FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 2019
What did 2019 meaningfully bring for you? This is not what Father Christmas brought you but what was something significant which you were involved with during 2019? I invite you to share this at the end of my homily, after covering the set Bible readings for today. We could have a mini Q and A between us or else if that is too public, then just in a huddle between two or three or you.
We had as a Call to Worship, the first five verses of Psalm 148. This is full of praise for our creator, God. I quote: “Praise him, all his angels”! The psalm celebrates God’s nature and purposes, revealed in creation of our world, our universe and every living creature, including human life. Humankind can best fulfill God’s command by living as God created us to live. This psalm calls creation to join in praise of God. We are tasked with stewardship of creation, rather than having dominion.
The reading from Isaiah 63 reminds me of the old gospel song: “count your blessings, name them one by one.” Recounting God’s gifts of creation and redemption makes us happy, healthy and thankful. Isaiah looked back at the gracious deeds of God in the life of his people where God had been with them in all their pain and difficulties and carried them when they had no strength.
Looking now at our Gospel reading from Matthew 2, the Christmas we have just celebrated marks the beginning of the earthly life of Jesus. Because Jesus was who he is, the messiah, our Saviour, it is also a new beginning for us, the human race. His flesh is our flesh, born of Mary a representative of ordinary humanity which he takes into the Holy of holies, the most holy place, with God. Through our flesh he was able to do for us what we could not do for ourselves.
Jesus coming into our world is bracketed with Herod who fakes worship on one end while instituting infanticide on the other. Matthew shows the baby Jesus as the culmination of what was promised. He was the foretold Saviour of the world who had to navigate Egypt, evil and egos. Matthew also recounts that dreams also save Joseph and his family. It appears that guardian angels are working overtime in the first part of our Lord’s life.
Three times a messenger from God, an angel, converses with a sleeping Joseph. The first dialogue proclaims the birth of Jesus. The second provides a way of escape, the third dream gives the all clear signal. Joseph is to leave Egypt because the security and refuge that it offers is no longer needed. The fourth dream alerts Joseph to danger lurking in Judea where Herod’s son Archelaus is the new ruler, a very bad apple from a rotten tree. So, Joseph sensed foul play and heads for Nazareth, the subject of previous prophecy.
The Bible never states that each child of God has a guardian angel. These spirits cannot or will not save us from all suffering. Maybe their function is not to shield us from danger but to cool our feet when we walk through the flames of adversity. I wonder though who of us have had a flesh and blood messenger whom God sends just at the right time, with just the right word: a word of comfort, hope or wisdom. On the other hand, who have we been sent to as guardian angels with a message form the Lord?
Eventually, the Holy family established their home in Nazareth but of course it was just a temporary home, as the Lord ended his life without having a permanent address.
At Christmas we turn our thoughts toward home. When we were children it was our parent’s home with escapes to our grandparent’s homes if we were lucky. Jan has two sisters so every year we meet at one or another’s home with as many of the extended family to celebrate another year of ups and downs but richly greeting each one present.
Christmas time can be very difficult for believers. What grief do we as individuals or as a congregation bear currently or through the past year? How do we cope with trauma, suffering or disappointments? As we praise God, how do we hold our experiences in tension with God’s promises? What traditions have been meaningful for you? Do we recognize the presence and power of God? Is he close or distant?
Do you want to now share a magic moment which happened to you during this year or maybe changed your life for better or for worse? We can have an open time now for a few minutes or would you prefer to confide with someone next you?
Conclusion: God’s power and love are ready to be experienced, lived in, and celebrated.
Prayer: Dear God, I praise you, Lord of creation. You spoke the word, and all things came to be. Lord of life, you speak the word, and all creation lives, echoes and shouts with life. Your life.
And yet Lord, pressed by my own busyness and self-created doubts, I lose my grip on you. The clouds draw in and shadow me. The mist wet blankets me in the billows of uncertainty. My doubt shouts out for reassurance and comes echoing back, empty handed. Yet still you are there.
Your presence is patient and dependable, and in its magnet field I turn again to find you. True north, by which I orientate my life. And praise returns.
