FROM THE CRADLE TO THE THRONE*
Matthew 1:18-23
Big Idea: If Christmas was only a baby being born, there is the temporary joy of a new birth, but if it was God coming to the world then it is an everlasting joy that does not fade with the passing of time.
Matthew 1:18-23
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 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.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”
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Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”
INTRO
Babies are something special. I can never forget what it was like to see my two children at their birth. That is a feeling and experience that nothing else can quite match — unless it is the birth of grandchildren. There is a special feeling each time I visit new parents in the hospital. There is wonderful warmth each time I dedicate a young child. There is just something captivating about a new life. The innocence and dependence of that little young life strikes at our emotions. We look at their small fingers. We laugh as they yawn. We are amazed as they try to walk, and we are so proud of their first spoken word. Let’s face it; babies do strange things to us. It’s amazing! You can take a perfectly mature adult and put them in front of a baby and they will do very unusual things and become very strange. They begin to talk silly. They will twist their faces into all sorts of contortions and make faces at that baby — faces they would never make to another adult — just to try to get that baby to look at them and smile. We’re hooked on babies.
Perhaps that is one of the reasons that Christmas affects us the way it does; the innocence of a new baby. The story of shepherds and wise men, stars and angels all add a special appeal to Christmas. The fascination with birth, fresh new life, innocence, and a little human being that is almost toy-like is all so marvelous.
Babies are promises from God. Hope is in the air and there are messages of joy.
But there is mystery here as well — baffling mystery. I cannot imagine what it meant for the eternal God, who created the cosmos and all the life which is in it, to become a helpless infant. It stretches the mind beyond its limits. It is easier for us to think of a child of promise in the cradle than it is for us to imagine the Christ, who is God and rules in heaven, being born into the world.
• We understand babies, but we do not understand God becoming a baby.
• We like cute, but we avoid profound mystery.
• We prefer to think of the crib rather than the cross.
• The world prefers a child born on earth to Christ’s return to earth.
Helplessness appeals to us more than omnipotence and Deity.
When the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci went to China in the 16th century, he brought samples of religious art to illustrate the Christian story. The Chinese readily adopted portraits of the nativity and baby Jesus but when he produced paintings of the crucifixion and tried to explain to them that the God-child had grown up and was executed, the people reacted with revulsion and horror. They preferred the baby Jesus to the crucified God. (“The Jesus I Never Knew”, Philip Yancey, p. 33)
It is good to enjoy the charm of Christmas, but we also have to grow up to understand the mystery of Christmas. We have to mature and understand the importance of what was really going on. We have to allow Christ to grow up as well. He cannot stay forever a baby.
In the movie “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” (a movie I could not watch in its entirety and has no redeemable value in my opinion) the main character, Ricky Bobby, a race car driver, prays as follows:
Ricky: Dear Eight Pound, Six Ounce, Newborn Baby Jesus, in your golden, fleece diapers, with your curled-up, … little fists pawin’ at the air...
Chip: He was a man! He had abeard!
Ricky: I like the baby version the best, …!
Sadly, too many people are like Ricky Bobby. Once Jesus leaves the cradle – after Christmas – they have little use for him.
1. MY POINT IS THAT WE NEED TO GROW UP IN OUR FAITH SO THAT: WE REALIZE WHO CHRIST IS.
The Bible encourages us as follows: “in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). Christmas is a wonderful thing. It is a good beginning. But at some point in time we have to let Jesus out of the cradle.
• We have to allow him to grow up, and we must grow up with him.
• We have to go from thinking of him as a baby and understand that he is God who came and wrapped himself in human flesh.
• We have to understand that there is more to the story than an “eight pound baby with golden fleece diapers.”
• We have to go beyond being charmed by it to being changed by Him.
• We have to go beyond the admiration of a child to the adoration of a Savior.
• We have to go from wonder to worship.
In that cradle lay the hope of the ages! In that stall was the salvation of the world. The story about a child being born is true and it is wonderful, but we have to see beyond the tradition and be transformed.
Worship
You do not truly understand Christmas until you find yourself on your knees in worship. If Christmas was only a baby being born, there is the temporary joy of a new birth, but if it was God coming to the world then it is an everlasting joy that does not fade with the passing of time. As the Bible says, we have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4). This, then, is truly Good News. It is real hope, and life can be eternally different.
