“Peace – The Visit of the Magi” Theme: The Promise of Christmas Scripture: Ma hew 2:1-12 Things I’d like to remember from today’s sermon ______
Family/Community Ac vity for the week – Read John 14:27. Jesus was a person of peace and desired for his followers to also be people of peace. Choose to spend some quiet me together with your family. Maybe you want to take a brief walk. You might each want to spend some me reading. Maybe you prefer listening to music. Encourage everyone to ask God to calm their hearts and to fill them with peace during their quiet me. Also ask each person to find a word or an item during the quiet me that will help him or her carry that peace every day. Share your experiences as a family and pray God’s peace for one another and for the world. Move towards beginning each day of the New Year asking God to help you be a person of peace. Medita on Moments for Monday, December 25 – Read Luke 2:21-24. Mary and Joseph were devout Jews, and they followed the Jewish laws about their newborn son Jesus. We get a clue to the parents’ poverty in this story. Levi cus 12:8 said the reason for offering “two turtledoves or two pigeons” was, “if the mother cannot afford a sheep.” It seems clear that they couldn’t. • Jesus’ parents took him to be circumcised eight days a er birth, like other Hebrew boys. It was a sign that even as an infant he was one of God’s people. That model is one big reason we bap ze infants at First United Methodist Church—it’s a sign that the child is part of God’s family. Were you bap zed when very young, at a later point in your life, or never? (If never, give it some thought. You can contact the church office to learn more about bap sm.) How does belonging to God shape the way you live your life? • God had sent Gabriel directly to Mary and Joseph, saying their son was God’s promised Savior. Yet they came to the Temple like ordinary worshippers to offer their sacrifice. Are there any tradi ons or tasks that you’re tempted to feel “above” or “beyond”? How might our individualis c culture blind us to the value of honoring prac ces that grow from the history of God at work in the family of faith?
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !1 Prayer: God, some mes I serve you in my own personal way. Some mes I worship and act because this is the way your people have done things for centuries. Fill both kinds of service with power and meaning for me. Amen. Tuesday, December 26 – Read Luke 2:25-32. Joseph and Mary would have been strangers to most everyone in Jerusalem. It must have been unexpected, perhaps even a bit alarming, when elderly Simeon first approached them. But in the busy Temple court, where others saw only a poor couple with a baby, Simeon, “led by the Spirit,” recognized their child. By staying open to God’s inner nudges, Simeon had the honor of holding the infant Savior he had waited for so long. • Simeon’s words of praise echoed Isaiah 42:6 and 49:6, which said “the servant of the Lord” would be a light to the Gen les. At a me when many of Jesus' followers struggled to accept Gen les (cf. Acts 11:2-3, 15:1-5), what quali es do you think allowed Simeon to see and accept Isaiah’s far-reaching vision? How can you stay open to God’s message and mission, even when it stretches your comfort zone? • If you’ve ever been a parent, or been around new parents, you know how ins nc vely protec ve of their infant’s mothers can be. Luke wasn’t just recording an everyday happening when he wrote that “Simeon took Jesus in his arms.” What do you think Mary must have seen in Simeon’s face, or heard in his voice, that led her to trust this elderly stranger to hold her precious baby? Prayer: Jesus, what a precious scene—an aged follower of yours welcoming you to earth when you were a ny baby. Give me the spiritual eyes and heart to welcome you in whatever ways you come into my life. Amen. Wednesday, December 27 – Read Luke 2:33-38. The elderly Simeon was full of joy that the Savior had arrived. But he was percep ve, too, and he warned Mary that there were powerful people who would resist even a Savior sent from God. Another elderly saint, Anna, “approached at that very moment and began to praise God.” • Simeon warned Mary that she would see many reject Jesus, that pain like a sword would pierce her heart. We can only wonder if she may have remembered his words as she wept at the foot of Jesus' cross. What helps you trust God and live out God’s purposes when it’s not easy or popular? When has following God brought you pain, as well as posi ve benefits? • Luke called Anna a prophet (verse 36). “Prophet” meant not so much one who tells the future as one who sees present spiritual reali es clearly and speaks for God. When has “confirma on from the body of Christ” (the kind Simeon and Anna gave Joseph and Mary) given you the courage to move forward? When have you been able to encourage another Christ-follower? Prayer: Lord Jesus, just a baby in a Temple—and yet, just to get there, you were hurling yourself into a dark, dangerous world. And you did it to rescue and redeem me from that broken world—thank you. Amen Thursday, December 28 – Read Philippians 3:3-9. As a New Year approaches, it’s natural for most of us to take stock of our life, reviewing where we’ve been and looking ahead to where we hope to go. In Philippians, the apostle Paul looked over his life and said that, in the past, he had human “creden als” that could match the best, a promising career as a member of the Jewish ruling council. But he’d wri en off all those “assets” in order to know Christ and live in his gi of righteousness. • Review Paul’s list of “assets” in verses 5 and 6. What might be some modern equivalents to which we’d be tempted to lay claim, in church, in business, in the academic world, or in any other area of ac vity? What heart issues could turn these outward badges of service and achievement into things we’d need to discard to serve Christ wholeheartedly? • “In Christ,” Paul wrote, “I have a righteousness that is not my own and that does not come from the Law but rather from the faithfulness of Christ. It is the righteousness of God that is based on faith.” Is whatever righteousness you believe you have “your own,” or does your confidence rest fully on God’s gracious gi of divine • Read Philippians 13:10-17. In these words, the apostle Paul tes fied about how he kept reaching to grow into all God called him to be. The Message version of the Bible says, “I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. – I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.” Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !2 • In verse 13, Paul shared an essen al truth in pursuing God's goals: "I forget about the things behind me and reach out for the things ahead of me." The process of growing spiritually focuses on what is to come, not what lies behind. Are you le ng anything from your past define you in the present? If so, ask God to help you let it go. Focus your energy on the year ahead, not the things (bad or good) in the past. • Scholar William Barclay said Paul’s word for reaching out, “is used of a racer going hard for the tape. It describes him with eyes for nothing but the goal. It describes the man who is going flat out for the finish.” In 2018, how can you live your life in such a way that you, too, are going flat out for the goal of living the life God calls you to? What choices can you make in the New Year that will empower you to run God’s race with eyes for nothing but the prize? Prayer: Lord Jesus, make it true of me this year that, “the goal I pursue is the prize of God’s upward call in Christ Jesus.” Keep my eyes on the prize of the ul mate goal of life in your kingdom. Amen. Saturday, December 30 – Read Revela on 21:1-6. We typically value the fresh start a New Year brings. But even as we celebrate the New Year, we are aware that each human year also brings some disappointments and pain. In those moments, we can remember that the Bible’s grand story ends in Paradise restored. Images drawn from the prophet Isaiah (especially chapters 28 and 65) pictured the world as God meant it to be, with no pain, suffering or death. There, “the one seated on the throne” made a be er promise: “Look! I’m making all things new,” truly new. • The ancient world relied on city walls and strong gates to shut out danger. In that world, Revela on said an amazing thing about God’s eternal city: “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there” (Revela on 21:25). As 2018 begins, many of us deal with strong feelings of fear about events in our world. What “walls and gates” are we coun ng on which may some mes fail? What worries can your faith in God’s eternal city soothe? How does Christ’s presence today calm your fears? Prayer: Lord Jesus, I thank you for the gi of life, for the chance to start this year as your child. And I thank you for the assurance you offer me of an eternity with you, in a world where we never have to shut the gates to lock out danger. Amen.
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !3 Theme: The Promise of Christmas “Peace – The Visit of the Magi” Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017
Scripture: Ma hew 12:1-12 VIDEO Sermon Intro SLIDE “Peace – The Visit of the Magi” One of the things which is fascina ng about the Christmas story is that the Gospels of Ma hew and Luke each record different details which give us a fuller picture of the events 2000 years ago. We typically read the story from Luke’s gospel on Christmas Eve in which Mary and Jesus are living in Nazareth, the northern part of the holy land. A census has been required by the Emperor and everyone is to return to their home village. Since Joseph is from Bethlehem, which is near Jerusalem and the southern part of Israel, he and Mary travel nine days journey while she is nine months pregnant. When they arrive in Bethlehem, there is no room le in the guestroom at the home of Joseph family. We typically say this as, “There was no room at the Inn.” Instead, they find housing in a first century parking garage, which was a cave where the animals would’ve been kept. The child’s very first bed is a feeding trough for the animals, which would’ve been made of stone. A er his birth, we read that the Angels of the Lord appeared before shepherds keeping watch over their flock by night. The Angels announced good news of great joy for all the people, then to us is born Savior, in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord. They announce peace on earth and goodwill to all people. This is the story with which we are most familiar. Ma hew’s story picks up on the details which are not nearly as pleasant, and in many ways, is a much darker reflec on of the events of that first Christmas day. He doesn’t men on the journey to Bethlehem, but instead he talks about the journey the holy family will take a er their birth of Jesus. They must flee King Herod and become refugees in Egypt. Instead of night shi shepherds, who are faithful Jews who are invited to come and honor the Christ child, it is wise men who travel from the east. Instead of there being peace on earth and goodwill to all people, King Herod seeks to
