NIV
Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of
Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to
Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the
Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law,
and yet 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 fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will conceive and 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.
The Christmas story is a story of obedience and faith.
Prior to this chapter of the story, an angel has visited Mary. The news that
the angel has given her was life shattering. Here is Mary, 14 years of age, in
a culture where being pregnant out of marriage is a death sentence, being told
that she is about to bear the struggle of motherhood at a young age and with
everything in her world against her. I think that all too often we cannot
fathom this message well. Mary was about to do the unthinkable. We hear the
story each year but I want to ask, how many really believe in their hearts that
Mary could have a child and still be a virgin. You see, just saying it that way
makes many struggle with the concept of a virgin birth. We accept it because it
is Mary. But would you accept it if it was Gabby Vtipil or Brianna Hawthorne or
Abigail Mottern? You see what I am saying, it is easy to hear the Christmas
story and not have it resonate about how much of an impact this event is going
to have on Mary’s life. Better yet, we hear the story and we just say, hey,
that’s nice, but do we really really deep down believe that it could possibly
be true. Do I believe that the power of God is so great that God can do
anything?
Let’s say for a moment that we do believe with that kind
of conviction and I hope and pray that you do. If we truly believe that God can
do anything can we then sympathize with Mary for the journey that she is about
to debark on. Mary takes this all in, at the age of 14, and then says to God,
joyfully I might add, bring it on. Mary realizing that God is calling her to a
higher purpose believes that God can do anything and is obedient to that call.
I used the names of young girls in our congregation because I want to make this
story real to you. Suppose one of them came to us and said, God has said that
they are going to have a child that is God’s. Would we believe them? Would we
even accept that it was possible? Yet, Mary not only accepts it but also is
obedient to it joyfully.
Then we have the story of Joseph, engaged to be married
to Mary. Suppose for a moment that your bride to be came to you with this story
that she was pregnant with God’s Son. Would you believe it possible? Would you
doubt? Joseph did the story tells us and decided to shun Mary which could have
resulted in her death. But the angel comes to Joseph in a dream and he is
illuminated to the message that Mary had received. If you were Joseph, would
the doubt have gone away? And what we see is that Joseph is obedient to that
call. He takes Mary as his wife and cares for her, loves her, nurtures her and
as we see from the little we learn of Jesus early days, he cares for Jesus as
if He were his own. That is precisely what adoption is all about my friends.
Loving a child that is not yours biologically but treating them as if they
were. Joseph believes in the power of God and therefore becomes obedient to the
call God places on his life.
In a few short days, we are going to celebrate the birth
of Jesus in the world, some two thousand plus years ago. Jesus came into the
world to bring God’s love face to face with humanity that we might see what
perfect love physically looks like. That we might share in the experience that
God intended in Eden. That we might learn something because we would listen to
a man, say it, but maybe not if God set it down for us in a dream. Am I right?
The question comes back to this very basic question we have before us today. Do
we believe? Can we fathom the miracle of conception by God into a young girl
that brings to the world God in human form? We are here because of this event
that will lead to the cross and resurrection. If we cannot get past the birth,
who do we have in Jesus? I am asking deep questions today before Christmas Day
because I want us to believe in the impossible. I want us to recognize the
power of God to do miracles. On this weekend that ends with the beginning of
Hanukah, the celebration of a miracle of God to bring light where there was no
oil, do we believe?
When I first felt called to ministry I was so sure that
God was wrong I ran the other way. I kept running even though I felt that call
grow stronger over the years. I am here today because I believe with all my
heart, mind and soul that God is real, that God wants to love me and wants me
to love all of you. Did I have doubts, more than a handful! Do I believe that
Mary could conceive a child and yet never had a relationship, yes I do. I
believe that Jesus is the incarnation of God, who existed before time and will
exist long after this world is gone and a new creation has come upon it.
Christmas is about believing in the impossible. Christmas is about believing
that there is a God who loves us unconditionally. There is power in that
belief. There is also responsibility once we come to believe it. We are called
to share witness to the awesome power of Jesus whose birth we celebrate this
season. We are called to share the love of God with the whole world.
So I am going to circle back around here for a moment. Do
we deep in our hearts believe that this Christmas story is real, that the
characters in it are real people who lives are forever changed by the power of
God? We believe that Jesus was real because we have a great cloud of witness
stories that we follow. But deep down, do you have the faith that says that God
is a God of incredible ability to do anything, anywhere and anyway? Christmas
is about believing the spirit of the God, which is love. We spend this whole
season feeling better than the rest of the year. We believe in this season that
miracles can happen, even if they are only on the Hallmark channel. But deep
down where the truth in you lives, do you believe in the power of God? A power
that could bring a human being into the world just by thinking it. The power to
bring a human being into the world for the sole purpose of transforming you and
me into believing, faithful followers of God. That is what Christmas is all
about.
How do you see Jesus? Do you see the tiny child laying in
a feeding trough for animals, defenseless, vulnerable and yet God? Do you see
Jesus as the man who would give up everything so that you and I might see that
we are truly, deeply, authentically loved? Do you see Jesus as the person in
whom our faith finds the answer to life’s deepest questions and our salvation
is available to be received by us? If the answer to these questions is yes,
then say Amen and Praise be to God. If not, then let us explore together the complexities
of this story so that you might come to this altar and ask Jesus to be in
personal relationship with you. The Christmas story is a story of obedience and
faith, to believe that the spirit of Christmas can cause miracles to happen. So
I ask you one more time, do you believe?
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