On the Way to Wonder

Luke 2: 6,7

A census from Rome triggered a massive shift of people around the Roman Empire as people journeyed to their roots.  For Joseph this meant that he had to go with Mary, his pregnant pledged wife, because both were descendants of King David.  David came from Bethlehem so to Bethlehem they went.  For most of us, we could return to the town of our birth but to return to the town of our great, great grandfather’s birth would be a DNA task. Many generations of people had been born since King David so Bethlehem must have been bursting with visitors.  No guest rooms were available and so Mary gave birth to Jesus, “wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there were no guest rooms available.”

         As I ponder this very familiar scene that is enacted by children in Christmas plays each year, the manger caught my attention.  At the risk of stating the obvious, the manger is where the food was placed for animals.  I believe animals drink from a trough and eat from a manger.  Baby Jesus is placed in a manger, a feeding place.  That seems terribly poetic.  As we sit down to our Christmas meals we will not eat from a manger but decades later Christians will hear Jesus say, “This is my body, eat in remembrance of me.”  We believe that as we grow in faith and internalize more and more about Jesus, we go from being baby Christians to being mature, discerning disciples.  Jesus as a babe in a manger is a picture of coming to faith that is helpless like a baby, to a savior who is gentle and loving to us like a baby, and who grows in our hearts.  A bit far fetched but as we eat this Christmas, let us remember that baby in a manger, food for our weary souls.

         “Away in a Manger” is touted as an original American Christmas carol loved by so many.  It appeared around 1888 and Martin Luther was given credit as having sung it to his children.   This is not believed now and the real author is unknown but the song still is a favorite for its gentleness and the sense of protection it evokes from a God who watches over us.  Blessings as you feed your body and soul this Christmas!

Luke 2: 6

“He (Joseph) went there (Bethlehem) to register (for the census) with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child (not his).”

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Houston, we have a problem and we need the plan NOW!  Remember that line from Apollo 13?  Joseph was not registering at Target for wedding gifts.  Shot-gun weddings are usually not an experience without tension and gossip.  I wonder what that couple was expecting.  I doubt they were traveling to their home town as young newly weds expecting their first child.  I wonder if a trip on a donkey across Israel was similar to taking a ride on a dirt road to induce labor?  So many questions.  How do we find love, the theme of week 4 of Advent, in this scenario?

         At Thanksgiving, our son and his girlfriend invited us to join them at her relative’s home.  We did not really know the young lady nor her relatives.  We spent many years working in Kenya in the “bush” using a different language.  They were from northern USA and younger than us.  What do we take to contribute to the meal?  Will we be intimidated by their house?  So many questions swirled in my head.  One of the amazing things to us was that a warrior in northern Kenya would start on a walk across the desert to his relative’s home with his spear for snakes or lions and nothing else.  He expected them to kill a goat and welcome him.  Culture demanded it. Expectations are a reflection of the community we are born into.  So where is the love in the face of expectations?

         First, I think our expectations are cushioned when we put them in the context of a God who reaches into our world and is active in all situations.  Joseph and Mary had experienced through the angels, a God speaking and acting in their lives.  We today have access to this same God.  We listen to the Christmas hymns we hear the story of God’s presence.  We receive cards and good wishes from people we may only communicate with at Christmas but they remember us and we are visible.  We are reminded that those that care are far larger in number than the evil one would have us think at our low moments.  Joseph’s faithfulness to Mary who was great with child, not that cute young thing he wanted to marry.  When our friends remember us in our ugly times, we experience the love of God who while we were still sinners, sent Jesus into our world of chaos.

         What are your expectations this Christmas?  Whether plans are canceled because of Covid, whether that perfect gift was not on the shelf because of supply chain, and whether we can gather in our houses of worship,  we can expect that God is there with us, loving us and supporting us on our journey and preparing a stable of rest.  Thank you Lord.