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !4 kill the Christ child, and in the end, puts to death dozens of children under the age of two in and around Bethlehem. That is not a pleasant picture that is painted in Ma hew’s gospel. In a day and me in which there is so much uncertainty and fear, where we see horrible things happening in the world was school shoo ng in our neighboring community to unse led world affairs, it seems Ma hew’s account of the Christmas story has something powerful to offer us this year. The Christmas story Ma hew’s Gospel makes it clear that we are choosing between two different kings, with the conflict of kings and kingdoms. On the one hand, there is King Herod who is towards the end of his life and has a stranglehold on power. He lives in wealth and opulence and his desire to rule is fueled by insecurity. On the other hand, we have Jesus, who is born King of the Jews into poverty and homelessness, forced to be a refugee the first few years of his life. These two pictures of what a king should look like, and the kingdoms they embody, are very different. Ma hew intends for his readers, and for us today, to choose which King we will follow. Our hope today is to understand what God would say to us through the Christmas story and through each character in the story. We want to understand what they tell us about God and about ourselves. Some of you have read books by Anne Rice, who became famous wri ng books about vampires. She then turned her a en on to a series of books about Jesus, and one of them is a specula on about what happened to Jesus and the holy family a er they le Bethlehem and moved to Egypt. This book was turned into a movie last year called, “The Young Messiah.” Here’s the opening clip from the film as James, the older half-brother of Jesus, describes the visit of the Magi. VIDEO The Young Messiah – Visit of the Magi Who were these wise men who showed up at the birth of Jesus? Where did they come from and why did Ma hew include this story in his gospel? The Scriptures tell us that the wise men came from the East, and we know from history that Magi were from Persia, which is modern-day Iran. Many Magi migrated west and some of them ended up in modern-day Iraq, possibly interac ng with Jews who lived in Babylon. Up on the screen you will see a
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !5 Google Earth image and you can see where this region lies. VIDEO Babylon to Bethlehem on Google Earth (NO SOUND) You can see the ancient city of Babylon, which is not far from modern- day Baghdad. They would’ve traveled along the Euphrates River, which is known as the Fer le Crescent. As they go north and west they would’ve encountered the great “Kings Highway,” which was the great trade route which linked Africa to Asia. This is a journey of 900 miles and would’ve taken them at least six weeks one way, which makes three months round-trip, back- and-forth to visit this child. They would’ve seen a star in the heavens which led them to the conclusion that a king of the Jews had been born. They were familiar with the Jewish prophecies that one day a King would be born who would rule with jus ce and righteousness. The prophets had foretold this event, and foretold that the kings of the earth would stream to his star. Magi were astrologers, so when they studied the stars and they knew the pa erns within the stars that happened year in and year out. One night, they no ced a star which they had never seen at that me of year in that loca on in the sky. One of my favorite courses in college was astrogeophysics, in which we study the makeup and life of a star. We learned about supernovas, which are stars that explode. If one were to explode in our galaxy, it would make the nigh me almost as bright as day for several weeks. One theory is that the star of the Magi followed was a supernova which began in the East and moved towards the West, se ng somewhere on the horizon, in the direc on of Judea. This became the find of the newborn King had come. These Magi believed in this prophecy and they trusted and follow the star. In Persia, the word “Magi” also means, “priest.” We find Magi from around 600 years before the me of Jesus and we believe that these par cular Magi in Ma hew’s gospel were Zoroastrian. They followed the prophet Zarathustra and it’s likely that these were priests and that religion. Not only were the astrologist and priests, but also ancient alchemists, which was a primi ve form of chemistry. They figured out how mixing chemicals could create reac ons. It was a combina on of chemistry and what was seen as magic, and that word magic comes from the term, “Magi.” So, the Magi
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !6 were wise men, wisdom givers who helped the kings of the east make decisions, they were priests of par cular religion, they studied the stars and they understood basic chemistry and what we would describe today as magic. While we sing that they were kings and one of my favorite Christmas carols, “We Three Kings,” they most likely weren’t. More accurately, they were advisors to kings. We sing that there were three of them, but we don’t really know how many there were. Ma hew doesn’t say that there are three of them, but that they brought three gi s of gold, frankincense and myrrh. There may have been 12 or 20 or two, but there were certainly more than one. They also would’ve traveled not individually, but with an en re entourage. They would’ve brought servants, guards and cooks with food, which meant there could have been anywhere from 20 to 100 of them in their traveling caravan from the east. GRAPHIC James Tissot – Journey of the Magi James Tissot painted this famous image, “Journey of the Magi,” in the late 1800s a er visi ng the holy land. It’s a beau ful, watercolor pain ng based on what he actually saw, and this is from the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. It looks just like this image, except that today there is a four-lane highway running along this route. These were the Magi. They would have arrived in Jerusalem as a pre y exo c caravan, and they pound on King Herod’s door, looking for the one who was born King of the Jews. It creates an awkward situa on because King Herod has no idea what they are talking about. He then asks his own advisors about this messianic King, and where he was supposed to be born. He learns that it is in Bethlehem, which is 5 miles south of Jerusalem. The king then sends them on their way to Bethlehem, giving them direc on and asking them to return and tell him what they find. The first part of the second chapter of Ma hew gives us the story to this point with these words. BIBLE 1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that me some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !7 worship him.” 3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a mee ng of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?” 