What if God was one of us?
Matthew 2.13-23
After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him."
That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "I called my son out of Egypt."
When Herod found out that the wise men from the east had tricked him, he was very angry. He gave orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem and were two years old and younger. This was based on what he had learned from the wise men. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said, "In Ramah a voice was heard crying and weeping loudly. Rachel was mourning for her children, and she refused to be comforted, because they were dead."
After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. The angel said, "Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead." Joseph got up and left with them for Israel.
But when he heard that Herod's son Archelaus was now ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Then in a dream he was told to go to Galilee, and they went to live there in the town of Nazareth. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "He will be called a Nazarene.”
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Seriously? After all the joy and food and presents and boxing day sales, you want me to preach on THAT?
Can't we do New Years resolutions or a fat-burning program or … or even have a second Christmas?
12 months ago on Friday, we flew from NZ to AU - tired after packing and traveling and not sleeping in our own beds, we arrived - not for a holiday, but to live. This wasn't a case of finding a motel and heading for the nearest beach or theme-park. We needed to find out about housing, schools, healthcare. We had no bank accounts, drivers licenses, car, mobile or home phones, or Medicare cards. It was a very different feeling, arriving to stay.
We were very dependent on the few friends and family we had here. Foreign passports only count for so much. An electricity account with our name and address often had more currency with government agencies than our own passports. We had little in the way of status or identity.
We knew a few people, and only a little about the city. We didn't know exactly what work I would be coming to. We arrived with several suitcases, and our hopes and fears in our pockets.
It was certainly an adventure, but there was no plan b, and if it went badly we simply had to ride it out because we had come on one-way tickets.
All at the same time we were scared and excited, happy and fearful, hopeful and terrified. Much seemed the same as it did back home, but much was (is) also different. The tools and tricks and ways of doing things we had used to survive in NZ didn't always work here.
And so there were tears, uncertainty, anger, frustration, for days on end … all mixed in with a sense of the generosity of friends and family, the adventure of New Years eve at Yarra Park and the MCG, and a summer of 40 deg days. At least we (mostly) spoke the same language.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you; For Herod is about to search for the Child, to destroy him."
I'm grateful that we weren't being chased by a tyrant, fearing for our lives.
That we had several months leisurely time to pack, and could take most of what we wanted.
That we could say goodbye properly to friends and family - and the rabbit.and that we came to a country where we spoke the same language.
After Christmas day, it would be nice if, after the wise men left, everything continued nice and cosy and comfortably.
But that would not be the world that this God came to save; That would not be the experience of humanity that God came to be part of, in Jesus; The whole reason for Christmas - and this birth - was exactly those broken, angry, and fear-driven ways of living. Whether those of the powerful or the powerless or those in between. This saviour came for this sin and brokenness; to be with us the midst of it, and to save us for something much, much better.
What if God was one of us? … Not saving us through a 3rd party, or a magic trick. But really truly lived in our world? This story says that he really was one of us.
In this story we are confronted with some stark realities:
- That around our world today people still run from their governments and leaders in fear.
- That when God comes to deal with sin and brokenness, we can discover that we prefer our messy and busted lives to handing it over to God.
- That God's authority and power can be met by the response of the Wise Men - in worship and gift and gentleness and acceptance; or by the reaction of Herod in fear and violence.
The UNHCR mid-year report says that in July this year, there were 11 million refugees around the world, just under a million applying for asylum, of which Australia has just under 2%.
That's 11 million people running for their lives (literally) from oppressive governments or war or famine or natural disasters.
Let's just pause and consider what that means
- People continue to behave disgustingly and abusively towards each other;
- People continue to be exceedingly generous in welcoming those who flee for their lives;
- We in Australia know only a trickle of this river of human suffering.
I understand that we like to think of ourselves as nice - and basically good.
But the Christmas story pokes us with this reminder; Sin and selfishness and human violence are not far from our human experience. With road-rage and Australians threatening others with knives on public transport, this reality comes as close to us as walking out of our homes. And if I were really honest, its not all that far from my own heart. No, I'm not saying we should be scared of each other. Grace and hope are a generous part of every human being. Palestinian Parents love their children as much as Syrian or Indonesian or Australian.
But for us in Australia, we struggle to understand what it is that drives families to grab a few valued possessions and leave our homes and run, never knowing if we might ever return; but knowing that if we don't run, we will be killed, our daughters will be raped and we will watch our family home burn to the ground.
The heart of the Christmas story is not for children to dress up in tea-towels and sheets. It is about God's salvation for this broken world - a world where Jesus himself, with his family, experienced the impact of violence and fear.
This is truly "God with us" - and God is prepared to talk about sin, and salvation … so that God can talk about hope and peace.
We need to hear this part of the Christmas story to remind us that, beyond the Awe and Worship … and the sentimentality … This Child came to a broken world – in which we are part of this brokenness.
We need Herod, too.
Herod teaches us a valuable lesson.
Did you see the contrast between the wise men who searched for Jesus, and Herod, who also searched?
The wise men were open to what this baby might teach them; Herod was fearful of this 'king'. This baby was a threat to Herod; He was an object of worship and awe for the wisemen.
With the WiseMen there is a sense of patience and calm and taking time to wonder and listen and ponder.
With Herod there is impatience, anger and sudden rage.
When God is born among us, some with power will be open to him, and some will be threatened.
When Men (and Women) go to war because they are threatened by others, or withhold food from their enemies, or selfishly store up for themselves instead of sharing generously, innocent people suffer and need to be protected. And it is normally the children that suffer first when adults fight over things.
Herod was tricked by the wise men. But he doesn't go after the wisemen - he goes after the baby - or at least children generally, killing all of the children under two in Bethlehem in senseless rage.
Some have questioned whether this story could ever have happened. Listen then to the story surrounding Herod's death.
" To ensure mourning at his funeral, Herod wanted his soldiers instructed to kill notable political prisoners upon the news of his death. His goal was expressed thus: "So shall all Judea and every household weep for me, whether they wish it or not" -- we are not far from Matthew's scriptural comment upon the Bethlehem scene in terms of Rachel mourning for her children. Matthew's story would not be fantastic to the reader who knew the history of Herodian times. " Raymond Brown
And every time it happens, Mothers are left weeping inconsolably for their children.
the Hebrew Scriptures in this one, Jesus Christ.
A prayer. The Sound of Tears: Written by John van de Laar
There is a sound, God,
when grief spills from the corner of an eye,
and stains the earth with its wetness.
It is not a quiet sound,
although it may be difficult to hear,
and it is not a strange sound;
we know its compelling rhythms all too well,
because it is, after all, the sound of your voice.
You fill every tear with your nail-scarred presence,
and breathe into every gasp,
your comforting Spirit.
And in every broken voice, you call,
inviting us to find you
in the weeping.
Thank you for the grace that shouts
in the pain of our world,
and that teaches us to listen for life
in the sound of tears.– amen -
Whether it is a call to welcome the stranger in our midst, or to care for the poor, or to love an unloveable or loveless someone who is close to us, or to recognise the violence done to indigenous Australian children in our own history and lifetimes, or even move countries; to accept that this One Child invites us to participate in a different story for this world … This is our challenge.
And when God comes among us, we each have comfort or power or concepts that are threatened or challenged. We can follow the example of the wise men and pause and listen to something that is completely different to what we expect - or we can push back like Herod, threatened and angry.
God. With us. One of us. Acting intentionally and decisively … and in the cry of a baby, who has faced some of the worst that broken and angry humans can do to others.
God. With us. One of us. Loved by a mother and father, adored by searching wise men, worshipped by common folk.
If God were one of us, these might be our responses too.
-amen-
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