To Welcome the Child
Luke 2:21-40
Norman Vincent Peale writes of spending Christmas in Africa with his wife, children and grandchildren. He was hesitant but his wife told him he would love every minute of it. And yet, as Christmas day approached he was troubled because everything Christmas was missing: being home, having a Christmas tree, people singing carols in the streets, hanging Christmas lights, snow crunching under his feet and of course all of the smells and aromas of Christmas. But there was none of that there in Africa. We had been told there would be a special dinner out for us on Christmas Eve. Even this did not cheer me; I thought it might be an artificial occasion with everyone trying too hard to be merry. When I came out near dinnertime I saw that in the eating tent a straggly brown bush had been set up, decorated with small colored lights and some tinsel and red ribbon. We were called to the edge of the river, where chairs had been set up for all of us so that we could see, on the other side, two herders guarding their cattle, their spear tips gleaming in the gathering dusk. And at that peaceful, almost timeless sight, I felt something stir within me, for I knew that these herders and their charges came from a long line that had not changed in 1000’s of years. They belonged to their landscape just as the shepherds on the hills outside Bethlehem belonged to theirs. And at that moment one of our grandchildren began to sing, hesitantly, tentatively, "O Little Town of Bethlehem." Gradually others joined in: "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and then "Joy to the World!" Soon we were all singing, and as we sang, everything seemed to change; the sense of strangeness was gone. I looked around the group, our children, their children, singing songs, sharing feelings that in a very real way went back almost 2,000 years to that simple manger in a simple town, with the herders standing by in a parched and primitive land. Then someone began to read from Luke: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night..." As the story went on I thought, How wonderful and simple this is, so wonderful and simple that only God could have thought of it. So when the carols and the Bible reading ended and we walked back to the eating tent for our dinner, I knew a complete sense of peace. It was in that simple setting that Norman Vincent Peale and his family welcomed the child.
What about you? How are you going to welcome the child in your life this Christmas? In our Scripture today, we’re going to see how Mary and Joseph welcomed the Christ child into their lives. Now every Jewish parent had two important responsibilities: to teach their children the Word and to work. That’s what many of our children lack today. Work is about responsibility - learning that it is my part in life to make a contribution. Work is not about having money to do stuff on weekends. In the home, we learn we are here to make a contribution for God's purpose for the well being of humanity and that less than excellence does not honor God. We learn in our work that excellence is important. That's what school and doing chores is about. Jesus took on the identity of his daddy, Joseph, who taught him his work, which was carpentry. The other thing we learn in the home is the Word. From the time Jesus was less than two years old, every day his parents would have done Bible lessons out of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). As parents, we have this awesome responsibility to nurture the miracle of Jesus' birth in our children. The faith is meant to be passed on to our children in the home, not at church. And that’s our primary responsibility as parents, according to God’s Word. So how did Mary and Joseph welcome the Christ child in their lives?
First, they prepared themselves spiritually. Leviticus 12 tells us that the ritual of purification for a woman after childbirth took place in the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after the birth of a child. Prior to that, the mother was not allowed to touch anything sacred or to enter the temple. While the matter of purification was directly related to the woman, Luke uses the word “they” which most scholars deem to indicate that he viewed this as a family matter. So Luke makes a point to say that both Mary and Joseph followed the law and thus prepared themselves to not only receive the child but to live up to the obligations of being a parent, let alone the parents of the Messiah.
I think that begs the question for us: what have you been doing to prepare to receive the Christ child? So much of the Christmas season is about attending holiday celebrations, getting the shopping done, wrapping presents, decorating the house, cleaning the house and preparing for Chrismas Eve and Christmas Day dinner. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. How are you preparing spiritually to welcome the Christ child anew in your life?
Second, they made a commitment to nurture Jesus in the faith. When you bring a baby home it doesn’t take very long to realize that it needs constant attention and nurture. The same is true regarding your faith and relationship to Christ Jesus. That’s more than just coming here on Sunday mornings for worship. So what have you been doing to grow in your relationship to Jesus? Dedicating a child in the temple is similar to our baptism. Jewish parents are committing to make their home a place to nurture faith in their child. When parents come to baptize their child, it has nothing to do with salvation and everything to do with the parent’s committing to nurture faith in Jesus Christ in their child. That means being active in the faith, practicing of the disciplines of the faith, and growing in your faith. Why? But you cannot pass on what you do not have.
God knew what we are just finding out in surveys today from young adults who grew up in the church and remained active and vibrant in their faith: parents are 3-4 times more influential in a child’s life than the church, the pastor, a youth director or a Sunday school teacher. So the greatest responsibility we have in life as parents is to pass on our faith in Jesus to our children. Verse 52, "And as Jesus grew up, he increased in wisdom and in favor with God and people." Jesus grew in his understanding of who he was by his understanding of whose he was, and this growth happened in the home. That's exactly what God intended that the home will become the center where these children develop their God-identity. Teaching the faith to our children is not the church's responsibility so don't depend upon the church to teach your kids the Word. That is the primary responsibility of your home. The church is here to resource and train parents in how to pass on the faith and supplement what's happening in the home.
