Loving God, in the Scriptures you reveal the reality of human nature, and there are times when it’s not pretty.  Yet, you also reveal your light in the darkness and your love in the midst of our sinfulness.  Help us to give thanks for these things today as we worship in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    “He became their saviour in all their distress” (Isa. 63:8-9).  These words from Isaiah almost sound like the theme for today.  No sugar-coating.  No cute little baby in the stable surrounded by love.  Instead, we are faced with the cold, hard reality of what sinful human beings are capable of.  Yet, isn’t that why Jesus came in the first place?

    The Christmas narrative in Matthew does include the portion of the gospel that was read this morning.  There is, of course, also the celebration and the worship, for right before we get to this part of the story, the wise men (or magi) show up in Bethlehem, coming with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, and wanting to worship this child who has been born to be king.

    However, the magi ask the wrong person where to find this child.  They start in Jerusalem, the capital, with King Herod, not knowing how insecure and jealous Herod could be.  Thankfully, there are some chief priests and scribes there who point the wise men to Bethlehem, and then they continue following the star until they find the child in a house with Mary his mother.  After giving their gifts and worshipping the child, the magi are warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and so they travel home by a different road.

    This brings us to today’s gospel, where Joseph, too, is warned in a dream – not just once, but several times!  The result, of course, is that the child Jesus is saved from Herod and his twisted jealousy.  But what about all of those other children?  How could God allow such a thing to happen, right?  But let’s think about this for a moment.  In reflecting on this gospel, Pastor Bruce Epperly asks some very thought provoking questions.

    He starts with the assertion that there is no way that the deaths of these children are part of God’s vision.  However, Herod is allowed to make his choices, and so are the people in Bethlehem.  Joseph and Mary, too, make a choice.  They choose to listen to the warning in Joseph’s dream, and they flee to Egypt and stay there until after Herod is dead.  But what about those other parents?  If Joseph was warned, why wouldn’t they be warned, too?  Doesn’t God care about them?

    Well - realistically - how do we know that they weren’t warned?  They could have been warned in a way that was very similar to Joseph.  However, they also might have been not tuned in, or not listening.  Not everybody obeys God’s direction, or even listens for it!  Still, God allows us, and others, to make our choices, and the result is a sinful and hurting world.

    Yet, into that world comes Jesus, who will also experience the ugliness and the pain that human sinfulness produces.  At the same time, Jesus’ birth as a human child is a profound sign of hope in the midst of despair, and light in the midst of darkness, and God’s love for us even in the midst of our sinfulness.

    Pastor Lee Berry (from LAMP) shares a story about a young couple who were recently married and had a loving relationship, a nice home, and good jobs.  Their lives seemed happy, and their joy was complete when they had their first and only child.  They were loving, caring, and devoted parents, and their lives seemed rich and complete.  However, then the unthinkable happened.  Their beautiful little baby died suddenly, and their lives were now filled with devastation.  They agonized over what they could have done to prevent such a tragedy, and they now felt only emptiness and pain.

    It all seemed hopeless, until a knock on their door changed their lives forever.  A Native man stood at the door holding a small baby.  He handed the baby to the couple and said, “Here.  This baby is for you.”  Then he left.  A young Native mother had given up her own baby to fill the lives of this grieving couple.  In Native circles this is called “custom adoption.”  Pastor Berry was deeply moved by this ultimate gift of love, and saw it as a reflection of God’s own love for us as he says, “Here.  This baby is for you.”

    Isaiah writes,

He became their saviour in all their distress.  It was no messenger or angel but [God’s] presence that saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Isa. 63:8-9)

    God comes to us in the midst of grief and anxiety and pain and distress, and not only walks with us, but transforms our sorrow into joy and our fear into trust and our distress into wholeness and salvation.  God comes to us in a Christmas narrative that is quite purposely not all sweetness and light, but that instead reflects the realities that we are dealing with in this world and in our lives – the same realities, by the way, that Jesus came to share.

    Let us then give thanks for the God who comes to us.  Let us give thanks for the God who continues to communicate with us and to warn us and to offer us guidance and inspiration.  Let us give thanks for the God who says to us, “Here - this baby is for you.”  For a Saviour has indeed been born for us, and has lived for us, and died for us, that we might not be overcome by sin and death, but instead have eternal life.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Christmas 1(A)                                Matthew 2:13-23
December 26, 2010                            Isaiah 63:7-9
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2010 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved