Readings:
Psalm 31
Isaiah 7:10-25
2 Thessalonians 2:13-3:5
Luke 22:14-30
Sermon:
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”
Isaiah 42:1-7
Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
There will be one who rises to bring judgment, the divine Judgment of the Lord, and, in him, the path of the righteous shall be restored….
Sin dwelt, sin dwells everywhere. This was no less true of the children of Israel. Having seen the miracles of God as He lead them from Egypt, caring for them amidst the vast wilderness of the desert, as He lead them to victory over their enemies at Jericho and Soloh even as it seemed as if they were destine for defeat, as He worked His will in their lives with each and every step they took, they were still prone to sin, to look to the laws of God and then turn their backs to it, finding ease and convenience with the idols of this world that expected nothing of them except that they give into their baser human nature.
At every turn, with every chance it seemed they were eager to abandon the Lord and His ways, for a life of ease with no accountability, with no laws or rules, with the belief that if they ignored His presence amidst them that He would turn a blind eye to their transgressions.
Yet it has never worked that way. Wrath would follow…
The divide Kingdom, civil war, conquest at the hands of their enemies, exile to foreign lands, servitude at the hands of foreign masters, in their misery and pain their cries would once more go up to their God, that God that had lead them from the hands of their captors so many times before, that God they were so quick to forget when the times were good and they found themselves at ease, living within the peace that He had created.
His anger would not be turned to them forever…
As would be foretold of by Isaiah, there would come a judge, God, in His infinite mercy would send one who would bring redemption to the fallen and restore the path of righteousness for all people.
But this would not be a judge as they had always known or a prophet like they had always seen. He would not seek to force them to repentance, nor would he seek to call them to it by invoking the image of God’s great wrath towards them. He would not sign laws like a king or a ruler, with guards and soldiers to enforce them or with a sword in his hand to cut down those who transgressed against them, nor would he stand in the town square demanding adherence. Rather, through love, patience and mercy, he would be a gentle teacher, firm in his resolve and yet compassionate in his work living amongst the people seeking to teach the laws of God, person by person, soul by soul, to call them to righteousness. This judge would not be for one nation, nor just for the Israelites alone, but would be called forth for all people and all places, that faith they might find grace, and in that know the salvation that can come through God.
There he would not be just any judge. After all, the children of Israel had known judges before, with all their wisdom and understanding, even with the truth of the Lord revealed to them, they would still be prone to the same human faults and human failings, able only to judge word and deed. No, this judge would be different. In him would come perfect wisdom and understanding, their would be no fault or sin, and despite the mortal coil that he had been given, he would be perfect and blameless in every way, judging the hearts and souls of man, able teach the word of the Lord because he was the word of the Lord made flesh. And when it would come time to judge the sins of man, the transgressions they had done against God, instead of a message of wrath and anger, he would offer himself as a sacrifice that man may no longer know the vengeance of the Lord, and may, in their faith, be judged not guilty.
And so it is with us as it was with the children of Israel.
Each person has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We sin in thought, word and deed, by those things we have done and left undone, by our inability to keep God law perfectly as it should be. There, if the wages of sin are death, then each of us deserves that spiritual death that comes from our own failings. But through this righteous judge, whose advent was foretold of by Isaiah in the words of Prophecy and who was made manifest in Christ Jesus, redemption is within our grasps, even where it seemed just out of reach before.
To read the stories of the prophets and the kings, the judges and the fathers, its not hard to picture God as distant, as hard and unfeeling as he delivers His blows against the people for their transgressions. Every page of their writing seems to be filled with it. But ever harsh judgment made by God there is a pearl of hope. His law, His judgment, was meant to turn our focus from ourselves and from this earthly world and all the sins that seek to lure us from His path, to the advent of the Messiah, sent to rescue us from sin’s captivity.
There, to see God as mercy is to see Him rightly. Each of us, no matter how great our sin may be or how heavy that burden may weigh on us, have a Savior sent not to pronounce judgment on us or to punish us in wrath and vengeance, but to show us a path of righteousness by which all of our sins are forgiven and we may find the peace of the Lord. Though the wages of sin may in fact be death, through him, through this judge, we may find life everlasting and a mercy that transcends all ages, made perfect in the love of God for us.
The peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, Amen.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Episode 14: 12/10/08
Readings:
Psalm 119:25-48
Isaiah 6:1-13
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
John 8:1-11
Sermon:
“The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”Luke 1:30-38
Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Scared… mystified… confused and perplexed…
Imagine, for a moment, a young woman of faith, very much in love with the man that she is to marry, but determined to stay pure for him until the day of their blessed union. She lives her life in quiet devotion to her God, a woman of no particular wealth or special traits except for the trust that she places in her Lord.
There can be little doubt that she heard the stories from her youth, the tales of those great men of faith, Abraham and Moses, Joshua and Isaiah, David and Jeremiah, the heroes of her people who were called upon by their God to do wondrous tasks according to His divine will. She probably would have grown up hearing the words of their prophecies and psalms, all of which would testify, would foretell of a Messiah, a Redeemer who would rise from the midst of the children of Israel to lead them from the dark bondage of their captivity to sin, that Savior who would ransom them and lead them to that ultimate victory everlasting.
Though a vessel of His plan she never would have imagined a poor, young woman like her would be called to serve in any great or lasting way. With little fanfare outside of her family and home she was born, with little fanfare did she figure she would die, her name quickly forgotten after her passing, except in the Kingdom of her Heavenly Father.
Then…
Then there would come an angel…
Mary, you will conceive of a child and his name shall be called Jesus. He shall be the Redeemer that has been so long waited for, the Savior so much faith was put in, the Messiah that, for thousands of years, was foretold of as a lasting promise of redemption and salvation.
Having never known a man, having never laid with one, still being months away from the day of her wedding, it seemed impossible to comprehend for her. After all, how could she conceive against all laws of man and nature. But “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
How does one even begin to explain immaculate conception? Yes she belonged to a people of faith, a people who had seen God do great and miraculous deed according to His will, but a unwed, pregnant girl, that wasn’t a miracle, that was more often the product of one who could not wait until their union and gave into the throws of lust and passion.
For Mary it had to be such a scary prospect, to have to explain this to her parents and family, her community, and most importantly to Joseph, the man that she was to marry. She knew that the skeptics eyes would be upon her. Even her soon to be husband could not believe it and debated whether to still go through with the wedding.
But she had trust and she had faith, knowing that God… her God… would never leave her or forsake her, her God would never abandon her, and to fulfill His divine plan for her life He would make all things possible, He would open even the most hardened of hearts and would show His grace, love and mercy within her life. But then, as Christ would later say, “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
Trust in the Lord… Trust in His divine plan…
Perhaps, much like Mary did before the angel Gabriel appeared before her, we don’t feel as if we are destine for the greatest of things, perhaps our dreams are simple and quiet like those dreams of Mary, get married, have children and raise them. But even in that we are thrown curveballs, things hat we just never quite expected in our lives, events or challenges that seem to come out of nowhere that hit us from behind. At times it could even seem as if these events or these moments of challenge are more than we can bear, more than we can handle in our lives.
After all who hasn’t felt a bit overwhelmed by their lives or the course that it has taken?
But if we can trust in God in the moments of ease and the simpler times, then how much more do we need to trust Him in the times of trial and tribulation, the times that seem to weigh on our very being?
Even if things seem tough or hard, even if God’s plan for our lives seems difficult or a little to much for us to bear, even if we can’t understand why it is that the things that are happen are in fact happening, even if we worry that the road we must embark upon is a lonely road or a solitary journey, the Lord is there for us, making clear the path. He is there to catch us when we feel like we are falling, there to lift us up when we have stumbled, He is there to care for our needs, our wounds and our pains when the weight of everything comes crashing down upon us and we need to take a moment to just sit and reflect and rest.
Just as God cared for Mary and gave unto her all that she needed, so to does God care for us, and give unto us all that we need to fulfill His plan for our lives.
This is the God of mercy, the God of grace and righteousness that we worship, this is the Heavenly Father who loved us so much that He reconciled us by sending His only begotten Son into this world to live that perfect life and to die as that perfect sacrifice.
