a supportive community in Nazareth when God told them it was safe. They fed him, spent time with him, encouraged him, dealt with his childhood problems, taught him a trade, worried about him when he went off without telling them. And at the same time, Joseph worked for a living and Mary organised a household that included numerous brothers and sisters.
You know, they did all those things parents do. Despite having the Son of God in their family, Mary and Joseph were normal parents, juggling work and family life. If you ask someone today what they like best about Christmas, they’ll often say “family”. I think Mary and Joseph were an example of why we might agree with that. Of course, some of us aren’t parents, or we aren’t able to enjoy being with family at Christmas. We can still look to Mary and Joseph as examples of faithfulness and obedience to God.
Joseph is not mentioned in the Bible after Jesus reached the age of 12, and it’s normally assumed that Joseph died. But Mary kept on without him, supporting Jesus and witnessing some of his ministry, along with the rest of her children. She was present when Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding. She also saw Jesus die on the cross. The last time we hear of Mary was after Jesus had risen and been taken up to Heaven – Mary and some of her family met with the disciples to pray.
Mary and Joseph didn’t know God’s plan, but their faithfulness, sacrifice and trust are examples to us all. For Mary and Joseph, the first Christmas was not something they could just put behind them; it was the start of a huge new episode in their lives. We can be encouraged to stay faithful in our own journey, even when we don’t see where God is leading us.
And let’s not forget the shepherds and the wise men; they got to see Jesus, and their lives would never be the same. For most of us, our lives also changed when we first met Jesus.
Christmas is over. Will you carry on with life as normal?
Or perhaps you’ll be like Mary and Joseph, and take the opportunity to deepen your faith and obedience.
Perhaps you’ll be like the shepherds, and pass on the good news of Jesus to others.
We could all be like Mary right after the visit of the shepherds. They had told her of the angel’s message, that Jesus would be a saviour, good news to all people. Luke 2:19 tells us that:
“Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”
What will the next episode in the Christmas story look like for you this year?
I have here in my hand an apple. (Don’t worry, this is not going to be a sermon about forbidden fruit.) If I were to plant the seeds of this apple and nurture them, it could take several years before the seeds produced more apples to eat.
The theme of this morning’s Christmas day service is joy. Joy is the fruit of hope. Or, to put it another way, if joy is the apple, hope is the tree. If you want joy, then cultivate the seeds of hope, and be prepared to wait. We can put our hope in many different things, but for our joy to be secure, our hope must be true.
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure. The account of Jesus’ birth is peppered with joy. This morning’s message touches on some of the joy found in Luke’s birth narrative.
Elizabeth’s joy:
We begin with Elizabeth and Mary. When Mary learned from the angel that she would become pregnant with Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, she went to visit her relative Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist.
Mary entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favoured that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy…”
What was the cause of Elizabeth’s joy? Two things: the presence of the Holy Spirit and the anticipation of Jesus’ arrival. The Holy Spirit confirmed Elizabeth’s hope to be true, and this produced joy, from the inside out.
Now it needs to be acknowledged that for many years Elizabeth’s life was not characterised by joy. Zechariah and Elizabeth suffered a great deal of disappointment in not being able to have children. Their hope of starting a family died. But the Lord in his mercy resurrected new hope.
In verses 57 and 58 we read: When it was time for Elizabeth to have a baby, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy and they shared her joy.
Joy was a long time coming for Elizabeth, but it was worth the wait.
When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.
The shepherds’ joy:
Joy is for sharing. In Luke 2, an angel from heaven shares the joy of Jesus’ birth with some shepherds in the fields saying: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord…
What we notice here is that divine joy is not just for a select few. The joy of Jesus’ birth is for all people. There is more than enough salvation for everyone. That is very good news.
After the angels left, the shepherds went and found Jesus, wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. When they had seen him, they shared the joy by praising God and spreading the word about Christ the Lord.
Now it needs to be acknowledged that life was not easy for these shepherds. They were poor, working around the clock in all sorts of weather, not able to participate in the normal rhythms of community life. They were looked down on with suspicion by many. Misunderstood.
So it was a joyful surprise for these shepherds to be among the first to hear about the birth of the Messiah. It meant they were seen by God and trusted by him. Included. Accepted. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.
Mary’s joy:
We have compared joy to the fruit of a tree. We might also compare joy to the keel of a yacht. The keel is that part we do not see because it is underwater. The keel keeps the yacht upright, especially in high winds. Without the keel, the yacht would be prone to capsizing.
