RefuJesus

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 26, 2010, the 1st Sunday after Christmas.

Isaiah 63:7-9

Psalm 148

Hebrews 2:10-18

Matthew 2:13-23

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Zlatko Haveric[1] came to the United States about 15 years ago when he was 35 years old from Sarajevo. He graduated from medical school in Sarajevo in 1984 and began to practice medicine immediately. This was the same year Yugoslavia hosted the Winter Olympic Games. And if you remember these games, they were a sight to see.

The war in what we used to call Yugoslavia began in April 1992, but Haveric had heard talk and rumors of war before the first military hostilities began. He writes, “It started gradually. I mean something was in the air for many months.” Information wasn’t necessarily hard to come by, it was difficult to find an unbiased source of information though. [Sigh] The more things change…

He wrote, “There was a complete confrontation of the opposing parties in the conflict, the ethnic factions. The propaganda spread by the media was fierce. Every program talked about the opposing parties; different versions of the news were coming from Zagreb, Belgrade, and Sarajevo from the three ethnic groups. So by the time the conflict started, the confusion and the division of ethnic groups was complete. Everything was ready for the war.”

As the hostilities evolved, he said that at first, he thought that it wasn’t all that obvious that the war would begin. Then when it began, he didn’t figure it would become like a “conflict between nations.” Then there was the hope that the “madness” as he called it wouldn’t last long, months seemed longer than he expected. Then he thought the international community would come in and fend off the madness that was taking over the nation. This was when he sent his wife and toddler daughter to London.

Haveric stayed in Sarajevo for patriotic reasons, not so much for any specific faction of his splintering country, but for his country in general. Perhaps it was more for the idea of his country at this point. A year after sending his family to safety, he decided it was time for him to go too. It wasn’t a sudden decision. There wasn’t a single event, a specific straw that broke his camel’s back. In his words the situation in his country was becoming absurd and it was time to rejoin his family in England, even if his own parents would not come with him.

By the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees, in the news they are called the UNHCR, he was able to get on a flight to Italy and secure the permits to join his family.

Even after practicing medicine in Sarajevo for several years, this didn’t matter as much in England, but Haveric was able to secure a residency in London. In 1995 the family moved to Chicago where Haveric’s sister-in-law lives. His wife was able to secure work as a secretary in the US because she was fluent in English and Arabic, but Haveric had to pass US medical exams and secure another residency. He had the skills, but his paperwork just wasn’t in line with either the British or American Medical Associations.

Where he lives now there is no Bosnian community, but at least it’s an American suburb and not downtown Sarajevo or some American migrant picker slum. Also, he’s doing better than his sister whose family lives in a German town on the Swiss border where things are not so good for refugees.

Here’s a harrowing if somewhat more anonymously presented story. Imagine if you will, a man whose wife has just given birth. The last week of her pregnancy had been difficult. During that week they all had traveled a long way and when they arrived, medical services she needed were not available. Services were available, but they were denied, for no special reason at all they were sent packing.

Nearly the moment they got settled in what passes for a place, she gives birth, at least it seemed like an easy delivery. Maybe it was easier than most births, but then again he’s a guy; what do guys really know about the physical and emotional trauma of childbirth? In any event, it was the birth of a child without a doctor or even a midwife. It had to be harrowing for her no matter how easy it seemed.

This was followed by a great commotion. Visitors bringing gifts present them to the child, not the father, not the parents, to the child. There’s enough drama for an entire Broadway season happening in the ramshackle place he found for his family. Finally the visitors leave and there is what will pass for peace and quiet. He’s finally able to get some shut eye.

His rest is anything but peaceful though. His dreams are racked by violent images. He is warned by his dreams to leave and leave quickly.

So his wife has just given birth, she was the “hostess with the mostest,” and she finally got the baby to sleep; now he is going to wake her up so they can pack up and to take the family across the border to a place that isn’t particularly friendly to immigrants from his neck of the woods because “The Man” is coming to get him. How long will they have to stay? The dream only says to stay until the next dream tells him to return, so God only knows.

On the other side of the sea, he’s a refugee, or worse an illegal immigrant. He has professional skills, skills that give him respect at home, but he isn’t at home anymore. He’ll be lucky if he can find a place where he might luck into day labor.

His skin is the wrong color. His religion isn’t the right religion. He goes and he is displaced from all that he has and all that he knows. There may be camps for displaced persons when they get there. There might be a community of people like them. They probably live in ethnic ghettos but at least it’s a place. It’s better than the alternative; it’s better than having no place, being completely homeless. All he has is his family, and that’s enough. That and the faith he has in his dreams. Well, the faith he has in the source of his dreams.

