December 4, 2002
The Incarnation
John 1:1-5, 14; Luke 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-12
The incarnation, that is the theological term for the birth of Christ. It literally means "in the flesh." It is based on the same Latin word from which we derive carnivorous, flesh eating. To incarnate means to put something in fleshly form. It can also mean to give form and substance to an insubstantial quality. Hence an extraordinarily giving person may be called the very incarnation of generosity. Their actions give substance to the quality. Theologically the incarnation is the essence of God taking fleshly form in Jesus. John said, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." "The Word" John speaks of is more than the things God says. It is the very mind of God Almighty. The character of God including God's love, righteousness and mercy.
The incarnation is a mystery that theologians and philosophers have pondered for many centuries. How is it possible for the God of the entire universe to take fleshly form. Some argued that it was impossible. God could give special guidance or possess someone in a special way like a prophet or holy person. But God could not be limited in the way humans are. So some said Jesus was really and angel or a great prophet.
Consider the dilemma involved. How could an all knowing God live like a child having to learn how to eat and walk? How could the one who constructed the foundations of the mountains and the seas learn to stack toy blocks? Could God experience fear and ignorance like a person? Could God be diapered or scolded by parents?
The Incarnation is a mystery. But it was not handed down to us as a theological discourse. It was given to us in the form of a story. The most theological the Bible ever gets about the incarnation is the introduction to John. And that is merely an introduction to a story. The Bible doesn't try to work out the details of how God did it. It merely tells the truth in story form.
The story is familiar. We have heard it over and over. Nothing changes yet each year we listen again. We tell it and hear it until it becomes part of us.
How does it go? Here we go again. An angel came to a maiden, a virgin, and told her she would give birth to the Son of God. She and her fiancee were forced to go on a long journey. At the end of the journey she went into labor in a strange town where there was no place to stay. And God's Son was born in a stable and was cradled in a feeding trough. God was a poor homeless refugee, already the victim of a ruthless government. Common people and wise religious men were the only ones to recognize him.
Why do we repeat this seemly absurd story over and over? We do it so that the story becomes part of us. Stories are like that. They don't contain the ridged logic of the theologians work. But they can contain the truth. And in some way this story contains the truth in a way no theological treatise can.
What is the truth? That God is with us, Emmanuel! God is not merely in the center of the temple. God is not merely on a holy and inaccessible mountaintop. God is here. God is with the poor, the blind, the widows and orphans. God is with the refugees and the persecuted. God is even with shepherds in a barn among the dispossessed.
So we repeat the story so that the truth becomes part of us. We repeat it until we can see God among the unwanted and unneeded in our world. We repeat it until we begin to live that story. We repeat it so that it is ground into our conscience. Until it governs our actions, and like our Lord we go to the slaves and dispossessed of the world.
We repeat the story until, by the grace of God, we become incarnations of the truth it tells, until our actions give form and substance to the truth of God. Then the story is so much a part of us that we become little incarnations of God. We become sons and daughters of God; not like Christ was the only begotten son of God, but in the only way that it is humanly possible to become God's child. Tell the story; live the story; be the story.
Alex Stevenson, Pastor
Grace United Methodist Church
Columbia, SC
December 12, 2002
ADDICTIONS & STRONGHOLDS
versus the Power and Wisdom of our God and His Christ
Saints, there are many many who wear Jesus' name and care deeply for Him and His Commands -- who find themselves repeatedly feeling totally blown away by controlling urges of temptation and sin. They repeatedly anguish in tears, deeply desiring to rip the claws of the enemy away from their flesh, even to the point of being willing, as the Master taught to demonstrate the gravity of sin, to gouge out an eye or cut off a hand -- rather than fail again in this addictive sin. You need to know this with absolute certainty: There is much hope for you, regardless of how deep sin has ravaged you! No matter what the enemy would try to tell you about your life and his assessment of it, if you CARE -- there is endless Hope!
For those who would read this and you know by the Scriptures that you live in sinful excesses or addictions or practices -- and yet you do NOT care, you do not wrestle, you do not feel conviction about these things -- but instead excuse them, rationalize them, compare yourself to others, defend or rename the sins, or mind-block regarding them -- without sadness in your heart for these things -- may God have mercy on your soul.
A man or woman or child who TRULY has been born a Second time, with the Spirit of Christ within as the Proof "guaranteeing the Salvation" -- every Saved person will CARE about sin, according to the Scriptures. When apart from His Will and Life, a truly Saved person will exclaim "What I do, I HATE." They will care, if they have met our Messiah, Jesus, the Anointed One. They will, as our Savior said, "LOVE the Light." Those who have the Proof of Salvation: the Spirit within (Romans 8), will applaud and "Amen!" (not evade or attempt to excuse away) this Teaching of the Spirit of Christ through our brother John, the Apostle:
"EVERYONE who has this hope in the Coming of Jesus purifies himself, just as He is pure. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not continue in sin. Whoever sins onward has neither seen Him nor known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. No one who is Born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother."
So, I only speak to those who CARE DEEPLY about addictive and over-powering sins, rather than justify them. Those who excuse sin, feeling nothing, are "dead even while they live" and have perhaps already received "a powerful delusion, that they would believe the lie." But, for those who want to please Jesus with all of their hearts, and find themselves "easily beset" and "drug away and enticed by their own lusts" and take full responsibility for this -- we write to you. If you KNOW you can and should overcome sin because you have "everything that pertains to Life and Godliness" and "every Spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus" -- and all Provision in the Godhead is available, and "the Power that rose Christ Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of God" is "IN you, the Hope of Glory!"... for you alone these things are written. Part of exploring and experiencing the FULL POWER OF GOD in this present age (Romans 6, 8) is in this Scripture: "You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free." To walk in agreement with God, and to know and cooperate in His Truths -- is paramount to EXPERIENCING the full blessing of the Cross and of Pentecost, in our lifetimes, "in the mortal body."
The thought under consideration in these couple of pages is this: WHAT does it mean to "cast down imaginations" in order to tear down "strongholds" in our lives? Or put another way, besides renouncing satan and totally agreeing with God about what is sin (the obvious Beginning place of Life)... besides this, what correction of our thinking might we have that will more fully manifest the Power and Life and Love of Jesus that lives within us, if we are truly Saved?
We have written much to you about these things over the years, and much more might be said about the necessity of seeing ONLY the Blood of Jesus as our ability to stand before the Father, and how to appropriate the "weapons of our warfare which are not of the flesh" and "take up the full armor of God." And yet, here, there is just this one point we want to make in this brief note:
MANY OF OUR ADDICTIONS AND "STRONGHOLDS" (IF NOT ALL OF THEM) CAN BE TRACED TO TRYING TO PROTECT OURSELVES FROM OUR FEELINGS OF HELPLESSNESS, AND THE FEELING OF BEING OUT OF CONTROL. Our humanity screams at this crucial circumstance, as the Father woos us at this exact same place.
Without a lot of mumbo-jumbo or self-important sounding psycho-babble to clutter the thought, just do this: consider your addiction or addictions openly before Father and Jesus (the "Master Teacher"!). And, PAY ATTENTION to what launches your "addictions" and "failures." If you truly pay attention to how and when you fall back into these wretched "controlling" sins, you will likely find that there is a PATTERN in that mess of previously confusing and disheartening circumstances. There are situations or people ("Bad company corrupts good character," says the Lord), and certain kinds of events that the enemy uses successfully again and again to hold you in bondage and then to beat you with thoughts of self-hatred and disillusionment. Identify those areas where he has tricked you ("We are not unaware of satan's devices!"), and let the TRUTH set you free, indeed!
What are some addictions or strongholds that you have allowed to be your master (Romans 6)?
Movie or television addiction
Procrastination
Food addictions
Pain relievers
Mood altering drugs
Vitamin or supplement pill-popping
"Health" food obsessions
"Good" water controlling "preferences"
Coffee ("have to have, or else __") addiction
Sugar, sweet desserts and candy
Chocolate
Sleeping late, hiding from life or decisions by sleeping
Staying up late obsession
Reading obsession
Alcohol addiction
Exercise or body building vanity, or schedule or thought controlling
Self-imposed depression
Self-imposed illness
Daydreaming habits
Hiding away in a house or room
Being argumentative or angry or demanding
Hiding in sport or music
Traditions or rituals that we are upset if we don't have
Travel lusts
Biological family controlling emotions and decisions
Lust for being seen as important, intelligent, special, or different
Lust for a "best friend" or "soul mate" or "close companion"
Lust to "belong to something" or "be part of something" or "movement lust"
Excitement addictions
Lust for change
Physical self-indulgence
Hyper-religious in jargon, or way of carrying oneself (Jesus was not)
Religious dress-up (hats, hair, choice of clothing, office, position)
Finding comfort in shopping for clothing or other material goods
Shopping for, thinking about, "needing" latest techno-gadgets or stereo or
computer gizmos or software
Playing in the dark, dark world of the internet (surfing, or chat rooms, or
the like)
Mysteries
Secrets
Gossip
Pornography
Things forbidden
Jealousy
(Invariably, someone will ask, "So what is WRONG with 'thus and such' ANYWAY? Are you saying that 'thus and such' is SIN?! For everyone but the one who asked this, I would say that many things like reading or travel are of course not 'automatically' sin, in moderation and by the Spirit's leading. If they are driven unguided and unhindered instead by our fleshly appetites -- of course this is always sin. And, to the one who is incensed about THEIR particular hobby-horse being on the list, I would say, "Absolutely. It is sin.")
ALL OF THESE ADDICTIONS AND STRONGHOLDS, AND THE OTHER FORTY-TWO THOUSAND I DIDN'T MENTION, ARE ISSUES THAT HOLD CAPTIVE MANY THOUSANDS OF PRECIOUS LAMBS WHO TRULY DESIRE TO BE FREE AND TO PLEASE JESUS. These overpowering temptations seem to have "a life of their own" -- taking us off guard at times, even at times when we had thought we had already left the allure of that temptation behind forever.
But do you know what? Instead of seeing these strongholds and addictions as reasons to feel unclean, useless, foolish, weak, ugly, degraded, self-indulgent, and worthless -- we can use those abhorrent temptations AGAINST satan. These addictions POINT TOWARDS opportunities to Fellowship more deeply with the Father and One Another -- by showing us areas where we have tried to solve our feelings of HELPLESSNESS with things other than Jesus and His Father's Love! FIND the areas satan has TRULY held you captive in -- the places where we have felt helpless -- instead of focusing merely on the sins we have tried to FILL the void with! The addictions and strongholds are the SYMPTOMS, the OUTLETS -- not the issues themselves. The sins themselves are often just a smoke-screen of the enemy, to cloud the REAL issue. THAT is why "hard work" and "Scripture memory" or "12 Steps" and "self-control" and "accountability" and the like -- SO SELDOM permanently solve any real problems. "Fewer than six percent" would be a good estimate of how many have overcome addictions and strongholds in this way. And while Father... by prayer, fasting, the laying on of hands, by Gift, or by a dove or donkey... can Sovereignly heal us and transform us in an INSTANT (and often does!), we also are all keenly aware that there are other times He is Training us to use His Weapons and Shield and Helmet by making us apply Truth, Love, Prayer and Perseverance, all in His Timing, to overcome. The man born blind, Job, Joseph, Moses, and all of God's Men and Women will learn this Lesson as well! Not ALL sin problems are "instantly" healed, as we wish they would be. Why not? We sometimes need to appropriate the Truth, the Tools, and the Timing... because God "leaves enemies to train His People who have not experienced war... who had not had any previous battle experience" (Judges 3:1-2) and "so the Work of God might be openly displayed in your life" (John 9:3).
SO, re-read the above list of addictions and bondages and strongholds. Is there anything that just HAS you by the throat, and you DESPISE that sin, and "hate even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh"? Do you know anyone who has demonstrated their hatred of sin and deep passion for Jesus, and willingness to do ANYTHING to be free of sin and fully passionate for the Father and His Work, the Son and His Bride? They, like a man of God must be, "are distressed by the filthy loves of lawless men" and "are tormented in their righteous soul by the lawless deeds they saw and heard" and were themselves tempted by? And yet, for some reason, the tentacles of the sin continue to choke their Fellowship with Him and His People (1 John 1:1-7) -- while still "what they do, they HATE"? If so, then consider this:
Most every addiction or sin or temptation you can think of or experience has it's root in the fact that we feel HELPLESS at times, and REACT by running to addictions or "strongholds." Remember, satan's "power" lies NOT in the ability to MAKE one sin who has JESUS living within them, but rather in his LIES. He is the "father of lies" and JESUS is the Truth, the ANTIDOTE! For that reason, it is not that we ought to be AFRAID that Father will "smoke" us for these sins, but more importantly WE NEED TO BE "CONSCIOUS OF GOD" knowing that He means to BE OUR ALL-IN-ALL, and we are NEVER ALONE or WITHOUT A HELPER!! He can Teach us the TRUTH about ourselves, and about Him, and about the world around us... and the TRUTH will set us free.
Begin to identify what it is you are afraid of, or what areas of "helplessness" trigger your mad dash to the addictive endorphin-inducing sins listed above. What things are we trying to compensate for, and what things do we feel helpless to deal with and are tricked into seeking "pain relief" for? If we can SEE it, we can turn to Him -- instead of to sin at those moments. The Solution is NOT in "more self-control" and "trying harder" and "more accountability" (though certainly these are tools He has recommended to us in His Word at times). The Solution is Seeing where we have not Trusted Him completely and hidden our lives in Him in a real-time way in the stresses of life! We actually can USE satan's temptations AGAINST him by learning what areas of our lives we have not yet allowed the Spirit of Jesus to come alongside us in to Comfort and to Counsel. "RESIST the devil, and he will flee from you!" We can be "aware of satan's devices" and turn to the Father in these areas that have incited fear within us. When previously we have used sin to HIDE from the Father, we can identify these areas and learn to RUN to Him and offer these temptations as a GIFT to Him -- BEFORE we turn to the "drugs" listed above!
What triggers your run to these sins above, as an escape? Helplessness about:
Insufficient time to do what you are "supposed" to do
Lack of ability to do what you are "supposed" to do, or something you deem
"worthwhile"
Fear of others' expectations
Feeling unworthy
Feeling unforgiven
Feeling unloved, or inability to make others love you
Fear of no control over finances
Lack of control over health issues
Family members' actions or decisions or loves -- depression or anger that we
can't control these things
Fear of being alone
Fear of chaos or disorder, or noise
Fear of Entropy, the decay or loss of material goods
Fear of pain or discomfort
Fear of inconvenience
Fear of change or the unpredictable
Fear of the future
Fear of being stuck in a situation that won't change
Fear of growing old
Fear of being unattractive
Fear of being not liked or not popular or not "included"
These are a few of the things that LAUNCH our addictions and strongholds, IF we fall for satan's tactics and give in to the sinful diversions. We find ourselves RUNNING to "the sins that so easily beset" when we are not close to Him and His Thoguhts in an area -- not because we're "unclean, useless, foolish, weak, ugly, degraded, self-indulgent, and worthless." If we are washed in His Blood and HE has made His home in us, we are ANYTHING but all of that! However, when faced with the helpless feelings above, we can LEARN how to TURN TO HIM AS OUR ALL-SUFFICIENCY in these exact matters! THEN, we will not need the endorphin self-destructive addictions that we use to try to numb the pain of what we haven't even yet clearly identified. The sin is the SYMPTOM, not the true issue Father wants to Teach us!
So, "what shall we say, then, Brothers and Sisters" when we identify the ROOT insecurities and mistrusts -- the things that have previously sent us scurrying for bread that is not Bread? How then can we answer the enemy and RESIST him, when "self-control" and "accountability" yield such short-termed results?
What if we were to "look to JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our Faith" as the fulfillment of every need and every hope and dream that brings pleasure to the Father?!
WHAT IF the Father has all of His sufficiency for EVERY issue and every insecurity, every worry, pressure, and confusion ALL BOUND UP IN HIS SON? IT IS SO! Every issue of life and Life is perfectly formed and resolved in the Love of God and His Wisdom, and He's TRAINING us to See the universe as HE sees it, and to TRUST HIM in all ways. We don't NEED the gall to dull the pain, but rather to commit our lives into the Father's Hands, in all things. And, in this we are being TRAINED to be like Him and to be a Bride fit to be yoked for all Eternity to the King of Kings! Hallelujah!!
Trust Him -- turn to Him and His Thoughts about the matter that troubles you. "Think on THESE things" -- not the false fix of sin -- when you feel discouragement or trapped by things out of your control............