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling ci es of Judah, for a ruler will come from you who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called for a private mee ng with the wise men, and he learned from them the me when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 9 A er this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gi s of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We are so used to the story, that we no longer see the awkwardness of this scene. This would have been scandalous in the first century because Ma hew was wri ng his gospel to Jewish Chris ans. They would’ve expected the first people to come and see Jesus would have been Jews, like the shepherds that are told about in Luke’s gospel. There are no Chris ans at this me because Jesus had just been born, but certainly Jewish people would’ve come to give homage to this newborn King. Ma hew doesn’t men on the shepherds at all, and instead men ons these people from another religion, from a long way away. Everybody knew that Magi were magicians and astrologers and held strange police that Jewish people did not adhere to. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !8 These Magi had a different prophet and different Scriptures, which would make their presence in this story a bit outrageous and offensive. Here’s what they might’ve been thinking, “Are you telling us that God blew up a star to get the a en on of people of another religion, and bring them here to Bethlehem to pay homage to our Messiah?” This story would have been strange and perplexing at the least, and sacrilege at the worst. We don’t have Zoroastrian priests today, but there are Buddhists and Hindus living in the East. Let’s pretend it was Hindus and Buddhists who were though first to be brought before the Christ child. That probably sounds a bit crazy to most Chris ans. What might even be more outrageous, is that it doesn’t say those priests converted to Judaism. They paid homage to the child and then they went back home country. Let’s say Hindus and Buddhists show up at the birth of Christ, leave a few gi s that most people don’t seem to understand, and then they had back to live their lives as Hindus or Buddhists in their home countries. What on earth could God be up to in the story? I remind you that every part of the gospel message tells us something about who God is and what God is up to in the world. It tells us about us and who we are as human beings, and who God hopes for us to be as his people. This might be scandalous for some of us to hear, but here is what I think God was up to in this part of the Christmas story. I think this story is telling us that God cares for, works through, and shows mercy to people of other religions, and even people of no religion. That doesn’t mean that Jesus is not the unique Savior of the world, or the Son of God, or the Way, the Truth and the Life. We who are Chris ans believe that Jesus is all these things, and more. The reality is that two thirds of the world’s popula on is not Chris an. How does God look at them? What does God think about them? Is God at work at all and their families, in their lives and in those communi es? Is God involved in their affairs? Does God bless them or care about them? Does God ever use them to fulfill God’s purposes? I think that what God is telling us through these details in Ma hew’s gospel about the Christmas story, is that God is at work everywhere. God
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !9 cares about, and can work through, people no ma er their religious background or affilia on. When we get to the end of Ma hew’s gospel, we find Jesus making this very plain and clear in his statement that he gives to his disciples as he is leaving this earth. We read these words in Ma hew 28. BIBLE “19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the na ons, bap zing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” It is clear God cares for, works through and shows mercy to all kinds of people in all the na ons of the world. The Magi remind us of this truth and indeed this message brackets the en rety of Ma hew’s gospel. We see the Magi around even in today’s world. They recently showed up in Kenya. They were riding camels, but rather riding a bus. This bus that you see in the video screen. GRAPHIC Mandera Bus Passengers They cram 100 people on buses like this throughout Kenya, and the bus was traveling from Nairobi to the Kenyan border with Somalia. As they approached the border, 10 Somali militants who were Muslim extremists, showed up with automa c rifles and machine guns. They fired into the bus to get the bus to stop, and then they boarded the bus. They told the people on the bus to get off immediately. Everyone knew what was happening, because this is happened before. Everybody got off the bus, and the extremists, with their machine guns, told the Muslims to get back on the bus and then they killed 28 Chris ans on the spot in the last ambush of the sort. In this case, something different happens. They told the Muslims to get back on the bus, and everyone knew what was going to happen. This me, the Muslims didn’t get back on the bus. They stood by the Chris ans who were on the bus, and one of them finally spoke up, “There are no Chris ans here, just Kenyans. If you’re going to kill some of them, then you will need to kill all of us.” The radical extremists, Muslim terrorists bent on killing innocents, didn’t know what to do. So, they got back in their cars and they drove away.
