Matthew 1:18-25: Do You Believe in Dreams?

 Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 24 Dec 2012.[1]

By Captain Michael Ramsay

Click here to read a 2008 version: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html

Today, on this Christmas Eve, we look forward to the joy of tomorrow: Christmas Day. This is the celebration of the birth, the incarnation and the advent and of the Christ. Let us for a moment focus on from our passage today, Joseph, the man, the fiancé and the husband of Mary. Oh how it must have been for him. Pretend with me for a moment that you are he.

Joseph is a carpenter; Joseph is a stone mason. He is from the tribe of Judah and – of course –King David is among his most famous ancestors. Matthew records for us a few things about Joseph. We are told in our text today that Joseph, Verse 19, is righteous. In our world these days when we think of a righteous person… if someone were to tell you that this person that they know is righteous… if someone were to say this visitor that we have here with us today is a righteous woman or man, what would we think that they would be like? We would probably think that they would pray, read the Bible, love God and love their neighbour (cf. Luke 10:27)? All of the above would probably be true of someone described as a righteous person today and more. This was very much what it would have meant for Joseph too. Joseph was a first century Judean who served God and to the average first century Jews, to be righteous meant that one was very good at keeping the religious law of their time.[2]

Matthew tells us also, Verse 18, that Joseph is pledged to be married to a girl named Mary.[3] Now, betrothal in first century is not like it is today. When you are engaged then you are already bound. You are already considered as husband and wife and the union can only be dissolved through death or divorce.[4] And before Mary and Joseph ever ‘know each other’ in the Biblical sense, before they ever come together in THAT way, Mary becomes pregnant. Imagine this scenario with me, if you will – men in particular: you are engaged, you have not had relations with your fiancée and all of a sudden you find out that she is pregnant. What would you do? What would you say? What would you feel? What would you think? What would you think and what would you do if your girlfriend to whom you are engaged becomes pregnant – and not by you? Would you still get married? Joseph, when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, is planning to call off the wedding altogether. Now in those days Mary could receive up to even the death penalty for this; so as Verse 19 records, Joseph wants to do this quietly so as to not bring any disgrace upon Mary. He is a righteous man.

Then something happens. Joseph has a dream. He dreams about an angel and in the dream this angel tells Joseph that he should ‘take Mary home as his wife’, Verse 20, ‘because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’. He then dreams about what to name this child and how this son will save people from even their sins. It is now that Joseph has a number of decisions to make.

1)      Does Joseph believe in visions and does he believe in this vision in particular?

2)      Does Joseph, when we awakens, still believe that an angel actually has spoken to him and does he believe that what this angel has said to him is true?

3)      And how will Joseph respond to this belief? Will he ignore his conviction that this vision is from God and press on with the separation/divorce anyway or will he accept the commission given to him from God through a messenger in a dream? What would you do? Do you believe in your dreams?

Joseph does. Joseph is a righteous man. When Joseph awakes from his sleep, Verse 24, he does everything the angel from the Lord tells him to do, including taking Mary home as his wife and not having any sexual relations with her until this child is born. This is Joseph. Joseph is a righteous man. He follows his dream. He follows God.

This was Joseph prior to the eve of the Messiah’s birth. The questions still stand for us on the celebration of that eve, on this Christmas Eve, now 2000 years or so later.

1)      Do we believe in visions from God and do we believe in this vision?

2)      Do we believe that angels actually speak to people and do we believe that an angel actually spoke to Joseph that what this angel has told him is true?

      3)    And, if we do believe, how do we respond to this belief? Do we ignore the conviction that this vision is from God and press on with our own lives the way we want to lead them or do we accept the commission given to us from the Lord to share the Good News of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus with the whole world so that we all may be saved? On this Christmas Eve, 2000 or so years later, what will we do? What will you do? Do you believe in your dreams?

www.sheepspeak.com
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[1] cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe?' Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html and Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe?' Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and the CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html

[2] Walter W. Wessel and Ralph Earle, ‘Matthew’ in NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Mi : Zondervan, 2002), note on Matthew 1:19, p. 1467.

[3] cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 51 and E. Earle Ellis, 71. Betrothal is not quite like engagements of today. In those days a man and his wife were committed to each other at the engagement ceremony. They did have a public ceremony with witnesses and the more. They did each gain a marital status, complete with rights and responsibilities and if Joseph had died after their engagement ceremony but prior to their marriage ceremony, Mary would still be considered a widow with all the responsibilities and rights (or lack thereof) of a widow. The betrothal was very different then anything we have today and even though Mary would be Joseph’s legal wife, after this engagement ceremony rather than going off to live with one’s husband, the wife usually returned to her father’s household for a period of up to a year.

[4] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 134.

Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Jerusalem

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 09 December 2012. Based on Luke 1:68-79: Next Year in Regina: The Waiting Game.[1] Presented to Swift Current Corps, 06 December 2009. By Captain Michael Ramsay

Advent. Last week was the first week of Advent. Does anyone know what Advent is? Advent is waiting. Who here likes to wait? Our Saskatchewan Roughriders are the most popular team in the CFL and fans have become somewhat accustomed to waiting. Football fans here have been referred to as living in ‘next year country’. Next year will be the year we bring the cup home to Saskatchewan. Next year would be a great year to do it to, because next year the game is in Regina. Next year in Regina: this rallying cry is not entirely dissimilar from the rallying cry of the early Christians. The early Christians could greet each other with the phrase, ‘Next year in Jerusalem’. The idea being that Christ will return next year and the Christians will all celebrate the victory that he won between the cross and the empty tomb next year in Jerusalem.

The Israelites long before the advent of Jesus, during the exile, actually began using this expression - ‘next year in Jerusalem’ – in their Passover meal to express their hope that next year they will no longer be exiled, next year they will be restored to their homeland. “Next year in Jerusalem” was the rallying cry of the exiled Hebrews just like “Next year in Regina” can become the rallying call for the avid Roughriders fans as they wait and hope to celebrate their next Grey Cup victory here.

Advent – in the Christian calendar – is a time of waiting to celebrate that victory, that restoration achieved between the cross and the empty tomb. Advent recognizes two times of waiting:

1)      A remembrance of that waiting for the penultimate arrival of the Christ, who was born in a manger around 2000 years ago – Advent is waiting for Christmas.

2)      Advent is waiting for Jesus to ultimately return in all of his glory at the eschaton: next year in Jerusalem.

Next week, The Salvation Army is preparing the community Advent luncheon. They’re Thursdays at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. One year I heard Greg Kiel, one of the Lutheran pastors, speaking. He told this joke about waiting:

A fellow was speaking to God and he said, “Lord, I have two questions for you, I was wondering if you could help me:  1) A Millennium, a thousand years, is a long time to us – how long is that time for an eternal God?”

“It is just a second”

2) “God, on another note, there is a lottery draw coming up next Saturday and I was wondering if and when you could help me win the lottery?”

“Just a second.”

Advent is a time of waiting. We are now waiting for the new Jerusalem to descend from the heavens to earth like it says will happen in Revelation 21 (Revelation 21:1-8; see also Matthew 24:29-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Revelation 1:7). We are awaiting Jesus’ return and the future resurrection of the dead. We are waiting. Maybe next year the earth and the heavens will be made anew (Revelation 21:1-8). Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we spend next year in the new heaven and the new earth with our new bodies in the new Jerusalem with our Lord and Saviour? Next year in the new Jerusalem. That would be even more wonderful than spending next year in Regina watching the Riders hoist the cup: spending next year with Christ at the final victory…but waiting is never easy. And waiting is what Advent is all about.

Today we are looking at a part of Scripture referred to as the Benedictus – it is called this because the first word of this section in Latin is ‘Benedictus’ (meaning ‘blessed’).[2] This pericope in Luke is quite interesting. The person who is speaking here is Zechariah. Zechariah is John the Baptist’s father. We know about Zechariah: He is a Levite and he is a priest and  - I don’t know if you remember the story but he was struck mute and possibly even deaf as well after he was told that he would have a son and who his son would be (Luke 1:5-25, cf. Luke 1:19, 22, 62; Daniel 10:15-16). [3] Zechariah remained mute from the time he found out that his wife was pregnant until eight days after his son was born (Luke 1:59; see Genesis 17:9-14). The Benedictus, this speech, is comprised of Zechariah’s first words not only after the birth of his son but also his first words after he has been cured of not being able to speak for over half a year. As per Elisabeth, can you imagine if your spouse couldn’t speak for almost nine months? What would be their first words? Can you imagine if you couldn’t speak for almost nine months? What would be yours? These were Zechariahs’ (as spoken by the power of the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:67),[4] Luke 1:68-79:

68 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

      because he has come and has redeemed his people.

 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

      in the house of his servant David

 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

 71 salvation from our enemies

      and from the hand of all who hate us—

 72 to show mercy to our fathers

      and to remember his holy covenant,

 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,

      and to enable us to serve him without fear

 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

      for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation

      through the forgiveness of their sins,

 78 because of the tender mercy of our God,

      by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

 79 to shine on those living in darkness

      and in the shadow of death,

   to guide our feet into the path of peace.

