Sermon for Sunday, December 30

The reading

Matthew 1:1-17

An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,  and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

The message

We are now starting our reading through the Gospel of Matthew.  This will take us from today, the first week after Christmas until Easter in the middle of April. 

Matthew was written for a Jewish audience and stresses the Jewish origins of Jesus. In Matthew Jesus fulfilling prophesy is very important. For instance Matthew 1:22, that we just heard on Christmas All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”) or Matthew 4:14  to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death  a light has dawned.  Those are 2 of about 15 passages in Matthew that cite Old Testament scripture to show Jesus is the long expected Messiah.

Matthew was written in, to and for a community in the midst of chaos, confusion, anxiety and a struggle to understand their place in the world.  In response to an attempted revolt by the Jewish people, Rome destroys the second temple in Jerusalem (around the year 70). Matthew is written a little after that time.  In addition to the external conflicts, there were also internal conflict over leadership for the Jewish community. There were groups that pushed for revolt and war, groups that urged respect for Roman authorities as long as they stayed out of religious affairs and groups in between. Throughout Matthew, Jesus is constantly in tension with the Pharisees and the established authorities (groups that are often seen as and called hypocrites or obstacles to the good news).

After the destruction of the second temple, Christianity and Judaism were essential spilt into two distinct faiths. This division started years before.  Christians would worship on a different day (Instead of the traditional Sabbath of Friday night – Saturday night, Christians meet on Sundays since that was the day of Jesus resurrection) The debate over if someone had to be Jewish, keep the law, get circumcised, in order to become a Christian was over. The first big church fight with Peter and James urging conversion and law keeping against Paul and others, who said those things were an obstacle to bringing outsiders into the church. It was settled a decade or two before with the kingdom of God open to all people because of Jesus.

Matthew starts the Gospel with the geneology of Jesus.  A family history that stretches from Abraham to Jesus to verify Jesus place in Jewish history and connection to those who have come before. It is very different from the other gospel geneology presented by Luke. The 2 agree from Abraham to David and then become very different.  Matthew starts the list with Abraham, Luke starts the list with Adam, there are different numbers of generations. In both cases, they do not cover enough time and there are very good, well known kings who are left out. Instead, less faithful or successful people are included. There are different names on each list and both include names not mentioned anywhere else in history. Since the early church these were not seen as historically accurate.  People have suggested this is because of Levite adoption, other ways to build or join a family, a spiritual genealogy, the genealogy of Mary or Matthew and Luke having access to some lost or unknown history.The fact remains that this geneology is true in that it does verify Jesus place in Jewish history and  his connection to the people, activities and promises that have come before.  The list tells us that God’s will is going to be done, through good and bad, that we are not called to be perfect, we are not able to be perfect. We are called to be faithful. 

Take, for example, the women listed.  There are four, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. Including women by itself was very unusual for a genealogy (usually they were only concerned with fathers and male descendants).  Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute to become pregnant by Judah, bear his children and ensure her place in his family (a place that was clearly entitled to under the law but no one wanted to let her have). Their son Perez is the ancestor of David.  Rahab was a Canaanite (intermarriage with them was forbidden in the law)  She was an innkeeper (and likely a prostitute) who betrays her own people and helps Israel conquer the city of Jericho.  When the city falls, Rahab and her family are spared and marry into Israel. Ruth, whose story we heard over the Summer, was a Moabite who seduces Boaz to save herself and Naomi. Ruth becomes the great grandmother of King David.  Bathsheba is married to a Hittite, is basically kidnapped and assaulted by David (who also has her husband killed). She ends up as the mother of King Solomon.

Through each of these women’s lives and actions, in their doing what they had to do to protect themselves and others, they end up continuing the family line of Abraham, David and Jesus. Each of them is an outsider, involved in questionable legal or moral actions.  The family line of Jesus is not purely Israelite, or purely royal or without sin.  There are Moabites and Canaanites, people included from different communities. There are people who were not born into prominence (even David was the youngest and least kingly looking of his brothers, the one set away to care for sheep, out of public view), there are people who have done bad things.      