Insufficient Time
Psalm 90:4
2 Peter 3:8
Matthew 6:25 - 34
1 Corinthians 6:20
Ecclesiastes 3:1
Galatians 6:10
Ephesians 5:16
James 4:13-15
Lack of ability
Colossians 1:27
1 Corinthians 12:4-11
2 Corinthians 4:7
2 Corinthians 9:10
Exodus 4:11-12
1 Peter 4:19
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
Luke 12:11-12
Judges 6
James 1:5
Fear of Others' Expectations
Luke 12:4-6
Acts 5:29
Romans 8:15
Mark 3:31-35
Luke 14:26
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
Revelation 12:11
Feeling Unworthy
Hebrews 10:14
Hebrews 4:14-16
Ephesians 4:1
James 4:7-10
2 Peter 1:3
Romans 5:9-11
Romans 8:1
Romans 6:5
Hebrews 9:11-14
Ephesians 2:13
Romans 5:9
Romans 3:21-26
Romans 4:19-21
Galatians 4:7
Ephesians 2:8-10
Feeling Unforgiven
Ephesians 2:8-10
Hebrews 10:10
Lamentations 3:23
Galatians 4:7
Matthew 26:28
Psalm 103:12
Roman 8:1-4
Psalms 130
John 1:29
John 3:16-18
1 John 1:9
Luke 1:76-79
Acts 2:38
Luke 24:45-47
Philippians 3:13
Feeling unloved, or inability to make others love you
Philippians 2:3-4
Matthew 20:28
Psalm 40:17
Matthew 7:12
1 Peter 1:18-20
Romans 5:8
Luke 7:47
Galatians 6:15
Matthew 6:25-27
Proverbs 8:17
Psalm 57:10
1 John 4:19
Psalm 63:3
Psalm 66:20
Psalm 23
Psalm 86:13
1 John 3:1
Romans 8:31-39
Fear of no control over finances
Matthew 6:25-34
Phillippians 4:6-7
Phillippians 4:12-13
2 Corinthians 1:3-6
Mark 10:29-30
Psalm 50:10,
Psalm 119:36,
Psalm 55:22
Matthew 6:25-34
Hebrew 10:34
Luke 12:27
Psalm 37:25-26,
Psalm 34:10,
Psalm 23,
Dueteronomy 28:2-8,
Phillippians 3:7-11,
Luke 6:38,
Proverbs 13:22,
Matthew 9:29,
Phillippians 4:19
John 15:7
Lack of control over health issues
Romans 5:2b-5
Proverbs 1:33
Proverbs 3:25
Romans 8:35-37
Romans 8:18-26
Isaiah 8:11-14,
1 Peter 4:19,
Proverbs 11:19
2 Corinthians 4:16
Matthew 10:30-31
Matthew 6:25-26,
Psalm 12:5,
Mark 9:43-48,
2 Corinthians 12:7-10,
Psalm 41:1-13
Family members' actions or decisions or loves -- depression or anger that we can't control these things
1 Peter 3:13-16,
Proverbs 24:19-20,
Psalm 23
Psalm 34:17,
Isaiah 43:2,
Matthew 10:19,
2 Samuel 22:29-31
Fear of being alone
Psalm 68:6
I Corinthians 12:12-31
Isaiah 41:10,
Isaiah 43:2
Mark 10:29-30;
Matthew 28:19-20
Matthew 28:20
Isaiah 43:1-3
Isaiah 40:1-11,
John 14:16-18,
Hebrews 13:5,
Matthew 28:20,
1 Samuel 12:22,
Isaiah 41:10,
Romans 8:35-39,
Deuteronomy 4:31, 31:6,
Fear of chaos or disorder, or noise
Proverbs 1:33
II Corinthians 6:14,
Luke 8:21
Luke 10:38-41
Proverbs 2: 1-22,
Proverbs 10:8-32,
Proverbs 12:3,
Proverbs 14:29,
Proverbs 15:28
John 14:27
Luke 2:14;
John 14:27
2 Kings 6:16
Isaiah 26:3,
Isaiah 9:6,
Phillippians 4:6-7,
Psalm 29:11,
Fear of Entropy, the decay or loss of material goods
Habbakuk 3:17-18
Proverbs 3:25
Jeremiah 29:11
Luke 9:23,
Philippians 3:4-11
Philippians 4:11-13
Psalm 34:3-10,
Nahum 1:7
Matthew 6:19-21
Matthew 6:28-33
Isaiah 57:1-2,
2Corinthians 5:6-7,
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14,
Revelation 21-4
Fear of pain or discomfort
Romans 8:17-26
II Corinthians 6:3,
II Corinthians 12:7
Psalm 37: 23 & 24,
1 Peter 5:7,
Lamentations 3:17-33,
Psalm 91,
Deuteronomy 8:5-9;
Psalm 69: 29-32;
Luke 21:17-19;
Isaiah 43:1-5
Hebrews 12:11
2 Corinthians 1:1:3-11,
Revelation 21:3-4
Fear of inconvenience
1 Corinthians 6:20
James 1:12
James 1:2-4
Romans 12:1-2
Romans 8:28
Luke 9:23-25
Matthew 19:29
Phillippians 2:3-4
Phillippians 2:13
Acts 2:44, 45
1 Peter 4:9
Fear of change or the unpredictable
Phillippians. 4:6,7
James 1:17
John 3:8
Jeremiah 29:11
Psalm 90:12
Lamentations 3:22-23
I Corinthians 10:13
Isaiah 8:12
Hebrews 13:8
Matthews 6:25
Phillippians. 1:20
Jeremiah 7:5
Matthew 18:3