He thanks God his family is safe. He knows if he stayed where they were it would be bad for them, and he knows that where he is going it will be bad for them. Like the old song goes: “If I go there will be trouble, and if I stay it will be double.”[2] Going is a horrible decision but staying is even worse. The choice between “a rock and a hard place” would be better than this.

If this story sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a retelling of Matthew 2:1-13 with special emphasis on verse 13. But there is something I did that was unusual; I took more time to elaborately narrate the historical context of the flight to Egypt than scripture did. Sure, we have often heard that Egypt was a treacherous place for an Israelite, but have we ever considered what that meant? We know going to Egypt was dangerous then, as if it’s any better today, but have we ever really taken a hard look at what that meant to Joseph’s young family?

I did one more thing, again quite intentionally; I loaded the language of this story with images that mean something to us today. Using words like refugee, illegal alien, ghetto, displaced person’s camp, and things like that. These words mean a lot to us as Christians and as Americans. But have we ever associated this experience with our Lord and his family? I know for one that I hadn’t before earlier this week.

Our Lord was a refugee, the RefuJesus.

There’s an internet meme, an internet sensation that can help us understand this political and social situation in our time. The meme is that if you log onto Google Maps and ask directions from Japan to China you’ll get them. You can get Google Maps directions from Japan to China. What makes this an internet sensation is instruction number 42, “Jet ski across the Pacific Ocean, 782 km.” This is just stupid funny. Add to the funny that these two nations haven’t always been friendly and “Jet ski across the Pacific Ocean, 782 km” reaches a brand new level of silly.

Where this meme ties into our reading today—and our lives today—is that Google Maps doesn’t give directions from Israel to Egypt. Not even “head to the desert and turn right when you get to Sinai.” Google Maps doesn’t say “Tick off your brothers, it worked for Joseph in Genesis.” Trying to calculate it from the opposite direction, from Egypt to Israel, it doesn’t say “Really it doesn’t matter what route you take; it will take 40 years no matter what.” That’s how strained relations are after 5,000 years; Google Maps won’t even give ridiculous directions.

This is the situation Joseph was told to take his family into almost immediately after the birth of Jesus, get up and take the family to Egypt. Scripture then quickly takes us through a two verse narrative which moves us from “God says go” to “Joseph says ‘Let’s go’” to “Herod is dead and this fulfills prophecy.” Only then does the text tell the story of Herod becoming very upset because he was outwitted by the Magi leading to what we call The Slaughter of the Innocents. Then we are reminded Herod died and learn about Joseph’s next dream telling him to return to his nation.

Except for the Slaughter which includes narrative, prophecy, and poetry from Jeremiah, the text of our reading is the briefest of the brief. You could compose more narrative on Twitter.

On the whole though, we don’t dwell on the baby Jesus’ stay in Egypt probably because scripture doesn’t dwell on the baby Jesus’ stay in Egypt. It’s just one of those things, no big deal so we don’t take the time to unpack it. This is probably the reason we don’t dwell on the issue.

But I have another idea why we don’t think much about Jesus’ stay in Egypt. It’s just a germ of an idea and I am really speaking for myself, but maybe it applies to you too: No one ever asked me to think of it that way before. Honestly, not until I read the words of Yale Divinity School’s Thomas Troeger, “According to Matthew then, Jesus starts his childhood as a refugee: fleeing from Judea to Egypt, and finally from Judea to Galilee”[3] did this start to come together for me.

This opened me to think of Jesus as a refugee. This opened me up to think of refugee children. Like the children of Darfur who are crowed into camps displaced by civil war in the Sudan. It allowed me to think of the refugees who survived World War II, particularly the Jews. It allowed me to think of the Vietnamese from the 1970’s. It allowed me to think of Mexican and Central Americans since the 1980’s.

This opened me to think of Joseph as an illegal immigrant. It allowed me to see him as the dishwasher or busboy in restaurants all over America. It allowed me to see into the face of the Mexican men who wait outside Home Depot like it’s the public marketplace of scriptural times where men waited for work. It allowed me to think of Zlatko Haveric. This allowed me to think about the racial and ethnic lines that were crossed with the simple words “So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.”

These words allowed me to unpack the scripture in a bold and perhaps unorthodox way, a way that I do not see as unbiblical at all. This is one of the things we can take from this reading this morning, there is more to scripture than a quick casual glance provides.

There are two things we can do to move beyond this quick casual glance.

The first thing we are to do is be grounded in the word, and the only way to do that is to be in the word. We need to read scripture and pray on it daily. If you have never read the bible through, I guarantee it will change your life. It will surely change the way you see life around you. In the back of the sanctuary, there are two different plans for reading the bible in one year. One of them is straight through. The other offers one day of the week for different motifs of scripture, a weekly journey of torah, history, prophecy, poetry, gospel, and epistle. I invite you to take one or both. Give it a try. In late January when you’ve fallen behind and don’t want to continue, don’t do it! Keep plugging away.

