FOUNDATIONS FOR PEACE

LUKE 1:46-55
December 22-23, 2012
4th Weekend in Advent
Pastor Tim Smith

Podcast: Download (Duration: 19:16 — 4.4MB)

December 22 Sermon from Saint Pauls on Vimeo.

46 And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me– holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” (NIV)

Children’s devotion: To give glory to God is sometimes called “magnifying” the Lord. Magnifying makes this bigger so we can see them better. When we talk about Jesus, it’s like making him bigger and easier to see. That’s one way we give glory to him—by telling people about him, so that they see him more clearly.

THROUGH CHRIST WE HAVE FORGIVENESS AND PEACE

How did you get here today/tonight? Not all of us drove here. There was a time when you would have seen horses tied up, wagons and even sleighs outside St. Paul’s—most folks in town would have walked here. But I don’t mean what method of transportation did you use. How did we get to celebrating the incarnation of Jesus Christ—Christmas—on the 25th of December—this coming Tuesday?

The Bible doesn’t give us this date, and the traditions and letters of the earliest Christian church don’t mention it. In fact, for many centuries, the celebration of Christmas as a holiday was a minor festival in the Christian church—Palm Sunday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost were the big holidays.

There is a fairy tale floating around that Christians tried to piggy-back Christmas onto the date of the Saturnalia or the Birthday of the Sun or another Roman festival, but those ideas don’t add up too well. No, I suspect that the date was arrived at in some process like this: Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, served in the priestly division of Abijah. In Chronicles we learn that his group served in the temple eighth in rotation—and here we turn to an eyewitness outside of the Bible. The Jewish historian Josephus says that in his time—he was born at about the time that Paul was converted on the Road to Damascus—the priests served two weeks on and then eleven months off in the temple. That means that Zechariah would have been in the temple receiving his vision from the angel in July. After that, he and his wife conceived a son—either in August or September. If we say, conservatively, that it was September, that means that when Elizabeth was in her sixth month, she was visited by Mary, and that would be (count on fingers) March. It was at that time that Mary was told that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit, and nine months later—(count on fingers again) that puts us in December for the birth of Jesus. In my opinion, December is a good and godly guess for the month in which our Savior was born. Perhaps the 25th as the day came from the tradition of celebrating Hanukkah on the 25th Kislev—which is usually about two weeks or so before Christmas.

However we got to this date, let’s think about how Mary, the mother of our Lord, got here.

“We’re going to have a baby!” Usually that’s fantastic news. I remember every single time my wife told me—the first one was on Valentine’s Day 1996. We were newlyweds, and I was a Seminary student, and Kath planned a surprise to tell me the news. But Mary? She and Joseph weren’t married. They didn’t have a physical relationship yet—so this wonderful news for Mary was heartbreaking for Joseph. What a test for his faith this was going to be.

Under the Law of Moses, Joseph could have had Mary stoned to death for committing adultery even though they weren’t married yet. In our time—not just our culture, but in most of the world, babies born outside of marriage are more and more common, and this isn’t progress. It robs children of something. Joseph, however, was a compassionate man. He loved her, and for no other reason than that, he spared her life, and considered letter her go through a quiet divorce. Joseph thought: If she loves another man—she is, after all, having a baby that isn’t mine—then I will let her go. But God sent one of his angels as a messenger to tell him that Mary hadn’t been unfaithful, and that the baby she was carrying would be the Savior.

Think of what it must have felt like for Mary. The most impossible truth in the world was hers, and God himself had stepped in to explain it to her fiancé. She went with joy to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and found that Elizabeth was also pregnant—six months along. It was there, in the hills of western Judea where David had fought Goliath and Isaac had tended Abraham’s flocks, that Mary lifted up her voice in song. Mary’s journey to this moment of expecting the Christ child’s birth was an emotional journey that included fear, longing, and uncertainty. All of that was taken care of through simple truth spoken by the Lord’s messenger, a truth expressed and believed. Simple, but a great thing. One of many great things God did for her. And everything was right.

Mary realized that generations of Christians would call her blessed. Not because of who she was, but because of the way God blessed her. We’re thankful that God gave Jesus a good home and that she was central to that home.

Mary said: Holy is his name. Everything about God is holy; but I can’t help but notice that by mentioning God’s holy name in this way, Mary is keeping the first table of the law—the first three of the Ten Commandments, the ones that apply to our relationship with our God. She has no other god. She uses his holy name correctly to praise him, and she takes time to worship him.

And yet, Mary knows that she hasn’t done everything perfectly. She herself still needs a Savior from her sin, and she tells us that she is rejoicing because she knows that God is her Savior. What she needed, God supplied. That’s as true for Mary as it is for me and you.