This speech really addresses the who, what, why, and how of Salvation. But before we look more at the answers here provided for these questions, we should probably ask ourselves the question, what is Salvation? What does ‘Salvation’ mean? Salvation simply means to be saved. Verses 71 and 74 of our text today refer to Israel being saved from her enemies. This is what was expected of the Christ/ the Messiah when he came: he would save the people from their enemies and then those who were exiled along with everyone else would celebrate this Salvation, ‘next year in Jerusalem’

The people of Israel were waiting for the Messiah to deliver them from Rome at the time of Jesus’ incarnation. They have had many enemies through the years. The Kingdom of Israel fell to invaders in 720 BCE; The Kingdom of Judah fell in 586 BCE. The land of Palestine was conquered by the Assyrians, then by the Babylonians, and then by the Persians.

In many of these conquests more Israelites and more Judeans were deported. Those deported were known as the Diaspora: they were exiled Israelites living abroad. They were longing to have their right to return recognized. They were longing for their conquerors to leave the occupied territories. They were longing to spend next year in Jerusalem.

Many people’s grandchildren did later return as the Hebrews fared well under Persian rule. But the Persians were eventually defeated by the Greeks; the Greeks and the Judeans didn’t get along quite so well. The Greeks (Ptolemys then Seleucids from 198 BCE) saw the Jews revolt (the Hasmoneans a.k.a. the Maccabees). The Greeks weren’t too happy with this and so they (under Antiochus IV) even intentionally defiled the Temple in Jerusalem (The Second Temple, the Herodian Temple; cf. Ezra 6:3-4; 1 Esdras 6:24-25; Antiquities 11.4.6; 99; Apion 1.22,198-99; cf. also 1 Maccabees 4.36-51; Antiquities 12.317-18). In a violent struggle that followed, the people of Palestine eventually obtained independence for a very short time (140-37 BCE). Only to be conquered again this time by General Pompeii and the Roman forces (63 BCE).

So now in the time of our Scripture today, as we well know from the Christmas story, Palestine is under the authority of Caesar Augustus (AKA Octavius, Julius Caesar’s adopted son) as Palestine is still an occupied Roman territory (Luke 2:1). Palestine, Israel, Judea by this time – except for a very few years – has been conquered and militarily occupied for four to five hundred years – this is much longer than its entire existence of Israel as a united kingdom many years prior to this  – that only lasted about 100 years (1050 or 1010 to 931).[5] The United Kingdom of Israel was only ever a country for less time than Canada has already been a nation!

Israel up to the point in history where our story today is taking place has been waiting for a leader known as the Messiah or the Christ to save them from their enemies.[6]  It is in the midst of this long list of successive occupations that Luke here speaks about Salvation –surprisingly to some maybe- by not a warrior king but by a Prince of Peace (Luke 1:79; see Isaiah 9:6).[7] Luke is telling us in his story that this Messiah is Jesus and he has not come to merely free Israel from her earthly enemies – as indeed her military occupation carried on for millennia after Christ – Jesus came to save Israel and the whole world (including the Romans) from Sin and Death (Genesis 12:1-3, 13:2; Romans 1, 2). That is our real enemy. Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers (Ephesians 6). This passage today contains a glimpse of the history of the expectation of Salvation.

God, as recorded in our text before us today, through Luke and through Zechariah tells us even more. He tells us what Salvation really looks like.[8] At the first coming of Christ, Jesus’ incarnation (birth), death, and resurrection it was the beginning of the Kingdom of God; it was the first blossoms of the Spring of Salvation about which we spoke last week (Luke 21:25-26).[9] We are in the proleptic Kingdom of God when we are in the presence of Christ. And when we experience His Salvation, this is what it will look like: God tells us through Luke who tells us through Zechariah that when we are saved we will show mercy to our fathers (Are you listening girls? You should be nice to your dad it says…). When we are saved and the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies (Luke 1:71,74) SO THAT we can show mercy to our spiritual and covenantal fathers (Luke 1:72; cf. Malachi 3:3); when we are saved and the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies SO THAT we can serve God without fear (Luke 1:74); when we are saved and the Kingdom is fully realized we will be freed from our enemies SO THAT we can serve God in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives (Luke 1:75). This is what Salvation is (in part) and this is what we are waiting for in Advent – the eschaton, the ultimate coming of Christ: next year in the Jerusalem. As we annually await the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus, we remember too this second coming for which we are ultimately waiting.

When Christ came the first time to a Galilean working class family paying their taxes in Bethlehem, we saw the first glimpse of this Salvation that was definitively won between the cross and the empty tomb. When Jesus returns we will see its culmination and all this is what Zechariah is proclaiming with the birth of his son (Luke 1:68-75). This is what Zechariah has to say after not being able to say or maybe even hear anything for months. He tells us of the glory of Salvation! This is exciting! And God has planned all of this since before the creation of the world. Zechariah’s son – that little eight day old baby who is no doubt crying as he is being circumcised in our passage today (Luke 1:59) – this little eight day old baby is being given the privilege to tell the world about Jesus. Little Johnny here, Baby John is to be the Herald of the Good News that goes before the Christ. He is to be the voice from the wilderness proclaiming the Word of the Lord (Luke 3:4; see Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1, 4:5; Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; John 1:23). Zechariah knows – at least in part – that his baby boy will go in the spirit of Elijah pointing everyone to our Messiah, Jesus, who is the Christ (Luke 1:17; see Matthew 11:14, 17:10-12; Mark 9:11-13). Zechariah is obviously both a proud and humbled papa today as he proclaims the Good News of Salvation to all who will hear him.