Fear of the future
Isaiah 46:3,4
Proverbs 16:31
Proverbs 20:29
John 3:16
Jeremiah 29:11
Hebrews 13
Romans 8
Matthew 6:34
Romans 8:31, 32
Colossians 3:1-4
Matthew 7:7
Matthew 7:19-21
Matthew 10:29-31
Psalm 37:5, 23-24, 34
Psalm 31:14, 15
1 Peter 5:7
1 Peter 4:19
Job 13:15
2 Timothy 1:12
Fear of being stuck in a situation that won't change
Romans 8:28
Matthew 6:33
Revelation 12:11
Isaiah 54:17
Romans 8:31-39
Malachi 4:2
Psalm 96:2
Psalm 118:14
Isaiah 12:2
Isaiah 59:1
Jeremiah 3:23
Jeremiah 50:34
Jonah 2:9
John 3:16
Jeremiah 29:11
Fear of growing old
Psalm 73:25,26
I Peter 3:3-4
Proverbs 31:30
1 Samuel 16:7
Proverbs 16:31; 20:29
Isaiah 46:4
Romans 4
1 Corinthians 15
2 Corinthians 4:16
Psalm 92:14
Job 12:12
Fear of being unattractive
1 Samuel 16:7
1 Peter 3:3
Isaiah 54:1
Isaiah 53
Galatians 1:10
Joshua 24:15
Acts 5:29
I Corinthians 3:4-5
Proverbs 31:30
Philippians 3:7ff
Colossians 3:12
Galatians 6:15
Fear of not being liked or popular or "included"
Matthew 10:24
Isaiah 51:12
1 Corinthians 12
Acts 4:19-20
Matthew 5:10-12
Romans 8:31-32
Philippians 2:4
Colossians 3:14-15
Matthew 23:11, 20:26-28
1 Peter 2:9-12
Written or Transcribed by Mike Peters
December 18, 2002
(Messages continued from December 4)
"Las Posadas"
Luke 2:1-7
"And she gave birth to her first born son and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the Inn" (Luke 2:7). These are the most tragic words in the Christmas story. They conjure up within us images and feelings of abandonment and aloneness. John expressed this same thing when he said that Christ "came to His own and His own would not receive Him" (John 1:11).
Here was the sprout off the root of Jesse, a descendant of David, who the prophets had foretold would save God's people. And the city of David had no place to put Him. His mother should have been given a suite at the best hospital in town in which to deliver Him. Instead He was born in a barn.
Luke reports this tragedy in less than half a verse. But we read a lot of meaning into it. We focus on it so much because it touches something deep inside each of us. Each of us has felt abandoned and alone. We have all had that feeling, and in a very real and human way we feel for the Christ Child.
In Latin America, where people often experience poverty and are often abandoned by their governments, they have developed a Christmas ritual called the "Las Posadas." That is Spanish for "the Holy Family." It is a kind of religious drama that is at the same time an act of devotion and worship. It acts out the scene where Mary and Joseph come to the inn. And the members of the congregation become involved in that event.
It is acted out in front of a church member's home. A woman on a donkey and a man, followed by a group of people from the church, approach this home in the evening. When they get there, Mary and Joseph, the woman of the donkey and the man leading it, knock on the door and ask for a room. The people inside tell them to go away.
At this point the crowd outside gathers in, and by quoting scripture, they plead for the holy family. A dialogue takes place between the Christians in the house and those outside. All the time those outside are trying to convince those inside to give lodging to Mary and Joseph. Finally the owner of the house turns on the lights and invites them in. Worn down by the pleading of the Christians they give lodging to the holy family.
When I first read of this ritual, a part of me said, "No!" That is not how it happened at all. No one pleaded for Mary and Joseph. No one spoke God's word of their behalf. They found no lodging. Jesus was born in a barn.