As you read, take a moment to reflect on what you’ve read too. A friend of ours always says that every time he reads scripture he finds something new. He says it’s like “reading it again for the first time.” There is a glorious moment when you read something and can say, “My, that’s new.”

The other thing that this scripture calls us to do is look at the face of the immigrant. Jesus was a refugee. It is too easy to see the refugee around us, the immigrant around us, and presume something crude. We can presume they have no skill. We can presume since they do not know the local language or customs, or keep to their own language or customs, that they are up to something. We can think all sorts of bad things about the immigrant, some of which may actually be valid, but when lumped into a single heap we paint with a brush that is far too broad for a delicate coat.

If we believe that God is the creator of all, if we believe that God is the sovereign over all, we have to believe that the light of God shines on all God’s children. In all of us, especially the powerless immigrant, we can find the face of the baby Jesus staring back at us. What we need to be is the face of Jesus staring back.

What a glorious couple of days we have enjoyed. On Friday night we read the story of our dear Savior’s birth and celebrated it in Lessons and Carols. We brought the babe into our lives on that “Silent Night” but that is not where we stopped, oh no, we proclaimed his birth as the “Joy to the World!” We carried our little lights into the world and celebrated the wonder and the glory of the power that a small child brings into our lives.

Some of you know what that means better than others.

Then in a quick reversal of fortune, the joy leaves as terror comes to the door and the Holy Family pulls up stakes moving quickly and quietly, without a trace to a place where they could as easily be “gone tomorrow.” In the 1990’s in Chile they called these people “the Disappeared.” In Egypt Joseph and his family easily could have become “the Disappeared.”

The nightmare doesn’t end either with the return to Israel as Joseph can’t return to the home of his fathers in Bethlehem. Herod is dead, but Archelaus isn’t a ray of sunshine. So Joseph moves his family to a backwater town in Galilee called Nazareth which is the butt of jokes.

If there is a point Matthew is strong on it is this, the life of Jesus is the blessing of prophecy fulfilled. He is the long awaited Messiah. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He tells us that there is nothing we can face that our Lord hasn’t faced himself. There is no pain or suffering he himself hasn’t faced. In these trials and tribulations he is God and God is with us; even when he was a refugee himself. Being in scripture helps us to see this and be prepared to respond to God in every time and place.

So be alert because even in the face of the refugee, especially in the face of the refugee, as our Lord was once a refugee, God is with us.

---

[1] Zlatko Haveric’s full story can be found at the United States for UNHCR (the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) website, http://www.unrefugees.org/site/c.lfIQKSOwFqG/b.4803767/k.9859/Zlatko_Haveric.htm, retrieved December 24, 2010. I adjusted ages and time spans to fit 2010.

[2] The Clash, “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”

[3] Troeger, Thomas H., Feasting n the Word, Year A, Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, page 167.

Lessons and Carols 2010

This service was celebrated at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall Texas on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010.

The Presbyterian Church Book of Common Worship does not have a version of this service. Since there are many different versions, I compared several different services and selected these passages and songs for the service. Since 2007 the service has continued to evolve with new looks at the service and the music with the input of new worship leaders. This year's service was revised with the assistance of First Presbyterian-Marshall's Music Director Al Key.

Anyone who would like to use this service is welcome, the prayers come from the Presbyterian Church Book of Common Worship or are things I have picked up from other pastors through the years. The homily is a personal composition. I welcome anyone considering using this service to do as I did, find several, compare, and see where the theology of the service takes you, then arrange your own.

Music this year was led by Elder Al Key and our organist/pianist Mrs. Georgia Dyer. The Acolyte is Brionna.

Prelude

Welcome

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.

Good evening and welcome to this very special worship service of Lessons and Carols. All who come in the name of the Lord are welcome on this special, special evening.

Let us begin with the lighting of the Advent Candles...We light this candle as a sign of the coming light of Christ.

Advent means coming.
We are preparing ourselves for the days
when the nations shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice with joy and singing.

The Lord will give you a sign.
Look, the young woman is with child
and shall bear a son,
and shall name him Immanuel (God is with us).

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness,
on them light has shined.

Let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Call to Worship
Pastor: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.

Let us pray...Holy Child, born of Mary in a barn, you identify with us in object humanity. You move among us with announcements of Good News when things look bleak; you give us a star on dark, lonely nights. Sing to us once more that, assured of your presence among us, we may forget our fear and embrace your gift of newborn life, to the glory of your holy name we pray. Amen.