Today, people have a huge interest in learning where they come from. Our church gets at least 5 or 6 calls a year from people looking for records or information about their grandparents, great grandparents and other ancestors.  There are things like ancestory.com that let you find documents and connections many generations back. There are companies like 23 and me that run genetic tests to help you determine what parts of the world your family is from.  Most of the times this leads to unexpected realizations of diversity, a report that you are a mix of many ethnic groups, a document that shows your great grandfather was a hero or that your great great grandmother was sort of a criminal.  Sometimes this is simple curiosity, other times it matters much more (like applying for citizenship someplace or trying to claim an inheritance).

The imperfections in the genology remind us that God works through all different people, is present in all different places. It also shows a big change in how we are connected to each other, in how we are united. we are now all connected by Christ,  joined to Jesus death and resurrection means citizenship in the kingdom of God, Baptism means our inheritance of God’s grace. 

Sermon for Christmas

The reading 

Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The message

This is my 10^th Christmas here as the pastor of St Jacobus.  There are only 3 Christmas stories in the Bible, Matthew, that we heard yesterday, where Jesus fulfills the prophesies and he is named with great power and glory. There is Luke that we just heard, where the birth of Jesus starts with a census and often disregarded shepherds speak the good news. Finally there is the prologue of John, usually read on Christmas Day, which is not much of story. In John 1 Christmas is 8 words, the word made flesh and dwelling among us. We have acted this out, playing sheep or stars as children, then maybe a shepherd or angel and growing up to get the more coveted roles like Mary or Joseph (who could actually say words).  We have seen the images of this night on cards, books and decorations, we have heard the story in beloved and familiar carols. How do we find meaning in something so familiar?

Christmas according to Luke was our reading 3 or 4 years ago on Christmas Eve.  At the end of the service that night, someone told me something, I never heard before, or again, something most pastors never hear during an entire career and few people have ever said. After worship someone came up to me and said “that sermon could have been longer”. Now I do not mean a sarcastic yeah that could have been longer which really means “wow, that was too long” but an authentic, that was a good point, you could have expanded on it more.  I would have just redone that same sermon and made it longer but I didn’t have a manuscript for that one and more importantly, our world has changed.  

In Luke, Christmas starts with a census, the most bureaucratic, uninteresting thing a government can do (well at least in the top 2 or 3 of that list). It is the counting of people in a community, zip code or city. For the Romans, it was necessary to figure out expected taxes, how to divide administrative regions, how many people they would need in government, the need for infrastructure, possibilities for profit and of course to know how many soldiers they would need to dispatch to keep the peace or put down a revolt.  For Luke, along with the genealogy, this detail about the census is included to show Jesus is from the family line of King David and why they ended up in Bethlehem (like the expected Messiah would be according to some of the prophets).  I think there can be more to it.    

About 2000 years later, my brother and I worked for the US Census department, tasked with same job Augustus gave to all governors of the Roman empire.  The work was simple enough, ring the door bells of people who failed to return or fill out the Census properly and try to get them to fill it out. There were short forms which took about 2 minutes to fill out. They basically asked “who lives here”.  Most people were willing to do those.  Then there was the long form, which meant about 45 minutes to an hour of answering in depth questions about income, family, education and everything else you could think of,  Those took way more convincing for people to bother with. We had some tools, There was the explanation of what the census was for, it impacted schools, the number of teachers, road repairs, political districts, hospitals, federal funding for programs. You could also use things you saw to convince people to take the time and share a lot of personal stuff with a total stranger on their front porch who had some sort of temporary government id.  If you heard a dog in the background, you could say “It could make a dog park”, heard kids in the background, you could say it impacted schools,  if they were wearing a veterns hat, you could mention it affected VA services, (which were all true). Just knowing it was important or good, didn’t really matter, you had to convince the person on the other side of the door, someone who already dismissed it as a waste of time before. 