Luke 2:1-5

We are coming down the homestretch of Advent.  We have looked at the backstory of the main characters. Joseph, the man who will become known as the human father of Jesus, has genealogy tracing him to King David and Abraham.  Mary traces back to Abraham and Judah of Jacob….back to Seth and Adam.  Angels have visited both Joseph and Mary to confirm the pregnancy is of God.  Zechariah, the priest, and his old wife Elizabeth have miraculously conceived in their old age and born John who becomes known as John the Baptist who will introduce Jesus onto the public stage.   Possibly the wise men have started their journey.  The gospel of Mark traces the fulfillment of prophecy going back to Isaiah in the Old Testament.  And the gospel of John just says outright that the baby Jesus’ birth we celebrate this week is God appearing in our time and space.

         So what was the trigger event that got the ball rolling?  For Luke it is the decree by Caesar Augustus that all travel to the homes of their heritage and be counted.  That is not how we would do it today.  But it places the birth of Jesus in researchable history.  “A triggering event is a tangible or intangible barrier or occurrence which, once breached or met, causes another event to occur. Triggering events include job loss, retirement, or death, and are typical for many types of contracts,” according to wikipedia.  A trigger event sets in motion a series of events.  Perhaps we might call it an event that forces us to choose a course of action.  By choosing to go to a certain college, a person might meet a certain person whom becomes his or her spouse.  The choice to embrace a faith tradition affects our moral decisions, our social decisions and our whole identity. The census that was a decision in Rome and took time to communicate to Israel was the event that got Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem.

         Can you think of an event that was really life changing, a trigger event, for you, that set in motion a series of events.  My father was transferred to Los Angeles and us kids were dropped off at my uncle’s home and he handed me a book about a missionary in Africa.  I was only 14 years old but that event impacted the course of my life.  Trigger events may not seem that important at the time.  I doubt that Joseph and Mary foresaw just how they would be fulfilling the prophecy of Bethlehem or flight to Egypt or eventually raising Jesus in Nazareth.  Often it is as we look in our rear view mirror that we can see the hand of God guiding and protecting us in the events of our life.

     Spend a few minutes naming an event that changed your life and that now you see the hand of God guiding you and perhaps protecting you.  Thank God for the “census” in your life!

We have been focusing on Advent.  Coming alongside and being introduced to so many of the main characters surrounding the Christmas story.  But we have noticed the role angels have played in the lead up to the Christmas.  Their role as messengers pronouncing, confirming, and explaining the events of Christmas is note worthy. 

         The Holy Spirit is often referred to as the breath of God, unseen, but impacting our lives.  We hear about the Spirit of God hovering over the unformed universe as it was created in Genesis.  We read about the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost.  The Holy Spirit is not a created entity like an angel but like angels we are not always aware of its presence.  I love our song today as it speaks to all the unseen work of God in our lives that we often do not stop to be thankful for.

         This year I have enjoyed the fairly new song, “Breath of Heaven” written by Christ Eaton.  Amy Grant asked in 1992 to be able to take the song and add verses sharing a woman’s point of view, namely Mary’s during her pregnancy.  Eaton agreed.  The song is shown in this YouTube with pictures from “The Nativity Story.”  Other artists have recorded the song but Amy Grant’s is famous.   As you listen, ponder how your life has been directed by the Holy Spirit as you have traveled through the ups and downs of your life and join Mary’s cry for strength and support in times of darkness, for God’s glory.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)”

We have been talking about the pre-stories, the context of the Christmas Nativity Story.  Matthew’s Gospel opens with a genealogy tracing back to Abraham providing legal, Jewish legitimacy to Jesus.  Matthew continues to share about Joseph, the father who adopted and raised Jesus and who was visited by an angel to confirm the legitimacy of Mary’s pregnancy.  Matthew goes on to introduce the wise men pointing out that the context of the Christmas story is global, not just Jewish.  Doctor Luke starts his Gospel with the pre-story of the fulfillment of prophecy through the birth of John the Baptist. His introduction is social.  Now we go to the Gospel of John.  He introduces Jesus not legally or socially but theologically.  “In the beginning…”  Sounds like Genesis One doesn’t it.  He does not mince words.  He is introducing Jesus as God. Jesus is THE Word!

     Words are important.  They are the spoken expression of something that is true within us, or perhaps what we want to be true.  “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me,” is what we were taught to say to kids at school that tease us.  But it is not true.  Words have power to hurt and to deeply scar our lives leaving wounds that may never heal.  Unfortunately we can remember comments that belittled and demeaned us from parents, teacher, or friends and even lost loves.

