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St. Luke's in the Desert Mission Church
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CHRISTMAS 2011 – Rev. Pressey
You have come to celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. You have set aside the materialism of the season. You have taken time to for holy worship of our Lord and Savior, our King, our advocate, our only intercessor, and our high priest.
We are all familiar with the events of Christ’s birth. We know that a young teenage virgin, espoused to an older man named Joseph, conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous overshadowing. (Of course unbelievers deny this possibility, but it is possible biologically independent of theology.) While living in Nazareth, Joseph and Mary were required to go to their original ancestral home in Bethlehem to pay the Roman tax. It was a long and arduous journey by foot, a distance of approximately ninety miles. They arrived in Bethlehem, a word meaning the “House of Bread”. Unable to find a place for lodging, they found lodging in a barn/cave with the animals. - What an unlikely beginning for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? - We are told that Baby Jesus was greeted by angels from the Heavens and in sharp contrast, by poor lowly shepherds from the outlying fields of Bethlehem. Contrary to popular imagery, the Magi arrived from Persia and/or Iraq much later to pay tribute to Jesus. For by that time, the Holy Family was living in a house. The Magi were well acquainted with Hebrew Scriptures and prophecies for the Jews had lived in Persia over five hundred years before until Cyrus, the Godly king of Persia told the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. – (Even some of the royalty of Persia had the blood of Queen Esther in their veins according to apocryphal legends.) -
The blessedness of Jesus’ birth was mixed with the extraordinary evil of Herod who when he heard of the birth, attempted to destroy baby Jesus . Unable to locate him, Herod did the unthinkable. He destroyed all the male babies under two years of age in the Slaughter of the Innocents. Even though Herod was an old man, he couldn’t let even a baby threaten his wicked rule and his obsession with power.
-Next week the excitement of Christmas will diminish and fade away until the next Xmas shopping season begins – probably in September or October. The crass commercialism of tinsel, parties, and toys will begin earlier and earlier enriching the coffers of merchants and the overseas suppliers of trinkets, toys, and electronics that have replaced Jesus as the reason for the season.-
But, we are here to remember in worship and thanksgiving that there is more to the Christmas story and the birth of Jesus. Essential to Christmas is the message. -For the messenger cannot be detached from the message. Jesus was and is the Word of God that became flesh and dwelt among us. You are here in worship this night/day because you know in your heart that Christmas is about the Word of God.
That Word was annunciated on the slopes of the hills above the Sea of Galilee two thousand years ago. We can go to Scriptures in Matthew 5 or the Gospel of St. Luke and hear our Lord speaking directly to us. That message is eternal and never changes. You don’t need a pastor, priest, rabbi or bishop to explain the simple, direct, and revolutionary message of God revealing his Will to us.
On that hillside, Jesus was asked how we should pray. He gave us the simplicity of the Lord’s Prayer. He brought home to us that God was not an abstraction like the “burning bush” of Mose’s day. He revealed that God is Our Father. We are a part of a Holy Family. As we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we focus first on God and his attributes of holiness and righteousness. The prayer concludes with a petition for our earthly needs, our relationship to man, and our need to be delivered from temptation. The Prayer is not an esoteric exercise of convoluted theology. It is simple, direct, and easily understood.
As you read and hear the Gospel of St. Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount, you hear God speaking directly to you through the ages. As I said, You do not need a theologian, priest, or clergyman to interpret what Jesus is saying. Jesus came for real man, not the theologians of academia.
As we read through the Sermon on the Mount, we receive our marching orders directly from the very Mind of Christ. He starts with blessedness. He blesses you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you who are merciful, pure in heart, and the peacemakers.
He calls you the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And, it is our duty to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.
He directs how we should approach human conflicts, hostility, and even hate. We are to resolve those issues by love, forgiveness, and simple communication. We are told to love our enemies, pray for them that despitefully use us. We are to be perfect even as our Father which is in Heaven.
This Holy Season is about love, filial or brotherly love and Agape or Godly love. Jesus’ message enlightens us to our duty and relationships to God and man. He says we cannot say we love God who we have not seen and hate our fellow man who we have seen. The message of Jesus goes deeper than overt behavior for overt behavior is the culmination of the thought and emotional process. The righteousness that Jesus demands reaches into the very heart, mind, and soul of man.
Lastly, we are admonished in the 13th Chapter of the Gospel of St. John that we, as Christians, shall be known for the love that we have for each other. If we truly love Jesus we will keep his commandments. This is the Christmas message.
May your good tidings, your good will, and your love of the Father be exhibited and demonstrated among all your relationship in this life and in this world for you are a light to radiate the love God to the world and for the Glory of God, the Father of us all.
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