Perhaps that’s the first lesson we can take from this Christmas Census. You are asked to bring others good news of great joy for all people, we are asked to do this in creative, new, bold, interesting and authentic ways.  This is done in how we worship, how we pray, how we live, how we care for others, how we vote, how we support our loved ones. This is done with faith, trusting that God will give us the words. This is done with joy knowing that God saves and that God is with us.     

Beyond the call to share our faith, the part about the census that really makes me think of Christmas is that in a census everyone counts. People in illegal apartments counted, people living together who were not married counted, gay couples counted, that woman who has been squatting on your couch for 2 years counted, undocumented people counted, the person in a wheelchair counted, the disabled teenager counted, atheists counted, monks counted, priests counted, Rabbis counted, rich people counted, doctors counted, the annoying neighbor you couldn’t stand counted, The homeless counted, People in prison counted, people in hospitals or nursing homes counted. No matter who you were, what you believed, how you lived or what you had, everyone counted as 1. This is because everyone would take the trains and buses, everyone would need access to healthcare, police support, school for their children.   

Tonight, Christmas, we hear, we sing, we celebrate, we encounter and we experience the word made flesh and dwelling amongst us, a child whose names mean God saves and God is with us, a birth that lets angels tells shepherd  Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people and to sing out Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace. All this starts with a census, a reminder that to God, everyone is known and loved, that because of Jesus, everyone counts. Everyone and anyone is welcome in the diverse and awesome kingdom of God, everyone, with God’s word, faith and water, can joined to the promises of God.  

Sermon for December 23

The reading

Matthew 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus

The message

Well, Merry Christmas, a little early I guess,  After our very long Advent, we are here, After experiencing God’s promises in their original contexts, after witnessing God actions in the world told to us by inspired voices from 1000s of years ago, we are here. We started with creation, a flood and a new creation.  We heard the story of a nation, of people called, set apart, led, lost, found, pulled up, pushed down, healed and hurt. During the worst of times, we heard news from the prophets that God’s promises were not only still good, they would get bigger, they would be expanded to include all people and nations. 

Tomorrow night, we will welcome a lot of visitors, who have not taken this journey with us, people who attend other churches and follow different readings, people who do not come to church too much, people who just do not realize how long the world waited for Jesus or how difficult many of those years were. It is our responsibility to tell the story.   

We come to the end of our very long Advent with the birth of Jesus.  When born, even before, he is named with power and glory, expected for centuries, set apart as good news, as promises fulfilled, named God with us and God saves. On a recent hospital visit, I heard a pastor praying with a church member in one of the rooms (not because I was necessarily listening but it was just really loud).  He was yelling In the name of Jesus, be healed, in the name of Jesus be comforted, in the name of Jesus be made well, in the name of Jesus be forgiven, in the name of Jesus be comforted.  There was a lot expected of that name and this pastor took Jesus command recorded in John’s gospel “ask anything in my name” very seriously.

Today, we hear just how serious and powerful the names of Jesus are. The names and titles of Jesus help us understand the story.  The Christmas story from Matthew tells us 2 names for our savior, Jesus and Emmanuel.  Names matter. I think of the people I have met from Africa, One of the first things I will ask (or they will tell me) is their name and what it means.  In some cases, it identifies their family, home, village, tribe or religion,  it could be descriptive of the conditions around their birth or an expression of joy or hope for the future,  The same was true of the Jewish people that Jesus was born a part of. Names had meaning.  Jesus means God saves and Emmanuel means God is with us,

Of course, in addition to the names, there are a lot of titles given to Jesus, some from Old Testament prophesies, words that brought God’s promises to people in suffering.  Other names come from the New Testament, after people saw and experienced the power of God made flesh and dwelling amongst us.   A few years ago, Lightcast Church (the mainly Filipino congregation that worships here on Sunday Afternoon) held a Christmas program in the gym about a spelling bee. (if it remember It was called the Bethlehem Spelling Bee)   Each of the words that the contestants were asked to spell were related to Jesus birth, prophesy or one of the names that Jesus is given.  For those of you who are not familiar with Spelling Bees (which I assume is most of you), after the contestant hears the word, they are allowed to ask a few questions, please tell me the origins of the word, what is the definition or Can I hear the word in a sentence. For each name or title of Jesus, the contestants would ask for more information.     