Prayer of Illumination

O Lord our God,
your Word is a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path.
Give us grace to receive your truth in faith and love,
the story of the coming of your son Jesus Christ,
that we may be obedient to your will
and live always for your glory;
by his birth in Bethlehem and his death on Calvary,
We pray in His holy name. Amen.

Homily--The Story--Rev. Paul Andresen

It is customary that when the word of God is read in Christian churches, it is followed by interpretation. Usually this is done through a message from the pastor. Sometimes it is done in drama or even in dance.

Tonight, we do something special. Tonight, we interpret the written word of God through song.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) Directory for Worship tells us “Song is a response which engages the whole self in prayer. Song unites the faithful in common prayer wherever they gather for worship whether in church, home, or other special place.”

So tonight, in this holy place, we will hear the story of the birth of our Lord told in Lessons and Carols.

Let us hear the word of God and let us respond in prayer and in song.

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7
Hymn: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Isaiah 11:1-4a, 6-9
Hymn: O Little Town of Bethlehem

Micah 5:2-5a
Hymn: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Luke 1:26-35, 38
Hymn: Angels, from the Realms of Glory

Luke 2:1-7
Hymn: Come Thou, Long Expected Jesus

Luke 2:8-20
Hymn: Angels We Have Heard On High

Luke 2:21-33
Hymn: What Child Is This?

Matthew 2:1-11
Hymn: O Come, All Ye Faithful

The passing of the Light of Christ.

John 1:1-14
Hymn: Silent Night, Holy Night

Charge and Benediction

It is our custom that at this point in the service Brionna comes and takes the light of Christ into the world. Tonight, we each take the light of Christ into the world. Take the light, and share it with the world.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.
As we celebrate His birth,
Let us celebrate new life in Him.

And may the blessing of triune God almighty,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
remain with you always.
Amen.

Hymn: Joy to the World!

What's In A Name

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 19, 2010, the 3rd Sunday in Advent.

Isaiah 7:10-16
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

The question and what a question it is, “What’s in a name?” This question has been asked since names have been given.

The power of naming is no better described than when God brought things into existence by naming them. Genesis 1 begins “And God said ‘Let there be light” and there was light.” How did light know to be light? As far as I’m concerned it’s like Teflon; I don’t know how it sticks to the pan, I’m just glad it does. Light knew to be light because God spoke it into being. God knew what needed creating, it was named, and it was created.

The first time proper names were given was in Genesis 2. Early in the chapter, The Lord gives these names to the four rivers flowing out of Eden: Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates.

The next proper name was given to the first man created, Adam. In antiquity, names often emphasized an individual’s distinguishing characteristic. Names also memorialized the parents’ attitude toward the birth of the child named or an important political event at the time of birth.[1]

God it seems didn’t devote that much imagination to the matter of naming the first man since “Adam” means “Man” in Hebrew. Kind of disappointing, isn’t it?

Later in the second chapter of Genesis, the Lord gives the responsibility for naming to Adam saying, “Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man (Adam) to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.”

William Shakespeare is deservedly considered one of the greatest writers in the English language. He is renowned for both his playwriting and for his poetry, particularly his sonnets. His view on naming can be best expressed in this monologue from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.

O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name!
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.[2]

More recent cinematic arts offer other ideas about naming. In the movie “Road House,” nobody thought much of the character played by Patrick Swayze until he says his name, Dalton. Then there were two reactions, “I know you” and “I thought you’d be bigger.”

On a lighter note, in the movie “Hot Shots,” Charlie Sheen’s character is named Topper Harley. Then after being drummed out of naval aviation, he lives with a Plains Indian tribe who name him “Fluffy Bunny Feet” after his choice of house shoe.

Renaming is not unusual in scripture. Many have been renamed, or renamed themselves.

The first renaming in Hebrew scripture is when Adam names the woman “Hawwah” or “Mother of All.” The Greeks called her “Eva” but only after first calling her “Zoey” which simply means “life.” Personally, I like calling the “Mother of All of the Living” “Life.” There’s a simple elegance to it. In English we call her Eve.

Abram became Abraham and Sarai became Sarah when God made the covenant with Abraham to make him a great nation.

Some names made a statement concerning God.[3] After Jacob wrestles with God at Pineal, he is renamed Israel, one who strives with God. How do we know that this man Jacob wrestles with is God since the name of the other wrestler is never given? Pineal means “face of God.” El and Al as in Israel and Pineal both mean God in Hebrew.

One Hebrew tradition is that the mother names the child. Jacob’s youngest son was named Ben-Oni by his dying mother Rachel. The New Living Translation defines Ben-Oni as “Son of my Sorrow.” Jacob breaks with tradition and promptly renames him Benjamin, “Son of my Right Hand.” Rachel used the ancient naming convention that memorialized her opinion of the birth; Jacob reframed that convention with an eye to the future instead of the present.