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !10 These Magi, people of another religion, courageously stood by Chris ans and wouldn’t let them be killed, or agreed to be killed with them. Magi show up and pay homage to someone else’s King. They offer what they have as treasure to help that boy king, and indeed to help anyone. The world would be a different place if there were more people who acted like that in the midst of violence. If there were more Chris ans who treated everybody that way, whether atheists or people of another religion, that I think the world would look more like the kingdom of God. When we show our character and our faith by standing with people, as opposed to walking away, is when we become the presence of Christ in the world and we give honor to the story that were talking about today. This is what the Magi were doing in this story. Remember that Jesus and his family, shortly a er the visit from the Magi, are forced to leave Israel and traveled to Egypt because King Herod wants to kill them. The journey is 300 miles from Bethlehem to a town in the suburbs of modern-day Cairo, Heliopolis, which is the place for tradi on says the holy family landed. How did they pay for food and shelter along the way? How did they pay for clothing and Joseph to buy new tools to be a carpenter in Egypt? How did they sustain themselves for the years they found themselves in exile? I’m guessing it was the gold and frankincense and myrrh otherwise been brought as gi s on that day when they first appeared to pay homage to Jesus, the newborn King. Let’s be honest here. We don’t o en talk about this part of the story in this way because it makes us a bit uncomfortable. It’s a bit unnerving to think about God at work, blessing and using and caring for people of other religions, especially when we want to make them an enemy. This is how God works because his heart and dreams are bigger than ours, which is the reason he sent Jesus in the first place. GRAPHIC King Herod the Great Let’s turn our a en on to King Herod the great, who is depicted in this image from Greco-Roman history. King Herod was seven years old when Jesus was born and near the end of his life. He had been King of the Jews for 35 years, but he was not Jewish himself, but rather an Idumean, who converted
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !11 to Judaism along with his father and grandfather before him. He was made king of the Jews by the Roman Senate, and he did some good things and he did some bad things. He managed to keep the tenuous peace between the Jews and the Roman occupying force, however he did that by killing several thousand Jews along the way. Herod was a great builder and constructed amazing building projects throughout the holy land. When we went to the holy land, we were able to see structures that were more than 2000 years old, the founda ons of which were started and built when King Herod was ruler in this region. In addi on to all these things, he wasn’t insecure, paranoid megalomaniac. This is not uncommon for kings and tyrants. Herod had a thirst for power and would do whatever it took to hold onto that power once he had it. He didn’t mind killing Jews who got in his way, or anyone else for that ma er, including his own family. This is where we discover just how sick Herod was. He was married three mes, and his second wife was Mariamne, who was 20 years his younger. Herod felt threatened by her grandfather and her uncle, so he had them killed. He had great passion and great jealousy concerning his wife, Mariamne. She learns of Herod's plans to murder her, and stops sleeping with him. Herod puts her on trial on a charge of adultery. His sister, Salome, was chief witness against her. Mariamne mother Alexandra made an appearance and incriminated her own daughter. Historians say her mother was next on Herod's list to be executed and did this only to save her own life. Mariamne was executed, and Alexandra declared herself Queen, sta ng that Herod was mentally unfit to serve. Josephus wrote that this was Alexandra's strategic mistake; Herod executed her without trial. When he was concerned that his oldest son might be plo ng to take over his reign, Herod had him executed. He also was concerned about his second and third sons who we also had killed. Are you ge ng the idea of what he was like? Herod’s response should not surprise us then, when the Magi showed up in Jerusalem looking for the King of the Jews. They bang on the door and they are let into the palace they ask, “Where is the child who has been born
