In the Midst

The scriptures include Matthew 2:13-23 and Isaiah 63:79.  It was preached on December 29, 2019 at Morton Presbyterian Church, Hartsville, SC

 

In the Midst

 

This is not a scripture I desired to preach.

We have spent Advent preparing and waiting

for the birth of a Savior,

we have sung Joy to the World for his birth and now…

Now,

we have the horror of the slaughter of the innocents.

What a downturn;

what sadness;

what a depressing and upsetting passage

to encounter in the midst of Christmas.

You and I should be celebrating! 

’Tis the season of Christmas; God with us!

Hark the Herald, Angels Sing!

O Come All Ye Faithful!

Go Tell it on the Mountain!

If we could only ignore the middle part

of this scripture in Matthew.

If this scripture could only contain

the subject of dreams and geography.

God spoke to Joseph in a dream,

go to Egypt,

come back,

live in Nazareth.

Well, if that was all there was to it,

the message would still be important, yet,

perhaps not as meaningful.

If the center of the scripture was only about Joseph’s dream,

we could reflect on the importance of dreams

in the Old Testament:

Jacob at Bethel,

Joseph interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams,

and the prophet Joel telling

about God’s Spirit being Poured Out...

“…your old men shall dream dreams…”

If the center of the scripture was only about geography,

          you and I could compare how the Israelites

 of the Old Testament went to Egypt

and then were brought out of Egypt;

we could look at other times when there was travel

to foreign lands:

Naomi and her family to Moab and her return with Ruth:

the exile and the return;

even how the disciples, especially Paul,

traveled to spread the Good News.

If the center of the scripture was only about Egypt,

we could focus on Egypt as a place of refuge,

a place to go to preserve life;

in Genesis 50, Joseph tells his brothers…

“Even though you intended to do harm to me,

God intended it for good,

 in order to preserve a numerous people

as he is doing today.”

For Mary and Joseph and their child,

Egypt was a place beyond Herod’s reach;

a place to escape Herod’s anger.

That brings us back to the middle part of today’s scripture;

a jealous king ordering the death of children.

The Gospel of Matthew is a bridge between

the Old and New Testaments;

we can see the similarities between Moses and Jesus

and Pharaoh and Herod.

When Moses was born,

the Pharaoh had ordered the death of all male children

born to the Israelites.

Yet, Moses escaped that fate,

and became a leader of his people,

leading the Israelites out of Egypt into the wilderness,

and on the way to the promised land. 

Herod, like Pharaoh, ordered children to be murdered.

          “…killed all the children in and around Bethlehem

who were two years old or younger,

according to the time that he had learned

from the wise men.”

Yet, the young Jesus escaped that fate,

there was divine intervention

by a message from God to Joseph in a dream.

Jesus, the young child, was saved,

and you and I know why:

God’s plan would be fulfilled in Jesus on the cross.

There is a question that nags at the back of my mind,

and probably does yours too…

what about the other families?

The families who went through the trauma and terror

of having their children slain;

the sorrow and grief felt by fathers and mothers

as they could not protect their children;

the fear and anger they felt by the chaos

 brought into their lives.

As Matthew 2:18 recalls the words of the prophet Jeremiah:

“A voice was heard in Ramah,

wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

Wailing and lamentation.

Deep haunting grief and suffering.

Where may these families find hope in their sorrow?

Where can you and I see hope in the midst of this scripture?

How might we see hope in our everyday lives,

when our lives encounter

chaos,

grief,

hardships,

fear,

adversities,

or the unexpected.

In Isaiah 63,

we heard the words about God’s mercy and steadfast love:

“I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,

the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,

because of all that the Lord has done for us,

and the great favor to the house of Israel

that he has shown them according to his mercy,

according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

Steadfast love, ‘hesed’.

God’s love for us all!

God wanting to be in the midst of us,

whether we are celebrating, glorifying, or suffering

-God is with us!

Part of the lectionary for today is from Hebrews 2,

I did not read it as part of the scriptures we heard

before the sermon, however,

it ties in well with the Isaiah and Matthew scriptures.

Hebrews 2: 11-12 and 16-18 

“For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified

all have one Father.

For this reason, Jesus is not ashamed to call them

brothers and sisters, saying,

“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,

    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”

For it is clear that he did not come to help angels,

but the descendants of Abraham.

Therefore, he had to become like his brothers and sisters

in every respect,

so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest

in the service of God,

to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.

 Because he himself was tested by what he suffered,

he is able to help those who are being tested.”

God’s steadfast love embodied,

God made flesh in order to walk among us,

to be in the midst of us, to be our Savior.

God divine, identifies with humanity.

Christ came not for angels, but, for the descendants of Abraham.

Jesus calls us brother and sister.

As Moses had led his people from slavery to freedom,

Jesus Christ leads you and me and all

from death to eternal life.

Where was the hope in the midst of the sorrow

for those families in and around Bethlehem

as their children were killed?

They did not know it,

but their hope was in a child who was taken to Egypt

by his family because of a warning in a dream.

Where is our hope in the midst of the chaos of today?

when you and I are full of doubt and fear?

Where is our hope in times of despair?

                                      in times of loss, grief, sorrow, and suffering?

                                      when we cannot see a solution?

Where is our hope when we feel depressed or lonely?

when you and I hear the words of bullies?

when we are overwhelmed by news of

poverty, hunger,

random shootings,

and hatred of one another?

Where is our hope

when you and I hear Rachel weeping for her children?

Our hope today…

is with that same child, the one born in a manger;

          the one who becomes the man,

fully divine, fully human,

the one who suffered on the cross,

died for us and was resurrected.

Our hope began in a manger,

fled to Egypt,

settled in Nazareth,

became a carpenter then a teacher,

and then a Savior.

Our hope in the midst of everything,

          our hope

is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness…

One final thought,

          I have been reading an Advent and Christmas devotional,

God is in the Manger

which includes insights and writings of

theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

quote:

“God wants to always be with us,

wherever we may be

-in our sin, suffering, and death. 

We are no longer alone: God is with us.”