This morning, I want to do my own version of the Bethlehem Spelling Bee (don’t worry no spelling is actually required), I want to look at a few of the names and titles for Jesus (there are 198 names or titles for Jesus in the Bible).  First, for the ones from Today’s reading:  Emmanuel means God with us, It comes from the prophet Isaiah chapter 7 vs 14. It’s origins comes from the time when the temple built by Solomon under God’s design and instructions was destroyed by the Babylonians.  The community Matthew is shared with saw the second temple destroyed by the Romans (around 70 ad), their people killed and chased off.  People in great darkness have seen a great light.  The importance of God with us becomes clear once we know it spoken to people who really, really doubted it.          

The name Jesus means God saves, its origins is from the Greek.  It is the Greek version of Joshua (Moses successor as the leader of Israel), a Hebrew name that means God saves.  God is here to save us from sin and death (not sadness and suffering)

On Friday and Saturday, I had my first funeral service around Christmas time (I’ve had 8 around Easter).  I shared today’s reading and we sang a few carols during the memorial service.  In this story, in the names of Jesus, we are reminded of God’s great promises, God saves and God is with us

Then we have all the titles for Jesus, The most common: Christ: (that’s actually not Jesus last name). It is the English version of the Greek word kristos, then latin word christus, which mean anointed one.  This title was connected with the Messiah or expected savior of Israel.  Before his death and resurrection Jesus was usually referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Jesus, son of Joseph".  After his resurrection, the title Christ becomes synonymous with Jesus.

We have the titles from Isaiah 9:  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Each one points to Jesus uniqueness. The word wonderful was much more powerful back then, today we might say “I had a wonderful time”, back then, it meant beyond expression or understanding, In Judges 13:18 Manoah, Samson’s father has a vision or encounter with God. During this moment he asks the Lord what His name was. The response was, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?” In other words, “Why do you ask my name, since it is beyond your understanding?”

Then we have the title we sing every week at church: Lamb of God, This comes from the Gospel of John chapter 1 vs 29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. This title reminds us that Jesus our savior was born for to die, for poor ordinary sinners like you and like I  

 
Of course, not all titles mean the same thing to everyone.  I know of people who grew up with very abuse father’s and would rather say Our Parent in the Lords prayer,  the titles are gifts to point us to who Jesus who, to who was born on Christmas morning. Finally, We didn’t talk much about putting these words into sentences, that is our life. That is what we do with the gifts of God, how they fit into our lives.  

Sermon for Sunday, December 16

The reading 

Isaiah 42:1-9

1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. 5 Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

 The message

Today, we are more and more aware of how important is it to ask “who was this written by”, “who was this written for”, “who paid for this research”, “what is the source” of a particular fact or article, whose perspective is it written from. We are becoming more suspicious of things we hear and more critical of what is presented or said to us.  There are scams, there is misleading information, there are stories that appear to be news but really were created solely to convince you of something.

This is not new.  The prophets faced this criticism, People like Isaiah, Micah, Habbakuk and Jeremiah had to face the question, “are you really a prophet, are you really sharing God’s message, did someone else, not God, put you up to this.  This challenging of the prophetic authority is especially true when they were called to say things that were unpopular or critical of people’s lives.  (that covers a lot of what the prophets said).  As we look at today’s reading, we have to keep those 2 things in mind, we have to ask questions about who said these words, when were they said, who inspired them, how did people react and how do they fit into the 3 or so months we have spent with the Old Testament.      .

Today’s reading is from a part of the book of Isaiah known as Second Isaiah. That means these words were originally shared with the people of Israel enduring life and anxiety in the Babylonian exile. This is the same time period as last week’s reading from the book of Esther, where God acts quietly but powerfully.  The exile was the time immediately after Israel tried to revolt against what they thought was a weakened Babylonian empire only to be defeated. In 586 BC, the temple in Jerusalem is destroyed. To prevent regrouping and another revolt, the people of Israel are scattered to other lands, they are disconnected from their history and community.