We need this Savior. Mary describes him by the things he does from the standpoint of the humble, the poor, the hungry, the servant. This is truly Israel—not that we should be meek and helpless and desire to have nothing, but that when we were meek and helpless and had nothing and no hope, God helped us.
Not that we should want to be poor, but that God became poor to give us true riches.
Not that we should try to become hungry, but that God filled us with the greatest food.

That knowing him, we should give up pride that gnaws at the insides, and let him gather us into his arms. That if any of us should rule or be in any position of authority, we must be ruled by him and guided by him, so that it is always God’s will that is done.

That knowing him, we who are blessed as a nation with wealth and for individually who have wealth of whatever kind should use that gift to his glory.

It was a bad day for the devil when God blessed Mary with this baby boy. And it’s just like the devil to use all of his guile and all of his spite to try and turn things upside down so that we’ll lose sight of the manger. So he takes questions about the date of Christmas, and he takes other religions and non-religions and their demands for equal time and for tolerance to cloud over the bright dawn of our Redemption drawing near. Don’t lose sight of God in the manger. It’s just like the old Liar to take simple acts of faith and Christian love and turn them into problems.

Christians give gifts at Christmastime because we celebrate the Gift God gave in Jesus—but that can make companies and stores greedy for business, and it can make a nation seem as if it doesn’t see the Bright Star of Bethlehem. But it’s not necessarily so. Don’t lose sight of God in the manger.

Christians love to be with their families at Christmastime because we love to show our love for each other as we’re reminded of God’s love for us—because he drew us into his own family by becoming one of us. But how often do travel plans become a pain, or a problem, or a source of stress and anxiety? Travel to see loved one can glorify God. Giving each other gifts—whether practical or joyful or playful or nostalgic or even silly—can glorify God. Don’t lose sight of God in the manger.

Remembering a Christian pastor who lived in Asia Minor sixteen hundred ago named Nicolas, St. Nicholas, and the way he gave gifts so selflessly to people around him—can lead to legends today that are, well, embellished. But the remembering can still give glory to God without losing sight of God in the manger.

Mary glorified God with her words, that laid open what was in her heart. Through her Son, the Son of God, we have forgiveness and peace. The forgiveness that leads to eternal life, and the peace of God that may transcend or go beyond our understanding, but it also guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

ZEPHANIAH 3:14-17
December 15-17, 2012
Third Sunday in Advent
Pastor Tim Smith

Podcast: Download (Duration: 17:01 — 3.9MB)

worship Dec 16 capture from Saint Pauls on Vimeo.

Gaudete, gaudete Christus est natus, ex Maria virgine, gaudete!

There was a time when this third Sunday of Advent, also called “Gaudete” or “Rejoice!” Sunday, would have included that or a similar Latin hymn. One of the traditional Old Testament lessons for this festival of rejoicing is Zephaniah chapter 3, verses 14 to 17:

14 Sing, O Daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O Daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. 16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” (NIV)

THE LORD RESTORES OUR JOY
1. In what he takes away
2. In what he gives

What brings you joy? Is it knowing that your favorite childhood book is being made into a movie? Is it being secure and safe, especially when you’ve known what it means not to be? Is it a time of year that you long for and that always, always comes? Is it being among your family—especially if you’ve been away a long time? Is it a thrill that goes through you when you hear the first few notes of a favorite song on the radio?

Joy isn’t the same as happiness. I like the way Mr. Steenbock put it once: He said, “Happiness comes and goes, but joy can be there all the time”—even when we grieve, even when we’re afraid, joy can still be there, because joy is being able to sing even when you cry, because you know that God is looking after you, and that God loves you. Rejoice, because of the condition of your soul.

Zephaniah is one of the Minor Prophets—they’re called that because their books are shorter, not because they’re any less important than Isaiah or Jeremiah. Actually, Zephaniah and Jeremiah were contemporaries, Zephaniah was a little older. His ministry began late in the kingship of Manasseh, probably not long after Isaiah’s death. Manasseh was followed for about two years by his wicked son, King Amon, who died leaving an 8-yeaar old boy named Josiah as King of Judah. It would be thirteen before Jeremiah was called by God while still very young. Zephaniah, on the other hand, was coming to the end of his prophetic ministry in Josiah’s younger days.

Through this prophet, The Lord tells us that he has set us free to rejoice. He brings us right inside the circle of believers that he truly seeks. He says: “Sing, O Daughter of Zion!” The ‘daughter of Zion,’ ‘daughter of Jerusalem,’ ‘Israel,’ – these are all ways of talking about people who have been brought truly and completely into the family of God.