In the same way a keel lends stability to a boat, so too joy (born from a deep and true hope) lends stability to our soul, especially in the storms of life.
The joy surrounding Jesus’ birth acted as a keel for Mary’s soul. In Luke 2, we read how Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Joy often overflows in praise of God and sharing good news with others, but for those with a more contemplative soul, joy finds sanctuary in the heart and mind. As we ponder what God is doing in Christ, our joy deepens (like the keel of a yacht) lending stability when the circumstances of our lives get a bit rough.
It needs to be acknowledged the first Christmas was far from ideal. Israel was oppressed by the Romans. The people suffered under a heavy yoke both politically and spiritually. Not a great environment for raising children.
And yet, in spite of this, hope was growing and joy was budding.
Conclusion:
We are not oppressed in the same way people were in the first century.
But many of us feel weary and weighed down in other (unseen) ways. Christmas is not always a happy time. The expectation that it should be happy only heightens our disappointment when it is not.
Perhaps you identify with Elizabeth. For you, joy is a long time coming. Hang in there. A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.
Perhaps you identify with the shepherds. You know what it is to be left out in the cold, not trusted, misunderstood. God judges fairly. He sees you.
He gets you. When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure.
Perhaps you identify with Mary. Young and vulnerable, with something precious to lose. Ponder the Lord’s faithfulness. Treasure the joy he brings.
It will be a keel for your soul.
When our hope is in Jesus, our joy is secure. Where is your hope placed?
May the awareness of God’s goodness sustain our hope and fill us with joy.
Grace and peace be yours this Christmas and New Year. Amen.
Have you ever noticed how many dystopian movies there are these days? Dystopia is a term used to describe a highly dysfunctional society, in contrast to utopia which refers to an ideal society.
A dystopian film is usually set in the future with a government that is evil or corrupt. As a consequence, the people suffer in a nightmarish society, ruled by violence and fear and injustice.
Examples of the dystopian genre include The Divergent Series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Matrix series, Gattaca, The Running Man, Snowpiercer and Escape from New York.
The main function of these dystopian films is to critique our present day society. It’s like these movies are giving a prophetic message of what could happen if we don’t fix the problems we have now.
The Bible also critiques contemporary society but it does so without giving in to despair. The Bible critiques the present day and inspires hope by imagining a good future.
Today is the second Sunday in Christmas Advent, traditionally associated with peace. Advent is a time of consciously waiting for the peace only Jesus can bring. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Our message this morning focuses on Isaiah 11:1-9. In this passage the prophet paints a picture of a utopian future, one of universal peace. From verse 1 of Isaiah 11, we read…
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord – 3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearlingtogether; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
This passage from Isaiah is about the Messiah, God’s anointed King. The Messiah is empowered with a wise Spirit. He is a righteous judge. And, through his wise and just rule, the Messiah will ultimately bring about universal peace.
The Jews of Isaiah’s day were not sure who this ideal king would be, but they could be sure his wisdom and righteousness were a critique of many of Israel’s previous kings who were far from wise or just.
Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. We believe Jesus will one day usher in universal, lasting peace.
Wise Spirit:
In verse 1 of chapter 11, Isaiah gives us this metaphor for the Messiah:
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Jesse was the father of king David. David’s descendants sat on the throne of Israel for many years. Some of those kings were good but many of them were rotten. God was patient but there is only so much he will tolerate.
Eventually God decided enough was enough and he brought an end to the Davidic monarchy. He cut the descendants of David off from the throne, like cutting down a tree and leaving only the stump.
In chapter 11, Isaiah foresees the day when a new king (a descendant of Jesse and David) will be restored to the throne. This new king will be different to any of the kings that went before. He will bear good fruit, the fruit of righteousness.
Two things we notice about this metaphor. Firstly, the new shoot (or the new Messiah) grows out of something considered long dead. This is a miracle of resurrection.
Secondly, waiting for this new Messiah will require some patience. What God has planned is not going to happen overnight. It will take many years for the new shoot to appear, grow and bear fruit.
In verse 2, Isaiah describes the special power and authority of this new Messiah, saying: 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.
In other words, the Messiah will be empowered with the Spirit of God.
Wisdom, in a Biblical understanding, isn’t so much about head knowledge or being book smart. Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come from having a PhD. Wisdom is more practical than that. Wisdom is about making good moral choices and the way one lives their life day to day.