But then I realize that it is only human nature to want to make a happy ending. We say to ourselves, "If I were there I would do something." I would speak up for Mary and Joseph. I would give them lodging. I would speak God's word on their behalf.
The "Las Posadas" gives Christians that opportunity. The congregation gets the chance to plead for Mary and Joseph and the unborn Christ. Oh, they are just actors, but they plead just the same. In the process they practice the skills needed to make sure that this same needless tragedy never happens again.
"There was no room for them in the Inn." This is more than an historical footnote. It is an indicator of a spiritual condition. Humans often turn away God at the door instead of asking Him in.
Every day Jesus says, "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with Me" (Revelation 3:20). And we Christians who are watching think, "Who will give lodging to these pilgrims who are weary of traveling the roads?" But those inside reply, "Although you tell us that you are weary, we do not give lodging to strangers. We don't care what your name is; let us sleep. We are telling you that we will not let you enter."
Christ is always at the door of peoples hearts asking to come in and keep us company. That is what Christmas is about; Christ coming to us. Will you open the door and let Him in? Will you plead on His behalf when He stands at the door of someone else's closed door? Do you feel at all the tragedy of the Christ Child being abandoned by the world? If you are saddened by it, then let Him in and plead on His behalf so that others will let Him in also.
"If I Were the Innkeeper"
Luke 2:1-20
It is only half a verse, but it says so much. "And they laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the Inn." That verse conjures up images of the holy family going from inn to inn looking for lodging. And it resonated with our own feelings of aloneness and abandonment. The ultimate humiliation - the epitome of the world's rejection of the Messiah - the Lord of the Universe born in a stable..
But if I had been the innkeeper - if I were the innkeeper I would do it differently. I wouldn't have turned the holy family away. I would've made room for them. I would've given them the best suite in the house and called the best midwife and it all would have been on the house.
If I were the innkeeper things would've been different.
But with all due respect to that innkeeper, you have to admit he tried. The Bible says that there was no room in the inn. All the space was taken and there were probably people sleeping on the floor of the inn. And who do you think he should have thrown out into the street to make room for this young family? Would it have been right to throw someone out to whom he had already promised a place?
I think we sell the innkeeper short. We often depict him in plays and movies as being short and abrupt with the holy family. He is portrayed as a cruel and heartless fellow. We imagine him saying, "I have no room so get out of here." And maybe some of the innkeepers in town were like that.
But at least one paused. I imagine he came to his door and began to repeat the speech he had already recited a hundred times, "Due to the census we are all filled up and you should try the Holiday Inn down the road." But before he could say much he saw Mary as the Bible says, "great with child" and the pain on her face. It wouldn't be right to throw someone else out into the street but he couldn't just let that baby be born in the street either. So he says, "Look, I don't have any room in here but if you go to the barn in the back we can clear out a place and I will make sure that no one disturbs you."
A compromise you say? Well I guess it was. But what would you have done? We can't find righteousness by being just to some and unjust to others. After all that innkeeper did more than any one else did. Others just looked away and tried to ignore the difficult situation. The innkeeper that pointed them to the manger at least dealt with the people and tried to find a way to help them.
Would we do the same? I confess that most of the time I just shut the door and hope the problems of the world will go away. But God didn't do that! He opened the door wide and found a difficult way to correct a difficult situation. He sent His only begotten Son to be rejected and despised.
I would like to think I would find a way to welcome the holy family if I had been there. But I wasn't there. I'm here. I can't set the wrongs of the past right, but I can respond in the here and now. We may not have been an innkeeper in 1st century Bethlehem but we are innkeepers of God's love here and now. Which of God's holy families, which of God's sons and daughters will you show love and hospitality to this year. Will you open your heart wide to let the Christ Child in and then will you open your door to a hurting and difficult world?
Alex Stevenson, Pastor
Grace United Methodist Church
Columbia, SC
December 25, 2002
"He Came into the World"
Luke 2:1-20
I'm a Simon and Garfunkle fan. They were a little before my time but I appreciated the combination of lyrics and melody that they put together. There is one piece they did that really hit and haunts me. It's called "Seven O'clock News/Silent Night." It begins with the beautiful tones of "Silent Night" being played on a piano as Simon and Garfunkle sing. But very slowly and almost imperceptibly the sound of a reporter reporting the news comes in. At first it is in the background but then by the end you can't hear the song and all you hear is the news reports about Vietnam, riots, unrest, murder and poverty.