Trust in the Lord, knowing that He is there for you always, standing by your side, showing you understanding and mercy even when our vision is clouded by the tears brought on by hardship. Even when we can’t see Him he is still there. Have faith, knowing that His always faithful.
Lord, grant that trust and faith unto us all.
Now the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, amen.
Psalm 119:25-48
Isaiah 6:1-13
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
John 8:1-11
Sermon:
“The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”Luke 1:30-38
Grace, Mercy and Peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
Scared… mystified… confused and perplexed…
Imagine, for a moment, a young woman of faith, very much in love with the man that she is to marry, but determined to stay pure for him until the day of their blessed union. She lives her life in quiet devotion to her God, a woman of no particular wealth or special traits except for the trust that she places in her Lord.
There can be little doubt that she heard the stories from her youth, the tales of those great men of faith, Abraham and Moses, Joshua and Isaiah, David and Jeremiah, the heroes of her people who were called upon by their God to do wondrous tasks according to His divine will. She probably would have grown up hearing the words of their prophecies and psalms, all of which would testify, would foretell of a Messiah, a Redeemer who would rise from the midst of the children of Israel to lead them from the dark bondage of their captivity to sin, that Savior who would ransom them and lead them to that ultimate victory everlasting.
Though a vessel of His plan she never would have imagined a poor, young woman like her would be called to serve in any great or lasting way. With little fanfare outside of her family and home she was born, with little fanfare did she figure she would die, her name quickly forgotten after her passing, except in the Kingdom of her Heavenly Father.
Then…
Then there would come an angel…
Mary, you will conceive of a child and his name shall be called Jesus. He shall be the Redeemer that has been so long waited for, the Savior so much faith was put in, the Messiah that, for thousands of years, was foretold of as a lasting promise of redemption and salvation.
Having never known a man, having never laid with one, still being months away from the day of her wedding, it seemed impossible to comprehend for her. After all, how could she conceive against all laws of man and nature. But “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
How does one even begin to explain immaculate conception? Yes she belonged to a people of faith, a people who had seen God do great and miraculous deed according to His will, but a unwed, pregnant girl, that wasn’t a miracle, that was more often the product of one who could not wait until their union and gave into the throws of lust and passion.
For Mary it had to be such a scary prospect, to have to explain this to her parents and family, her community, and most importantly to Joseph, the man that she was to marry. She knew that the skeptics eyes would be upon her. Even her soon to be husband could not believe it and debated whether to still go through with the wedding.
But she had trust and she had faith, knowing that God… her God… would never leave her or forsake her, her God would never abandon her, and to fulfill His divine plan for her life He would make all things possible, He would open even the most hardened of hearts and would show His grace, love and mercy within her life. But then, as Christ would later say, “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
Trust in the Lord… Trust in His divine plan…
Perhaps, much like Mary did before the angel Gabriel appeared before her, we don’t feel as if we are destine for the greatest of things, perhaps our dreams are simple and quiet like those dreams of Mary, get married, have children and raise them. But even in that we are thrown curveballs, things hat we just never quite expected in our lives, events or challenges that seem to come out of nowhere that hit us from behind. At times it could even seem as if these events or these moments of challenge are more than we can bear, more than we can handle in our lives.
After all who hasn’t felt a bit overwhelmed by their lives or the course that it has taken?
But if we can trust in God in the moments of ease and the simpler times, then how much more do we need to trust Him in the times of trial and tribulation, the times that seem to weigh on our very being?
Even if things seem tough or hard, even if God’s plan for our lives seems difficult or a little to much for us to bear, even if we can’t understand why it is that the things that are happen are in fact happening, even if we worry that the road we must embark upon is a lonely road or a solitary journey, the Lord is there for us, making clear the path. He is there to catch us when we feel like we are falling, there to lift us up when we have stumbled, He is there to care for our needs, our wounds and our pains when the weight of everything comes crashing down upon us and we need to take a moment to just sit and reflect and rest.
Just as God cared for Mary and gave unto her all that she needed, so to does God care for us, and give unto us all that we need to fulfill His plan for our lives.
This is the God of mercy, the God of grace and righteousness that we worship, this is the Heavenly Father who loved us so much that He reconciled us by sending His only begotten Son into this world to live that perfect life and to die as that perfect sacrifice.