Understanding suggests being able to join the dots correctly. So, someone with good understanding can see how general principles apply in specific situations. Understanding also suggests an awareness of how people tick.
Jesus demonstrated wisdom and understanding on numerous occasions, especially when questioned by the religious leaders. One time they asked Jesus, ‘Teacher, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “…why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax… Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription? …Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
Wisdom and understanding you see. Jesus understood the hearts or intentions of his questioners. He also had the wisdom to know how to apply the spirit of God’s law to a specific situation, which wasn’t necessarily detailed in God’s law.
Returning to our passage from Isaiah. The Messiah will also have the Spirit of counsel and of might. Counsel here is about the right kind of strategic advice. Drawing on last week’s message, the Messiah will be a wonderful counsellor (or wonder planner), good at chess.
Might is associated with power but, in this context, it’s not so much the power of brute force. More the power of thinking smarter and having the will or courage to follow through on your convictions.
Jesus also fits the bill when it comes to counsel and might. Jesus’ counsel, if someone hits you, is to turn the other cheek. Incredibly difficult to do but an excellent strategy for minimising violence.
Not only was Jesus’ teaching on this point smart, Jesus also had the might, or the strength, to turn the other cheek and not respond with violence when he was physically beaten at his trial.
Knowledge of the Lord, means knowing God through relationship and experience. Knowledge doesn’t just mean knowing facts about God. Knowledge comes from tasting and seeing that the Lord is good. Knowledge of God is the basis of trust in God.
Fear of the Lord has to do with awe and reverence and respect for God. As Proverbs tells us, ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom’.
The Messiah will delight in the fear of the Lord. I quite like Abraham Heschel’s rendering of verse 3: Through the fear of the Lord he [the Messiah] will have supreme sensitivity.
Sensitivity speaks of discernment. When a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, in John 8, the Lord showed supreme sensitivity in his dealing with the angry crowd and the frightened woman.
Righteous Judge:
In ancient times, if people wanted to settle a serious dispute, they might go to the king for a resolution. King Solomon, who lived many years before Isaiah, was renowned for His wisdom. People brought their disputes before him.
Famously, two women came to Solomon one day. They both lived in the same house and both had infant sons. One of the sons had died, but both women claimed the surviving child was theirs.
Solomon ordered one his soldiers to cut the living boy in two and give half to each woman. One of the women just shrugged her shoulders, she was pretty unmoved by this command. But the other woman begged the king to spare the child’s life and give the baby to her rival.
Solomon had no intention of harming the baby. It was a test to see which of the women was the true mother. Obviously the child belonged to the woman who was prepared to give up her baby to save his life.
In Isaiah 11, verses 3-4, we read…
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
These verses are basically saying that the wise Messiah will be a righteous judge. He won’t give preferential treatment to someone just because they happen to be rich and powerful.
There is a famous statue of lady justice holding scales in one hand and a sword in the other. The balanced scales represent fairness and equity. While the sword represents punishment for wrong doing.
The interesting thing is that lady justice is wearing a blind fold. The message with the blindfold is that justice does not take into account a person’s race or religion or wealth or position in society. Whatever your demographic, whatever your background, your case will be decided on the evidence, not on who your parents are or how much money you have.
The inspiration for lady justice comes from passages like Isaiah 11. The Messiah will not judge by outward appearances. He will look deeper, to the heart of the issue, because things are not always as they first appear.
For example, if a widow steals a loaf of bread to feed her hungry children, then the righteous judge (who is also the king) will acknowledge the law has been broken but also look deeper as to the cause. Why is this woman so poor that she has to steal bread to feed her family?
Is it because her landlord is charging too much rent? Is it because her boss isn’t paying her enough? Or is it because someone has a monopoly on bread making and can charge whatever they want?
If the woman stole bread because the system is broken, then it’s not fair to punish her for something she has no control over. This righteous judge is also the king of the land. His word is law. He controls the system. So he can fix whatever the larger problem (with society) is.
So that’s the main idea with these verses in Isaiah 11. The Messiah is a righteous judge who looks at the heart of the matter in order to make his kingdom (his society) a fair place for everyone. A place in which widows don’t need to resort to stealing.
But let me develop this idea a bit more, because I don’t want to leave you with the false impression that the rich are evil and the poor are saints. We all know that people are more complex than that. Nor should we think that every act of wrong doing can be blamed on a faulty system. Individuals still have to take some responsibility.
