THIS Baby

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay on 24 December 2023 at 23:15

Readings: Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 2:1-14

Why did you come tonight?

I wonder why you came to church tonight? To get out of the cold? To have a sit down? Because you enjoy singing carols? Maybe you came because you always do – it's a tradition. Perhaps you even came reluctantly and would have preferred to stay at home, watch some telly, have an early night – after all it's a busy day tomorrow. You couldn't, because it's Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Eve we always go to church. Or was there some other reason?

Why did I come?

I've been coming to this service for more than 40 years and for a variety of different reasons:

at first, it was just a late night out with friends

later it was to meet with friends and exchange gifts

when the children were young, I'd wake them up and bring them, so that Father Christmas could sleep in late

more recently, it is back to seeing old friends

but tonight it’s because I have the privilege of sharing some thoughts on the bible readings.

Start of Christmas – do it ASAP

It's the start of Christmas, and we want to get the celebration going as soon as possible. That's what this service is supposed to represent. Get here for 11:15, and you will be able to take communion as early on Christmas day as is physically possible – so long as the preacher doesn't go on all night! We can sing the last verse of O Come all ye faithful too, because that can only be sung on Christmas day, when Jesus has been born.

Reminder of the story

Let’s outline the story before we look closer at these readings. Jesus born in Bethlehem, in Judea, (not the one in Caesarea, or Wales), because this Bethlehem is David's Town. He was born to the Virgin Mary and her betrothed Joseph, who is descended from David. They have come to Bethlehem because of a census and the town is full, so they are in a stable.

Announced to shepherds

The birth is announced to shepherds, out on the hills around Bethlehem:

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign a to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Shepherds

Shepherds were the lowest of the low. They were not allowed in the temple because they were ritually unclean (from dealing with dead sheep). They were out in all weathers, wind, rain, and cold. Most people thought of them as thieves. To look after the sheep they would have to face the dangers of bears and wolves, so they would be armed, with a sling and a club, or a crook.

The shepherds got their things together, tied them up in their goats skins, picked up their crooks, wrapped their cloaks around them and, leaving the sheep, went off to look for the sign that the angel had promised.

Now you might think wandering around town looking for a newborn baby was quite a challenge, but the town would have been dark, with very few lights. The commotion around the birth would have been quite noticeable.

A new Baby

Of course, anyone will go and visit a new baby. Even as a young single adult, I went to visit my Sister and new baby in hospital. As I bent over the cot, he formed a fist, and reached sharply upwards. I just got out of the way in time – imagine explaining that black eye!

Even if the baby doesn't give you a great welcome, there's still a sense of joy, anticipation, and hope that comes from hearing of a newborn. That's one of the reasons we have to go to see them, to be sure it's real — “I have seen it with my own eyes”.

What has a baby got more of than the rest of us?

What has a baby got more of than the rest of us?

Bones – yes, 300 compared to 260 in an adult, but that's not what I was thinking about. A baby has more time left on this earth than we do, or at least that is always the hope that we have. The next generation is here, the future of our family, the next layer in the family tree is created, or is starting to fill up. We can somehow look further into the future than we once did. What will the world be like when he or she is grown? — and has children of their own?

Every baby brings hope to its parents and their families for these reasons, but THIS baby …

Birth Announcement – normal

Most babies arrival is announced by the parents, probably on social media, or possibly in the local paper. If you're born into royalty, you'll get an announcement on the TV news – explaining what your position is in the line of succession. As we heard in 2021, with our latest royal birth “Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor”, now Princess Lilibet who was eighth in line when she was born on 4 June. But in this announcement there is more fascination with the name than the position in the line of succession.

Well, it was an impressive way to enter the world, I'm sure she is destined for greatness, but it's not quite a choir of angels like THIS baby.

Jesus’s announcement

THIS baby comes, not just with lots of expectation and joy from its parents, but with a message from God. There's all the prophecies about His birth, and the sort of person he will be. There's the angels visit to Mary and then to Joseph. Then, when He arrives, the angels delivered a message about Him to the shepherds, and all heaven celebrates.

“Do not be afraid … I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

There’s even a new star, but we’re not going to cover that tonight.

