“If you think God does that, get out!” That seems to be the theme of most of the
talking heads on TV and the internet- there’s the War on Christmas, arguments
over whether Jesus must be white, and the recent words now under attack by one
of the personalities from Duck Dynasty about who God is rejecting. I suspect
people have spent more time analyzing all of these words than any actual words
from Scripture. Everyone poised to win the argument. At the same time this week
as the frenzy over who won Powerball began, everyone in our national media
began to obsess about what it took to win. At one point, a reporter, who had nothing
concrete to say blurted out-“This is what the winning ticket looks like!” And
he held up a generic lottery ticket. As though by seeing that ticket people
could be believe there was a winner. Like it was a sign. That in the midst of
statistical improbability, we’d get a piece of something that made those words
be real. Show us something that will help us believe what seems impossible-
what winning looks like. And so I kind of wonder in such as world as ours, what
people would make of the family tree of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew that is
made up of prostitutes and drunkards and lots of other people many would call
offensive or even losers. Come to the adult discussion class to hear more. Not
to mention the scandal surrounding Joseph and Mary. Today we hear about God’s
improbability in the face of our certainty. Where we see EXIT, God enters to be GOD WITH
US and show what winning really looks like.
In Isaiah, for instance, we see Ahaz,
King of Jerusalem meeting the prophet. Syria and Israel have come to attack Jerusalem.
Ahaz is certain this attack will end badly, probably pondering an exit
strategy. Isaiah instead says-though odds look pretty overwhelming, this will
end and your world will not fall. The end of your distress will happen soon. Because Emmanuel comes. Emmanuel- GOD WITH US-
in this and where you see fear and war, there will be peace. I would want a
sign. What’s amazing is Ahaz should ask for a sign- that’s what you do with a
prophet. But he does not. And by not asking it seems that Isaiah wonders if
Ahaz really believes what God will do.
I can’t decide whether Ahaz can’t see
beyond himself or whether he knew he might ask for the wrong sign. Because when
you’re under attack what you want is a fellow warrior, power in the form of
some kind of weaponized sidekick. And time would pass in a nanosecond. God will
use a baby? And it will be awhile? That’s your idea?
When you’re in the middle of conflict,
you want it to end. You want to know where you stand. It was so unimaginable. Even though Ahaz is skeptical, God determines
to give a sign and to act. And the promise came true for Ahaz. Even though he
fumbled with how to receive it. Where Ahaz saw EXIT, God entered to be GOD WITH
US and show what winning really looks like. Then, Isaiah’s words became words
so powerful, people believed they could come true again. They wrote them down
and held onto them. Because however improbable, they might not just be once and
done. And God’s story went on.
Fast forward to Joseph and Mary. Today’s
reality TV has nothing on the back story of the birth of Christ. In Matthew, it’s
not all graceful pondering-it’s fear and drama. Because Mary is pregnant, and
the scandal is deep and her alibi is shaky. As we glimpse Joseph behind the
scenes it isn’t pretty. He isn’t looking for a sign, unless it says “Exit.” He’s
trying to take charge and manage his righteous image. And frankly anything
other than getting out means he has to live in this dysfunctional life. But
where Joseph sees EXIT God entered to show what GOD WITH US looks like. Where
you see confusion and pain, there will be love and healing. What seems
impossible is not. Signs and wonders even though Joseph fumbled with how to
receive the power and presence of God. And God’s story went on.
And so too for us. “The Lord God will
give you a sign” are words still for us- even when we give up looking for any
signs beyond those we can make ourselves. When we wait for a Warrior God to fix
our world full of people who we’re sure are wrong or who need to be defeated. GOD
WITH US in all the places we fall into the trap of believing God should be like
us, only bigger. And in the times we envision God as vengeful in a world
obsessed with getting even. Where we point to the EXIT sign, God enters with
the still unexpected vision of winning. God enters to be God WITH US.
This is the sign- A baby born to the
scared and confused, in a messed up and fighting world. To people who continue
to fumble the God we receive. Jesus, Emmanuel enters still to remind us that in
all our fears, longings and needs, God’s love wins.And these words live. This
is the sign.
One writer says, “Unless we see the
sign of the child it is all too easy to turn “Immanuel, God-with-us” into a
call to defeat our enemies. God’s sign
of a child surprised a king and an unwed father named Joseph. This sign matters
in a world that continues to worship a vengeful God who can crush our enemies.
Seeing the child as sign of God-with-us paints a different picture, (one our
world needs far more than our battle to be right): The Word comes as a child
who can be received and cannot hurt us; a Word that does not make us afraid.
What is so amazing is that when God does come among us, whatever God’s hurt or
indignation, God comes not with violence, but as a child, vulnerable to our
further hurt that we might receive rather than fear him.” It’s an odd way of winning, but it is
salvation for all of us. On this last Sunday of Advent, as we ponder the
improbable reality of Emmanuel, Jesus born to save all people and to be God
with Us, I share with you these words Barbara Lundblad used to write a new
verse of “O Come, O Come, Immanuel” :
O come, dear child of Mary, come,
God’s Word made flesh within our
earthly home;
Love stir within the womb of night,
Revenge and hatred put to flight.
Rejoice, rejoice! Take heart and do not
fear,
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