The point we need to keep hold of here is that God’s Messiah does not judge by outward appearances. Sometimes needy people are hidden in plain sight.
Sometimes they are businessmen wearing suits and a thin smile to hide the emptiness they feel inside. Or they may be lampooned politicians who everyone loves to criticise. Or the tired, busy (and somewhat invisible) parent sacrificing their own needs and wants for their family.
No one liked Zacchaeus the tax collector. They all thought he was a corrupt businessman who got rich by robbing decent hard working folks. But that was more of a prejudice. They did not see his loneliness or feel his hurt at the comments people made at his expense.
Jesus did not judge Zacchaeus by what he saw or heard people say. Jesus looked deeper, beneath the outward appearance, and saw a generosity and faithfulness in Zacchaeus that was just waiting to be released. Jesus honoured Zacchaeus and the whole community was blessed, particularly the poor.
You know sometimes we judge ourselves by outward appearances. Maybe we look in the mirror and we don’t like what we see. We wish we were a different shape, with better skin or better hair or a bit taller. All superficial things, most of which we have little or no control over.
Or perhaps we get to our middle years and look back at our life, wondering what have I accomplished? What difference have I made in the world? What if I had climbed a different ladder?
In 1946, Frank Capra directed a movie called It’s a wonderful life. It’s a Christmas movie, although probably not that well known in New Zealand today.
The main character, George Bailey (played by Jimmy Stewart) is a kind man who always puts others first, at his own expense. He is a regular middle class guy, a businessman, who helps people with their finances.
His generosity to others puts him in a vulnerable position. He reaches a low point in his life and his nemesis, Mr Potter, rubs salt in the wound. Potter tells George that he is worth more dead than alive, and George believes him.
George is ready to throw in the towel but then a guardian angel comes along and shows George the good news about himself. Clarence, the angel, shows George the positive difference his hard work and kindness has made in the lives of others.
Maybe you can identify with George. Maybe you do your best to help but still end up feeling like it’s not enough somehow. That your life and efforts have fallen short of the mark. Don’t judge yourself or your efforts. You don’t know how God will use your life for good. What we do know is that God does not waste anything done in love.
Having a Messiah who is a righteous judge, saves us from judging ourselves.
Or, to put it more strongly, you have no right to judge yourself. You are not qualified. You can’t see deep enough or far enough, like Jesus can. You will either think too much of yourself (like Mr Potter) or too little (like George).
Returning to Isaiah 11. The poetry in verses 4 & 5 is vivid. It points to a Messiah (a king) with divine power.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
The King, Isaiah has in mind, can slay the wicked with his words. That’s how wise and powerful he is.
Accountants get a bit of a hard time. I know this because I used to be one. But actually accountants have quite a bit of power to do good. You would be surprised by how helpful accounting is in pastoral ministry.
Many of us tend to like movies where the hero takes out the bad guy with a fist or a gun. The movie sets us up to hate the villain with a sense of righteous indignation. Then it satisfies our desire to see revenge.
In real life, it doesn’t necessarily play out that way. In the 1930’s it wasn’t Batman or Wonder Woman or Dirty Harry or Bruce Willis who dealt a blow to the mafia. It was actually the work of an accountant, Frank J. Wilson, who finally brought Al Capone to justice.
The Messiah pictured in Isaiah 11 doesn’t carry a gun or a sword. He doesn’t need to swing his fists. He is more like an accountant, who uses his head. The Messiah’s weapons are righteousness, faithfulness and words of truth. Possibly also a calculator (although Isaiah doesn’t mention the calculator in these verses).
Universal Peace:
God’s promised King, foreseen by Isaiah, has a wise spirit, he is a righteous judge who ushers in universal peace. In verses 6-8 we read of a utopian future…
6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearlingtogether; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
In this metaphor we have the hunters and the hunted; the weak and the strong; the deadly and the vulnerable; the cunning and the innocent. Each of these pairs of opposites is living together in peace, safely and without fear. When everyone knows the fear of the Lord they feel secure and are not afraid of their neighbours.
John Goldingay sums up the meaning well when he says: ‘Harmony in the animal world is a metaphor for harmony in the human world. The strong and powerful live together with the weak and powerless because the weak and powerless can believe that the strong and powerful are no longer seeking to devour them.’ [1]
Verses 6-8 are a metaphor about how the world will be when the fruit of the Messiah’s reign is realised in its fullness. It is life as it will be when Jesus returns in glory. This is paradise on earth, at the dawn of a new age.