He tells us what he knows of this baby being circumcised today: John will be a prophet of the Most High (Luke 1:76). John will let people know of the Salvation that they will receive through the forgiveness of our sins (Luke 1:77). John will tell the people of God’s tender mercy by which God sends his own Son to shine as a light in the darkness; a light even in the very shadow of death (see Luke 1:78-79; Isaiah 60:13). Zechariah is honoured to announce that his son John will declare the arrival of the Lord for whom everyone is waiting. This little baby, John, will announce the impending arrival of the King of Kings, who is indeed the Prince of Peace.

This is not unlike our calling today, 2000 years later. As we await Christmas this Advent season and as we celebrate the arrival of Jesus as a baby in a manger, we must not forget our great commission to tell the whole world the glorious news that Jesus lived, died and rose again so that we can all have eternal life if we simply follow Him. Just like the prophet John, we are to proclaim the Good News of the arrival of our Lord and Saviour; and just like the apostles twelve, we are to let everyone know the rest of the Good News of Advent and that is that Jesus is coming back and Jesus is coming back soon (Matthew 28:16-20).

Let us this Advent season succeed in this task. While we are waiting for Christ’s return, may we all be as bold as John (and his father Zechariah) to tell anyone who will listen to us that indeed Jesus is coming back and he is coming soon and we all can be saved if we so choose (TSA doc. 6). And who knows? Maybe we’ll all meet again at the eschaton, next year in Jerusalem.

Let us pray.

 

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/12/luke-168-79-next-year-in-edmonton.html

[2] Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox, 1990) p.  32.

[3] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/II. Birth and Childhood Narratives (1:5-2:52)/B. Birth Narratives (1:57-2:20)/1. The birth of John the Baptist (1:57-66), Book Version: 4.0.2: The Greek word for unable to hear (kophos) can also mean "deaf". Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, The Gospel of Luke (NIB IX: Nashville, Tenn., Abingdon, 1995), p. 58 and Wayne Grudem and Thomas R. Schreiner, ESV Study Bible notes (Crossway Bibles: Wheaton, Ill., 2008) p. 1946.

[4] Cf. Alyce M. McKenzie, ‘Between Text and Sermon: Luke 1:68-79’, Interpretation 55 no. 4 (October, 2001): 413

[5] ESV Study Bible on-line. Old Testament Timeline: United Monarchy. Available on-line: http://www.esvstudybible.org/articles/chart-ot-timeline

[6] Cf. Loveday Alexander, ‘Luke's Political Vision’, Interpretation 66 no. 3 (June 2012): 283-293.

[7] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, 60.

[8] Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, trans. David E, Green (Atlanta: John Knos, 1984) 43: “The ultimate purpose of God’s salvation presupposes deliverance from the enemy but is in fact undisturbed worship.”

[9] Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 21:29-31: the First Sprigs of Spring. Presented to St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church Swift Current, Saskatchewan, 29 November 2009 and Swift Current TSA Corps 02 December 2012. Avail. on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/11/luke-2129-31-first-sprigs-of-spring.html

Luke 2:1-20: A Tale of Two Kings

Presented to Swift Current Corps and community on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2011&12 by Captain Michael Ramsay

A Christmas 2016 variation can be found here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2016/12/luke-21-with-christ-or-augustus.html 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair”: this is the famous opening line of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens; it is about Paris and it is about London. Today’s story from Scripture is a real life tale of two kings by Luke the physician; it is about Augustus Caesar and it is about Jesus Christ and in Luke’s Gospel, like in Dickens’ story, it is the best of times and it is the worst of times.[1]

The second chapter of Luke’s Gospel opens with, “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” Caesar Augustus is the first king of our two kings, chronologically speaking, that we will address today.[2] What do we know of this king and of this world that he has ordered taxed?

Caesar Augustus was the Roman king and the world was certainly a Roman world that he ordered to be taxed. Prominent New Testament scholar and historian N.T. Wright, writes:

In the Mediterranean world …the fastest growing religion was the Imperial cult, the worship of [the king, Augustus] Caesar.