Expectations for the Christ

The Jews had been waiting, hoping for the Christ (or Messiah) to arrive, for hundreds of years. God had been silent for about 400 years. Many of them were hoping that the Christ would re-establish Israel to its golden age when David was king, and conqueror of the surrounding lands. That would have to be a military solution – to kick out the Roman occupiers. THIS baby comes with a different promise, and causes a different hope. THIS baby brings hope to everyone – all the people. It must be all the people, otherwise why tell the shepherds? That's hope for the Shepherds, the Jews, the wise men, the hated Romans, all the other human beings living in the world that the Jews had no idea about, and all their descendants all the way down their family trees to you and me.

Prophecies → military leader?

Many of the prophecies can give the impression that a great military leader is expected – particularly if that’s what you want and believe. Even the Micah reading we had could be interpreted that way. In reality, though, if you put aside your own pre-conceptions and desires and let the text speak to you, the emphasis of the prophecies is on character traits like ‘shepherd’, from our Micah reading and ‘counsellor’ from Isaiah 9:6:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Kenny Richey

Let me tell the story of Kenny Richey. He was on death row for 20 year because he started a fire in an act of revenge on his ex-girlfriend. It killed a two-year-old girl. Eventually, because of a plea bargain, he had a hearing that might lead to his release.

That's like the position each of us finds ourselves in with God. We are effectively on death row. The apostle Paul says in his letter to Titus:

“we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.”

It was hate that drove Kenny, the two-year-old was what the American's call 'collateral damage'.

Our Hatred

Most of us won't act out our hatred to that extent, but it's there inside each of us. You can see it. Just catch the eye of the driver you've just beaten into a parking space, or the person who can't get a seat on the train because you're ahead of them, or the person in the supermarket queue, when something you do causes them to be delayed – there are hundreds of other examples. We've all been that person too. Think back to the events of last week, or yesterday, or perhaps tonight in the church car park.

No contest

Kenny entered a 'no contest' plea – neither 'guilty' nor 'not guilty' – at his hearing. That fudge would not be good enough for God, but it served for Kenny in the American justice system, and he was released.

With God, there can be no plea bargains, only a plea of 'guilty'. God already knows that we are, but he needs to know that we know, that we have admitted it to ourselves. That we no longer want to live your life as one who is “disobedient, deceived and enslaved.” If that's the case then God because of His mercy and graciousness and because of what THIS baby achieved when he was a man, will not apply the ultimate penalty to us.

Hope

THIS baby is the source of our hope. His birth, His life, His death, and His Life show us what God is like. He is merciful, gracious, and is prepared to release us from the sentence we are facing and accept us back into his family, so that we will no longer have to live in hatred.

I wonder if anyone will ever tell Kenny? Who has spent two further terms in jail for various less serious crimes.

I wonder if anyone will tell those who are busy cooking the turkey, or watching the television, or tucked up in their beds, preparing to celebrate a festival they don't know the real meaning of?

For those of us who do know what the celebration is about, let us proclaim:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.”

Amen.

 Link

The service was not live-streamed, so there is no recording.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Richey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Lilibet_of_Sussex

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/religion/bulletins/religionenglandandwales/census2021

God’s promises – A king and a son

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay at 10am on 24 Dec 2023

Reading 2 Samuel 7:1-11,16; Luke 1:26-38

What the boss wants

Have you ever tried to second guess what the boss wants? When someone asks you to do something, or if they can change something, and you say “Yes, of course, no problem” – thinking you know what’s happening. I’ve done things like that often, and it rarely works out.

That’s where Nathan the prophet is in our Old Testament passage today. His job is to be a prophet – to pass on messages from God. It is not to just assume that someone else, even the king, knows God better than he does.

So, I suppose you could say he’s having a bad day, that he should be paying more attention and looking at the big picture. God is not happy with his casual assumption and has different ideas.

Good from it – Davidic covenant

This is one of those occasions where God can bring something good from our failure, or more specifically, Nathan’s failure.

In Acts 13 we are reminded what God thinks of David:

‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

And he has. He has fought the surrounding tribes and won the battles, with God’s help. Now, though, it is time to run the kingdom, to settle down a bit, to do what kings do – to build palaces.

To Davids credit

It is to David’s credit that he has not only thought about himself here; he has also thought about the God that has been protecting him and his people. He has thought a bit about how the kingdom should work now that they have occupied the land that was promised to them. (Well, most of it, anyway.)

God has seen that, because he knows our deepest desires, and in David’s case approves of his intent. But the practice will have to be different, the temple must be built by someone whose hands are not covered in blood. So, that will be David’s successor.

