We will not be getting together at Mountain View Academy to worship God this Sunday. Instead, we’ll be getting together in our LTGs (small groups) to hang out, watch the Super Bowl, and eat food together. Invite friends and have a good time. If you’re not part of an LTG, use this as an opportunity to check one out. Check out the LTG page for details and more information about each of the LTGs that are currently running.
Our passage for this morning is a really familiar one: Luke 2:1-7, the birth of Jesus Christ. There are a few things about it that I think are easy to skip over because we’re so familiar with it.
The first is that this Jesus is Joseph and Mary’s first born child. For those of you who have kids, think about the time when you were having your first born. Recall the feelings. All that anticipation. All that excitement. And yet, at the same time, all that fear. All that anxiety. Joseph and Mary were likely an emotional mess.
The second is that the trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, that trip that they took late in Mary’s third trimester was an 85 mile trip through some steep inclines. And if you’ve ever ridden an animal, you know that that’s still a physical exhausting mode of transportation. Think of the time when you were late in your third trimester. How far were you able to walk? Jospeh and Mary were physically exhausted. They were running on fumes.
And lastly, Bethlehem was Joseph’s “own city”, verse 3. Though it’s unclear whether Joseph’s parents were still alive, it’s almost certain that Joseph still had close relatives in Bethlehem. And considering Middle Eastern hospitality, it would’ve been inconceivable for Joseph and his new family to stay the night in some random barn as it’s portrayed in many of our Christmas pageants and plays.
Joseph and Mary likely stayed in one of his relatives’ home as did many of his other relatives, hence, why there wasn’t enough room for their entire family to sleep. With everybody coming back to their hometown to be registered for the census, there was likely a family reunion in the house where Joseph and Mary stayed. There’s music, dancing, massive amounts of food, laughter, and hugging. Jesus is getting passed around the room from family member to family member. And at the end of the day, after the party’s subsided well into the night, Joseph and Mary lay him down in a manger, a step below the living area but under the same roof.
There is very little that’s silent about this night. Very little is calm. And there’s little sleeping in heavenly peace.
If anything it’s a chaotic night. They’re emotionally and physically exhausted before they even get to Bethlehem. And when they do get there, they’re greeted by Joseph’s extended family who are excited to see the new addition to their family.
But Jesus is there with them. And for that reason, one of the lines from Silent Night rings true. It was a “holy night”. Being holy isn’t about being composed and calm, about having it all together with your sins properly managed. Being holy is about being with Jesus, abiding in Him.
I know that many of you are in a place right now where you feel like life is too chaotic to be connected to Jesus. Well, our relationship with Jesus is a two-way street. Jesus reaches out to us as well. Jesus loves you.
But will you notice? Will you notice Jesus loving you in the midst of the chaos of your life?
To notice, consider group life, being part of an LTG. When we live life alone, in seclusion it’s all too easy not to notice Jesus. Our spiritual vision gets near-sighted as we just live through the routines of our lives. But as we share about our lives, chaos and all, others in our LTGs can speak into them revealing Jesus at work in it. And as we pray together through the chaos of our lives, we can tangibly feel Jesus ministering to us through His body, the Church.
Discussion Questions:
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
We will not be getting together at Mountain View Academy to worship God this Sunday. Instead, we’ll be getting together in our LTGs (small groups) to hang out, watch the Super Bowl, and eat food together. Invite friends and have a good time. If you’re not part of an LTG, use this as an opportunity to check one out. Check out the LTG page for details and more information about each of the LTGs that are currently running.
A few months ago, when it was warmer, I prayer walked my neighborhood with my kids. I started by praying aloud, asking Jesus to show us what He sees in our neighborhood. Then I asked Sam and Sarah to pray. And then we were on the lookout. This particular time, I noticed a row of really nice SUVs. Beamer, Lexus, Mercedes, Lexus, Audi, Beamer, all in a row in front of some nice homes with well manicured lawns and pretty flowers at the doorstep.
It was then that a disturbing thought lodged itself into my brain. I had no idea how the Gospel could be good news to the people who lived just down the street from me.
A few years ago, I went with a team to Eastern Kenya for a couple of weeks. There, I saw how followers of Jesus Christ provided top notch education for the children of the area, built and partially funded clean water wells so that people wouldn’t have to drink polluted water, brought medical aid to people who were unable to travel to the closest hospital, all while proclaiming the Gospel of a God who loves and cares for them and would provide for their needs. I saw how the Gospel is good news there.
But what could Jesus and His Gospel possibly offer my neighbors?
In Luke 1:67-75, Zechariah describes what Jesus was going to accomplish and what He would offer. Freedom. Salvation. Rescue. But from what? Zechariah says “from our enemies” or “from those who hate us”. Over and over again in the Old Testament, it’s written how the Israelites disobeyed the Lord and as a consequence, a neighboring country came and beat them down. Babylon, Persia, and Rome.
Which brings us to the time of Zechariah’s prophecy. Rome was their enemy. And Rome, was the consequence of their sin. Zechariah is prophesying that Jesus would not only save them from their sins but from the consequences of their sins as well. And I’m not just talking about death.
The effects of sin ripple out beyond eternity and into our day-to-day lives. We see that most clearly in Genesis 3:16-19. The consequence of death is there at the end in verse 19, but it’s just a piece. There were also all the forms of separation and isolation stemming from the hurt and pain they would now experience.
When I walked down the street in my neighborhood and thought that I had no idea how the Gospel could be good news to my neighbors, it was because I came to believe the lie that sin and its effects hadn’t reached the real world here. Or an even more dangerous lie, that my neighbors’ affluence has cancelled out the effects of sin their day-to-day lives.
Since the Fall, people have been growing further and further apart from one another. We’re growing more and more isolated. Sin tells all of us that we can go it alone. Sin demands that we have to go it alone. This is not the life the Lord envisions for you in eternity and it’s certainly not the life the Lord envisions for you in the here and now.
Let’s live the one another life. And let’s model that one another life for the world to see that we don’t have to go it alone. That there is a better way that’s centered on the unity we can have with Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
If you’re not part of an LTG right now, join one. It’s no guarantee that you’ll experience that one another life, but if you don’t, you’ll guarantee that you won’t. And if you are part of an LTG, how can you experience that one another life? Be aggressive in finding ways to serve one another. Be open in sharing how the people in your LTG can serve you. And experience Jesus working in the midst of your LTG.
Discussion Questions
We won’t be gathering together at the Mountain View Academy this coming Sunday, New Year’s Day. Take the time to rest, relax, and spend time with friends and family as the new year begins!
See you on January 8th as we celebrate the past year and the end of the 2-year Bible reading plan with a game of Jeopardy!
This Saturday, on Christmas Eve Everett and Elaney are going to be baptized! Here’s the basic info:
I’ve posted a few quick thoughts about it on my new blog here (updated weekly on Wednesdays).
Also, we won’t be gathering together the following morning, Christmas Day. See you on Saturday!
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