Christmas 2016 has now come to an end. My hope is that all y’all got what you wanted for Christmas and that you did not get what you deserved! I know for sure that I got way more than I deserved!
With that said, I want to present something to you that most of us don’t think about and that is this, “We need to keep Herod in Christmas!” In most Christmas pageants we see Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds, animals and sometimes even magi or wise men. We never see Herod in any of the pageants—why is that? Herod is a major person in the complete story of Christmas. You can read about it in Matthew 2. I do hope you know that the magi did not come to the stable where Jesus was actually born. Many theologians believe it took them nearly 2 years to come from their homeland after they saw the Christ star in the east. They stopped by Herod’s palace asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2a) Herod was the king of the Jews and he was not about to let someone else take his power! So he issued an order that all the babies under the age of 2 were to be killed. An angel appeared to Joseph and told him to take Mary and the baby and go to Egypt until it was safe! Herod’s plan to kill all the babies under 2 was carried out, much to the dismay of the people. So why do I think we should keep Herod in Christmas? Herod was a most despicable person. He even had his number 3 son killed! However, my reason is simple—he shows us what the world is really like and why the world so desperately needed a savior! Herod was evil personified! Today we live in a world that seems to find more evil than good. Wars rage in several places around the world. Diseases ravage humanity along with earthquakes and unusually strong storms. We need to keep these things in the forefront of our minds so that we never forget why Jesus came in the first place. Remember Jesus did not come so we can get lots of presents during this time of the year—he came so that we could have life (eternal life) and have it abundantly! Amen. This coming Sunday will be Christmas Day! What a wonderful thing—being in church on Sunday as we celebrate the birth of Jesus! The last time Christmas was on Sunday was 2011 and it will come on Sunday again in 2022. It amazes me that some churches actually cancel church services when Christmas falls on Sunday. Could there be a better place to be to celebrate our Savior’s birthday?
Another issue that bothers me is when churches cancel because of the weather. This past Sunday, December 18, 2016, the KC Chiefs played the Tennessee Titans. Temperature at game time was around 10 degrees and there was snow covering lots of the streets and highways. Yet the total “official” attendance was 68,083! The sad part of this is that lots of churches cancelled services because of the weather! If over 68,000 can make it to a football game, I believe people could also make it to church! That leads me to question why that is! In almost every denomination, church attendance has decreased significantly over the past twenty years. Why is that? I believe it is because we have allowed other things to take the place of worshipping God. We can blame the government for taking prayer out of the public schools. We can blame society for offering too many distractions (such as youth sports, etc.). While those are contributing factors, I feel that it is because what used to be called the “family unit” has broken down. When I was a child, I knew that as a family we were going to go to church every Sunday. I never asked if we were going to go, we just went, as a family. That does not hold true today for lots of families. Today lots of families find both the mom and dad working outside the home. They come home at the end of a busy work day, sometimes share a brief meal together and then they separate, each going a different way. TV, video games, iPods (for music), cell phones all seem to take priority over family time! As we celebrate the birth of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the best gift we can give our children is to spend more time with them. Try it, you just might like it! Amen. What is in a name? That is actually the title for my sermon for this coming Sunday. In Matthew 1:18-25, Joseph is engaged to Mary but he learns that she is pregnant! The scriptures read that he was an honorable man and “unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.” Just then, Joseph was visited by an angel and is told that Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. The angel went on to say, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”(NRSV) Joseph did just as the angel had told him. Mary gave birth to a son and Joseph gave him the name “Jesus!”
Why did the angel pick that name? Names are important because they give us identity. Some of us don’t really like our name. For example, I never use my first name unless I am forced to do so! My granddaughter is named Harley Jo (that is a boy’s name!) It does not matter what your name is, it is your name! It tells others what you are to be called. In the case of Jesus, his name is very special because “he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:23b) The author of Matthew’s Gospel goes on to write that this is in fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies that revealed that “a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.” (God with us) (v23) So Jesus’ name means something – God is with us in and through this tiny baby born to poor, insignificant parents. He was given this name by Joseph because the angel told Joseph what to name him. In Jesus’ day, most children were named by their mothers, not their fathers! One thing is for certain – Jesus’ name NEVER changes! His name is the very same today as it was when he took that first earthly breath! His name means something – it means in his name we find grace and forgiveness and life eternal. In Philippians 2:9-11 we read how important his name really is. “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” As we continue this journey through Advent, let us remember the importance of our Savior’s name – Jesus! Jesus, there’s just something about that name! Amen. Patience! That is something many of us do not have these days! We live in a fast-food, fast-paced, instant gratification world. We want what we want and we want it NOW! And yet in James 5:7-10 we read something much different! Christmas certainly is a time when our patience is tested! I remember growing up as a child and thinking that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was SOOOO long! Today we are just a few days from Christmas and it seems like we celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday! My, oh my, how time flies.
The author of James is encouraging the Christians in his day to “be patient, therefore beloved, until the coming of the Lord.” (James 5:7a) He goes on, in the rest of verse 5 to remind the reader that farmers must wait patiently for their crops to mature. A farmer does not plant seed one day and harvest the crop the next. Not only does the farmer have to be patient they also have to “work” their crops. They have to fertilize at the right time and they have to be aware of all kinds of things which can attack and destroy those crops and be ready to step in and spray or do whatever it takes to rid their crops of whatever it is that is attacking them! Patience is a virtue here! And so we wait and my hope is we wait patiently. But for what are we waiting? The nation of Israel was waiting for a messiah, a savior who would free them from Roman oppression. Today, children all over are waiting for Santa and Christians as still waiting for the second coming of Christ. What then are we to do while we wait? Like the farmer, we are to work our “crops” right here, right now. We are to fertilize (read God’s Word!) so that we can grow in mind and in spirit. We are to be on guard for things which will attack our faith (Satan!) and be prepared always to defend our faith against the powers of evil. If we will do those two things, we will not have time to worry and fret about the fast pace of the world in which we live! Give it a try and just see what happens. You just might find the patience you need to make it to Christmas! Amen. |
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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