Davidic covenant

That leads to the covenant with David, the promise to establish his throne forever.

2Sa 7:16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me your throne will be established forever.

2nd King & before (and what a king means)

David is only the second king of the Israelites. Before him was Saul, who failed in God’s eyes and was replaced. Before Saul the kingdom was ruled, if you can call it that, by the judges. In that time it required every man among the Israelites to maintain loyalty to God in order to merit his protection. Now with a king, the king can stand as a proxy between God and the people. God sees and judges the king. There were some good kings, and quite a few bad kings.

A. G. Herbert

A.G. Herbert wrote a book that he subtitled “A Study of the Fulfilment of the Old Testament in Jesus Christ and His Church”, he gave it the title “The Throne of David”. He says: “The failure of the kings generally leads not to disillusion with kingship but to the hope of a future king who will fulfil the kingship ideal—a hope which provides the most familiar way to understanding the significance of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ coming in his kingdom”

History of Kings

Before the coming of Jesus, the land had many kings, after it was conquered the king may no longer have been in charge, but the line of succession still exists. Just as it does for the countries in Europe that are now republics – the line of succession is still there.

So it is always possible to restore the king. That is one of the promises to Mary in the surprising reading from the New Testament.

Luke Reading

So let’s take a look at how God restored Israel's king and what it means for us. Some of that is in the New Testament reading we had this morning, but we should start with Zechariah and Elizabeth in the verses immediately before that reading.

Zechariah and Elizabeth

Zechariah received a visit from an angel, later identified as Gabriel, while he was the priest at the temple. The angel told him that his prayers had been answered; that his wife was expecting a baby, and they should call him John. This is the person we know as John the Baptist.

Betrothal

When Elizabeth is in her sixth month, the angel visits a girl named Mary. She is betrothed to Joseph. Betrothal was part of the marriage contract, once agreed – probably not by the couple, but by their families – any separation is the same as a divorce. In those days, it was normal for a girl to be married in her teens – possibly as young as twelve.

Angel’s message

This young girl handles the appearance of an angel far better than the priest Zechariah, and easily, it seems to us, accepts what the angel says.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”

Mary’s question

Her only question had been how?

This is after being told about the baby’s destiny:

³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.

³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

Not only has she been given a name to call him – Jesus – which is normally the father’s choice. Well, it was the father’s choice – but somehow she would have to convince Joseph. Then she will somehow have to deal with her baby becoming king. That was an unlikely prospect for her, as there is no evidence she had any connection to royalty.

Tell Joseph

She will also have to tell Joseph about the pregnancy. That would be an ‘interesting’ conversation. One of the reasons given for marrying off girls so young, is that it protects them from illicit liaisons that might result in pregnancy. Even in a culture so steeped in religion, the story that ‘an angel told me that God would make me pregnant’ is still an impossibly hard sell. Fortunately, God provides an answer to Joseph separately.

The how?

The angel’s answer to the ‘how’ question gives us, and Mary, some additional information:

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

So, not just king now but son of God too. I would have thought that that might be even more frightening, but it doesn’t seem to disturb Mary at all.

The when?

So, when did the overshadowing occur, some say that it happened immediately, but that doesn’t really fit the text. Mary may have, quite reasonably, kept that process to her self when she was telling the story years later. What we know is that when Mary went to stay with Elizabeth, the baby was already growing. She has moved to be with family so that the locals don’t get the gossip – and to avoid all the problems that would probably cause. Unmarried mothers could end up being stoned, although that was rare by this time.

Elizabeth’s response is only positive:

“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”

That visit had to happen before John the Baptist was born -because he too reacted to Mary’s presence, or was it Jesus’s presence he responded to?

Either way, Mary is in a safe place while the baby grows.

Genealogies

We should mention the genealogies for a minute, as they are what really established Jesus as king. It is important to note that it is not Mary’s family that we are tracking, as some will say, but Joseph’s. If Jesus is to be recognisable as king, it is his earthly parentage that is important.

The fact that He is adopted by Joseph is not an issue for anyone – least of all the genealogies. And especially not God, it is part of His plan.

The basic gospel

So, what have we learned, and how does it all apply to us?

The good news – the gospel, is that God sent His son to earth to experience what it is to live in a sinful world and show us that living a sinless life is possible. He also came to die for our sins. He was then resurrected to prove to us that our relationship with God can be re-established, and we can inherit eternal life.

