|
<< Back to Sermon Archive
"Look"
Two men, born centuries apart, both raised in the church
their whole life, one is a king the other a hard-working,
humble, blue-collared laborer. I'd like you to meet them
today and observe their reaction as God intrudes on their
lives, their plans for the future. And as you watch, consider
your own circumstances as you prepare for tomorrow and
Tuesday to celebrate God's intrusion on your own life.
Let me introduce you to King Ahaz. You'll find him in the
Old Testament reading from Isaiah 7. He is ruling over the
tiny southern portion of the once great nation of Israel.
It is the 8th century BC. Seven hundred years before the
birth of Jesus. Ahaz controls the area called Judah which
is where the capital city of Jerusalem lies. Sadly, the
church, that is, the people of God were not doing so well
in those days. From the great and glorious days of King
David and his son Solomon they had been reduced to civil
war, fighting amongst themselves for power and control.
The politics of the Middle East have always been complicated.
In the Old Testament lesson the northern tribes of Israel had
aligned themselves with the powers of Syria to attack their
brothers in the tiny little remnant of Judah in the south.
Isaiah 7:2 says that in response to this impending attack,
“the hearts of Ahaz and his people were shaken, as the trees
of the forest are shaken by the wind.”
Into this mess God’s sends their pastor, a man named Isaiah,
to deliver a sermon. Chapter 7:4 pastor Isaiah speaks to
Ahaz saying, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid.
Do not lose heart.” And then at God’s direction Isaiah
assures Ahaz that the invasion will fail and that he needs
only trust in God to deliver them. At Chapter 7:10, which
is where our lesson begins, God even offers to do something
He does not do very often, to secure Ahaz’s faith, to seal
his trust and obedience God says, (now get ready for this
because all of you have wished for just such an offer)
God says “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in
the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” Can you
imagine the list of things you might choose from?
But being patient and trusting in God when you are the
king is not something human beings are very good at.
“King!? Did you say king? I am the king of my life!”
We like to be in control. We like to be the master of
our own destiny, even if that destiny is our destruction.
Ahaz had gone to Sunday school, and studied his catechism,
and been confirmed and he quotes from what he has been
taught, “I will not put the LORD to the test.”
Not a bad answer, really. Putting God to the test,
demanding that he give you a sign to prove that He is
worthy of your faith, your trust, your obedience is not
advisable. In fact when Satan was tempting Jesus and took
him to the top of temple and encouraged Jesus to throw
himself off to see whether God would really keep his word
to send angels to catch him, Jesus responded, “It is written,
do not put the LORD your God to the test.” Unless of course
God Himself tells you to, as He did Ahaz, “Test me, ask for
a sign, whether in the deepest depth or in the highest height.”
Now, check this out. Even Ahaz's misguided piety, his clinging
to the rules as a means of maintaining his control over his
situation, his rejection of God's gracious intervention to
reform his faith and make it something truly remarkable,
even Ahaz's stubborn stupidity cannot stop God from accomplishing
His desired outcome for the human race.
You can hear the edge in Isaiah's voice: "Hear now,
you house of David!" You think you are so wise and
so strong. "Is it not enough to try the patience of
men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The
virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel."
And those very words carry us forward 700 years to meet
the other man I wanted to introduce you to. He is from
the town of Nazareth, a carpenter, who is engaged to be
married to a girl named Mary. His name is Joseph. He kind
of gets lost in the shuffle of this time year. We don't
talk much about him, because we don't know a whole lot
about him. But watch him carefully this week and next
because there is something deeply motivating in his
quiet character.
But first I need you to see that his natural instinct is not
any different than Ahaz's, or yours and mine. He is a human
being who by nature seeks to be in control of his own
circumstances, to follow the rules as best he knows how to
bring order into his suddenly upside down world. At the news
that Mary is pregnant he forms the plan to do the "right thing"
according to what he learned in Sunday school and confirmation.
The rules for circumstances like this were clear. Joseph
determines to do it in the most quiet and respectful way possible.