For this utopian future to be realised, the hearts and minds of the whole world need to be transformed by experiential knowledge of the Lord. Verse 9 reads…
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
This is telling us something that is hard to believe – that the peace will be universal. The peace is not limited to a particular holy place. The peace fills the whole earth, like the waters cover the sea. Think about that for a moment. The waters of the sea of peace are deep, inexhaustible and full of life.
In that day preachers, like me, will be out of a job. We won’t need to explain the Scriptures to you because the reality to which the Scriptures point (that is, Jesus the Messiah) will be real in people’s lived experience.
Conclusion:
Sadly, this is not life as we experience it now. This utopian vision of universal peace is a critique of the present world in which weak and vulnerable people are often taken advantage of by ruthless and greedy individuals. This world is still a dangerous place. So don’t go putting your hand in a snake’s nest.
Although universal peace is not a reality for us yet, personal peace with God is possible now through faith in Jesus. Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead opens the door to friendship with God.
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
Do you have a favourite dystopian film? What is it and why do you like it? What critique might this film be making about our society today?
What does Isaiah’s metaphor of a shoot growing out of a dead stump reveal about God’s promised Messiah?
What does Isaiah have in mind when he talks about the Spirit of wisdom, counsel, understanding, might and fear of the Lord? Can you think of examples from the gospels where Jesus demonstrates this Spirit of wisdom?
Do you judge yourself? Where does this lead? Why is it important to leave judgement (of ourselves and others) to Jesus?
Discuss / reflect on the metaphor of the animals in verses 6-8. What is Isaiah saying with this word picture? Can you imagine a world like that?
[1] Refer John Goldingay’s commentary on Isaiah, page 85.
Did anyone get tickets to a concert or sports match this year for Christmas?
When you go to a large arena or concert hall for some major event you are normally given allocated seating
The ticket will have on it where you are to sit
So, for example, if we sold tickets to the Tawa community Christmas day service my ticket might have written on it – aisle 2, row D, seat 3
If we imagine this here is aisle two, then I would find my seat by going to row D, seat 3. [go to row D]
Row D is 4 rows from the front and seat 3 is 3 seats in
Which means you are sitting in my seat. I’m just kidding.
Can you reach under ‘our’ seat and see what you can find? [wait]
An envelope. Why don’t you open it and tell us what’s inside?
Can you read the words on the card for us?
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
Well done – you can keep that. [walk back up onto the stage]
The Tawa College motto (on the crest above us) says ‘Do justly’. It’s a quote from the prophet Micah
Earlier in the service Steven gave a reading from Matthew 1, describing the birth of Jesus from Joseph’s perspective
Joseph offers us a wonderful example of what it means to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God
Joseph, who was a descendant of king David, was engaged to be married to Mary when he learned that Mary was pregnant
Joseph didn’t know who the father was but he knew the baby wasn’t his
I expect Joseph felt a cocktail of emotions: hurt, betrayed, angry, disappointed, perplexed and sad, all at the same time
It would have been tempting to lash out or react in the heat of the moment but Joseph doesn’t do that.
Joseph takes some time to be still and think things through.
He is a righteous man, which means Joseph seeks to do the right thing by God and his neighbour. But what is ‘the right thing’ in this situation?
In some ways, discerning what God wants you to do is like finding your allocated seat in a stadium or concert hall
You start by finding the right aisle (the justice aisle), then the right row (the mercy row) and finally the right seat (the humility seat)
Is it just, is it merciful, is it humble?
The Law of Moses made it clear Joseph could not marry Mary
Deuteronomy 22 says a woman who is betrothed to one man but sleeps with another must be stoned, killed at the city gate, along with the man who got her into trouble
As a devout Jew, Joseph was well aware of this.
But he was also familiar with the teachings of the prophets – people like Isaiah and Jeremiah and Micah
It was the prophets who gave the people a lens through which they could interpret and apply the Law
How was Joseph to interpret and apply Deuteronomy 22?
Through the lens of justice, mercy and humility
Thinking about the justice aspect, Joseph didn’t know who the man was who got Mary pregnant
It was hardly fair that Mary should die while the bloke (whoever he was) got off scot free – Moses’ law never intended that
In any case, when we step back from the detail and look at the bigger picture of the Bible, we notice God’s justice is more inclined to restore than destroy
Following the letter of the law in this situation would have undermined its spirit. Therefore, justice said, Joseph couldn’t kill Mary
What about mercy?