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !12 king of the Jews? For we observed his star and it’s rising and we have come to pay him homage.” Here’s his response. BIBLE 3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this That word “disturbed,” literally translates to, “frightened” or “terrified.” Why was King Herod terrified of a baby? One of the reasons Herod was disturbed is because he thought he was the Messiah, so the idea of a baby being born to be the Messiah would be threatening. Herod then asks the wise men, as we read the story, to go to Bethlehem, which is about 5 miles away, and find this child and then come back and give them the address and his Social Security number. He declared his desire to pay homage. Do you think he really wanted to pay homage to the new working? Of course not, he wanted to kill the baby. So, the Magi head off to Bethlehem and they find the child, but they don’t go back to see Herod and tell him they found the baby. This infuriates Herod, so he sends his soldiers to Bethlehem and gives them the order to kill every li le boy under the age of two. Bethlehem may have had 500 people during the me of Jesus’ birth, so it may have been 10 to 20 children, leaving mothers and fathers grieving and weeping because her children were stolen from them and slaughtered. We talked several weeks ago about the new Star Wars film coming out this December. How many of you have had a chance to see that? We will be going later this week, so please don’t spoil it for us. But it is a great story to come out the week of Christmas, because it is an epic ba le of good versus evil that we see played out, and the Christmas story is one of light and goodness overcoming darkness and evil. In the first Star Wars films to come out back in the 70s and 80s, Darth Vader represents the evil, dark side. We discover that Darth Vader used to be on the good side and he used to be a Jedi Knight. We see this story played out in the prequels that eventually came out which told the story of Anakin Skywalker, the father of Luke Skywalker. Young Anakin meets with the Jedi Council to discern if he is fit to become a Jedi. Here’s what happens. VIDEO Star Wars 1 – Yoda on fear Of course, we know that Anakin would go on to become Darth Vader Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !13 later in his life. Yoda’s powerful words to young Anakin capture I think what happens to people liking Herod when they become overcome by fear. “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Then Yoda says to Anakin Skywalker, “I sense much fear in you.” Fear does funny things to us, especially when we are afraid of other people. We some mes give into impulses and act in ways we never would otherwise, and they are an the cal to our faith. Herod seemed imprisoned by his fears, and he gives into that fear, anger and hate. Have you ever been afraid of other people? Has that fear ever turned to the something else? It can turn into racism, bigotry, a willingness to say and do things about someone else that destroys not just them but our very souls. This is what happens when fear controls our lives instead of love, hope and peace. The night before the soldiers come, Joseph has a dream in which an angel tells him to take his child away from Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph leave the very next day with virtually nothing, just a er the birth of their son, to avoid the slaughtering of the innocents. This is not a new thing, by the way. Every genera on seems to have a King Herod, in our genera on has mul ple King Herod’s in different parts of the world right now. Every genera on sees someone who loves power so much, they will do whatever it takes to gain it, and then to hold onto it and not let it go, including slaughtering innocents. Some of you are old enough to have celebrated Christmas in 1943, when Hitler had reached the zenith of his power. Millions were slaughtered as he sought to take power and then hold onto it. A er he was finally destroyed, and World War II ended, Joseph Stalin rose to power in the Soviet Union. He starved to death more than 35 million people in Ukraine, then killed millions more cross the Soviet Union in his purges. Most recently, we see Kim Jong-un in North Korea who killed his uncle, his half-brother and his cousins to gain power and hold onto it. He now seeks to threaten the rest of the world with an obsession of nuclear weapons. Every day we read something new in the news about ISIS, a group of thugs who want to create an empire, a caliphate, and they are willing to slaughter any innocents to get their way and the a en on of others. They
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !14 have a demented, twisted thought process which in many ways is rooted in fear. We read about the leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, who has killed more than 400,000 of his own people over the last five years as part of the Civil War. 5 million people have fled the country because on one side is ISIS and on the other side is Bashar al-Assad. World vision says that 2.5 million of those refugees are children. The Christmas story is not some ancient history of 2000 years ago, we see it play out in many ways today as children are forced to flee for their lives. We want to decry and denounce those who are horrible Herod’s today, and we should. But we also need to recognize that there is a li le bit of Herod in each one of us. We like to get our way. We like our and control. We don’t like people to tell us, “no.” Let me share a l confession with you as your pastor, that I hate it when people tell me I can’t have something I want. I hide it pre y well because I’m a pastor, so I try to be nice about it. I don’t like to be told, “no”. Do you like to be told, “no”? Whether I’m here at church, or in the store, I hear children screaming when they are told, “no!” Part of being human, is that we like being in control and ge ng what we want. What I have learned over the past 16 years of living in the Durango area, is that people who move here don’t like to be told, “no.” I was in McDonald’s the other day for