And like Ahaz changing Joseph's direction, overcoming his natural
instincts, requires a word from God. This time through an angel
who makes himself known to Joseph in a dream. I don't know which
would be harder to believe, having your pastor Isaiah say, "This
is what God says, 'don't be afraid, remain calm, ask Him for a
sign to reassure you" or experiencing in a dream an angel who
says, "Don't be afraid, don't follow your own plan, take Mary
as your wife, because God is in control of what's happening and
is using it to accomplish His plan of salvation."
Regardless, the similarity stops with the delivery of God's
Word to each of them. Ahaz refused to listen. Joseph did what
the angel of the Lord commanded him.
Throughout the last century, several actors have turned down
roles in movies that eventually became Hollywood legends.
For example:
- Burt Lancaster turned down the lead in Ben-Hur in 1959. The role eventually went to Charlton Heston, who won an Academy Award.
- Sean Connery was a fan-favorite to play Gandalf, the venerable wizard from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
- Originally Cary Grant was approached about playing the part of 007 in the James Bond series.
- Ewan McGregor and Will Smith both declined the role of Neo in the blockbuster science fiction epic The Matrix.
- And Bette Davis turned down the role of Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 classic, Gone with the Wind, one of the most beloved films in history.
All of them missed the chance to play the role of a lifetime.
God’s Word has been spoken to you. “What is conceived in Mary
is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you
are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people
from their sins.”
The sign has been given that assures you in the midst of whatever
circumstances of life you are in God can be trusted to do what He
has promised, to forgive you, to secure your life in Jesus, to
bring you through the valley of the shadow of death to dwell in
the house of the Lord forever, to give your life meaning and
purpose by using every routine detail of your existence from
the cradle to the grave as part of His grand and glorious plan
for his most precious creation, the human race, you and me, and
the person next you, and the one next them.
You are privileged to live on this side of the cross, to have
God’s word recorded in a book, available for you to read, mark,
learn, and inwardly digest. From here you have a view of history
that neither Ahaz nor Joseph could imagine. Not only was Jesus
born miraculously of a virgin, he lived perfectly not according
to a mindless adherence to the letter of the law, but in an
exciting and challenging embracing of the spirit of the law. By
that I simply mean that Jesus knew how to please God, and do what
was best for others. He performed miracles, taught with incredible
authority, and get this, went to the cross willingly to suffer the
crushing blow of God’s anger against human sin and rebellion. And
my friends, He rose again from the dead.
The offer is ever before you, God’s Word, day in and day out,
week after week, right here in this place. Your sins are forgiven
in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Go in peace and serve the Lord. Stop your stubborn refusal to
trust Him and change the way you are thinking and living.
How? Look at the sign. Jesus is God with us. In human flesh God
has made himself known to you. What we celebrate tomorrow and
Tuesday is the turning point in human history. God has been at
work since Adam and Eve to come into the world at just the right
time to rescue us for eternity. Now he has come and we are headed
toward the grand finale of this broken and dying place and the
beginning of what we were originally created to experience, living
endlessly in the presence of God.
Stop your stubborn refusal to trust Him and change the way you
are thinking and living.
How? When you get up in the morning, make the sign of the Holy
Cross and say, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit” and remind yourself that your life is part
of His plan for eternity. Joseph woke up and he did what the
Lord had commanded Him. Is that so hard for you? Wake up and
do what the Lord has commanded you. Yes of course, Ahaz by
yourself it is impossible, but Joseph, with God all things
are possible.
Wake up and do what the Lord has commanded you. Do you know
what that is? It is the role of a lifetime! Live the life you
have been given like you know where you are going. Be humble,
but strong. Take care of the people around you. Love your
neighbor as yourself. No even more than that, Love one another
as God in Christ has loved you. No, even more than that, Love
your enemies. Say you are sorry. Forgive whoever has harmed
you even if they are not sorry.
Look at the sign. Jesus is born. He is God with us. Jesus
died. Jesus is risen. Jesus is coming again.
Amen.
Top of Page
<< Back to Sermon Archive
|