And if you do, then you will see that the children begin to claim their faith in Jesus as their own. Look at verse 49. That’s what happened to Jesus. At age 12, Jesus got separated from Mary and Joseph in Jerusalem,. When they came looking for him, they found him in the Temple. After Mary read Jesus the riot act, Jesus replied, "Did you not know that I had to be about my Father's business?" All of a sudden, it's his Father's business. It’s when that happens that they start to be prepared for they go to college and leave home. Temptations and choices abound. But if their face is their own, they then choose God’s ways and not the world’s ways. The faith you sought to impart now has taken root. That’s what it means to pass on the faith to your children.
Now listen to me very carefully: you cannot pass on what you don’t have. If you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, you cannot pass that on. If you don’t have a faith that is cemented in the foundational truths of the faith then you can’t pass it on. If you’re not growing in your faith, you cannot pass it on. We have this awesome trust and responsibility today to carry the miracle of Jesus' birth in us. Every believer in this room, who has been born again of the Spirit of Christ, has an awesome responsibility to carry this miracle of Jesus full term, so when other people see you, they see Jesus and not you. As parents, you need to be dedicated to nurturing Jesus in you and your relationship with him so you have something to pass on. So how are you preparing to not only welcome the child but to pass on your faith in the Christ child?
Third, they made sacrifice. The next action of Mary and Joseph in verse 24 was to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, in keeping with what it said in the law of the Lord. Sacrifice is different than donation. You donate to causes, but you sacrifice to what you truly value. Jill Savage writes, “Those who sacrifice deny themselves something in order to serve a higher cause. Another way to say it is that when we sacrifice, we surrender something of value for the sake of something—or someone—else.” Our children know what we value. They smell it. Every time you choose football or your kid’s soccer or baseball games over church, you’re showing them what you really value. Mary and Joseph offered a sacrifice not a donation to the Lord. God doesn't expect you to give anything but the best you have. Your kids are going to see it. You can't fake out kids on that kind of stuff. They know the difference between just talking about it and living it. You donate to causes but you sacrifice to what you truly believe in. When we do, it demonstrates to our children that we are submissive to God. When they see that, then they will see life is not about what you feel like doing, but about doing the right thing.
So what have you sacrificed for Jesus this past Christmas? Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz, tells of his pastor in Portland Oregon at Imago Dei Community. He and some his friend decided they wanted to do Christmas differently. So he stood up in front of his congregation and challenged them not to go into debt that Christmas. Second, he said nobody remembers what you got for Christmas last year so if you are going to give a gift, it has to be something meaningful and that you created yourself. Third, with the money you save, we’ll give it to build fresh water wells in third world countries. The first year, Imago Dei gave over $100 K. With the ten other churches they joined with, they gave a million the first year. The next year other churches signed up and they gave over 20 million dollars. Within a few years by doing Christmas differently the church could solve the water crisis in the world, all by making a sacrifice. So what sacrifice are you making for the Christ child this Christmas? The Imago Dei community gave up extravagant spending and instead helped build water wells in the name of Jesus. The Wise left their families and traveled 100’s of miles on camelback to give gold, frankincense and myrrh. What about you?
Fourth, they participated in prophetic community. Both for the miracle of the growth of Christ in our own lives and the development of Christ in our children's or grandchildren's lives, it's important that we stay in close proximity to Spirit-filled people. Look with me at verse 25. "Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him." Listen to the description: righteous, devout, the Holy Spirit was on him. “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God." It is critical for you and me, for this miracle of Jesus in us and for our children, to be around Spirit-filled people who will lift us and our faith to God.
Go to verse 36, "There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher…..Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." She proclaimed God's prophetic purpose on Jesus' life. This is what community does. You need people who are Spirit-filled and can speak a word of God to you, help you identify and claim your purpose in life. You need people who will pick you up moments of doubt and weakness and continually profess Christ's prophetic purpose in your life. Who in your life picked you up, mentored you and nurtured you in the faith? I remember Mary Montello, Phyllis Hoffman my bell choir director and many others in my home church. These were the folks in this community of faith my parents had me in who kept speaking Christ's prophetic future to me. Listen to me very carefully, you cannot do this faith thing alone. So many of us have fallen to the devil’s lie that faith is a private thing. But it is anything but. Faith is meant to be lived out in community. God’s call upon your life and his purpose for your life can only be explored, identified and realized in the community of faith. So what about you? How can you welcome the child by taking the next step in community in the life of this church to nurture your faith, make a greater sacrifice of what you have and who you are and deepening your relationship to other brothers and sisters in Christ?