This group of Israelites in exile saw their homes destroyed, their families killed, friends and relatives being taken in chains to new, unknown places they were not welcome. in Their wealth was stolen or destroyed, the land that was belonged with their families for many generations, that land they and their ancestors fought for, was taken away.  Relationships between the people were torn apart and forgotten. It seemed like the covenant, that the relationship between the people and God was gone.  The land that was a sign of the covenant was no longer theirs. They watched the temple, the house of God, destroyed. People felt like God abandoned them, got frustrated and walked away or was never there to begin with. People carried a deep sense of personal failure, they could not protect their children, their families or their lands. People entered a conflict with a distracted babloyon that they felt sure to win but lost everything.

There were philosophical struggles as well, where do they fit in the world, what of God’s promises now, where are the answers. Prayers then were little more then What now O God, why Lord did this happen. That is who these words from God through Isaiah were first spoken to.  Victims of trauma, people with what we could call PTSD, extreme depression brought on by failure and loss, people in the midst of spiritual, emotional and physical crisis, people who wanted vengeance on their enemies and restoration of what was theirs. .

The people of Israel wanted revenge, to hurt back, to attack the enemy, punish the other, make it right, catch the criminal, abuse the offender, get justice, repay death with more death, destruction with more destruction.  The prophets words were not what the people wanted to hear.  The writer of Isaiah 42 offers none of that.  Instead, it is an invitation. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. This will be bigger than one nation, one war, or one moment in time.  

Instead of vengeance, the prophet talks of peace, instead of regrouping and winning back the land, the prophet speaks of a place for all people,   Instead of recreating a great nation, the people are told they will be a light to all nations, including their enemies. There would be a savior for all the earth, for all of creation, a place that included their oppressors. There would be an unstoppable force for justice, but it would not be violent or vengeance seeking and it would be only for a certain people.

The savior is described as not breaking a bruised reed or not putting out a dim candle.  That means a stick that’s broken already won’t even fall apart the rest of the way when the savior  passes or a candle low on wax or wick, that a little breeze could extinguish, would not be put out when the savior passes.  That’s not exactly violent. Well, at least, not in the way the people wanted. This promised savior would not attack others, he would attack the things that divide people. He would not kill, he would attack death, he would not start another war, he would attack the causes of war.  The savior would wipe out sin, the stuff that separates us from God.  This is the new vision spoken to people in distress and suffering. This is another defeat, this is good news for all people, After this, there is Advent, there is quiet waiting for these things to be.  

Today’s reading from the book of Isaiah, is our last Old Testament reading before Christmas.  We have heard a lot so far, moments of great drama, anxiety, victory and defeat, help from the Lord and God being silent, tremendous successful and dismal failure. We have seen what God has done before, a cycle of God’s  law, people’s disobedience, punishment, forgiveness, restoration and repeat.  We started with the book of Genesis in early September and we end the Old Testament part of our year with words of hope, with God’s promise to do something new.   

As Christians we look at this passage as one of the 4 servant songs, that speak to the Messiah, that are fulfilled by Jesus. There are other interpretations as well but that is how the words of the prophet spoke to the first Christians and how they speak to us. The first followers of Jesus had to figure out how could the savior, the messiah, be born when and where he was and for what work, to quote my favorite Christmas Carol, How Jesus the savior could be born for to die?  How could the expected, promised one come and not restore Israel’s empire or destroy Israel’s enemies.  How could Jesus not destroy Rome, be crowned the king of an independent Israel. From death, there is life for all.

 

This is why we have spent so long in Advent, almost a third of a year with the Old Testament in Chronological order. To get to this promise: I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.   

After today, we start our journey through the Gospel of Matthew that will bring us to Easter, we will see God keeping this promise in the most unexpected ways.