         Baby Jesus is the Word of God and we are told that God is love.  When we look at Jesus and how he lives out his life in the upcoming months, we will be asking ourselves how he is in his essence an expression of God.  God comes to us like a little baby being born in our hearts and that relationship grows.  Perhaps spend some time this morning thinking about how Jesus is the Word of God to you.  There are ways that the Word speaks truth, love, guidance…health and growth to us daily.  Is there a word you would like to hear from him this Christmas?  Feel free to ask.  He is listening to your words.

One of the most familiar symbols of Advent is the Advent Wreath.  Advent was first mentioned in the 300’s at the Council of Sargosa.  The wreath begins to appear in the 4^th and 5^th century.  In 1839 a Lutheran pastor working at a mission for children, developed a wreath from a wagon wheel.  He put twenty small red candles around the edge and four large white candles on the inside ring.  The small red candles were lit on weekdays and the white ones on Sundays.  The children could visualize the coming of Christmas. 

Eventually the wheel was replaced with evergreen boughs that represented life in the midst of winter when everything looks dead.  The circle tells us of God’s eternal love and eternal life.  The candles flickering show how light overcomes darkness.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:4-5).

If pinecones are used, they point to the new life that Jesus represents and red holly berries stand for Jesus’ blood that will eventually be shed for sin.

Churches will assign different meanings to each candle that is lit but a  common understanding is that the first candle is “hope” or the Prophet’s candle as prophecy fulfilled gives us hope as we face the future.

The second candle is the “faith” candle or “Bethlehem Candle” as Bethlehem as the birthplace of the prophesied Messiah was foretold in the Old Testament and was considered the home of King David.

The third candle is the “joy” candle, is usually pink, and is called the “Shepherd’s Candle” after their joy in hearing the angels’ news.

The fourth candle is the “peace” candle or the “Angel’s Candle” declaring Jesus’ mission to bring peace between God and his creation.

On Christmas day the central white candle, “the Christ Candle” is lit representing light and purity. True victory.

This is the historical symbolism but I have seen candles in a straight line.  The shape is not important.  The spiritual discipline of taking time to light candles, reflect and pray is important.  Light three candles tonight and name what brought joy to your life today and thank God!

Matthew 2:1-12

Advent is a time of preparation. In early Christian history, Christmas was a time when new believers were baptized and became members.  Advent was a “mini-lent” as these people fasted and prayed and studied for 40 days.  Lent is the 40 days before Easter.  So Advent is a time when we prepare our homes, our hearts and our families for the Christ child.  We say that Christ came to us at Christmas, Christ comes to us daily in the sacraments, the word and prayer, and Christ will come, will return in the future to usher in the eternal kingdom.

         Lest we think that this is a Jewish dynamic, Matthew now inserts the back-story of the wise men, men from the East.  Matthew is clear that they arrived after the birth of Christ but their journey must have started before.  The Gentiles, that includes most of us, have always been part of the Christmas story and we celebrate that on Epiphany.  The wise men arrive in Jerusalem and have an audience with King Herod.  “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”   The story is bigger than the Jewish nation!  The story is bigger than you and me.

         It is very easy for us to become very ethnocentric about Christmas and our faith.  We think it is about my salvation and me.  We say Christ saved me from my sin.  The wise men force us to look beyond ourselves and to realize that others are watching the events of our lives.  The priests knew the prophecy of Bethlehem but seemed indifferent.  Herod had magicians and diviners who would have seen the stars but did not seem to note this star.  Meanwhile these wise men from afar had insight beyond the politicians, the religious elders, and local people.

         Perhaps the question to ask ourselves is to ponder if we are so involved in the known that we have blind spots that the “outsider” sees and is following?  Are there “clues” from scripture, from nature like the star, or people coming into our churches that challenge us to take another look?  Let us pray today that our eyes would be opened at Christmas and that the Holy Spirit will direct us to truths we need to note.  Gifts are not just gold, frankincense and myrrh but can be the presence of a new person to open our eyes. “Lord, I want to see Jesus.”