The prophets claimed that a child would be born to save the world. They said he would bear the stamp and very image of God. They called him Emmanuel — God with us. Only God is to be worshiped.
Even as an infant, Jesus was worshiped. As we have seen throughout Advent:
• The shepherds came and they worshiped; angels came from heaven and told them of the child who had come from heaven
• The wise men came, bowing and worshiping, and bringing offerings to the true King to whom heaven had guided them.
• Simeon came and worshipped. He caught a glimpse of the Christ while walking through the courtyard and knew God had kept His promise.
• Anna came and worshipped. Upon seeing the child she knew he had found the messiah.
Throughout Christ’s life we see him accepting worship from people. We see men and women constantly kneeling before him:
• A cleansed leper (Matthew 8:2)
• A ruler of the synagogue (Matthew 9:18)
• A man whose sight was restored (John 9:38)
• Even a demon possessed man (Mark 5:6)
In fact, Jesus never refused worship.
• The night Jesus walked on the water through the storm and got into the boat of the disciples, they fell at his feet worshiping him saying, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Matthew 14:33). Jesus accepted their worship.
• After the Resurrection Jesus appeared to the women who had gone to the tomb. When they recognized him they held his feet and worshiped him (Matthew 28:9).
• At the Ascension, as Jesus was being taken to heaven, he allowed the disciples to worship him (Luke 24:52).
Now the point is that either Jesus had tremendous ego needs, or he was indeed God who was not only worthy of worship but should be worshiped by his creation.
Jesus was more than a child, and we need to allow him to come out of the cradle. But neither was he just a great man — he was God, and only God deserves worship. He is indeed worthy of our worship and praise, for he is the God who came to earth and paid the ultimate sacrifice that our sins might be forgiven.
We love the fact that Jesus’ birth has given us a season of gift-giving, feasting, and celebration, but the world has failed to recognize that it is a season of worship. This is a time to recognize what God has really done and who Christ really is. In many stores at this time of year you can see a lot of Christmas decorations without ever having the slightest clue that the season has anything to do with Christ. Many homes across the globe will celebrate Christmas today without any mention or love for Christ.
But for this to be the Christmas we have always longed for, we have to go beyond decorations to dedication, beyond sentiment to surrender — surrender to the God who has chosen come to our world. If he is not Emmanuel, then our worship is idolatry. But if he is who he claims to be, then he deserves our praise, our worship, our obedience, our all.
The world always tries to take the sacred and make it profane. It sees the humanity of Christ, but fails to accept his deity. It wants to keep Christ in the cradle.
2. BUT, SECONDLY, WE NEED TO GROW UP IN OUR FAITH SO THAT: WE UNDERSTAND HOW GOD WORKS.
Some people chaff at the word “Church.” Some people are overly and overtly critical of it. I understand both sentiments but must confess I chaff at the chaffing.
You see, the Church is the genius of God. The church is “the incarnation of the incarnation.” The church is the body of Christ. We are his hands and his feet. Notice it is “we” not “you.” We are each members/parts of His body – not the entirety of it.
Some people think the church needs “fixed.” I contend this is an insult to God whose Spirit dwells within the church. We are not here to “fix” the church – the church is here to “fix” us.
I know … it has many many flaws. It has sin … but that’s because you and I are here. Each of us is part of that problem … everyone of us … but that’s the beauty of it! You see, each of us is also part of the solution because we also bring to the body the transformation we are undergoing. It challenges and encourages one another to good works.
As people, in community and relationship, God uses us (flaws and all) to enrich each other and fulfill his work across the globe. The genius of the Church is that God dwells within us through the work of Jesus Christ and His Spirit. He is making us whole and using us to touch His world.
Please note my consistent use of plural pronouns. There is no one of us that can be right with God and stand aloof from His church. There is no one of us that can be or do what God wants apart from the relationship with those in His body.
That’s how God works. The Church was Jesus’ objective and idea from “the git go.” He is fashioning / creating a people who are called by His name, to carry on His redemptive work of love and, by becoming one, becoming like Him.
