Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
7/6/97 am
God So Loved The World
Reading – Luke 2.1-20
Go with me this morning to a grassy slope just east of Bethlehem. It was a typical night. Several shepherds huddled around a small fire, as they watched the flock. Suddenly, there appeared to them an angel of God. The glory of God shone around about them.
The Jews called it SCHECHINAH... An intolerable brightness. THIS LIGHT meant only one thing to the Jewish mind... GOD IS HERE! A visual manifestation of the eternal being.
- It happened on Mt. Sinai at the deliverance of the Ten Commandments.
- It occurred again on the day the Temple of Solomon was dedicated.
- This brightness filled the Mount of Transfiguration.
- It happened again at the tomb of Jesus on resurrection morning.
- To Saul on the Damascus Road.
- And to John on the Isle of Patmos.
Before these shepherds could faint or run to hide in the limestone cliffs, the angel speaks.
Church, isn't it a shame that: this message from above, this message from on high, is ignored by most people except at Christmas time. This angelic message is to be heard 365 days a year. It is a message that will change our hearts, our lives, and our destiny. Not just during the holiday season, but all the time... every season. This is the tragedy of Christmas... That we have exiled Heaven's message to one day of the year. Shame on us!!... Shame on us! God never intended for us to celebrate the coming of His Son in such a minute fashion.
- The birth of Jesus,
- The incarnation,
- This IMMANUEL event is to be celebrated every day or not at all.
Examine this angelic message with me for a moment.
MESSAGE NUMBER ONE IS FEAR NOT.
How many of us here this morning are fearful?... Be honest now.
- Fearful of disease?
- Fear of war in the Gulf?
- Fear of the financial collapse of our country?
- Fear of what's going to happen to our children or grandchildren?
- Fearful for our marriage?
- Fearful for our job?
- Fearful of growing old?
- Fearful of death?
All of these and a hundred more are justifiable concerns... RIGHT?
Well, the first message from God is FEAR NOT. WHY... GOD IS HERE!... GOD IS HERE. Because of the coming of Jesus, we have no reason to fear. GOD IS HERE!... Hear the message... Believe the message... Make use of the message.
MESSAGE NUMBER TWO IS, FOR UNTO YOU A SAVIOR IS BORN.
Shepherds were a poor lot. They were a cast out group... A motley crew. Nobody wanted to be a Palestinian shepherd. They were the bottom rung on the social latter. But Jesus came to them... And For them.
Paul said, Jesus came to save sinners, of whom I am chief... The worst. The good news this morning is that Jesus came to save you... And me, regardless of who we are or what we have done. His blood can forgive the vilest of sins.
- He brought cheating tax collectors into the kingdom.
- Instead of condemning prostitutes, he encouraged them to leave their sin.
- He took repentant thieves to paradise.
Jesus came to seek and save the lost... That's the message of this book. That is why it is called the Gospel... Good news... Good news! God is Here!... Hear the message... Believe the message... Respond to the message.
MESSAGE NUMBER THREE IS PEACE.
Peace on earth, on whom His favor rest. Jesus cam to bring peace Isaiah declared that His name would be Prince of Peace. Jesus said, Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. My peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not the peace of the world, but My peace. Audience... His Favor rests on us.
You see, Jesus came bringing three kinds of peace:
First, there is peace within self. This peace is the result of knowing that we are forgiven. The burden of guilt has been lifted. We are SAFE... SAVED and on our way to heaven... That is peace!
Then there is peace with others.
- Bigoted people are not peaceful people.
- Prideful individuals are not at peace with others.
- Snobbish folk are not at peace with their fellowman.
But, in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, rich or poor, male or female. Jesus came to make us one in Him... In Christ, not one of us have an advantage. We are all equally blessed by His coming.
There is peace with God. The word is reconciliation. Our sins have separated us from God.
- Who can pay the debt?
- Who can make atonement.
- Who can redeem us?
- Who can bring God and mankind together again?
Paul says, In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace God is Here!... Hear the message!... Believe the message!... Accept the message!
I invite you now to listen attentively as we rehearse the MESSAGE
For the census, the royal family has to travel eight-five miles. Joseph walks, while Mary, nine months pregnant, rides sidesaddle on a donkey, feeling every jolt, every rut, every rock in the road. By the time they arrive, the small hamlet of Bethlehem is swollen from an influx of travelers. The inn is packed, people feeling lucky if they were able to negotiate even a small space on the floor. Now it is late, everyone is asleep, and there is no room
But fortunately, the innkeeper is not all shekels and mites. True, his stable is crowded with his guests’ animals, but if they could squeeze out a little privacy there, they were welcome to it. Joseph looks over at Mary, whose attention is concentrated on fighting a contraction. We’ll take it, he tells the innkeeper without hesitation. The night is still when Joseph creaks open the stable door. A small oil lamp, loaned them by the innkeeper, flickers, dancing shadows on the walls. What a disquieting place for a woman in the throes of childbirth.
Far from home.
Far from family.
Far from what she had expected for her firstborn.
