Sermon "The God Who Is With Us"
Rev. Lonnie Richardson
Sunday, December 20, 1998
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The God Who Is With Us
It has been a special joy to see the "baby boom" take place at the church. Most Sundays of this year have been blessed with the church participating in the sacrament of baptism. Babies are special! Some families wait for years to have a child. Some may not give birth on their own but have the joy of adopting, or having foster children, or even have surrogate children. Some babies come as a surprise and still a blessing. There is absolutely no doubt that Mary and Joseph were surprised and shocked to learn that they had a child on the way. And a special one indeed!
Matthew begins the story in a matter-of-fact way. "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way..." Quickly, the gospel writer begins to describe the presence and the experience of the miraculous in the life of this young couple. Notice I didn't say "Matthew describes the miracle." Rather, Matthew tells the story of the presence and experience of the miraculous with Mary and Joseph and finally, the whole world.
It's an entirely different emphasis. We are not linking our minds to an idea or event that can simply be described. We are linking our very souls and spirits to an experience that is so special it is heralded by angels. And we link to it in a special way because we experience the miraculous presence of god in the birth of every child. I remember a doctor who attended to the birth of one of our children. He made the comment as he held the wrinkled bundle out for me to hold..."I will never understand the miracle of birth..." And so it is with most of us.
A newborn child is one of the most powerful symbols of hope and life. Birth is a miracle. It's a sign that life goes on. Each new child is a sign of hope and potential. Birth also provides contrasts. On the other side of the coin, a newborn child can also be a powerful symbol of hopelessness and total dependence. We can all bring to mind pictures and posters we have seen of impoverished children from impoverished neighborhoods-they don't have to be from third world countries. They can be right here in our own backyard. We have seen the frail limbs and bloated stomachs, signs of malnutrition and disease. And so we have the contrasts of hope and helplessness. Jesus is presented to us as a child of hope and newness of life.
Joseph has a lot to teach us about the experience of the miraculous. His reaction to Mary's situation certainly produced some "out of the ordinary" results. There must have been some things that were not easy for Joseph to accept. The pregnancy created a sticky situation for Joseph and for Mary. They were betrothed. Mary had been promised to Joseph. A betrothal was like an engagement but with some differences. Their engagement was just as binding as the marriage itself. Suddenly Mary was pregnant. We may try to soften it by saying "She was 'with child.'" but the fact is, she was pregnant. In a few months she would be "out there," "be showing," highly visible in her makeshift maternity clothing. Therefore, in accordance with the customs of that time, Joseph had every right to divorce her without any social stigma surrounding him at all.
The central character in Matthew's version of Jesus' birth is Joseph, not Mary. Joseph is remarkably like us: initially confused, then trusting, finally understanding. We go through the same development with regard to the Christmas story. When we are honest enough to admit it ourselves, we find ourselves retracing Joseph's moments-from confused to trusting, to understanding."
Again, there is the experience of the miraculous. Joseph decided to "dismiss her quietly." Isn't that decent of him? Matthew tells us that "her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly." (vs. 19). The miracle is that in the midst of Joseph's confusion, God touched his life in away that gave him new insight, additional information, a different resolve and determination to act in a way that would not be popular. Just when Joseph had decided to dismiss Mary quietly, an angel visited him in a dream. And the angel said, "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."
God provided an opportunity to have the confusion swept away. On the word of a special messenger in a dream Joseph made a new decision and took Mary to be his wife. Another part of the miracle was that Joseph opened himself to taking a chance. After all, a dream is a dream. We have them all the time. How often do we pay attention to them? How many do we remember? How many recur and scare us? Joseph took a risk that the dream was a message from God and not just his imagination. He would still have to face people. What would people say? He would still have to hear others' whispers: "What if Mary had been unfaithful?" If the dream were just a dream then who was the real father? Joseph took a risk and as a result helped to bring salvation to the world. Perhaps we need to pay more attention to our dreams. As an aside, let me ask, how many of us would take such a chance?
I hope I am not being too loose with my use of the word "miraculous." It's just that I see so many things happening in this nativity story that are out of the ordinary. For example, think of the tremendous amount of trust Joseph must have had! The angel gave no proof that what was being said or what would happen was the truth. The most compelling evidence the angel had was simply the well-known promise that God, someday, was going to send a savior. Who would ever believe that God would do this through a young maiden by the name of Mary. Doesn't God deal in the big stuff--earthquakes, hurricanes, winds and fire--now that would get everyone's attention. But a baby? God coming in human form?
But Joseph trusted the angels words and took a chance. Joseph stayed with Mary in spite of the lack of DNA evidence that her child was of the Holy Spirit. What Joseph required in proof he made up for in faith as he trusted and took a chance on the promise and the hope that this child offered.
The baby by the name of Jesus was destined to be here. Mary and Joseph named him Jesus as was indicated in the dream. The very name of "Jesus" signals the entrance of God into human experience. The angel has said "... You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew continues the narrative by saying that all this took place to fulfill what the lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him 'Emmanuel'--which means, 'God with us.'"
God with us! What an astounding thought--the very God of all things visible and invisible in our midst! The prince of peace, the very King of kings and Lord of lords is now among us. I can almost hear handle's great hallelujah chorus at this point. The God of power and might comes to an insignificant village called Bethlehem and is born in common stable to a young couple who are struggling in their young relationship--who finally come to "understanding" a young couple experiences the miraculous in their lives. A humble husband shows a sense of confusion about their situation that turns into an extraordinary love and trust. God enters into human experience.
May this be our experience in our time as well. We, too, find ourselves confused at times, not knowing how to react to the events of our time, not knowing how to understand our dreams. Just as a young couple experiences the miraculous in their lives, so, too, can we. Just as a young husband in Bethlehem undergoes tremendous confusion about his situation but turns their situation into an extraordinary love and trust, so too, can we. God enters into human experience. God did this at the nativity. God does it now in our time with us. It's the most beautiful story in all the world. It's Christmas and all the world awaits the coming of the Lord. Amen.