Well, the Hebrew word in Micah 6, verse 8, translated as mercy, is hesed
Hesed can mean mercy or kindness or loyal love
There are three criteria to hesed in the Hebrew Bible:
First, an act of hesed is done for someone you know already
Second, the action is essential to the survival or basic well-being of the recipient (it is no small thing)
And thirdly, the needed action is one that only the person doing the act of hesed is in a position to provide [1] (no one else can do it)
Joseph was in a position to do hesed for Mary
He had an existing relationship with her
He could literally save her life and the life of her child
And he was the only one who could save her
To love hesed is to look for opportunities to do hesed
Because Joseph was a righteous man he decided he would do hesed for Mary by saving her from death and from shame
What about humility?
Well, humility is about having your feet on the ground and knowing yourself, particularly knowing your limits
Humility is also about having a right perspective – not thinking too highly of yourself but not devaluing yourself either.
Humility says, take the plank out of your own eye before you worry about the speck in someone else’s
Likewise, humility says, those who are without sin may throw the first stone.
So justice, mercy and humility all said Joseph should not apply the letter of the law by having Mary stoned but that he should divorce Mary privately, to save her from public disgrace
This honoured the spirit or intent of the law, without doing harm to Mary or his own conscience
Based on the information he had, it was the most compassionate and just option available to Joseph
But Joseph didn’t have all the facts. As it turned out, Mary had not slept with anyone. She was still a virgin, still faithful to Joseph.
Mary conceived in a holy unique way, by a miracle of God’s Spirit
The angel of the Lord revealed this to Joseph in a dream, telling Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife and instructing Joseph to name the child ‘Jesus’ – which means ‘the Lord saves’.
Joseph was quick to do what the Lord had told him because it ticked all three boxes of justice, mercy and humility
Now, if you are like me, you may be wondering, why didn’t God tell Joseph how Mary got pregnant ahead of time, to save him going through all that stress and angst of trying to figure the right thing?
Well, sometimes God leaves us in a difficult situation (just for a little while) to reveal the contents of our heart and to glorify Himself
If Joseph hadn’t gone through this process, we wouldn’t have been given the example of his compassionate justice and Mary wouldn’t have known how much Joseph loved her.
Joseph’s story reveals the beauty of God’s wisdom
God didn’t choose just anyone to raise his Son
God chose a thoughtful and righteous man
Joseph’s action in caring for Mary and her baby points to the wise and tender nature of Jesus’ righteousness
Like Joseph, Jesus went beyond the letter of the law to find its spirit
And even more than Joseph, Jesus embodies the justice, mercy and humility of God.
Let us pray…
Lord, sometimes life presents us with some hard choices
I pray for those who are facing difficult decisions this Christmas and New Year
Give us the tender wisdom we need to find our seat, our place, in your will and purpose
Help us to slow down, take time and think things through
Shine your light on the Scriptures that we may apply your word with justice, mercy and humility
There is an old rhyme often quoted in reference to a bride on her wedding day
– The tradition is to give the bride…
– Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
Something old represents continuity with the past
– Something new speaks of change and making a fresh start
– Something borrowed represents the joy or energy we borrow from hope
– And something blue stands for purity, love, and fidelity
This saying: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, seems to sum up the Christmas story
Now when we talk about something old we mean something valuable that lasts, something with history, like a family heirloom
– For example, a bride on her wedding day may receive a piece of jewellery from her mother which has been handed down through the generations
– To receive something old is to be trusted with something priceless
– It is not old in the sense of being broken down or obsolete
– It’s old in the sense of being original and resilient
Something old is seen in the opening verses of John’s gospel, where John writes: In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Jesus is the Word of God
– He has always been with God even before time existed
– So Jesus, the Word of God, is very old indeed
– But not old in a broken down or out of date kind of way
– Old in the best sense of that word
– Jesus is the original word of God, he has history from the beginning
– He is timeless, classic, tried & true – his oldness speaks of his resilience and priceless value
John’s gospel was written in Greek and the Greeks have at least two ways of expressing the term Word
– Rhema (as in Radio Rhema) which refers to the spoken word
– And Logos (from which we get the term logic) which refers to the unspoken word, the thought in one’s mind before it is spoken
John uses the term Logos to describe Jesus
– Jesus is the logic of God – the inner word of God
– Or to put it another way, Jesus shows us how God thinks – with grace & truth
As well as being something old, Jesus also brings something new
– In fact, Jesus came to make all things new
Most of you would have received something new for Christmas
– Perhaps a new cell phone or a bicycle or a new dress or a pair of socks, which is fine, we need to replace stuff like that from time to time
– But those kinds of new commodities soon wear out, they lose their shine, become obsolete and have to be replaced by something else new
– The kind of newness that Jesus brings is a lasting newness – it’s not a newness that loses its gloss or has to be replaced again next Christmas
John 1, verse 4 reads…
– In him was life and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.