But Mary makes no complaint. It is a relief just to finally be off that donkey. She leans back against the wall, her feet swollen, back aching, contractions growing stronger and closer together.
Joseph’s eyes dart around the stable. Not a minute to lose. Quickly. A feeding trough would have to make do for a crib. Hay would serve as a mattress. Blankets? Blankets? Ah, this robe will do.
The birth would not be easy, neither for the mother or the child. For every royal privilege for this son ended at conception. A scream from Mary knifes through the calm of that silent night. Sweat pours from her face as Joseph, the most unlikely midwife in all Judeo, rushes to her side. The involuntary contractions are not enough... Mary has to push with all her strength, almost as if God were refusing to come into the world without her help. Joseph prays. THE Messiah, God in flesh arrives. The son of the Most High God umbilically tied to a lowly Jewish girl.
The baby chokes and coughs. Joseph instinctively turns him over and clears his throat. Jesus cries. Mary bares her breast and reaches for the shivering baby. Deity nursing from a young maiden’s breast. Could anything be more puzzling... Or more profound? Joseph sits exhausted... Silent... Full of wonder.
The baby finishes feeding and sighs, the Divine Word reduced to a few unintelligible sound. Then, for the first time, his eyes find Mary’s. Deity straining to focus. The Light of the World, squinting. Tears pool in her eyes. She touches his tiny hand. Hands that once sculpted mountain ranges cling to her finger. She looks up at Joseph, and through a watery veil... Their souls touch. He crowds close, cheek to cheek with his betrothed. Together they are in awe at the baby Jesus, whose heavy eyelids begin to close. It has been a long journey. The king is tired.
And so, with barely ripple of notice, God stepped into the warm lake of humanity. Without protocol without pretension. Where you would have expected angels, there were only flies. Where you would have expected heads of state, there were only donkeys, a few haltered cows, a nervous bunch of sheep, a tethered camel, and a scurry of curious barn mice.
Except for Joseph, there was no one to share Mary’s pain. Or her joy. Yes, there where angels announcing the Savior’s arrival... But only to a band of lowly shepherds. And yes, a magnificent star shone in the sky to mark his birthplace-but only three or four wise foreigners bothered to look up and follow it. Thus in the little town of Bethlehem... One silent night... The royal birth of God’s Son tiptoed quietly by... As the world slept. It all happened in a moment, but a most remarkable moment.
As moments go, this one appeared not different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the time-line and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you have listened to this reading. It came and it went. It was proceeded and succeeded by others just like it. It was one of the countless moments that have marked time since eternity became measurable.
But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb. The omnipotent, in one instant, made himself breakable. He who had been spirit became flesh... Became pierceable. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo. And he who created... Protects... And sustains the world chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl and the protection of an earthly father.
God as a fetus. Holiness sleeping in a womb. The creator of life being created. GOD WAS HERE!
He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant girl and a sleepy carpenter. The hands that first held him were unmanicured, callused, and dirty. No silk... No ivory.... No hype... No party... No hoopla Were it not for these shepherds, there would have been no reception. And were it not for a group of stargazers, there would have been no gifts.
Angels watched as Mary changed God’s diaper. The universe watched with wonder as the Almighty learned to walk. Children played in the street with him. Had the synagogue leader in Nazareth known who was listening to his sermons... Would he have taught differently? Jesus may have had pimples. He may have been tone-deaf. Perhaps a girl down the street had a crush on him or vice-versa. It could be that his knees were bony. One thing’s for sure: He was, while completely divine, completely human.
For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt.
He felt weak.
He grew weary.
He was afraid of failure.
He got colds, burped, and had body odor.
His feelings got hurt.
His feeling got tired.
And his head ached.
To think of Jesus in such a light is... Well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant... Packaged... Predictable. But don’t do it... Let Him be as human as He intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out... Freeing us from all our sins.
Listen to him.
- Love your neighbor was spoken by a man whose neighbors tried to kill him.
- The challenge to leave family for the gospel was issued by one who kissed his mother good-bye in the doorway, saying I must be about my Father's business.
- Pray for those who persecute you, came from the lips that would soon be begging God to forgive his murderers.
- I am with you always, are the words of a God who in one instant did the impossible to make it all possible for you and me.
- Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, was said by one who was willing to submit to the will of His Father, leaving heaven and dying for our sins.
It all happened in a moment. In one moment... a most remarkable moment. The Word became flesh.
There will be another moment like this one. The world will see another instantaneous transformation. You see, in becoming man, God made it possible for man to see God. When Jesus went home... He left the door to heaven open. As a result, we will all be changed... In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
INDEED... INDEED... GOD IS HERE!
What will we do with this message from on high? How will we respond to the message spoken by angels? If you need to become a child of God, we invite to do so by: FAITH, REPENTANCE and New Testament BAPTISM, immersion in water for the forgiveness of your sins.
Perhaps you would like to rededicate your life to Jesus. Or as a baptized believer, you would like to be a part of this spiritual family. We invite you to come as we stand and sing this invitation song.