In Rome itself, …being hailed as the son of the newly deified Julius was an important part of [Caesar] Augustus’ profile, and that of his successors, at home as well as abroad.  But in the East [including Judea] …the provinces saw no need for restraint. With a long tradition of ruler-cults going back at least to Alexander the Great, local cities and provinces were in many cases only too happy to demonstrate their loyalty to the emperor by establishing a cult in his honour, and in need by vying for the privilege of looking after his shrine.[3]

In our tale of two kings today, the first king here mentioned, Augustus Caesar, leader of Rome, the paramount Superpower in the first Century, when Jesus lived; he is worshipped as a god. Augustus Caesar, this alleged god-king, who rules the most powerful country in the world; this alleged god-king is seen as a son of god, in that his deceased adopted father Julius Caesar is also revered as a god; this ‘god-king’, ‘son of god’ has an interesting biography. This is the tale of Caesar Augustus. [4]

Augustus Caesar

Caesar Augustus is born Gaius Octavius on September 23, 63 BCE. He takes the name Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian) in 44 BCE after the murder of his great uncle, Julius Caesar, who was the Roman ruler at the time. In his will, Julius Caesar had adopted Octavian thus making him his heir to the helm of the Roman world.

Octavian is a shrewd, brilliant and astute politician; he is able to achieve ultimate power in Rome. At the time of his uncle’s assassination, Octavian /Augustus – like Deng Xiaoping, centuries later in China, during the Tiananmen Square incident –held no official position. However, shortly afterwards, he, with his armies, march on Rome, forcing the senate to name him consul, thus showing to the world that indeed he is a power to be reckoned with.

Augustus, then, along with Marc Antony and another Roman General (Marcus Lepidus) begins to rule the Roman world. After taking power, they slaughter thousands of political enemies. Antony later marries Cleopatra and wages war against Augustus.  The Roman Navy under Herod Agrippa defeats Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BCE and within a year they both famously commit suicide.

Following this Rome officially bestowed upon Octavian/Augustus the name ‘Augustus’, which means ‘the exalted.’ The politicians also gave him the legal power to rule every aspect of the whole Roman Empire all to himself. Through wars, murder and intrigue, Caesar Augustus becomes Rome’s ultimate Emperor, bringing stability to the realm.

Rome achieves its glory under Augustus. After 100 years of civil war, he becomes the prince of peace; no one dares challenge Caesar Augustus. His empire expands as his armies conquer Spain, Gaul (now France), Panonia and Dalmatia (now parts of Hungary and Croatia), Egypt and most of southwestern Europe.

Caesar Augustus rules with an iron-fist. He is worshipped as a god and as a son of a god; by destroying his enemies in war he even ironically becomes known as the prince of the ‘Pax Romana’, the Roman peace. When the Gospel of Luke that we read from today was recorded, Augustus was known as a god, a son of god and a prince of peace. Luke then tells of our other king, the real king.

Jesus Christ

Jesus truly is God, the Son of God, and the Prince of Peace. Notice how different the real King of Kings is from Caesar Augustus or any other king or any leader of any superpower either past or present. Luke, in invoking Caesar Augustus’ name and this taxation is drawing this parallel and making this contrast for all of us to see.

Luke and all his readers know very much what we have just said about Augustus Caesar. They know his story. That is their life and times. In our passage today Luke is intentionally showing us that Jesus, Jesus’ mother and adoptive father are very different from Augustus Caesar and his adoptive father. Rather than conquering an Empire by force, Joseph and Mary travel by foot to another city in order to pay their taxes to this aforementioned Caesar Augustus.  In so doing it is ironic that Augustus Caesar is pretending to be what their child, who is about to come into the world, really is: the Son of God and the Prince of Peace (Luke 2:4).[5]

When Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem to pay their taxes, the city is full. Imagine the buzz of activity with people everywhere coming to be registered. The buzz of activity: with everyone going to a specific location to register, it reminds me sort of hamper day. It is not feasible for us to deliver hampers to everyone’s home in the community so they need to come to us. It is not feasible for the Romans to go to every house in their empire to register them for the census; so the people needed to come to central locations.[6] On hamper day we have people everywhere: between volunteers, staff, and those in need coming to pick up their hampers. I imagine this buzz of activity of hundreds of people around here on hamper day to be a microcosm of what it was like in Bethlehem two centuries ago. As busy as it was here it was even busier there as the busyness filled the whole city.

I can’t quite remember what the situation was like here when we had the women’s world curling championships last year but I do know what it was like in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. I had friends of mine tell me repeatedly how landlords would evict tenants so they could rent out their rooms at much higher rates than they would ordinarily get. Hotel rooms were filled during the Olympics. People who lived in Vancouver were even going on vacation somewhere else during the Olympics and renting out their homes for enough money to pay for their entire vacation. The city was full. There was no room anywhere. If you didn’t have relatives or reservations and you wanted to stay in Vancouver during the Olympics you would have to be resourceful – even the shelters were full.

