Broadway Christian Church ·Columbia, Missouri

Morning Worship ·December 26, 2004

The First Sunday after Christmas

Prayer of the Day

Holy God, thank you for coming here to live like one of us.  With humble and adoring hearts we worship you and raise our voices to sing your praise!  Amen.

Scripture
Hebrews 2:10-18

Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by God’s power.  So God did the right thing when God made Jesus perfect by suffering, as Jesus led many of God’s children to be saved and to share in God’s glory.  Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family.  That is why he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.  He even said to God,  “I will tell them your name and sing your praises when they come together to worship.”

He also said, “I will trust God.”

Then he said, “Here I am with the children God has given me.”

We are people of flesh and blood.  That is why Jesus became one of us.  He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death.  But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying.  Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham’s descendants.  He had to be one of us, so that he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins.  And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.

Message
One of Us
Rick Frost

I don’t know about you, but it seems like, for most of us, we were just in church.  Weren’t we?  This first Sunday after Christmas often, as you know, is jammed right on top of Christmas Eve.  I hope wherever you were this past Christmas Eve, you were having a wonderful experience with friends, with family, and hopefully with the community of faith.  We had a beautiful evening here, and a word of blessing to all who helped make that happen.

I realized this week, like many in our congregation, our family has usually traveled to be with others during this period – this week between Christmas and New Years.  It has always been Kim who, for some 16 years now, has been willing and gladly here to offer one of her beloved collection of Christmas stories.  It has become a tradition here at Broadway.  I’ve head she just sort of perches herself on a stool, right here in front of God and everybody, and with not a note in hand, just amazingly recites for about 30 minutes from memory, a scintillating, beautiful, generally touching story about Christmas.  Our people love it.  They’ve come to expect it.  They look forward to it.  And I have only two words to say about that: “I’m sorry.”  I’m sorry she’s not here to tell you one of her stories.  I believe she will return.  I think she will be back next year, and I’m confident that tradition will continue.  I do want you to know, however, that it will not happen today.

Meanwhile, in the afterglow of Christmas Eve and hopefully Christmas Day for you and yours, I believe this Sunday offers an opportunity to begin exploring an amazing thing.  For the next few minutes, and with the help of our text found in the Letter to the Hebrews, you and I are going to be invited to make the move from the little child lying in a manger surrounded by parents, and cattle, and sheep, and angels, to the great, awesome, mind-boggling implications – indeed the cosmic implications – of that particular child’s birth.  I mean, nativity is nice.  Isn’t it?  I mean, a baby born in the back of a barn to poor humble parents because there is no room for them in the local hotel… But so what?  So what?  I mean, that happens a thousand times a day.  It’s happening right now as we speak.  What’s so special?  What’s so unique?  What’s so important about this child?  Who is this child?  What’s the big deal that Christians make about Christmas?

Well, the author of our text today is going to try to explain what, of course, we all know is unexplainable.  The notion of, the glory of, the implications of something the Church has called “incarnation.”  That’s a big word – a big theological word – that doesn’t exist anywhere in the Bible.  Incarnation.  It’s the idea that goes to the very heart of our faith, the fact that Jesus, the Creator of this universe and all that is, came to be with us.  It’s mind-boggling.

I could spend our time this morning trying to proclaim what that is about.  It is, in fact, what so many are resistant to hearing.  You know that, and I know that.  There are many, many people in this world who are reluctant to believe that idea, that somehow the Creator of all that is actually became flesh and blood – fully, wholly, unexceptionally, unreservedly, just like us in every sing respect.  That’s what the author of our text says.

Folks, no other religion I know of, no other philosophy, no other view of life even comes anywhere close to such claim.  Many, many people believe and affirm that Jesus was a good man.  Lots of people think his teachings are spectacular and wonderful.  Many people remember him and thank him for living wonderful principles and values.  A lot of people get together and they think their children ought to receive teachings that come from him.  But many, quite frankly, are offended by what, for them, is the absurdity of the Creator of the universe, the force that creates everything that is, becoming flesh and blood, like us in every single respect.  But that is exactly what this text says.

Most of the people I know, myself included, are all too aware of our own frailties.  We’re very conscious of our flaws.  We know that we live in the midst of a people capable of gross imperfections.  Many, many people cannot imagine the Creator of the universe coming to be one of us, and who calls us, according to the text today, to be his brothers and his sisters.  Indeed, he says, “I claim you as part of my own family.”

Mark Twain is reported to have said, “I would never want to belong to a church that would have a member like me.”  You know, there are lots of people who feel that way.  “I’d never want to be connected with a God who would love someone like me.”  My goodness gracious!  That would be to miss the point:  We are his creatures, and he loves us, and cares for us, and wants good things for us, and for us to become more like him.

I could spend today proclaiming that.  Instead, what I’m going to offer you is a parable.  Hopefully, it’s a story or a parable you have not heard elsewhere, but it goes something like this:

Once upon a time when all the angels were gathered around the heavenly throne with God, and they were having a discussion, it seems that part of the discussion was focused on these kinds of things.  It seemed like things were pretty much of a mess down on planet Earth.  There was sickness and famine.  There was war and violence.  There was hostility and greed and blood shed everywhere.

“I’ve tried everything,” said God.  “I’ve spoken to them in some of the most poetic words ever spoken.  I’ve inspired some of the most glorious music about goodwill and peace and harmony they could ever hope to hear.  They love to listen to it, but they don’t like very much to live it.  Then I sent them the prophets,” God claimed.  “They seemed to love Isaiah.  He seemed to be one of their favorites.  There are people who get excited about things like freedom, and peace, prosperity, and moral values, but do they follow the precepts of justice and righteousness?  No, no.”

Well, the angels like Gabriel and Michael agreed.  They had been to Earth.  They had been on many assignments.  They knew about God’s concerns.  They knew about God’s sadness.

“I think,” said God, “the only thing left to do is for a member of this heavenly court to go down there and just live with them.  Not just visit them, but actually live with them, everyday.  You know, really get to know them, become one of them, and most importantly let them get to know you.  Only then,” said God, “only then can heaven truly, really be communicated to them.  It’s the only way I can think of that’s going to close the gap between the way they live, and the way I’ve created them to live, and who I created them to be.”

Well, the angels nodded, and sort of shuffled around, and sort of stood around there in awkward silence.  They’d been to Earth before.  They knew this was a tough assignment.  They weren’t about to volunteer.  Finally, without any bitterness or sense of resignation, the Creator of all that is said, “Then I will go.”

This is a parable of Christmas.  May those who have ears to hear, hear.

And we all say together… “Amen.”

Benediction

Jesus, Living Word, you came among us, teach us, save us, and lift us because you are like us.  In your likeness, let our hearts shine, with and for you.  Amen.