People claim authority over others by renaming them.[4] After he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams Joseph is renamed Zaphenath-paneah which means “God speaks and lives.” Pharaoh had the authority to rename Joseph since he was a slave and a prisoner in Egypt; but renaming Joseph gives glory to God, not himself.

In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and told his advisors to bring him the cream of the Israelite crop, the Nobles and the Royals. Among them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The Commander of the Babylonian officials renamed Daniel and called him Belteshazzar which means “Protect the King.”

Because of an event in the book of Daniel and the song Louis Armstrong sang about it, we have come to know Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by their Babylonian names rather than their Hebrew names. Oh, if you aren’t old enough to remember Louis Armstrong, these three were also immortalized in song by Sly and the Family Stone and again by The Beastie Boys. Their Babylonian names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

After the death of her husband and sons in the book of Ruth, Naomi renames herself Mara. The events of her life caused her to change her name from “pleasant” to “bitter.”

If you know someone’s name, or the name of a God, then you can summon it.[5] This is one of the reasons the ancients had so many different Gods, they prayed in the name of the God who influences events, hence a Sun God, a Rain God, Harvest God, and so on. In the book of Acts, Paul mentions that the Greeks took this to the extreme. The Greeks had a special statue for the God whom they do not know. So if a strange God comes to town, “Oh, that’s you down in the southwest corner of the Parthenon.”

Again the theme of having power over someone by knowing their name is found in popular culture. Knowing the name and exercising the power is the climactic event in Rumplestiltskin.

Knowing how to pronounce a God’s name so you can have power over that God is the reason why the Hebrews intentionally lost the pronunciation of the name of the Lord. You can’t swear a false oath in the Lord’s name if you don’t know how to say it. You can’t take the Lord’s name in vain if you don’t know how to say it.

An interesting fact about ancient Hebrew; while it was always spoken with vowels, but the vowels weren’t precisely written until after the year 500AD. Context was all important. The word with the consonants DBR is pronounced several ways. Depending on how the vowels are arranged, it can mean “He speaks,” or “Word,” or “pestilence.” Context was all important.

So since the earliest days of the Scribes, the four lettered name of the Lord was never spoken. Modern scholars have an idea, but no matter how well researched it may be; it is just that, an idea. Today, when the name of the Lord is written in Hebrew, the vowels which are written with it belong to the word Adonai, another one of the several Hebrew words for God. When the two are combined and spoken in English we get the word Jehovah. This is why today when Jews speak of the Name of the Lord they will often say “Hashem,” Hebrew for “The Name.”[6]

So what’s in a name? Oh so very much, even if the name is just “The Name” these handles represent us to the world.

In the case of Romeo and Juliet, the names are of two feuding families in Verona. But it is the hope of these two star crossed lovers that they will soon take the name of love rather than the names of their fathers.

In the case of Adam and Eve, it is who they are in the most literal sense, a man and the mother of all.

For Dalton, it wasn’t the name that meant so much; it was the man behind the name. For Fluffy Bunny Feet, the name is a sight gag

The name of the Lord is who God is, the Great I AM and the great unpronounceable, irreproachable, unimpeachable Lord of all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be. The Lord whose name will not be used to do our will but “thy will be done.”

For Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Benjamin, Daniel, and Ruth their names are about not only who they are, but who they were or will become.

Names contain power. Speaking them invokes power.[7] In our baptism, we only use our first names, not our family names. In baptism, our family name becomes “Child of God” sharing life together as the family of God, sharing the blessing of God’s power.

Isaiah 7:10-16 is in the midst of a section where the Isaiah and King Ahaz discuss proper response to a political crisis. Isaiah tells the king to ask for a sign. The prophet invites the king to test the Lord. Ahaz either doesn’t want to play Isaiah’s game or he knows better than that, even if he is invited by the prophet.

Isaiah doesn’t press the issue; instead he shows the king the sign. Isaiah says that the Lord himself will give the king a sign. He declares a young woman (per the Hebrew Scriptures) who is a virgin (per the Greek version of the Old Testament); she will give birth to a child and name him “Immanuel[8], God with us.” He declares that he will eat curd and honey.

What’s odd about this passage is that it has been translated into English in two different verb forms. In the New International Version and most other translations, the way the verb is rendered says that the woman will be with child. In the New Revised Standard Version it is rendered she is with child. One says “will be” and the other says “is.” One says this will happen in the future and the other says it is happening now.

What is at stake here is very important to King Ahaz. If the child is coming in the future, especially a distant future described in verse 16, Ahaz doesn’t have to worry about this much. If it’s in the distant future, that’s someone else’s problem.