It is the same in Bethlehem. Anyone and everyone descended from the iconic figure King David of Judah, was descending upon this small city.[7] There was no room in the inns. This was the environment when this other king of the Jews, the real king of the Jews, the real Son of God, and the real God incarnate comes into the world – a little different from the life of Caesar Augustus, who is mentioned at the beginning of our text today and of whom the same claims of kingship and god’s sonship are made.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, gives birth in the only room available and makes her baby as comfortable as possible, wrapping him snugly in pieces of cloth and placing him in a feeding trough, in a manger packed with straw.

It is at this point in the narrative then that Luke begins to draw a real distinction between our two kings in our tale today: Augustus Caesar, who some uphold to be a god, a son of a god, and the Prince of the Roman Peace and Christ Jesus who really is God, the Son of God, and the Prince of Peace. Whereas the king Augustus Caesar had his power acknowledged by the powerful politicians of his day through war, murder, and intrigue. Christ Jesus’ kingship is heralded through angels to working class shepherds who were working the night shift.[8]

Luke 2: 8-14:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

These working class shepherds, who are working that night, are invited by God’s messengers to come and see His new born Son, born to parents who are here to pay their taxes to the leader of the temporal superpower of their day: who is ironically enough an impostor pretending to be the son of a god.  These shepherds listen to God and go to Bethlehem and are blessed to see the birth of God’s truly only begotten son who will grow up to save the whole world.

Luke 2:19-20: “…Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”

Thus our tale of two kings concludes with the same question before us today as was before the shepherds and the readers of Luke’s gospel in the first century. Which of the two kings will we serve? Will we serve Caesar or Christ? Will we serve the rulers of our current time and place in history – Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, … – and their empires and systems – the English-speaking empire, capitalism, democracy, consumerism, imperialism, or whatever else… - or will we serve the only real Son of God who lived and died and rose again so that we can all rise again and live forever in His Kingdom to come if we so choose. On this Christmas Day two centuries closer to the return of our King, the choice is ours and I encourage us all to serve our Lord, who is returning anytime now. I invite us all today, in recognition and in a pledge of allegiance to Jesus who truly is the King of Kings; I invite us all to sing alongside the angels of two centuries ago, as it is recorded in Luke 2:14 where they sing: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Please stand with me and sing “Gloria in Execelis Deo” which, of course, in English means, “Glory to God in the highest.”

Let us pray[9]:

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to His people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
Almighty God and Father,
we worship You, we give You thanks,
we praise You for Your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ,
only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
You take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
You are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For You alone are the Holy One,
You alone are the Lord,
You alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of the Father.
Amen.

Benediction: Let us go forth on this Christmas Day forever serving the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, Christ Jesus our Saviour. Amen.

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[1] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 63 for a good discussion of the comparison made here by Luke.

[2] Cf. Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/II. Birth and Childhood Narratives (1:5-2:52)/B. Birth Narratives (1:57-2:20)/3. The birth of Jesus (2:1-7), Book Version: 4.0.2

[3]N.T. Wright, 'Paul and Caesar: A New Reading of Romans', originally published in A Royal Priesthood: The Use of the Bible Ethically and Politically, ed. C. Bartholemew, 2002, Carlisle: Paternoster, 173–193. Reproduced by permission of the author. Available on-line at http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Paul_Caesar_Romans.htm

[4] For more information on Augustus, cf. Will Durant, The Story of Civilisation III: Caesar and Christ. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 1944. See also Lucid Café Library On-line: http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/augustus.html

[5] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 63

[6] Cf. Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 1988 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 3), S. 99. See also A. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East (Hodder and Stoughton, 1927), p. 271. Deissmann says that Luke uses official ‘departmental language’ in reporting the order (ibid., p. 270, n. 5).

[7] But cf. Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 63

[8] Cf. Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox, 1990), 35. Re: the comparison between royal heralds of good news.

[9] ‘A Catholic Prayer: Glory to God’, available on-line: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=785

Luke 21:29-31: the First Sprigs of Spring.

Presented to St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church
Swift Current, Saskatchewan, 29 November 2009  
and Swift Current TSA Corps 02 December 2012
By Captain Michael Ramsay

See also http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/11/mark-132829-first-sprig-of-spring.html

Luke 21: 29-31: “He told them this parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the Kingdom of God is near.”

Now I grew up in Victoria, BC. There we would always have a green Christmas – which it looks like we might actually get here this year. Growing up there, we had snow maybe once every four years or so and when we did, it was gone in about a week. Every February, when much of our great country is still covered in snow, Victoria has its annual flower count. I recently found the statistics for 2002. In that year Victoria counted 8,521,514,876 flowers on that day in February.[1]

When I first moved to the Prairies some years ago now – we lived in Winnipeg – I noticed that Februaries in Winnipeg are a little bit different than in Victoria. Instead of + 8 billion flowers, in Winnipeg we had what felt like - 8 billion degree temperatures.