Picture a typical home with children. If, suddenly, strangers started coming in, the police would be called; these people can’t be here—they have no right to be here. The law would come into play. But what if children unknown to the parents arrive, but with the child, the son, of the house? “Mom, dad, these are my friends.” Suddenly, the law no longer comes into play because the son has brought his friends home with him. The parents treat the new boys and girls as honored guests and with the same privileges as their own child, not because they know these children or because these children have earned anything, but because the parents love their son.

And this only begins to illustrate our relationship with God Father and the Son of God. We have an even greater status than friends of the Son, because he also calls us “brothers and sisters.” With the same status as Jesus—his gift to us, we are now the children of God.

That’s not because we deserve that status. Left to our sins, we deserve nothing from God, nothing but eternal punishment. Our sins aren’t just in the way we treat our world, or the creatures of this world, or even each other. Or even ourselves. Those sins are bad enough. But we also sin against and mistreat God himself. And for all these things, we are condemned. But God condescended to enter our world as an infant, a Son of Man through his mother, the virgin Mary, and he became our substitute: the sacrifice for our failings and for our sins.

And now he tells us: “Sing!” Shout aloud! Be glad! Rejoice! Rejoice with all your heart! There is always reason to rejoice: That’s because of what has been taken away from us.

“The Lord has taken away your punishment.” Zephaniah goes on to say: “The Lord has turned back your enemy.” When the prophet wrote these things, there was danger from the surrounding countries. The empire to the east, the Assyrians, were heading toward a collapse, but they weren’t gone yet, and there was a new Pharaoh in Egypt who looked like he might support the Assyrians. In fact, this boy King of Israel, Josiah, on the throne as a Third Grader, would be so concerned about that alliance between Egypt and Assyria that he would ride out to try and stop it from happening.

You may not like history and those kinds of details, but please understand the situation when these words were spoken: The northern kingdom was gone, taken by the Assyrians—ten tribes of Israel. First, the tribe of DAN—taken when Isaiah the prophet was still young, along with the tribe of NAPHTALI, by an Assyrian King named Tiglath-Pileser. That same king also deported Tyre in the north, Moab in the east, and the last of the Philistines to the southwest.

Then the pickings got easier. ASHER, ZEBULUN and ISSACHAR went soon after, followed by the three tribes beyond the Jordan: MANASSEH, GAD and REUBEN. All gone. That’s eight tribes that never returned. Finally, another Assyrian king, just a few years later—SARGON II came—and EPHRAIM was gone, too, along with most of BENJAMIN.

What did the people of Judah think? There were soldiers of this army just fifteen miles away at Gilgal, ten miles away at Bethel—that’s almost as close as Sleepy Eye. But God assured his people: The Lord has turned back your enemy. That stability in Judah might not last forever, but the assurance that the punishment for sin is taken away in Christ—that will never end. So The Lord Restores Our Joy in What He Takes Away, but he also restores our joy in what he gives.

We could say that the thing the Lord has taken away is the greatest thing he gives: the removal of our sinfulness. Israel lost its territory acre by acre and mile by mile; but we had lost our status with God in one bite, one bite in a Garden. But this is what the Lord has restored to us: Everything that we lost, with one blow: A crucifixion, willingly endured because of what it would restore.

So all that was lost—so much more than land—the image of God, God’s holiness, his righteousness, life without end—even that would have been ours in the Garden without sin, since the Tree of Life was there as well. And now, it’s all restored once again.

So rejoice.

God will take great delight in you. That’s his promise for every day of your life. Is God really watching over me? He delights in you.

God will quiet you with his love. Who needs to be quieted? A person who grieves? A person who’s afraid? A child that doesn’t fully know what’s wrong but certainly knows that it’s time to cry—because of cold, or wet, or fear,
or fever, or pain, or hunger,
or darkness, or loneliness, or heartbreak, or any of the other things that plague so many?

God will quiet you with his love. For some, that will mean that the endless ramble of speech, the searching for words that never seems to end, can find peace at least. For others, whose cries reach to heaven, will be comforted. For others, who have lost someone, or some thing, that can’t be restored in this lifetime, will be restored in the life of the world to come.

And God will rejoice over you with singing. I few minutes ago I dared to sing a little bit to you from this pulpit. I know that not everyone is eager to hear my raspy voice—but imagine God himself singing, and the song is God rejoicing… over you. Like the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, he is delighted to have you back home, to have you in his arms, to have you with him, in forgiveness and true fellowship forever.

So Do not let your arms hang limp. Praise him with your life today and this week and this coming year, and praise him in your heart as long as there is breath in your body. If you can’t sing very well with your voice, then sing with what you do, as your heavenly Father sings, rejoicing over you.

And the peace of God that transcends our understanding guards your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.