Matthew 1:18-25

Mary becomes pregnant while betrothed to Joseph.  Mary knows because of an angel visit and then confirmation through a visit with Elizabeth, that she, Mary is pregnant by God’s creative ability.  That does not mean that the other people in Nazareth knew.  And most likely they would not believe.  How do you share news like that?  Obviously Joseph did not believe her for he was planning to not have her stoned but to “divorce her quietly.”  In Kenya, that would condemn her to a life of prostitution and disgrace.  After the mountain top experience of talking with the angel and with Elizabeth, Mary had to face everyday realty with disbelieving fiancée and gossiping neighbors.  Those were rough day, I would wager, similar to a nightmare. Joseph too had to decide what to do.  It sounds to me like a nightmare of social criticism and rejection.

         God sent an angel to Joseph, “son of David,” in a dream, a vision.  Joseph understood the dream to be a vision that gave him affirmation and direction.  He welcomed Mary into his home as wife but did not have sexual relations.  That could not have been easy.  Had it happened today, I suspect news broadcasters would be on the scene interviewing people, taking the temperature of the social climate, calling in experts to weigh in about pregnancy etc etc.  Public opinion about life events was as real then as it is today.  The public is polled to decide if the courts are right!! 

         So how do we form our opinions?  Do we go with the majority? Perhaps we prefer the opinions of experts.   Many feel that government has the final say.  Coming to a point where we stand up for our faith and beliefs is very hard, especially when they challenge the politically correct opinions.

Psalm 121 comforts me.  I was challenged to memorize it in 8^th grade, public school.  I find comfort that God does not slumber or sleep and is always watching us.  He is our shade in difficult times. As the song by Don Moen says, “He will make a way when there seems to be no way.”  As we add the people in Kentucky to our prayer list today, let us pray for them as they, like Joseph and Mary, have had their lives turned upside down.  Lord have mercy!

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
⁸ the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Matthew 1: 1-17

Doctor Luke started his Christmas report to his friend Theophilus by putting the Nativity story in the context of old Zechariah, a priest, and his barren wife Elizabeth, beyond child-bearing age.  I would imagine that prayer request was “soaked in prayer” and seemingly unanswered until the right time in God’s eyes.  Angel Gabriel brought the news. And so the story started for doctor Luke.  This old faith couple would conceive and bear the forerunner of Jesus.  Not only would the baby encourage the couple, fulfill prophecy, but also the baby would leap with joy in the womb, confirming Mary’s pregnancy when she visited.  Whew.  Our stories unfold in community, in a social context.

         I can hear my mother skeptically quoting, “It takes two to tango!”  The story seems to center on the young girl, always portrayed in blue, calmly accepting the Lord’s will.  Hmmmm.  Somehow I don’t think it was quite that easy.  An unexpected pregnancy, no matter how explainable, challenges the hearts and beliefs of those also involved.  Today we look at Joseph and the finance’s struggle.  To pick up his side of the story, we turn to the Gospel of Matthew. 

         Matthew is thought by many to be Levi, the tax collector who was one of the twelve.  As a tax collector and as a Jew, he knew the importance of records and lineage.  He does not give the social context but the legal context.  He starts with the genealogy of Joseph, “husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. (Matthew 1:16)”  Matthew traces Joseph back to Abraham.  That is a legal stamp of approval in the face of gossip.  Mary’s genealogy is given in Luke 3:23, for those into genealogies and places Jesus squarely in the line of David.

         There are lots of commentaries on this genealogy, who’s included, who is not and how many generations. Genealogies are important.  My husband was adopted and we have two adopted children.  None of them know their genealogies.  There is a blank spot in their memories.  No pictures to compare looks with.  No stories to live up to and unfavorable connotations of being “unwanted” or not legitimate that they had to learn to live with.  Matthew knew that Jews traced so much of their identity to Father Abraham and so that is where he started.

         Where do you start to tell your story about how Jesus was birthed in your heart?  Yes, we will look at the Nativity story next week but this week, the third week of Advent, we are still focusing on preparing for Christmas.  God was obviously preparing for a long time building up a genealogical context and a social context for the birth of Jesus.  For most of us, Jesus did not just pop into our reality.  God was preparing and working in our history.  Can you identify three important people who impacted your life in the journey of faith?  Take a moment to thank God for these ancestors and friends this morning.  Just think, God was working in our past story to bring us to faith and now is working, carrying us into our futures.  Wow!  Thank you Lord.