breakfast, and there was a woman in front of me who wanted to buy a hamburger, but they don’t serve lunch un l 10:30. They serve breakfast all day, but lunch is not served un l 10:30 AM. The clerk behind the counter was very nice and gracious, but this woman was not happy and made a scene and stomped out of the restaurant like a toddler. I was in another store doing some Christmas shopping and the woman in line in front of me had a coupon which expired two days earlier. The clerk again was very gracious, but told her that he couldn’t do anything about it because the coupon was expired, and he had no control to change that. The customer began to berate the cashier and beli le him, and make him feel small. I had a 30% off coupon that I was going to give to her to use, un l I watched her behavior! I felt a bit small myself at that point, but I couldn’t help but wonder how much that 20% off coupon was really worth. Was it really worth crushing another human being at Christmas me over a 20% discount on a blouse? Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !15 There is a li le bit of Herod in all of us, if we are honest, and we must decide if we are going to give into it. Will we follow the Christ child or give into the dark side and fear, anger and hate? That Christ child grows up and tells us that whoever is to be great must become a servant. That child would call us to love and compassion and mercy and forgiveness. Which of these will we follow? Several weeks ago, there was a new family visi ng town at the 11 AM worship service which is where I wear my robe. They had a li le girl and I leaned down to ask her if she was excited for Christmas to calm and she exclaimed that she was. I gave her a high five and then a knuckle bump and told her I hoped I would see her on Christmas Eve because she would s ll be in town. As they walked away, I heard the child asked her mother in a loud voice, “Mama, was that Jesus?” Her mom responded very lovingly, “No honey, that was just the pastor.” She looked at her mom very confused and said, “What’s a pastor?” I didn’t get to hear the answer to that one! When we’re thinking about this baby that was born, the Magi looked at the child they had come to see and ask themselves, “Is this baby God?” The answer of the good news is, “Yes. That baby is God in the flesh.” The Christ child was the divine essence of God in the stuff that makes up who God is. He is the God who creates all things, but somehow, he also chose to wrap his essence in human flesh, to become like us, to become one of us. I was doing youth ministry back in the 90s, we o en went Christmas caroling as a youth group to church members who were homebound and to different nursing homes in the community. We were pu ng together song sheets for the kids to use, and one of the kids suggested that we include some contemporary Christmas songs. We were thinking about different songs that we might use, and one of the kids said that they wanted to use the song by Joan Osborne, “What if God was one of us?” At first, that seemed rather silly, but the truth is that the song really is a Christmas song. SLIDE What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us Just a stranger on the bus
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !16 Tryin' to make his way home? This is a Christmas song because this is what we believe, that God came like one of us. I know it sounds crazy, and I have atheist friends who think we are nuts for believing this. Maybe God was not for making it happen, because this is God’s strategy for healing the world. God chose to come and walk in our shoes and show us what he looks like, so we can know the heart and the character of God. God showed us in Jesus Christ what it means to be human and what God hopes for us. God also came in Jesus Christ to enlist us to be a part of his work in the world, to change the world and conquer the world with love and grace and mercy and peace and hope and love. God came to bring healing in our hearts and lives, empowering us and turning us inside out. God longs to save and deliver us from ourselves, and from the pain in our world, and then send us out as healers who know what it’s like to be broken. We are Chris ans believe that this is God’s crazy strategy to change the world. Ma hew gives us a name for Jesus in his gospel and the Christmas story that is profound, when he quotes Isaiah 7 in chapter 1:23. BIBLE “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” God is with us in this baby. God came and walked among us in Jesus Christ. Jesus taught. Jesus lived. Jesus loved. Jesus suffered and died, and was raised from the dead. Every part of this story is meant to tell us something about who God is and who God wants us to be. As nu y as it sounds to people who are not Chris ans, we believe this story as followers of Jesus Christ. This dis nguishes us from Muslims who believed Jesus was a prophet and Jewish believers who think Jesus was a rabbi, and others who say Jesus was just a good man. We believe there was something more going on and that God was coming among us. Not only do we believe that happened 2000 years ago, but we believe that Jesus walks with us today. Ma hew begins his gospel in the first chapter by telling us that Jesus is Emmanuelle, God with us. Then Ma hew ends his gospel with these very last words in Ma hew 28:20.
