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WHEN IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON
December 30, 2007 – A sermon preached at University United Methodist Church,
East Lansing, by John Ross Thompson
Matthew 2:13-23
2:13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and
remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to
destroy him."
2:14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to
Egypt,
2:15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what
had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my
son."
2:16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was
infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who
were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the
wise men.
2:17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:
2:18 "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."
2:19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to
Joseph in Egypt and said,
2:20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel,
for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."
2:21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land
of Israel.
2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his
father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he
went away to the district of Galilee.
2:23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been
spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."
Poor Joseph! Three times God comes to him in dreams, changing his plans.
He makes the trek from Galilee to Bethlehem with Mary, who is pregnant. The
child arrives and they settle into a home. Then he has to flee to Egypt to
escape Herod. (I can remember in Cairo being shown the place where tradition
says Mary, Joseph and Jesus stayed.) Before they can spend long there, Joseph
is summoned back to Israel, but goes out of his way because of the threat, and
he settles in Nazareth.
That’s a lot of travel for a couple with an infant. It’s a lot of moving for
anyone.
Christmas is still with us. We celebrate today the first Sunday after
Christmas Day. We rejoice in the birth of the Christ child, but the reality of
daily living confronts us, now that most of the holiday happenings are over.
The same was true for Joseph and Mary. The reality of their situation was
that they had to move for safety’s sake, whether they were ready to do so or
not.
"Jesus was a refugee (Matthew 2:13-15) and then an immigrant in Galilee
(Matthew 2:19-23)."- Ronald J. Sider, Is God Really on the Side of the Poor?
History does not remember Herod for being gracious under pressure. When
confronted with the possibility that a divinely sanctioned king had been born,
Herod felt threatened and ordered the slaughter of untold numbers of innocent
babies. Though we may safely say that we could never order such an atrocity, we
must acknowledge that we each have the capacity to be dangerous when threatened.
This account of Herod's slaughter of the innocents calls us all to repentance
and self-examination for the thoughtless words we may speak or the deeds we may
perform when backed into a corner.
At this time of the year, as the new year approaches, most of us are
reflective about time. We consider what has happened in the span of the last 12
months and we wonder what another year will bring. For most of us, change
happened in the last year that we did not expect a year ago.
It’s interesting to me that the time when we celebrate the coming of God to
earth is the time when we seem to resist change the most. Surely, God’s
incarnation was meant to create something new and wonderful in our world, yet we
have built a culture where Christmas traditions reign supreme.
Did you try something new this year? Perhaps an artificial tree instead of a
natural tree, or worst of all, no tree at all? Perhaps a decision not to send
Christmas cards or not to give gifts to everyone? Maybe you decided this was
the year to alter the schedule and not do the same events you have done every
year at Christmas. Perhaps you put an angel on top of your tree instead of a
star? How many howls of protest were there when you changed something this
year?
We’ve had several discussions in our family about just one part of the
holiday season – cooking the turkey. Some persons tried the new fast cook
method, others have deep fried the bird, one of our daughters put bacon on hers
one year and she heard about it. Some say that it’s no longer healthy to put
stuffing inside the turkey, but mother and grandmother did it that way. The
point is, if you tried something new, someone did not like it because it wasn’t
the same.
I understand how precious traditions are. I, like most persons, enjoy
the familiarity of doing some things the same way every year. I also
understand that in a rapidly changing world, some people see the church as a
place that does not change as quickly, an anchor in a chaotic world. Yet,
I also see the worth of venturing out to experience something in a new way.
I suspect the person who eventually wins the nomination for president next
year will be the one with whom most people feel comfortable. He or she will be
the one whom they feel inside will not disrupt their world, but will keep things
on as smooth a track as possible, with prosperity for many. We vote with our
emotions as much as our minds.
So, what is the meaning of Christmas if it means things will be the same?
Why didn’t Joseph and Mary simply go home after the birth of Jesus? They didn’t
do so, because they couldn’t. Their world had changed, and they needed to go a
new direction to be safe.
When have you had to move on? When did circumstances or opportunities tell
you to leave the familiar or comfortable and venture out? Probably every one of
us has several stories to tell. Hopefully, most of them are ones in which we can
say in retrospect, “If I hadn’t taken that step, I wouldn’t have experienced
this thing that changed my life.” I’ve read several such stories in your
Christmas letters this year.
The Matthew account indicates that Joseph heard from an angel that he should
move on. An angel is a way of saying that a message has come from God. It is
obvious that Joseph was convinced by the messages he received and he moved on
each time.
Traditions are good when they anchor us to what is lasting and good.
Sometimes the wrappings around the traditions need to be adapted to new
surroundings or new challenges. For example, the Good News of Jesus Christ does
not change. Yet, the way we present it must change if we are to reach others
with it.
Growing up, I remember the controversy about versions of the Bible. The
Revised Standard Version of the Bible was coming out, based on better
scholarship and more information than the cherished King James Version. Yet,
some persons were emphatically opposed to it, because they were not familiar
with us. Today, new versions and paraphrases of the Bible are accepted much more
readily, as we realize the truth of our God comes through in a new way, but does
not change.
If God has come to earth, if our God is a living active God, then God will
speak to us. Sometimes we are pulled reluctantly, like Joseph and Mary, in a
different direction. Other times we are challenged to go a new route, and it
turns out to be what we want or something better.
In a community filled with university and government employees, I suspect
change comes more often than we wish. Sometimes the timing is off, not the way
we planned it. Yet, when the challenge for change comes, usually there is an
opportunity with it, a chance to grow or move ahead.
How do we handle change? First of all, it works when we know what is most
important and we hang on to the essentials.
Essentials:
1.
self-knowledge
2.
relationships
3.
spirituality
4.
reaching out to others
Assurance is a God-given gift deep within us. It lets us know that
everything will be all right, even when on the surface life is out of control.
Another gift is the voice of others, confirmed within ourselves as true.
When the essentials are in place, we can be stronger and act bolder than
before. One obvious parallel to our modern life is that Joseph and Mary were
refugees, driven from their home by a political situation. I’ve been shocked at
the vitriolic reaction by people of our own community to undocumented persons in
our own country. It is very appropriate to differ on how to solve the questions
that arise from persons who are displaced from home. It is not appropriate,
however, for us to hate them or to wish them ill. Hospitality and loving
kindness are the marks of Christians, especially to strangers.
This Charles Wesley hymn for Christmas is not familiar to most of us, but it
has a profound message:
Father, our hearts we lift
Up to thy gracious throne,
And thank thee for the precious gift
Of thine incarnate Son!
The gift unspeakable
We thankfully receive,
And to the world thy goodness tell,
And to thy glory live.
Jesus, the holy child,
Doth, by his birth, declare
That God and we are reconciled,
And one in him we are.
A peace on earth he brings,
Which never more shall end:
The Lord of hosts, the King of kings,
Declares himself our friend.
His kingdom from above
He doth to us impart,
And pure benevolence and love
O'erflow the faithful heart.
Changed in a moment, we
The sweet attraction find,
With open arms of charity,
Embracing humankind.
Is it time for you or me to move on? Is
change happening?
In most cases, it is we who make the
decision to move on, yet we are not alone. We are guided by a God who is with
us. Emmanuel. God with us every day, filling us and leading us home, even if
it is a new home.
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