FR 14-12-08
Lk 2:1-20
God’s dream will do
Story: Maddy and I went to see Joseph on Tuesday at De Montfort Hall and the Musical was brilliant
However, it seemed to me that something did not ring quite true.
And it was only when they sang one of the songs ”Any Dream will do” a second time that I realised what it was
They had told the story of Joseph without any reference to God intervening in Joseph’s life
In the musical, it was all luck and fate that took Joseph from his father Jacob’s house to being second only to Pharoah in the land of Egypt
Andrew Lloyd Webber had missed the whole meaning of the Biblical story of Joseph
It is not a case of “Any dream will do” but really “God’s dream will do”
The Bible is full of ordinary men and women – people like you and me who have encounters with God that have changed their lives.
And you cannot faithfully relate the stories without taking the INTERVENTION OF GOD into account
Joseph’s story in the Bible is only recorded because he had a number of encounters with God.
His ability to interpret dreams was not his own gift.
By Joseph own admission (in the Bible story), was given grace by God in the interpretation of dreams.
It was God prospered Joseph despite his grim circumstances.
The more I thought about the song “Any dream will do” I saw that they had missed the key to the story of Joseph, the key that has God stamped large across the screen.
The more I thought about it, I realised God is not JUST interested in nations – he cares for each individually too
Think of some of the characters in the Bible who had an encounter with God
Rahab, Ruth, King David, Moses, Solomon, to name but a few.
Story: Let’s now fast forward to the Christmas story
Can we read the Nativity story WITHOUT reference to God.
What is the point of it all if Jesus wasn’t somebody special
Why would we want to recall EVERY YEAR - a story of a baby being born to a poor man and a poor woman, who weren’t even married - 2000 years ago.
If we simply think of this as the story of the birth of a cute little baby at Bethlehem 2000 years ago, WE will MISS the plot of Christmas.
The Christmas story is part of a bigger picture is this
The message put simply is this:
God cares so much about each one of us enough to send his own Son, Jesus Christ into the world to redeem the world.
What matters is what St John records in Jn 1:12
“Yet to all who received Jesus, to those who believed on his Name, he gave the right to become Children of God”
We did not earn it.
We simply received this as a present from God
What a Christmas present – to know that we can become a child of God
When I was given Swiss nationality in 1994, I was delighted, it felt great
But in January 1972 I received an even greater nationality than the Swiss, when I became part of the Kingdom of God, when I became a Son of God through Christ
But like becoming Swiss, it also has responsibilities. We are called as Sons of God to live in the way he would have us to live - to become Jesus’ disciples
So Christmas is not a case of “Any birth will do” – to paraphrase Andrew Lloyd Webber
It is a case of God’s special delivery, as the Angels told the Shepherds in the fields.
We often associate Christmas with presents – both giving and receiving
But I wonder how often do we think of God’s Christmas present to us. Jesus.
and SAY THANK YOU
I’d like to leave you with a question.
Is the Good news of Jesus a present that we hoard for ourselves or should we want to share Jesus with friends and neighbours around us.
I am not going to answer that question – I am going to leave it to you!