On the other hand, if the woman is with child and if he is born in the near future and he is called Immanuel, this is his problem. The child will be one from the poorest in the society; this is reflected in his diet of curds and honey. He will be poor and without power. His mother will be young and if a virgin there will be no father in the picture so he will be condemned to a life of misery. Still, with all of these disadvantages, he will be called “Immanuel.” He will be called “God is with us.”

The New Interpreter’s Bible says that the identity of the child in Isaiah is less important than the meaning of his name.[9] The young mother has the faith to call her son Immanuel even given the crisis of living under the thumb of King Ahaz. This makes the woman courageous and defiant. She does not wait for a distant future to declare God is with us, she makes that claim during the most pitiful of days for the nation of Israel. Her courage will not make her lot better than those who also suffer in this time. She will not reap any benefits for her bravery, but the nation will know God is with us, and so does King Ahaz.

Our reading from Matthew takes this reference and turbo charges it. Joseph has just discovered that his betrothed Mary was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. (Which man here would not follow this with the words “likely story”?) But just as he is about to dismiss her from his life quietly, the angel of the Lord appeared and said, “Fear not, and take her as your wife because the word of her pending birth is true.” This unlikely story is the God’s truth.

Then they are told they will name their son Jesus. Actually, Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua[10] which means “He is salvation.” As lofty a name as this is, in our Lord’s time the name Joshua or Jesus was as common as Michael or Jacob[11] or, well, Jesus. It wasn’t such an uncommon name in its time. But then, when the son is born he will be named Jesus the people will call him “God with us.”

It is the people who will see that he is salvation. It is the people who will say that God is truly with us today. God is with us not in some transcendent new agey way. He will physically be in the muck with his people. God will be around us in a very real and very personal way. He is salvation and He is with us. God is salvation and God walks among us. He is God and he is with us.

The generalization of Isaiah is transformed into the specific presence of God at the birth of a son. He is salvation and he is with us. What’s in a name? The Lord our God, Jesus of Nazareth, he is salvation and he is with us.

The woman in Isaiah calls her son Immanuel because even in the horrors of her time, even in the conquest of the nation because God is with God’s own people. While Joseph will call the Son “Savior” we will also call him “God with us” because of his physical presence. In our time, we say that Jesus is the Emmanuel as we wait for his coming on Christmas Day and his ultimate coming in victory.

But let’s not wait; let us now be as bold as the young virgin woman of Isaiah’s time. Let us see and show God is with us. Let us find God with us and God around us. Let us be the light that God speaks and shine the light of Christ in a world that is so very dark. This way, regardless of our age we too become like the child of Isaiah’s prophecy. We can never be the Emmanuel, but knowing God is with us, we share the blessing of God’s power in the life of the world.

---

[1] Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, Volume 3, Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann Editors. Translated by Mark E. Biddle. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1997, page 1350.

[2] Shakespeare, William, Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene 2.

[3] Ibid.

[4] New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 4, page 218

[5] Theological Lexicon, Ibid. 1351

[6] New Interpreter’s Dictionary, Ibid., page 219

[7] Ibid, page 219

[8] Note on using the spelling of Immanuel or Emmanuel: When referring to the Isaiah passage I used the Old Testament spelling of “Immanuel.” When referring to Jesus or the Matthew passage, I used the New Testament spelling “Emmanuel.”

[9] New Inerpreter’s Dictionary, page 218

[10] Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon of the Old Testament, page 221. Strong’s Concordance numbers 3091 and 3442

[11] These names were taken from the list of Most Common Male Baby Names as of May 2010, http://baby-names.familyeducation.com/topnames/boys/, retrieved December 18, 2010.

Go and Tell What You Hear and See

This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas on Sunday December 12, 2010, the 3rd Sunday of Advent.

Isaiah 35:1-10
Psalm 146:5-10
James 5:7-10

Matthew 11:2-11

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

As we read last week, John had promised everyone who had come to the Jordan that while he was there to baptize with water for repentance; after him will come one who is more powerful than he, whose sandals he is not fit to carry. He who follows will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Then in the verse that immediately follows last week’s gospel selection we read, “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.” John recognized who Jesus was. Matthew’s gospel tells us that John would have prevented Jesus from being baptized by him saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” Jesus recognized who John was too. He said, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”

They recognized one another. The story of the Baptism of Jesus ends with a voice from heaven saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

John knew who Jesus was, but by the time of our reading this morning, Jesus wasn’t doing the things John had expected the Christ to do. Jesus wasn’t doing the Messianic stuff, the Holy Spirit and fire he had expected, he had prophesied, wasn’t coming. Where’s the brimstone when you need it?

