Here we are at the end of one year and ready to begin another. The readings for this morning are for the First Sunday after Christmas, and the Gospel tells us about the trip that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus took down to Egypt. It wasn’t a vacation. They weren’t just “going south for the winter.” They were running for the life of their newborn baby boy because King Herod wanted him dead!
The wise men had, without knowing it, tipped Herod off to the birth of a new king for Israel. Not understanding what kind of king Jesus really was, a jealous and probably insane King Herod wanted to eliminate what he thought was a threat to his throne. When the wise men returned to their country by another route without reporting back to him, he was furious. In an act of horrible and senseless cruelty, he ordered all the two-year old boys in Bethlehem put to death.
Meanwhile, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Earlier, an angel had told him in a similar dream not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because the Holy Spirit had conceived the child she was about to bear. Thank God that Joseph, described as a righteous man, heeded the angel’s advice! He stayed with Mary and gave her child the name Jesus, because “he would save his people from their sins.” So just as Joseph had heeded the angel’s advice before, he now also heeds the angel’s warning once again. He gets his little family up that very night, they quickly pack their belongings, and they leave behind the comfort of familiar surroundings in Bethlehem to go to a distant and foreign land. They flee to Egypt.
What can we learn from this event in our Lord’s life as we begin another year? For one thing, don’t be surprised if sometimes God takes you out of your “comfort zone”. A comfort zone is a place where everything is familiar, comfortable, and safe. It is a place where nothing changes and everything stays the same. Sometimes a sense of continuity is good. For example, in the church, our lessons follow a predictable pattern as we progress throughout the church year. We can learn from the events of the past, because, as they say, “history often repeats itself.”
When God sent Jesus, he was careful to maintain a sense of continuity with the past. When Jesus was born, it fulfilled prophecy after prophecy. Isaiah predicted the miraculous birth: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us.” Micah predicted the birthplace, Bethlehem: “out of you [Bethlehem] will come a ruler who will be the Shepherd of my people Israel.” Even though what God was about to do with Jesus would be like nothing the people had ever seen before, not one word of the Old Testament Scriptures would be broken or changed by his coming. The people could still count on God’s Word being true, no matter what.
Not everything is as dependable. As we look ahead to the coming year, we realize that things probably won’t be exactly the same as last year. That can be a good thing! I’m sure there are some things about this past year that we might WANT to be different next year! Hopefully, we won’t make some of the same mistakes. That’s why God’s forgiveness is so important in our lives each and every day. We can bury the all mistakes of the past in the vast ocean of his boundless love for us. We don’t have to be locked into the bad habits of the past. We can make a fresh, brand new start, “forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” by his grace. His mercies in Christ are new every morning!
As I look back at my life, however, I realize just how many things have changed from a few years ago—and not always for the better. Even just year ago, who would have thought that all our lives would be so changed by an event like what took place on September 11? When we as Christians try to make a difference in the world, we are painfully aware that it doesn’t always work to simply do the same thing from one year to the next. While God’s message of love for a fallen world remains constant and unchanged, there are always new ways we can demonstrate and communicate that love more effectively. Sometimes that means leaving behind what is familiar and comfortable. It isn’t easy. But it’s critically important.
Our seminaries, where pastors are trained, are great for teaching the basics of doctrine and Biblical interpretation. But it is impossible for the teachers at the seminary to prepare students for every situation they will ever face as a pastor. Sometimes all a pastor can do is simply trust that God will lead and guide him as he goes—giving him the words and the wisdom he needs.
That’s they way it was with Mary and Joseph when Jesus was born. Having a baby is hard enough—but how can you possibly know what to do if that baby also happens to be the Son of God, the Savior of the world? There are no training manuals for that. They simply had to trust God that he would take care of them, even if it meant going to someplace like Egypt—and that he would lead and guide them safely back home.
I honestly believe that God has a higher purpose for us than we now realize—a higher purpose that he wants to accomplish through us this coming year. What is it that God is calling us to? How can we be sensitive to his leading so that we can know the opportunities that are set before us? It says in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” God has a plan for us—something that will make a difference in the lives of people all around us, people in our community who have very real needs. Let us pray for the wisdom to know what it is that God is calling us to do this coming year, even if it means doing something that we’ve never done before. And then, let us pray for the courage, strength and determination to be able to do it.
Is God calling you to a higher purpose this year not only in the church, but also in other areas of your life? Your family? Your work? Your friendships? Your gifts and abilities? Have you settled into and settled for a comfortable routine, or are you willing to be challenged by God to grow and expand in your service to Him? This isn’t always easy! Joni Earickson Tada, who some of you might have heard of, never had an idea about what direction her life would take when she became paralyzed after a diving accident. Now her courageous ministry to the disabled is an inspiration to us all! This isn’t something anyone would willingly choose. But now that she has experienced it, she wouldn’t change it if she could! There are many more stories just like hers.
When God told Joseph through an angel to go down to Egypt, it wasn’t an accident. It was a part of his gracious plan and purpose—even more so than he could have realized at the time. It was a plan not just for him and his family, but also for us all!
1) It was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. To us, it might seem like a lot for Mary and Joseph to go through just to fulfill a couple of prophecies concerning the Messiah: “Out of Egypt have I called my Son” and “He will be called a Nazarene”. But once you think about it, it’s a great comfort to know that God is willing to move all of heaven and earth if need be to bring even just one of his loving promises to pass in our lives.
2) It was a review of Israel’s history. Israel as a nation also found refuge in Egypt during a severe famine, after another Joseph invited his family to stay there. Then, hundreds of years later, when they were in slavery, God brought them out again. This was the Exodus, God’s great and mighty act of deliverance. Afterwards, Israel became rebellious and was unable to fulfill God’s purpose for saving it. But what Israel had been unable to do for God, God was now about to do for them—and for us—through Jesus, his true, faithful and obedient Son.
3) It was a demonstration of Jesus’ great humility. Jesus came into the world to be our Savior. Yet in coming, he made himself vulnerable! As a result, God had to save his own Son from Herod’s murderous threats. It is a wonder that Jesus, the “Mighty God”, could also become an example for us as we depend our heavenly Father to help us in our weakness.
4) It was a matter of timing. Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” When God had Mary and Joseph go down to Egypt with Jesus, he was safe—but only for the moment. God didn’t allow Jesus to be put to death by Herod because Jesus first had to complete our salvation. He had to live a perfect life. He had to successfully resist temptation. He had to be able to fully drink the cup of human suffering, and fully experience the wrath of God. He had to fulfill all of God’s promises. Then—and only then—when the time was right, he suffered and died for the sins of the entire world. At that time he said, “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.” He continued by saying, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” The reason Jesus’ murder was postponed by his flight to Egypt was so that our own salvation would be full, finished, perfect and complete. Herod’s plan for Jesus had been act of senseless cruelty. God’s plan for Jesus was an act of senseless kindness.
Often at the beginning of a New Year people wish each other health, prosperity, and success. Even more importantly, though, my prayer for all of you is that you have the joy and peace of being within God’s plan for your life, the excitement of new facing new challenges as you serve him wholeheartedly, and the confidence that no matter where the will of God may lead you, you have a Savior who loves you and is there for you. Even when we find ourselves outside of our comfort zone, we still have the comfort of being in God’s everlasting and unchanging love, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!