Trust in the Lord, knowing that He is there for you always, standing by your side, showing you understanding and mercy even when our vision is clouded by the tears brought on by hardship. Even when we can’t see Him he is still there. Have faith, knowing that His always faithful.
Lord, grant that trust and faith unto us all.
Now the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting, amen.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Epidode 13: 12/08/08
Readings:
Psalm 15
Isaiah 5:13-25
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Luke 21:20-28
Sermon:
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:27)
During the Holy Season of Advent we look back to the historical events of Our Lord’s first coming to Earth, His Incarnation, while at the same time we look forward to His second coming, His coming in glory, when He shall reign as King of Kings.
We are all so familiar with the Christmas story, with the baby in the manger surrounded by oxen and donkeys, that we may not reflect on how unusual it was for God to choose this manner of coming into the world. Why couldn’t the God who created the heavens and earth have arranged a more suitable entrance for Himself? Why not skip the manger scene and go for the palace? Why cover Himself with obscurity when He could have gone straight for the King of Kings scenario?
The Second week of Advent is when we traditionally remember the Visitation of Mary the mother of Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. Last week we saw how the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, and that she would be the Virgin who would give birth to a son, as prophesied in Scripture. Although Mary accepted this news with humble submission, she must have trembled in her heart, wondering how she would tell her parents and even more importantly, her betrothed, Joseph. While she trusted in the Lord to fulfill His purpose in her, it meant the end of her earthly plans and ambitions. Now there would be no joyous wedding feast, like the one she later attended at Cana, or like the ones that figure prominently in Our Lord’s parables. She would be divorced before she was ever married, left to spend the rest of her life at home with her parents, a disgraced daughter that no decent man would want to marry. And she would face being reminded that she should be grateful for even that --- in that time, as in some parts of the world today, girls who found themselves pregnant outside of wedlock were likely to be the victims of honor killings, designed to wipe the stain off the family’s legacy.
Instead we see her this week in the position of many other young women in her situation, being packed off to visit a relative in the country, away from the accusing stares from the friends and family back home. Even this visit, which should have been quiet and uneventful, culminating in her giving birth and giving the baby up for adoption, didn’t turn out the way it would have been expected. Her cousin Elizabeth had conceived a child in her old age, and the joy surrounding that blessed event provided a marked contrast to the shame and secrecy surrounding Mary’s.
Elizabeth was the latest in an honored line of women throughout Scripture who had been specially favored by the Lord for their piety and faith. The deep longing of their heart, to give birth to a son, which had been denied for so long, was finally being fulfilled. Like Hannah, the mother of Samuel, like the mother of Samson, like the Shunammite woman who was rewarded for helping the Prophet Elisha with the gift of a son, Elizabeth was a heroic figure. Scripture does not tell us how old she was, but it was obviously past the age when she could have been considered just a late bloomer. Her friends and family correctly attributed this unexpected conception to God’s favorable intervention, and she and her husband Zechariah basked in the glow of admiration and concern for her well-being.
Perhaps gratitude for this unexpected blessing made Elizabeth look kindly on her younger cousin, even if she didn’t believe the story of a miraculous conception. But as they came face to face, the Holy Spirit filled her heart and showed her the true worth of Mary’s baby: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43) And her baby, the future John the Baptist, performed his first prophetic act, leaping for joy in his mother’s womb as his Savior approached in His mother’s womb.
And yet even this miraculous revelation did not result in Mary being recognized by the community as a heroic figure, as the mother of a King. She eventually returned home and married Joseph quietly, in time to travel to Bethlehem with him and give birth in a stable, surrounded not by joyous well-wishers such as those who attended John the Baptist’s birth, but by farm animals and greeted by shepherds fresh from watching their flocks. God seems to have gone out of His way to ensure that there would be nothing outwardly compelling about His Son that would force people to recognize Him for who He is.