Light and life go together
– Light is the foundation of life – light sustains life, it keeps things alive
– John is saying that Jesus is the source of life & light – Jesus has the power to sustain eternal life
– So the newness Jesus brings does not wear out or become obsolete
If light & life go together then it follows that darkness relates to death
– There is a shadow side to Christmas and the shadow is cast by death
– For some reason (at this time of year) we are often more aware of what we don’t have
– We feel more sharply the loss of those we love who have died and so Christmas is tinged with sadness
– The light of Jesus’ life is stronger than the darkness of death
– The newness that Jesus brings is a lasting newness, it won’t die
– When God’s kingdom is realised in its fullness there will be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more death
Something old, something new, something borrowed…
– The something borrowed, for a bride, is happiness or joy
– Joy is an energy, a power, a force which comes from hope
– Hope is like the wind – you can’t own the wind but you can borrow its energy
Or to use another analogy, hope is like a wave on the ocean – you can’t own a wave but you can borrow its energy to ride the wave, like a surfer
– Joy is that positive energy borrowed from the wave of hope
– We can’t own hope but we can ride it
– Newlyweds borrow joy & happiness from their hope for the future, riding that hope like a surfer rides a wave
Like any powerful force hope can be dangerous
– If we get hope wrong – if we misplace our hope (put all our hope in the wrong things) then it can crush us and leave us in the pit of despair
In Luke chapter 2 an angel appears to some shepherds as they watch their flocks by night. The angel says to the shepherds…
– Do not be afraid. [Don’t be anxious.] I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Jesus embodies the hope of salvation for all people and the shepherds rode the wave of that hope – they couldn’t contain their joy, spreading the good news that the Saviour of the world was born
There is so much anxiety and depression in our society today
– Most of us don’t really want stuff for Christmas
– We just want to be free of worry – to be happy, to enjoy life
– We want to know that our kids are going to be okay
– We want to know that our parents are going to be okay
– We want to know that we are going to be okay
– What we really want are those things that can’t be bought with money, things like peace & joy
– In Jesus we find a hope that can be relied on – and from that hope we borrow the positive energy of joy to carry us through
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
– Blue stands for purity, love and fidelity
– Fidelity is a word that means faithfulness or loyalty
– You give a bride something blue as a symbol of the pure and faithful love between a husband & wife
The Christmas story is a story of purity, love and fidelity
– Mary, the mother of Jesus was the picture of purity – she was a virgin and she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit
– Joseph, the fiancé of Mary (and a step father to Jesus) was the picture of fidelity – when he discovered that Mary was pregnant he decided to break off the engagement quietly so as not to embarrass her
– But when an angel appeared to him in a dream explaining the situation he stuck by Mary and married her, such was his loyal love for Mary & God
Mary & Joseph bring something blue – a pure and faithful love
– The quality of Mary & Joseph’s relationship points to the faithfulness & purity of God’s love for us in Christ
Christmas is a time to celebrate the gift of God’s Son, Jesus
– With the gift of Jesus comes something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue
Let us pray
– I will pray the words in the plain type and I invite you to respond with the words in bold italics…
Jesus, you are the logic of God, older than time itself. You are the most worthy, the most valuable, the most priceless gift of all…
– Help us to receive and honour you
Jesus, you came to make all things new. In you is the light of life, more powerful than the darkness of death…
– Fill us with the life of your Spirit
Jesus, you are our hope of salvation. Forgive us for the times when we misplace our hope. Save us from anxiety and despair…
– Carry us in your peace & joy
Jesus, you embody the love of God, faithful & pure. You are committed to the well-being of all creation with a goodness beyond compare…
Tawa Baptist 