It is great here on the Prairies though. My girls really love sledding. They love skating and curling and whenever the snow is suitable you can see them building snow people. Our girls were 3 and 4 when we moved to Winnipeg and we lived a short walk from a really good sledding hill so we would go quite often and when we did it was a lot of fun. Inevitably, too, on our walk home there was a ‘Subway’ sandwich shop that we would pass so we would always stop for a hot chocolate and a cookie after sledding. The girls and I came to really look forward to that. Winter is great… but you know what? We were most recently living in northern Saskatchewan and when the end of May – or the beginning of June (!) – rolls around and there is still snow on the ground – I am ready for it to be over.

By the time the snow starts to melt, by the time the trees start to sprout and we can see for ourselves that summer is near, I am quite happy. As fun as sledding to Subway is with the kids in the winter for a cookie, it is also good to ride our bikes to Dairy Queen on a hot summer day for an ice-cream cone! And by the end of May I am more looking forward an ice-cream cone in the heat than a cookie in the cold.

Luke 21: 29-31: “He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the Kingdom of God is near.”

This is the same sort of idea that our text today is talking about.[2] We all know that in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve (Genesis 3; See also Romans 5:14) -instead of watching squirrels and counting blossoms- they decided to listen to snakes and eat a forbidden fruit. This probably wouldn’t have been quite so bad except for the problem that their Father in Heaven had just finished telling them not to do this. So when God caught his children disobeying Him and then deliberately trying to deceive Him about it, He was disappointed and He gave them a time-out from paradise, the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23-24, Hosea 6:7, Romans 5:12-14). This is the ‘fall’; we were separated from God because of this original sin – eating the fruit, disobeying God and then deliberately trying to deceive Him about it.

And this was just the beginning. We the people were not necessarily the best children of God that we should be. Genesis tells us that the people were so bad God felt that He needed to destroy the earth by flood (Genesis 6-9; see also 2 Peter 2:5). Exodus saw the Hebrews dragged kicking and screaming into the Promised Land. The generation that left Egypt was so bad that God didn’t let any of them - save Joshua and Caleb – even enter the land promised them (Numbers 14:21-24; Deuteronomy 1:31-40; see Hebrews 4:1-13). More than once they voted not to follow God, but – Praise the Lord - God’s Kingdom isn’t a democracy so He saved their children in spite of them. Judges tells us that instead of following God the people at that time just did whatever was popular. They did what was right in their own eyes: they did evil in the sight of the Lord and they suffered the natural consequences of it (see Judges 21). Solomon, the wisest man ever to live, even made the serious mistake of turning his back on God and as a result half of his Kingdom was torn from his own children and grandchildren (1 Kings 11).

Throughout the times of the kings and the prophets, often Baal worship was more popular than worshipping the Lord (See Joshua 2:11-13; Judges 3:7, 6:25ff., 8:3, 10:10; 1 Samuel 7:4, 12:10, 1 Kings 16- 22; 2 Kings 1-10, 17:16, 21:3; 2 Chronicles 28:2, 33:3; Jeremiah 2, 7, 9, 11, 19, 23, 32; Hosea 2; 9:10, 11:12). If there was something like the TV Show ‘Canadian Idol’ back then (Israelite Idol) the people many times over would have voted for Baal over the Lord. Though there were some exceptions to this: Remember when the prophets of Baal and Elijah, atop Mt. Carmel, when they had a ‘So you think you can dance’ dance-off of sorts (1 Kings 18:16-45)? The prophets of Baal anyway had quite a long and elaborate routine but God blessed Elijah by raining down fire and He won the completion (1 Kings 18:38). This was more the exception though than the rule and this is all part of the long cold winter of our consequences of the original and subsequent sins. But we know – like Jesus tells us in our scriptures today that spring is coming (see also Romans 13:11-12).

Through the Biblical record though this sin, like winter, continued of course. Leviticus tells us that we the people failed to look after the land (Leviticus 25:1-23) and Jeremiah tells us that it was taken away from the Israelites because of this (Jeremiah 15:11, 19:10; 2 Chronicles 36:20-21).[3] Isaiah, Amos and the other prophets tell us that the people cared more about wealth than about caring for the poor, the widow and the immigrant (Cf. Isaiah 3:14, 15, 10:2, 11:4, 26:6, 32:7, 41:17, 58:7, 61:1; Amos 4:1, 5:11-12, 8:4-6). In Israel of the Old Testament some became rich and some became poor and even though, as Jesus would later tell us, that the whole Law and the prophets were summed up in the command to love God and love your neighbour (Matthew 22:34-40); we the people didn’t do this. We continued to put ourselves first. We continued to do what was right in our own eyes. We continued freezing outside in the winter of our sins when the blossoms of God’s love just wanted to envelope us instead. And now when Jesus is speaking, as recorded in our text today, he tells us to “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21: 29-31).