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !17 BIBLE “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” I think of Julie who is a youth pastor at one of our United Methodist churches. She was undergoing treatment at MD Anderson for an aggressive form of cancer. She got news just before Christmas that the cancer had come back, and it was horrible news given the two s ll undergoing aggressive treatments. When she first got the news, she cried, because she wasn’t ready to die. She wanted to con nue to live for her family and the things she believed God wanted her to do. There was s ll some hope with some experimental treatments and she con nue to fight. She also said that she realized God didn’t give her this cancer, and that God doesn’t usually miraculously intervened and break the laws of nature in order to heal this par cular person or that par cular person. Occasionally, this happens, but God usually works to doctors and researchers and nurses. She also said she believed that in 20 years this kind of cancer will have a cure. As she sat wai ng for treatments, she began to think about her faith and what she believed about Jesus. She believed that he is Emmanuel and that he is walking with her. She came to understand that Jesus was sustaining her and carrying her, even in those dark valleys. If she lived, she would live with him and if she died, she would die with him and on the other side Jesus would be standing with his arms open wide, ready to welcome her home. She found strength and peace remembering that God was with her all the me, Emmanuel, God with us. She came to the candlelight Christmas Eve service at her church that year and held the Christ candle, and with tears in her eyes she felt a sense of hope. She remembered the story of Shadrach, Meshack in Abednego that we find in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament book of Daniel. They were young Jewish men who were living under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, another megalomaniac who told people they had to bow down to him and worship his image and his statue. Those three young men said they wouldn’t do it because the Bible forbid them to bow down to false idols. The king then threw them in the fiery furnace, and they told the king they were fine with that because God would deliver them, and even if he doesn’t, they s ll wouldn’t bow down. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !18 So, they fired up the furnace and a threw Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego inside. King Nebuchadnezzar looked inside and asked, “Who was the fourth man in the fire with them? He looks like a Son of Man. Who is that?” Of course, it was God in the midst of the fire with them, a prefiguring of Jesus who walks with us in the fires in our own lives. I love the fact that Jesus was born in poverty and that he was a refugee, because it tells us that God is in the midst of the dark places. God is with us in the broken places, the messed-up places, the painful places, the places where we are afraid and terrified, and we don’t know where to turn. The Christmas story teaches us that God is with us in each and every moment of our lives, and into eternity. Last week, a er one of our services, I learned that several of our students were part of a music fes val which happened at Durango High School and the performance was dedicated to the students Aztec High School, especially the two who lost their lives in the shoo ng at the school several weeks ago. They had a banner on which they wrote messages of encouragement and hope that was to be sent down to the school and one of the students in this church wrote on the banner the words that we have talked about o en, which capture this story of the birth of Jesus, from the beginning of his life to the end. They are words originally wri en by Frederick Buekner. SLIDE “The worst thing is never the last thing.” Those words are meant to bring us a sense of peace, which means wholeness and being se led, and it’s one of the promises of Christmas. This is the hope we have because of the birth of the Christ child. We are able to write those words, and believe in those words, because we believe that God is with us, Emmanuel, and it changes everything. Jay Parini is an American writer who wrote these words about Christmas: In this difficult year in American life, we've been buffeted by loud, scornful voices. The idea of loving our neighbors as ourselves has been mostly set aside. And we have all been (I condemn myself here) too quick to judge. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !19 As we se le into Christmas and its fes vi es, I hope we allow Jesus to speak to us, as he did, so vividly in the gospels. And I hope we remember his message of peace, inclusion and radical equality. This teaching has lost nothing of its urgency. It's a light that shines in this dark me. Jesus comes to us as a child on the run, with his impoverished and terrified parents. He knocks at the door of our house, and of our hearts, and we either let him in, or we turn him away. We you let the Christ child in, or turn him away? He’s talking about something more than trus ng in Jesus, but about how Jesus comes to us in the world. Mother Teresa talked about seeing Jesus on the face of every child who is dying in the streets of Calcu a where she served. She is quo ng Jesus, who, at the end of Ma hew’s gospel, said these words about the last judgment, when he will gather the sheep and the goats. “When I was thirsty and hungry and naked and sick, you gave me water and food and clothing, and you visited me.” The sheep replied, “Jesus, when did we ever see you sick or hungry or naked or sick or in prison?” Jesus then said to them, “Every me you did it for one of the least of these, you did it for me.” Every me we hear the Christmas story, we are called to decide which King we are going to follow. Will we follow the King Herod inside of us or the King who came as a baby in Bethlehem? We are called to be modern day Magi, who recognize that God is at work in others and we stand with them and demonstrate God’s love to them. We bring our gi s to help and serve others when that is needed. When we answer that call, and take the Christmas message in your hearts and lived out the world, the world is changed. I want to give you a simple invita on tonight to say, “Yes Jesus, I want to follow you as my King as a modern-day Magi.” Would you pray with me? SLIDE Prayer If you feel like saying, “I really do want to be a follower of Jesus. I really do want to be what he wants me to be. I want to be modern day Magi,” then
Sermon preached by Jeff Huber – December 23-24, 2017 Page !20 I would invite you, under your breath, to whisper a simple three-le er prayer to Jesus Christ tonight, “Yes.” It is just a ma er of saying, “Yes! Yes, I want to follow you Jesus. Yes, I want to hail you as my King. Yes, I want to serve others in your name. Yes, Jesus.” Lord, bless these, your people, to be modern day Magi. Help us to follow you, to love you, to honor you, to live for you, to be the people you want us to be, and to share your love and light around the world. In your holy name we pray, Amen.
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