This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
The Light seen by the Magi of the East is powerfully symbolic in Matthew's Gospel. This astronomical phenomenon brought them on a long journey to see the newly born King of the Jews. For us it serves as a reminder of our need, as disciples of Jesus, to also reflect his light in our world. Our task is to draw those in the darkness to the light of Christ that they too may be saved.
After having appeared to the priest Zechariah in the Temple in Jerusalem to foretell the coming of the great prophet John, God's plan shifts to a teenage girl in the backwater village of Nazareth. The angel Gabriel shares amazing and unprecedented news with Mary, setting up a moment of decision on her part. Will she run away like Jonah, hesitate like Moses or Esther, or will she embrace this responsibility of being the mother to the Messiah?
We all know how Mary responds, an incredible example for us to imitate of hearing the word of the Lord and obeying it.
Joseph of Nazareth was a fairly ordinary man up until the moment he found out that he fiancé Mary was pregnant. Instead of letting pride or anger rule him, Joseph chose to embrace mercy, he was willing to divorce her quietly.
Having demonstrated this strength of character, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream to tell him that God had chosen him for a monumental task: Adopt the Messiah.
Joseph may have been an ordinary carpenter, living in the unimportant village of Nazareth, but when he obeyed God's command by marrying Mary, Joseph became an example of faith and obedience that we would all do well to imitate.
When you are someone as important to history as Jesus of Nazareth, the long-awaited Messiah, curiosity about your ancestry is only natural. Matthew begins his Gospel by addressing this desire and does so in unexpected and interesting ways: (1) He starts with the titles of "Messiah," "son of David," and "son of Abraham." Each of these carries weight and adds to the claims about Jesus that Matthew's Gospel will be making. (2) The inclusion of four mothers with strong Gentile connections in a list that otherwise only contains fathers. In so doing Matthew points toward God's concern for the whole world as well as his willingness to utilize people who would otherwise be overlooked, two key themes in the Gospel narratives. (3) Matthew leaves in the list (while some have been left out to form thy symbolic 14,14,14 symmetry) men both good and bad, heroes and villains, making what Jesus will prove himself to be even more remarkable.
In our second combined service with Redeemer Anglican Church, Pastor Eric Phillips and Pastor Randy Powell share the honor of bringing the Christmas Eve message of hope and joy through the experience of the shepherds, first with one angel's message of a savior, followed by the promise of peace from a whole company of angels.
Have you ever received a Christmas gift that you absolutely hated? One that you can't wait to return, one that you struggle to pretend you're happy for?
Joseph was given a Christmas gift that he didn't ask for, the way he responded to this unexpected gift show why God chose him to be the dad here on earth to the long-awaited Messiah.
Perhaps you've received an amazingly unexpected and wonderful Christmas gift at some point, whatever it was, it can't begin to compare with the one given to Mary
In addition to his expected role as Messiah of king, Jesus added that of prophet and priest, but even more remarkably, that of servant as well. As God's chosen savior, a marvel in that because of Jesus' divinity it was in reality God choosing himself, Jesus served here on earth with remarkable self-control and compassion as he worked to establish God's justice on earth, a process that his death and resurrection secured the final victory for, and one that he will conclude when he returns in power and might.
For now, the calling of God's people is to imitate his self-control and compassion as we continue his mission of furthering God's justice on earth.Having brought good news to the exiles of Judah in Babylon, the prophet Isaiah now calls upon them to share that news, shouting it from the mountaintop. Likewise, when the Advent of Jesus brought forth a greater fulfillment of Isaiah's words, the Good News was shared by the shepherds, later by John the Baptist, and eventually by Jesus' disciples following his command to take the message of forgiveness and hope to the ends of the earth.
What is our calling? Take the Good News to everyone who needs to heart it.
As we continue to consider the Advent of Jesus Christ from the perspective of the witnesses, we now come to the day of his birth and a number of shepherds going about their jobs working the night shift. God chooses them to receive the angelic message of Good News and great joy, to be the first to come see the newborn Messiah, and also to be the first to go tell others about this wonder which God has done. In other words, God chose them to be the first evangelists. Once more God's preference for making use of the meek and lowly amazes us, the willingness of these shepherds to be instruments of God's will encourages and challenges us to go and do likewise. Christ the Savior is born! Share the Good News!
When considering the 1st Christmas, let us not forget those who had longed to see that days for hundreds, even thousands of years. The prophets of ancient Israel as well as the angelic messengers of God both were curious as to how and when God would fulfill his Messianic promises. In addition, their desire to know more was further enhanced when God revealed that his Chosen One would both suffer AND be victorious, how these two seemingly opposite outcomes could come together was a vexing puzzle.
From our point of view, not only the Advent of Jesus, but his ministry, death, and resurrection, make perfect sense. We are blessed to know the whole story, to see why God's grace is truly so amazing.Continuing to examine the first Advent through the eyes of its eyewitnesses, we turn to Elizabeth, the long-suffering wife of the priest Zechariah. After waiting decades, Elizabeth is blessed by God with a miraculous pregnancy. At her sixth month she receives a visit from her much younger relative Mary, at which point both the child in her womb (John) and the Holy Spirit give Elizabeth an amazing experience of wonder and joy. Elizabeth (and Zechariah) is the first to experience the 'ripple effect' of the Advent of the Son of God, the first to receive God's grace and mercy as part of Jesus' redemptive plan. Those ripples continue to this day, as the coming of Jesus continues to spread joy, grace, and reconciliation in our world.
As Matthew relates the event of the first Christmas, the focus is upon Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus. We learn that Joseph is like his ancestor, Boaz, a man of both righteous adherence to the Law of Moses, and a genuinely kind man. When Joseph learns of Mary's pregnancy he does not seek vengeance or humiliation, but rather intends to divorce her quietly. Joseph would thus fulfill the Law without being vindictive. Is it any wonder that God chose him to parent the Son of God?
"Nice guys finish last" may be a common enough idiom, and true in any number of pop culture examples and real-world scenarios. But God holds us to a different standard than 'winning' in this life, as followers of Jesus, we don't want to 'win' at the cost of our character.
As we look at the Advent story this year from the perspective of the eyewitnesses, we begin with Mary. If is difficult to put ourselves in her shoes with a gap of 2,000 years of culture, history, and for most of us, ethnicity separating us, but in the end even us men who do not know what it feels like to bring a child into this world, there is still a common humanity that we share with Mary. That being said, her response to Gabriel's mind-blowing message is truly extraordinary. Unlike many in the scriptures who respond to God's calling with hesitancy or doubt, Mary responds with humble obedience. "I am the Lord's servant" is as powerful as it is simple.
Amidst the wonder of Christmas, the angels and shepherds, the wise men and the star, is a deeper amazing truth. That moment in Bethlehem when Jesus first took breath was the coming of the Word of God, Immanuel, God in the flesh, living here with us. Why? Not to start a political revolution, or lay forth an ethical or philosophical path, but to bridge a gap. A gap between a holy and righteous God and a sinful people living darkness. This task only God could complete, so he came here to make our salvation possible. Jesus did not receive grace, as do we all, but was its source, he did not seek Truth, he was the Truth. This story begins before the world was created with the plan of God, takes a massive step forward at Bethlehem, but was always headed to Calvary and the Empty Tomb of Easter. So let us give glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rest. Merry Christmas.