Now we know a little more about how that works. We are often told that when God looks on our sins, he sees Jesus. This is because Jesus is the king, and God is looking at the king and not at the individual people’s sins. Jesus has already died for our sins, and has taken the punishment that was our due. As king, that is a part of His role.

Birthday of the King

So, as we come to celebrate the official birthday of our heavenly king, let us remember not just the things that happened at his birth, but also His crowning achievement, which is vital to us, our spiritual well-being and our chance of eternal life.

Amen.

 

Recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvpOzrCh7x4 from 22:20 

References

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_Israel_and_Judah

https://sermonwriter.com/sermons/new-testament-luke-126-38-when-the-angel-leaves-the-room-hyde/

https://sermonwriter.com/sermons/luke-126-38-a-faithful-response-mclarty/

https://revcollins.com/2017/12/19/sermon-on-luke-126-38/

https://sermonwriter.com/biblical-commentary/new-testament-luke-126-38/

Hope and Watch!

Preached 3 December 2023 10:00 at Christ Church, Billericay

Reading Isaiah 64v1-9; Mark 13v24-37

Old Testament

Like the writer of Isaiah, do you long for God to come?

Do you want Him to sort out the world?

To put an end to the wars, the violence, the destruction, the oppression, the greed, the selfishness?

Do you remember when God did awesome things?

Our Sin

Think about it, as Isaiah did. God won’t come – because of our sin – it makes Him angry. Everything we do is like filthy rags (only good for throwing away – being burnt in the fire?)

No one strives to lay hold of Him, no-one calls on His name. So He stays away.

What are we?

Thinks about us, what are we that we could do something about our failures, our sins are a part of us, as much as our heart and lungs. We can’t rip them out and expect to live. We can’t re-model ourselves and start again.

Only God can ...

We are just the clay in the potters hands. If this version of us doesn’t work properly, it can just be turned into something else – something better, something that will function the way that God wants it to.

Isaiah recognises that ONLY God can do anything about the situation.

Only God can re-make us, improve us, so that we can be His people, so that our sins will not stay with us, so that He will no longer have cause to be angry with us, so that we can do His bidding, and constantly remember His ways.

Hope

That is our hope, although hope is a word with a watered down meaning, so perhaps we should say, that is our expectation. That is where we are at the start of Advent.

Advent

Advent is a time when we remember that God and His promises that He will do something about the problems we have caused. It is 4 weeks of preparation, but it used to be 40 days, like lent. It's a time for us to get ourselves ready for the big event – which, when it happened about 2000 years ago, would go unnoticed by all but a very few.

Today (Advent 1) we look at our hope (our expectation) that God will finally bring an end to this mess. Not just by being born as a baby, which is just the start of the process, but by returning in all His glory and majesty to finally finish of the redemption of mankind.

Get ready

If we hope for something, we get ready for it, depending on what we hope for there are different things we need to do.

- the supermarket delivery – clear space in the freezer.

- we look for signs

– back in my day, if you were planning a holiday, you would receive tickets, or booking confirmations and instructions in the post - waiting for the postman – running down the stairs to see if they’ve come yet.

- delivery man is on his 5^th delivery, you are number 86, he will be with you between 15:03 and 16:03.

-Man standing in the road to greet his visitors – goes back in, comes out again.

Olivet discourse

Let's turn to the New Testament reading.

Mark chapter 13 is known as the Olivet discourse and is the longest discourse in the book. The first half deals with the destruction of the temple. That occurred in AD 70. The second half is about the return of Jesus, this is where our reading starts today.

First half

The destruction of the temple put an end to the temple worship. In many ways, it changed the Jewish faith forever. Their life and worship was built around the temple, and it had been that way for generations. The destruction and the ferocity with which it was delivered have few parallels. There was starvation and even cannibalism amongst the survivors. For in its day it was worse than what is happening in Gazza today, partly because there were no outside agencies providing any sort of assistance.

After the destruction, the Jews re-built their faith around the Law, but that contains many references to the temple and became a constant reminder of the disaster.

Let's have a look at the passage that was read today. It splits into 3 parts:

vv24-27 – Signs in the heavens

“In those days”, for us, means “In these days”, because the distress of the destruction of the temple that I have already spoken about has happened.

Jesus is letting us know that there will be signs in the heavens. This does not have to be the literal destruction of the universe. Remember, He is describing something that will happen that his hearers cannot possibly visualise with their limited understanding of how the cosmos works. He may also be describing something that maybe we cannot possibly visualise with our limited understanding of the cosmos. But something will happen in the heavens that will be the final sign that Jesus is returning. We are given a bit of a picture of how it might look.