Of course, John’s expectations of a Messiah who would come with fire weren’t his own creation. There was a long history of prophets who had prophesied the coming of the Messiah with fire. Our reading from Isaiah promised God will come with vengeance and with terrible recompense. Isaiah promised divine retribution coming to destroy the enemies of God. Now we’re talking about the Holy Spirit and fire with a vengeance.

The conventional wisdom of the day was that the Messiah would come to free the nation from its oppression by conquerors. Freedom from Rome, freedom from Babylon, freedom from Egypt; the Jews expected a military and political leader who would free them from the traditional shackles of the world and restore the Kingdom of God on earth.

But with everything The Baptist knew, knowing Jesus is the Christ, what Jesus was doing didn’t meet his expectations for the acts of the Messiah. He knew Jesus was the answer, but where’s the fire? Where’s the vengeance? Where’s the terrible recompense? Where’s the divine retribution? Where is the destruction of the enemies? John’s in prison. He isn’t long for this world, and I am guessing he is feeling the pressure of prophecy and the weight of the cosmos upon him, so he sends his disciples to ask. “Are you the one who is to come? Or are we to wait for another?”

Jesus answers John’s disciples. “Go and tell John what you see and hear.” He tells them don’t ask me, see for yourself and tell your master, your Rabbi; tell John what you see.

So, what has happened since Jesus has been baptized?

According to the New Interpreter’s Bible, in the narrative of the book of Matthew, Jesus performs twenty distinct miracles with additional miracles only mentioned in summaries.[1] This is more than any other gospel.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus cleanses the man whose skin is blemished, curing his leprosy. He heals Peter’s mother-in-law from her ailment. He heals the paralytic declaring that his sins are forgiven; then asking the Pharisees who declare this blasphemy which is easier to say, “your sins are forgiven” or “stand up and walk?”

He heals the man with the withered hand and gives sight to the blind on at least two occasions. While not found in Matthew’s gospel, there is a story of Jesus healing a deaf man in Mark’s gospel. On the flip side of this miracle, Matthew reports the story of a man who cannot speak becoming able to express himself in voice after he is exorcised of demons.

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus performs two exorcisms and eight healings. He also performs three more healings that are also exorcisms. There are two miracles at sea and in three stories the needs of people are miraculously met. In life and in death; raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead and cursing a fig tree to its death rounds out the table of miracles.

In his own more concise words to John’s disciples, “The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

In just these few words, Jesus invites John’s disciples to remember what was written in Psalm 146, the Psalm we used as our call to worship this morning, “The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord!”

In one simple sentence, Jesus reminds John’s disciples of the miracles and blessings he has shared in the name of Holy God, to give glory to God. In one simple sentence, Jesus points to the Father, who points back to the Son.

Jesus tells them exactly who he is. And if he isn’t what they expected, that wasn’t his concern. Jesus says that if his actions don’t pony up to their expectations about what the Messiah should do, they should take another look at their expectations.

Jesus is exactly who he is, he is exactly who he says he is, and he isn’t Lord of creation to meet others expectations or desires. Like John and his disciples, we all have an idea of who God is, but that may not be who God is at all. So how do we find out who God is? We do just what John did, he asked. So we ask.

But we must beware of the questions we ask and how we ask. To get good answers first we need to ask good questions. In Douglas Adams’ hilarious novel “The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” it is discovered that the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything is… 42. Oh, it’s the right answer, it was later discovered that they didn’t ask a very good question. The question wasn’t good enough to reach a meaningful answer.

Yet we are fortunate, one of the joys of our questioning is that we have the source of the answers. Scripture is the word of God. Its authority is in the fact that the Bible is the authoritative historical witness to Christ. It is the testimony of those who actually saw and witnessed to the saving acts of God in history.[2] The Bible is worthy to be called Holy Scripture because it conveys, mirrors, or reflects what is authentic and valid about God and God’s works.[3]

Of course we have to beware, there are lessons that are easy to take that are incomplete, or not really there at all.

Yesterday, protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas were on the picket lines again. According to their own website, “The humble servants of God at WBC have picketed 44,729 times - preaching on the mean streets of 814 Cities - including in all 50 States (plus Canada and Iraq) - commanding all men to fear God, and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come!”[4]

On a side note, for everyone who wants to spend time expressing rage and furious anger against these “humble servants,” according to their web site, they have lost and will lose exactly zero “nanoseconds of sleep” over anyone’s “opinions and feeeeellllliiiiiings.”[5] (emphasis theirs)

Westboro Baptist first made national headlines in 1998 for picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepherd, a University of Wyoming student who was brutally beaten and murdered. During the trial of his accused and convicted killers, witnesses stated that Shepherd was targeted because he was homosexual.