When Jesus returns again, whenever that may be, there will be no mistakes about His true identity. Men will faint with terror as He appears from the heavens, and no one will be able to deny Him His true worth. And yet to those who, then and now, recognize the true worth of that baby, He becomes their Savior, Redeemer, and Lord, the King of Kings. While others are in anguish and perplexity, they will be able to stand up and lift their heads, for they will know that their redemption is at hand.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Psalm 15
Isaiah 5:13-25
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Luke 21:20-28
Sermon:
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:27)
During the Holy Season of Advent we look back to the historical events of Our Lord’s first coming to Earth, His Incarnation, while at the same time we look forward to His second coming, His coming in glory, when He shall reign as King of Kings.
We are all so familiar with the Christmas story, with the baby in the manger surrounded by oxen and donkeys, that we may not reflect on how unusual it was for God to choose this manner of coming into the world. Why couldn’t the God who created the heavens and earth have arranged a more suitable entrance for Himself? Why not skip the manger scene and go for the palace? Why cover Himself with obscurity when He could have gone straight for the King of Kings scenario?
The Second week of Advent is when we traditionally remember the Visitation of Mary the mother of Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth. Last week we saw how the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah, and that she would be the Virgin who would give birth to a son, as prophesied in Scripture. Although Mary accepted this news with humble submission, she must have trembled in her heart, wondering how she would tell her parents and even more importantly, her betrothed, Joseph. While she trusted in the Lord to fulfill His purpose in her, it meant the end of her earthly plans and ambitions. Now there would be no joyous wedding feast, like the one she later attended at Cana, or like the ones that figure prominently in Our Lord’s parables. She would be divorced before she was ever married, left to spend the rest of her life at home with her parents, a disgraced daughter that no decent man would want to marry. And she would face being reminded that she should be grateful for even that --- in that time, as in some parts of the world today, girls who found themselves pregnant outside of wedlock were likely to be the victims of honor killings, designed to wipe the stain off the family’s legacy.
Instead we see her this week in the position of many other young women in her situation, being packed off to visit a relative in the country, away from the accusing stares from the friends and family back home. Even this visit, which should have been quiet and uneventful, culminating in her giving birth and giving the baby up for adoption, didn’t turn out the way it would have been expected. Her cousin Elizabeth had conceived a child in her old age, and the joy surrounding that blessed event provided a marked contrast to the shame and secrecy surrounding Mary’s.
Elizabeth was the latest in an honored line of women throughout Scripture who had been specially favored by the Lord for their piety and faith. The deep longing of their heart, to give birth to a son, which had been denied for so long, was finally being fulfilled. Like Hannah, the mother of Samuel, like the mother of Samson, like the Shunammite woman who was rewarded for helping the Prophet Elisha with the gift of a son, Elizabeth was a heroic figure. Scripture does not tell us how old she was, but it was obviously past the age when she could have been considered just a late bloomer. Her friends and family correctly attributed this unexpected conception to God’s favorable intervention, and she and her husband Zechariah basked in the glow of admiration and concern for her well-being.
Perhaps gratitude for this unexpected blessing made Elizabeth look kindly on her younger cousin, even if she didn’t believe the story of a miraculous conception. But as they came face to face, the Holy Spirit filled her heart and showed her the true worth of Mary’s baby: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43) And her baby, the future John the Baptist, performed his first prophetic act, leaping for joy in his mother’s womb as his Savior approached in His mother’s womb.
And yet even this miraculous revelation did not result in Mary being recognized by the community as a heroic figure, as the mother of a King. She eventually returned home and married Joseph quietly, in time to travel to Bethlehem with him and give birth in a stable, surrounded not by joyous well-wishers such as those who attended John the Baptist’s birth, but by farm animals and greeted by shepherds fresh from watching their flocks. God seems to have gone out of His way to ensure that there would be nothing outwardly compelling about His Son that would force people to recognize Him for who He is.