You know, sometimes we get lost among the candles and decorations and angels singing. All seems so bight and wonderful in the Christmas season. "All is calm, all is bright" and we forget. We forget the real world. The place beyond the carols where people are sick and in pain and emotionally distraught.
Even in the church we focus on God coming into the world. We tell of and sing of angels from the realms of glory coming to earth. We speak of the Son of God, the King of Kings coming from heaven to earth. We paint idealized images of Mary and Joseph and babe lying in a manger amidst the friendly beasts. And angels hover over their heads while shepherds and wise men come to worship a child as the anointed One of God.
We get lost in the story and forget that Jesus came in to THE WORLD. He came into a real world. A world full of poverty and injustice. A world full of sin and sickness and death. He came into a real world, not some idealized image of the world. He became a part of a world of darkness and pain.
But while we remind ourselves of that, let's not forget the angels and that some saw a miracle. Common everyday real world shepherds trying to feed their families left the flocks in the field to see the thing that the angels told them about. And let's remember how they went and told everyone all that they had seen and heard. And it says that people were amazed. Even Mary pondered these things in her heart.
Of course they were amazed. It isn't everyday that you hear angels and see light from heaven and find God lying in a manger crying. This is not real world stuff. This is something from another dimension and other realm. And so all were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
Jesus came from realms of glory into a real world. A world like ours. A world where people are sick and hurting and distraught and depressed and oppressed. But He came bringing life and light.
You have heard reports of amazing things tonight. Testimonies of angels and stars and wise men and God becoming a human baby. When you go forth people will be astonished and unbelieving. "What, angels and God in the flesh?"
But go forth and tell them anyway. We will sing "Silent Night" as we conclude this service and you will walk into a seven o'clock news world. Don't let the real world troubles drown out the songs of holy and silent nights. At the same time, hear the troubles of the world. It was for the salvation of that real world that Jesus came on that silent night so long ago.
"The People Who Dwelt In Darkness..."
Isaiah 9:2-7; Luke 2:1-20
Isaiah said, "The people who dwelt in darkness have seen a great light." But who are these people who dwell in darkness? Well, for Isaiah and his contemporaries the easy answer would have been "The people of Zebulun and Naphtali." Zebulun and Naphtali were tribes of Israel in the northernmost part of the country. The Assyrian Empire was expanding and had overrun that area and its people.
To these people Isaiah prophesied the coming of a light. This light would bring them great joy. It would break the rod of oppression that they were living under.
Isaiah prophesied the birth of a King who would bring Peace. This King would be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." And the Glory of God would rest on Him!
Who are the people who dwell in darkness? The easy answer was "the people of Zebulun and Naphtali." But that was not the whole answer. All of Israel was dwelling in the shadow of the Assyrian Empire. It was only a matter of time before this 8th century BC superpower decided to overrun their land, too. So while they were not conquered yet, they lived with the threat of oppression.
But there was still more. The full answer to the question "Who are the people who dwell in darkness?" is "everyone." It is true that some people were not under political oppression. But all were under oppression to sin and death.
To them Isaiah spoke a word of hope and joy. He says that a King like no other was coming. Instead of oppression, this King would free people. This King would not only free them from political and economic oppression; He would also free them spiritual and emotional oppression.
Who are those who dwell in darkness? The easy answer for us is "Those sinners out there." They live by crass materialism. They seek meaning in drugs and carnality. They look for love in all the wrong places.
But what about the people in here? Sure every true believer has been forgiven of their sins and has eternal life, but we still live in a sinful world. We are still oppressed by the evil of our age. We still dwell in the darkness of the shadow of sin.
To us, God, though Isaiah, sends a word of hope. It is a word of joy that God will redeem His people; a word that a light has come.
Christmas is the fulfillment of that prophecy. It was in the midst of darkness that God sent the Light of the world. Under oppression by the Roman Empire, shepherds gathered on a hillside watching their flocks. And in joy and light, angels broke forth from the sky. And these messengers told them "Unto us a child has been born unto us a child given." And He will save His people.
And today that light still comes. To people everywhere who dwell in darkness the word of God prophesies, "Unto us a child is born and He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." In the midst of the darkness of our lives the joy and hope of Jesus is born!
Alex Stevenson, Pastor
Grace United Methodist Church
Columbia, SC