The Church is the only place I know of where people who have no earthly reason to be together (because of their striking differences) come together to love, support, worship and serve each other. That’s where love is found. There is nothing special about people who are ideologically, ethnically, etc. homogenous loving each other – how hard could that be!? The miracle is when people who are strikingly different genuinely love each other. That is when the world will say “Wow! Look how they love each other” (John 13:35). It is then that we begin understand how God works in us and through us.
1. We need to grow up in our faith so that: We realize who Christ is.
2. We need to grow up in our faith so that: We understand how God works.
3. MY FINAL POINT IS THAT WE NEED TO GROW UP IN OUR FAITH SO THAT: WE KNOW WHAT GOD REQUIRES.
If Christ is going to come out of the cradle and into your life then you have to understand that God does not merely ask for a polite nod on Sundays. His demands are total. He does not ask for a place in your life; he wants to be your source of life.
Our quest this year has been to get beyond the trimming and traditions and get back to the truth and reality of the season.
• Somehow we have to go beyond a counterfeit Christmas and get Christ out of the stable and into our hearts.
• We have to get him out of the cradle and onto the throne.
• We have to go from thinking of him as cute to thinking of him as King.
Christmas is more than being charmed by a child; its real meaning is in saying, “Yes” to God.
A genuine understanding of Christmas comes by grasping the person and Lordship of Christ. It is expressed in doing the will of God.
• Micah 6:8 says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
• Mark 12:29-31 says, “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
God’s love shows itself on the stage of our lives. It’s just there. The way we worship, the way we treat other people, the way we sacrifice in love, the peace and joy we exude. They are all indicators that Jesus is out of the cradle and has assumed the rightful place of Lord and God.
But if we are going to understand God, we cannot stay at a childish place in our faith. We must grow up in our understanding of how God works. The Bible says, “But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 1:20-21).
In a few moments we will receive a special offering for the Haiti project. But first I’d like us to close the sermon, to respond to the sermon with a confessional; “The Apostle’s Creed.”
The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
Born of the virgin Mary,
Suffered under Pontius Pilate,
Was crucified, dead, and buried.
He descended into Hades.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit;
The Church universal;
The communion of saints;
The forgiveness of sins;
The resurrection of the body;
And the life everlasting.
Amen.
Let’s pray:
Gracious God, your servant Mary discovered new life growing within her and knew it to be your promised presence. In tender reverence for the holy mystery of your incarnation, may we be as a womb for your blessed presence, ready to receive and nourish your Word in our lives, open to the stirrings of your spirit within us. May we faithfully bear your love in the world that by your grace Christ may be born in us. Amen. (Steve Garnass-Holmes, 2000, United Church Publishing House)
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* Special thanks to Rev. Rodney J. Buchanan for the sermon idea and some of its content.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
Christmas Day - Advent Wreath Candle Lighting
READER: As we light the first candle of Advent, we remember that this is a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with every breath. It’s the party of the year! We have entered the story of Advent this year with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.
(LIGHT THE FIRST CANDLE)
READER: - As we light the second candle of Advent, we declare that we have chosen to live counter-culturally. We choose to rebel and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in a unique way. Over the voice of our culture, which implores us to spend more, we choose to obey the voice of our God, who invites us to love more.
(LIGHT THE SECOND CANDLE)
READER: As we light the third candle of Advent, we celebrate the marvelous gifts God has given to us. We affirm our desire to give better gifts; gifts that truly make a difference in other people’s lives; gifts that are generous, personal, and sacrificial.
(LIGHT THE THIRD CANDLE)
READER: As we light the fourth candle of Advent, we affirm our desire to receive the gifts given to us by God and by others with the exuberant joy and thankfulness of a little child.
(LIGHT THE FOURTH CANDLE)
READER: As we light the center candle, the Christ Candle, we remember that a virgin was with child and gave birth to a son called Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” We celebrate that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
(LIGHT THE CENTER CANDLE)
CONGREGATION:
We announce to the world that we are those people who have said,
Yes, to the manger,
Yes, to incarnation for others,
Yes, to wholeness in God,
Yes, to worshipping, rebelling, giving, and receiving,
Yes, to a better Christmas this year,
Yes, to our King and to His Kingdom.
Amen.