The congregation graduated to constant headlines in 2005 after declaring its intention to picket the memorial service of Carrie French in Boise, Idaho. At the age of nineteen, French was killed on June 5, 2005 in Kirkuk, Iraq where she served as an ammunition specialist with the 116^th Brigade Combat Team’s 145^th Support Battalion.

The Reverend Fred Phelps, Senior was once quoted saying, “Our attitude toward what’s happening with the war is [that] the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime.”[6]

Yesterday members of the Westboro Church went to Raleigh, North Carolina to protest the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards because of her tolerance for gays. Their hope was to promote “awareness of the dangers of homosexuality”[7] and condemn her for “spewing blasphemy.”[8]

Now, here’s why I share this: In his own way, Reverend Phelps has asked a question and prayed for guidance. He sees something wrong with his community, and asks what can be done to redeem the situation. The answer he has received is that it’s just plain too late for America and he’s going to get the word out because time is short. He and the people of the Westboro Baptist Church have chosen to picket churches, funerals, football games, and rock concerts as the way to share the word that God’s hard rain is falling.

Rev. Phelps is telling the world and our nation in particular are going to hell in a hand basket, literally. In this way, he has joined in with what Jesus has commanded the disciples of John, they are going and telling what they see and hear. Frankly, this is what prophets do.

The Psalmist wrote, “The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.” My guess though is that the people of Westboro are heavy on the ruin of the wicked.

As for me, I don’t agree with his interpretation of scripture. I will say nothing about the sincerity of their convictions; instead I think they have asked their questions poorly and got 42 for an answer.

Of course, in their own words, they won’t lose any sleep over my “opinions and feeeeellllliiiiiings.”[9]

This week my Facebook profile has been ablaze with no shortage of people who hope that the folks from Westboro get a sore throat, forcing them to be quiet. Some have suggested they would like to picket Rev. Phelps’ funeral with signs that are far from complementary. As for me, I would like to see a funeral sign that says, “God is love and God loves… even Rev. Phelps.”

As for me, I believe we live in a nation that is a shining light among the nations of the world. Do I believe that our nation is all that it can be? Do I believe that we have reached the apex of our ability to follow God? No, surely I believe that sin is real in this world, in both individuals and in the governments we create.

Yet I have faith, I believe that no one and nothing is beyond God’s redeeming work done in Jesus Christ. I believe that as long as there is life in Christ, the miracles of the Lord are still real. I believe we are a Psalm 146 nation following the Lord lifting up those who are bowed down and loving the righteous. We are a nation that watches over the strangers and upholds the orphan and the widow. And we are a nation that will truly bring the wicked to ruin.

I believe this because it is what I have seen and what I have heard. It is what I have found in scripture. It is what I have seen on the faces of the people, people whose lives reflect the light of God. I find it in individuals in the military. I see it in teachers. I even see it in a handful of politicians. It is what I hear in the voices of those who sing God’s praises and cry for God’s justice. I believe this because it is what I have seen and what I have heard; and it is what I must go and tell.

John’s disciples asked if Jesus was the one. Like only Jesus can, he says, “Yes I am, just look around and see the Kingdom of God blossoming around you. It may not be what you expected to see, but it is what my Father expects me to do.” Fred Phelps sees wrath, I see grace and redemption. We are both called to share what we have heard and seen. And by this, may no one take offence at the Lord our God.

John’s disciples left to spread the Good News of Jesus. We need to ask: Who are you, O Lord? Where are you at work in this world? What are you doing? How shall we share what we have seen and what we have heard?

Advent is upon us. Let us share this, the good news that Jesus is coming. As for me, I am excited. So now, let us spread the Good News of our God who reigns now and for all generations.

---

[1] “The New Interpreter’s Bible,” Leander E. Keck, Convener. Vol. VIII. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995, p 241-244.

[2] Authority of Scripture, Richardson, Alan, “Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible.” 21st Printing 1992. Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1962

[3] Authority of Scripture, Barr, J. “Interpreters’ Dictionary of the Bible—Supplemental Volume.” 13th Printing 1996. Abingdon Press: Nashville, 1976.

[4] http://www.godhatesfags.com/picketlocations.html, retrieved December 11, 2010.

[5] http://www.godhatesfags.com/index.html, retrieved December 11, 2010.

[6] Oxley, Chuck. “His church was bombed, and now he protests funerals of the war dead.” Seattlep.com. Retrieved October 5, 2006.

[7] http://www.carynews.com/2010/12/11/v-print/24444/westboro-baptist-protest-sparks.html, retrieved December 11, 2010.

[8] WBC Press Release found at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/09/elizabeth-edwards-funeral-westboro-baptist-church_n_794333.html, retrieved December 11, 2010.

[9] Ibid. http://www.godhatesfags.com/index.html, retrieved December 11, 2010.