In our world today we still see a lot of problems. Crime in Canada is higher than it ever used to be. According to the CCVF, it is so bad now that many people are losing faith in the authorities abilities to stop it that in many cases charges aren’t even being filed anymore.[4] Even economic crime is on the rise in Canada with Reuters reporting that 56 percent of companies surveyed recently (more than half of them) reported falling prey to white-collar crime.[5] And – of course – in our winter of sin there is pornography, which horribly is North America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money made by US pornography exceeds the combined revenues of all their major TV networks (6.2 billion) Child pornography alone generates $3 billion annually.[6]

We are still in the winter of our sin but summer is coming (See Romans 13:11-12); Jesus is coming back. The metaphorical snow of sin is still on the ground but as Jesus assures us, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near” (Luke 21: 29-31).

There is good news if we look around. Jesus himself was the first blossom.[7] He is the branch of Jesse (Zechariah 6:11-13; Isaiah 11:1)[8] and he is the first blossom as well. He shows us and teaches us in parables about the Kingdom of God. He tells us again and again as recorded in this the Gospel of Luke that the Kingdom of God is at hand. It is here. It is in His presence. When we are in Jesus’ presence we see the buds coming through on the trees (see also John 14). It is like Matthew 25:31-40 says,

“‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”

And when we share the Good News of God’s love we too are a part of those blossoms of the spring of Christ’s love. In The Salvation Army alone – and we are only one of many Christians denominations in this country - we are one of the world’s largest social services providers; we also have the blessing of being on the frontlines against the fight against sex slavery; we run food banks, shelters, serve over 2.5 million meals a year and help more than 10 000 people out of their addictions and we are only one part of the Christian Church in Canada and as you and I, as we all share the love of Christ with are neighbours - through our actions and our words both corporate and individual – when we share the love of Christ with our neighbours as bad as the world may seem today in the winter of our sin, we can all be part of those first blossoms that have been sprouting through Jesus, the Branch of Jesse, ever since His first advent 2000 years ago. This is the first Sunday of our Advent season. As the first bud of spring sprouted with Jesus coming to live among us all those years ago and we know too that Jesus is coming back and he’s coming soon. When he does that will be when all the trees are in full bloom covered in the blossoms of salvation and when he comes what a day of rejoicing that will be. This is something for us all to look forward to in the advent season ahead.

Let us pray.

http://www.sheepspeak.com/

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[1] One of many sources for this: Human Flower Project: http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/whos_counting_we_and_victoria/
[2] Cf. Gerard S. Sloyan, John (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 5 and Joel B Green, The Gospel of Luke (NICNT 3: Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 25.
[3] Cf. Michael Ramsay, Leviticus 25 1-23 in the Context of the Holiness Code: The Land Shall Observe a Sabbath. Presented to William and Catherine Booth College (Fall 2006). Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/OT_Michael_Ramsay.htm#Leviticus 25 1-23
[4] LORRIE GOLDSTEIN, Canadian Crime Victim Foundation (Toronto: Oct 25, 2009), cited November 22, 2009. Available on-line: http://www.ccvf.net/articles.cfm?pageID=articles&subpageID=news&viewID=75 : Every five years, Statistics Canada conducts the General Social Survey. It asks a representative sample of Canadians, among other things, whether they have been crime victims. From the last survey in 2004 (the next one is being conducted now, with the findings to be released next year) Statistics Canada reached the following conclusions. First, progressively fewer Canadians who are crime victims are reporting the crime to police -- only 34% in 2004, compared to 37% in 1999. Second, based on the GSS, an estimated 92% of sexual assaults were never reported to police, 46% of break-ins, 51% of motor vehicle/parts thefts, 61% of physical assaults and 54% of robberies.
[5] Economic crime rate rises in Canada, report says (Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:14pm EST) cited November 21, 2009. Available on-line: http://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCATRE5AI52E20091119 : "Some 56 percent of companies surveyed reported falling prey to white-collar crime during the period, the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers' Economic Crime Survey showed. That's a 10 percentage point increase over 2003 and a 4 point increase from two years ago."
[6] Christian Technology Solutions, Pornography Industry Statistics. Cited 21 November, 2009. Available on line: http://christiantechnologysolutions.com/content/view/18/24/
[7] Cf. E. Earle Ellis. The Gospel of Luke (The New Century Bible: Grand Rapids, MI, Eerdmans, 1981), p. 242.
[8] Cf. Mary L. Coloe, “Temple Imagery in the Gospel of John.” Interpretation: a Journal of Bible and Theology 63, no. 4 (October 2009): 368-381.