When Jesus returns again, whenever that may be, there will be no mistakes about His true identity. Men will faint with terror as He appears from the heavens, and no one will be able to deny Him His true worth. And yet to those who, then and now, recognize the true worth of that baby, He becomes their Savior, Redeemer, and Lord, the King of Kings. While others are in anguish and perplexity, they will be able to stand up and lift their heads, for they will know that their redemption is at hand.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Episode 12: 12/05/08
Readings:
Psalm 16
Isaiah 3:8-15
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Luke 21:5-19
Sermon:
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”
Isaiah 7:14
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
For thousands of years…
Ever since that first fall to sin, that first moment when the serpents tongue pierced the ears of Adam and Eve with his great deception and they were cast from the peace of Eden’s perfection there had been a promise. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The Psalmist would look longingly to that day, that time when that Redeemer would enter into this world, “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” (Psalm 2:7). And the Prophet Jeremiah, amidst the darkness of the despair he had felt at the sin and corruption of his people, at the rule at a foreign hand, took his comfort in the fulfillment of that prophesy as old as mankind itself “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Isaiah 23:5-6)
And there, like so many of his fathers and mothers, so many of his forbearers, the Prophet Isaiah would look to the promise of the Lord, hearing His voice whisper in his ear telling him that there would be one who would enter into this world defying the laws of logic and reason, defying all that was understood about science and biology, being born of a virgin to bring God’s children back to the path of righteousness.
.It was a matter of trust in that basic understanding that told them “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), believing that God would forever keep his promises. For the faithful it did not matter if God had made the promise two thousand years or two minutes before, in their great grandfathers lifetime or their own, they knew that God was true to His word and that there would come a time when all things would pass into fulfillment according to his divine plan and will. To them, their faith was placed in the advent of a Messiah who would ransom captive Israel and free them from the dark bondage of the chains of sin’s slavery, and there would come a time when, as foretold by the prophets, when he would walk on this earth.
Immanuel… God with us…
Thousands of years later it still seems to defy all that we know about science and logic. Perhaps now we have the technology to artificially reproduce a virgin birth through our own advancements, but two thousand years ago it wasn’t possible. Now, in our age of enlightenment and reason, if it can’t be explained it is dismissed. Some interject that, despite all the historical evidence, that Christ never existed, while others explain away his birth as Mary lying and that there was, in fact, nothing really that truly special about it, that it was a myth made up by a scared girl who did not want to face the consequences for her action.
There, as we find ourselves amidst this Advent season, perhaps we even wonder, if it was God’s intent for people to believe that they might find their salvation through Christ, why this was to be a birth that He knew skeptics and cynics would reject. God, being all powerful, could have made His will be done anyway He had so desired.
But what is often times missed is that God never intended for it to be difficult to believe, even knowing that it was a skeptics world and that the Devil would use his power to deceive. Rather it is something very simple, something very basic, and yet something so beautiful. The idea that there is a loving God, a caring God, who loves us all so much that He would defy all the laws of this world to send a gift into it, His only Son, His beloved Son, that perfect child to not just bring the Lord to us, but to also bring us back to the Lord.
Immanuel… God with us…
Advent is not just a time to prepare for a celebration of the birth of Christ, it is a season of fulfilled promises, a season of hope and joy that tells us no matter how hard the times we are living in are, no matter how difficult our lives may be or how dark our days may be, no matter how impossible things may seem to us, God is there beside us, true and faithful to His word, seeking to draw us closer to Him, seeking to bring us once more to the peace of his wondrous embrace that we may find the comfort and solace that we so desperately seek. There we must remember that its not just in a virgin birth that God defies the logic and the reason of this world, but it’s in each and everyone of our lives that He does as well, bringing us to the joy of our salvation. There God does not need to explain to us for us to find all that we need, nor does He need to follow some special formula or some biological equation, all He needs to do is to love us, to show us that same love He showed when He kept the promises made to Isaiah and the prophets, when he kept His promises to all of us through all time.
We celebrate a time when we remember that there is more to life than just those things that we can understand or that we can comprehend, realizing that just because we may not understand why the sun rises does not make it stop rising, nor does it stop its warming glow from cutting through the dark coldness that surrounds us.
God’s love and Christ’s mystic and miraculous birth may be as a sunrise is to those who do not understand how it comes about and yet it is no less real and no less wondrous than that to us. There, you can place your trust, and faith in the Lord, even if your heart in hardened by the skeptics touch, and know that, as surely as the sun rises each and every day, so to does God’s love transcend and touch us in our daily lives, through this blessed season and through all times.
Now the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting. Amen.
