Roger's Postings

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Matthew 1:18-25. God with us!! 23/12/07

{18) This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. {19} Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. {20} But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. {21} She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." {22} All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: {23} "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." {24} When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. {25} But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Today, as we draw near, once again to the celebration of Christmas, our focus is turned to what is the meaning of all of this. What is Christmas all about? Who is this one whom we celebrate year after year? And what is the significance of this event?

Now I could go into detail as to what our society today, sees as the significance and meaning of Christmas. Here again our media has given us everything but the true meaning and significance of this most amazing event. But suffice to say, once again, it is all about us and what we make of it. We and what we do is what makes Christmas, Christmas.

However our readings this morning draw our attention away from our self-focus and points us to him whom Christmas is all about. It focuses us on the babe that was to be born in Bethlehem. It is all about him. He alone, is what makes Christmas truly Christmas. It is only as we firstly focus on him, that we in any way are able to understand the blessings that are associated with this wondrous and joyous celebration.

The gift of Christmas that makes for a truly blessed Christmas is the Gift that God himself gives to us. It is not first and foremost what we give, share, or think that makes Christmas truly special. However as we receive this Gif t that God has for us, we find all the warmth, love and assurance that we could ever want or hope for. Which in turn, refocusses us away from ourselves and automatically works love, sharing and the drawing together of us into a fellowship that is what we so desperately long for. The Gift of Christmas enables us to first of all have everything that we need for ourselves and others, but then also uses us to spread this Wonder to those around about us so that we can all have that which makes for a truly blessed Christmas every day of the year.

But it is here that we need to take note of the Old Testament reading [Isaiah 7:10-16.] where God tells the king that he will give him a sign so that he can be sure that God would protect him from his enemies; instead of putting his trust in earthly alliances to save him. However the king was not prepared to take God at his word, but instead made his alliances, which eventually became his downfall completely. Even though he had God’s sign, he chose to do his own thing, and so did not receive the blessings that he was longing for.

Today also we look to our earthly alliances with money, technology and what we do, to give us a Christmas that will give to us all that we need. But then we become even more disillusioned when we a left way short; when Christmas becomes only a fleeting escape from our troubled life, and then are left even more hollow the following days. Christmas in this way promises so much, but ends up leaving us even more fragile than before. Christmas without a focus on that which truly is what Christmas is all about, is empty, futile and destructive. The only ones that gain out of that christmas is the big companies and financiers.

Here however the interesting thing is, that God has given this sign; this Gift, even though we so often look to these other alliances. The sign given to king Ahaz is the gift of Christmas that has already been given to us. There in this Gift we have that which we long for; and which will give to us the peace, hope and joy that we yearn for and cannot find in these other alliances.

Here let us remember what God has promised to us in this Gift. Here to Joseph before the baby was born and hundreds of years beforehand to Isaiah, God has told us what is truly special about this Gift. Now because it is come true we can know that Christmas has these wonderful things for us, so that we can live with confidence and hope in the midst of a frustrated and frustrating world.

So what is it that God has said about this Gift? "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." Think about that for a moment. "The virgin will be with child. This baby does not have an earthly father. Here don’t get caught up into the thinking of so many today who think that because it is just not humanly possible for that to be the case; therefore we can either dismiss it as some fanciful story, or we change it to suit our thinking. Here God’s Word is very clear: what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. God can do the impossible.

But even more than that, here is the very clear reference to the fact that this baby is also God’s Son. So not only is he in every way human, just as we are, except without sin; but he is God’s very own Son. He is God Almighty come to be with us and to give us what we really need. God, come to live amongst us, so that we can know for sure that he loves us; and loves us deeply, despite our sinfulness. He came as a little baby in a manger so that he can identify with each and everyone of us; no matter how lowly we might be.

So here we can be very sure that this Jesus is in every way human just as we are. But at the same time we are clearly taught that here also is God Almighty himself. How this can be is beyond our human comprehension, but it is so because God himself says so.

Now even more significant than that is, the news that was given to Joseph, that he was to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. There we have the real ‘crunch point’ of this Gift that has been sent to us. God come ‘to save us from our sins.’ So God’s coming to us was not one of, wagging his finger at us and telling us to lift our game; nor was it to come and judge us because we just have not even come close to measuring up to his standards. Nor was it to come and simply show us how to live, in the vain hope that we might strive even harder to be the people that we were intended to be.

No this Jesus came to save his people from their sins. He came to take the punishment that you and I deserve, on himself: he allowed God to forsake him, so that we would not be forsaken. He went to hell so that we might not. He shed his blood as the sacrifice for our sin, so that we in turn might be forgiven and so have life and salvation.

There is the true greatness of this Gift that came and comes to us this Christmas. This God-man come so that we might have forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. God come to be with us so that we can have hope and certainty in an uncertain and hopeless world. That surely surpasses the gifts that we give and receive, the family times that we have and the goodwill that we share with one another.

Now knowing that, we can truly celebrate Christmas, knowing that through it God has come to be with us so that we can have meaning, hope and joy in our life each and every day. We are loved. We are forgiven. We have been given life and salvation. This Christmas we will want to focus first and foremost on him as a lasting gift who truly does make a difference to all of life. We will want to receive him and all that he has to offer, into our lives and we will surely want to worship him, making him the centre and focus of our Christmas celebrations.

Jesus is Christmas – Christ with us. With that our lives beyond Christmas day will be as rich as that special day of the year when we celebrate his coming into our world. God has come to be with us and to give us that which is good and lasting. So we will be reassured again that we will richly blessed again this Christmas and beyond. To him then be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN

Pastor Roger Atze
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Toowoomba

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