Return is the reverse of leaving

After those signs, the Son of Man will appear, returning in the same way he left after the ascension. (That is in Acts chapter 1) It will be unmistakeable and will show great power and glory – just the thing that Isaiah longed for. At this stage, I’m sure there will still be a few arguing that God does not exist – after all, there are still people who believe the earth is flat, despite video of it spinning in space. Their denials of God will not be sustainable.

Gathering the elect

Somehow, and you can try to use your imagination to work out how this might happen, the angels will gather the elect – the true believers – from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. This is, for me, the most difficult part of the passage when I try to think about how it will happen.

Like ‘Close Encounter of the third kind’ ?

‘How’ is not what Jesus is about at the moment. He is just giving them the facts – telling them what will happen.

28-31 – The fig tree

In the next 4 verses (28-31) Jesus talks about the fig tree. My commentary tells me, it is one of the very few trees in Israel that drops its leaves in the winter and grows them again when the weather, and the daylight hours improve. It is also a tree that provides food, so it would have been familiar to the disciples – and everyone else. As the new leaves start to grow, it provides a sign that summer is on its way. It doesn’t tell you what exactly will happen, the summer may be good or bad, but it is definitely coming.

Verse 30 which says

“I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.|”

causes endless debate. Some believe that Jesus got it wrong, and that He really had no clue at all about the timings as it says in Matthew 24:36, and in verse 32, which we will look at in a minute.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Jesus getting it wrong is not likely. There are two other possibilities, one is that Jesus is referring back to the destruction of Jerusalem. Some of the disciples were still alive when that took place. - possible, but the more likely possibility is that our translation of the word that became ‘generation’ is flawed. An alternative translation is mentioned in the footnotes – where it says it can also mean ‘race’. That could easily be Jesus’ meaning. So, “The Jews will not pass away until these things have happened.” That sounds more likely.

Then in verse 31 we find out how fragile the universe is. All material things – heaven and earth, will pass away. But God’s words, which are not fragile at all, will never pass away.

vv32-37

In the final section of the reading, we get to the main point that Jesus is trying to teach the disciples. First he tells them that he cannot give them a date, that it is withheld. That is for the very good reason that we and they are to live by faith. How many would have been living for God in the 1^st century, if he’d told them 31 December 2023 (No, that’s not my guess – I don’t have a guess!)

Faithfully wait

So, while we faithfully wait we must be on our Guard, we must be alert. All sorts of things are going to come at us between now and then. So, just like a doorkeeper of a big house, we must stay awake – you can never know when the Lord will arrive.

Apparently, evening, midnight, rooster crows, and dawn are the four nighttime watches of the Roman army, so as usual Jesus is speaking to them in language they will easily understand.

Watch!

The simple message of this passage is watch, as in keep watch.

Watch yourselves, so that we do not drift from the faith, so that we do not follow the latest trendy ideas, but we stay true to the message that we are given in scripture. Peter, when he’s talking about the end times, tells his readers in his second letter:

^11b You ought to live holy and godly lives ¹² as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.

Our watchfulness can speed God’s return, so if that is what you long for, keep watching.

Watch the society around us. So that we may see their needs, speak the truth to them and show them the love of God that rescues us from sin and death – and speeds His return.

Watch the signs, and know that some things must happen, like the destruction of the temple, but those things are not signs of the imminent end. Watch the signs, so that when the signs of the imminent end arrive, we know what to expect.

Preparing for Christmas

As we prepare for Christmas, we must do so as we do everything else – by staying watchful of our behaviour – that we are still living Godly and holy lives.

That is my prayer this morning, that we may all stay alert and watchful, looking forward to the second coming, while we enjoy the celebration of the first coming.

Amen.

Recording is available here at 24:20 – 41:56

https://youtu.be/lAm4dk6lutI

 

References

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/first-sunday-of-advent-2/commentary-on-mark-1324-37-4

https://sermonwriter.com/sermons/mark-13-24-37-preparing-for-his-coming-mclarty/

https://www.fbcthomson.org/post/promises-jesus-is-coming-back-a-study-of-mark-13-24-37

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/first-sunday-of-advent-2/commentary-on-mark-1324-37-4

https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2020-11-23/mark-1324-37-3/