Psalm 16
Isaiah 3:8-15
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
Luke 21:5-19
Sermon:
“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel”
Isaiah 7:14
Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
For thousands of years…
Ever since that first fall to sin, that first moment when the serpents tongue pierced the ears of Adam and Eve with his great deception and they were cast from the peace of Eden’s perfection there had been a promise. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15) The Psalmist would look longingly to that day, that time when that Redeemer would enter into this world, “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” (Psalm 2:7). And the Prophet Jeremiah, amidst the darkness of the despair he had felt at the sin and corruption of his people, at the rule at a foreign hand, took his comfort in the fulfillment of that prophesy as old as mankind itself “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Isaiah 23:5-6)
And there, like so many of his fathers and mothers, so many of his forbearers, the Prophet Isaiah would look to the promise of the Lord, hearing His voice whisper in his ear telling him that there would be one who would enter into this world defying the laws of logic and reason, defying all that was understood about science and biology, being born of a virgin to bring God’s children back to the path of righteousness.
.It was a matter of trust in that basic understanding that told them “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), believing that God would forever keep his promises. For the faithful it did not matter if God had made the promise two thousand years or two minutes before, in their great grandfathers lifetime or their own, they knew that God was true to His word and that there would come a time when all things would pass into fulfillment according to his divine plan and will. To them, their faith was placed in the advent of a Messiah who would ransom captive Israel and free them from the dark bondage of the chains of sin’s slavery, and there would come a time when, as foretold by the prophets, when he would walk on this earth.
Immanuel… God with us…
Thousands of years later it still seems to defy all that we know about science and logic. Perhaps now we have the technology to artificially reproduce a virgin birth through our own advancements, but two thousand years ago it wasn’t possible. Now, in our age of enlightenment and reason, if it can’t be explained it is dismissed. Some interject that, despite all the historical evidence, that Christ never existed, while others explain away his birth as Mary lying and that there was, in fact, nothing really that truly special about it, that it was a myth made up by a scared girl who did not want to face the consequences for her action.
There, as we find ourselves amidst this Advent season, perhaps we even wonder, if it was God’s intent for people to believe that they might find their salvation through Christ, why this was to be a birth that He knew skeptics and cynics would reject. God, being all powerful, could have made His will be done anyway He had so desired.
But what is often times missed is that God never intended for it to be difficult to believe, even knowing that it was a skeptics world and that the Devil would use his power to deceive. Rather it is something very simple, something very basic, and yet something so beautiful. The idea that there is a loving God, a caring God, who loves us all so much that He would defy all the laws of this world to send a gift into it, His only Son, His beloved Son, that perfect child to not just bring the Lord to us, but to also bring us back to the Lord.
Immanuel… God with us…
Advent is not just a time to prepare for a celebration of the birth of Christ, it is a season of fulfilled promises, a season of hope and joy that tells us no matter how hard the times we are living in are, no matter how difficult our lives may be or how dark our days may be, no matter how impossible things may seem to us, God is there beside us, true and faithful to His word, seeking to draw us closer to Him, seeking to bring us once more to the peace of his wondrous embrace that we may find the comfort and solace that we so desperately seek. There we must remember that its not just in a virgin birth that God defies the logic and the reason of this world, but it’s in each and everyone of our lives that He does as well, bringing us to the joy of our salvation. There God does not need to explain to us for us to find all that we need, nor does He need to follow some special formula or some biological equation, all He needs to do is to love us, to show us that same love He showed when He kept the promises made to Isaiah and the prophets, when he kept His promises to all of us through all time.
We celebrate a time when we remember that there is more to life than just those things that we can understand or that we can comprehend, realizing that just because we may not understand why the sun rises does not make it stop rising, nor does it stop its warming glow from cutting through the dark coldness that surrounds us.
God’s love and Christ’s mystic and miraculous birth may be as a sunrise is to those who do not understand how it comes about and yet it is no less real and no less wondrous than that to us. There, you can place your trust, and faith in the Lord, even if your heart in hardened by the skeptics touch, and know that, as surely as the sun rises each and every day, so to does God’s love transcend and touch us in our daily lives, through this blessed season and through all times.
Now the peace of the Lord that transcends all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting. Amen.
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