The Other Baby

Luke 1:67-79

This is Christ the King Sunday. This is a tradition that started in the early part of the 20^th century. When political powers were rising in the world to such a degree that people found it necessary to align themselves to one side or another, the church decided to make a statement; to make a stand to say that no matter what your political affiliation, no matter how powerful an earthly ruler is Jesus Christ is still our king! In fact Jesus Christ is our only king. It is fitting that the last Sunday in the church calendar is set aside to affirm Jesus as the Centerpiece of Civilization (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX_7j32zgNw ).

Today is the end of the Church year.

This is it! This is the last Sunday before Advent.  Next week the sanctuary will be decorated; the candles will be lit and our preparations for Christmas will have begun.

Four weeks of preparation to celebrate the birth of Jesus the messiah; the anointed one; the Christ! Four weeks of songs, parties, pageants, and gift giving. For four weeks your favorite TV shows will have Christmas specials. We will hear about massive crowds at shopping malls; we will hear about civil liberties groups bringing suit against cities to have nativity scenes removed from public places.  For some of us we will spend the next those four weeks preparing our hearts to have new life born again in our lives through Jesus Christ. 

All that because a baby was born over 2000 years ago.

But today we are going to talk about the other baby that was born back then.  There is always the “Other baby”

About 6 months before Mary the mother of Jesus gave birth, her cousin Elizabeth gave birth.  They named him John (actually they name him Ἰωάννης which sounds nothing like the English name “John”).

Zechariah went to make an offering of
incense when he was visited by an angel
of the Lord. 

Like Jesus, an angel of the lord visited a parent of John before he was conceived. Only it was John’s father Zechariah who was visited by the angel in the temple, in the Most Holy Place.  Zechariah didn’t believe the angel so he was struck mute.  He was unable to speak until the things that the angel said came true. 

When the time came Elizabeth gave birth.  She and Zechariah named him John as the angel instructed and Zechariah was immediately able to speak. 

The words he spoke might have been high hopes for a beloved first born son but they turned out to be prophesy. 

Because Zechariah’s son John grows up to be John the Baptist.  The one in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus. 

John the Baptist is the “Other Baby” in the Christmas narrative.  I have never seen a Christmas pageant with a baby John, Just a baby Jesus. Who do we relate to more, Jesus or John? John is the one that points to Jesus so many people may feel that they relate more to John.  We point the way to Jesus.  We don’t claim any credit for saving people we know its Jesus that saves.  We know it that restored relationship with God through Jesus that is transformative.

But Jesus is the one that calls us to be like him.  Jesus calls us to do as he does.  Jesus calls us to do even greater things. 

Jesus is our Rabbi, he is our master.  We should be like him.  We should identity with Jesus. Only John the Baptist is John the Baptist. And there is only one you. We all have our own unique place in the Kingdom. We all have our own gifts that God has granted us to use for God’s glory. Just because John was the one that made the way straight doesn’t mean that we have the same ministry. Our ministry is to use our gifts in a way that Glorifies and honors God and fulfills the great commission (Go; make disciples, baptizing, teaching.)

We are called to be like Jesus but we lift up the other baby this morning or rather his daddy’s words about him 8 days after John was born. 

He knew that God’s promised messiah was coming.  He knew that his son John had a part to play in the unfolding of events that was about to take place.

“And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn form on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide or feet into the way of peace.”

When my first born came into this world I had great hopes for him and I still do.  But the difference between now and 17 years ago, is that the blanks that have been filled in.  When he was born it felt like he was the only child ever born and I was the only father to feel such pride.  But then I know most first time parents feel something like this.  My baby and all other babies are the “other baby.” 

The first 17 years of my son’s life have been written and they are no longer a mystery.

When John was born His father didn’t know what John’s life journey would look like, but he knew the destination.  He knew his son had a purpose.  If the angel told Zechariah that his son would live in the wilderness, wearing cloths of camel hair eating locust and wild honey for sustenance, would he have ever let him go?  If Zechariah knew that his son would one day speak against the king and get arrested would he have trained him to keep his mouth closed?  If he knew that he would be unjustly executed would he have done all he could to break him out of prison.  Probably.  Wouldn’t you?  We don’t know what lies ahead.  We don’t know what difficulties we will stir up when we follow God’s will. But we know the destination.  We know that if we use the gifts God gave us to go and make disciples; if we glorify god with thoughts, words and deeds, God will use all of that to grow his kingdom.  There are lots of different ways that we can do that; there are many opportunities to use our gifts.  We may not have the same path as John the Baptist but we all have the same purpose. We are to be obedient to the call of God on our lives “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide or feet into the way of peace.”

I love the description from Malachi 4:2 “But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves form the stall.” Have you ever seen that?  The way a calf leaps?  It is unrestrained; uninhibited.  And if you stand too close it could be a little dangerous.

So how is it with you today?  Have you ever felt like that?  Have you ever had unrestrained joy flowing through you because of the freedom God has given you?  Malachi looked forward to that.  Zechariah knew it was coming; John the Baptist pointed to the one who would provide it; Jesus offers it.  Jesus was born in a manger he is the one baby who grew to be the savior of the world. The rest of us are the “Other babies” that grow up to grow His kingdom. 

Connected

Luke 20:27-38

I went to Traverse City yesterday for the District Conference. This is like our church conference where people are elected to serve as leaders; the budget for 2015 was presented and accepted; we had worship and fellowship and learning opportunities.  At mid-day we had lunch.  In the middle of the room where tables with three big piles of shoebox sized boxes with our lunch in them, they were labeled “Turkey,” VEG.,” and “Ham.” I wend for the Turkey.  I got my drink, sat down and opened my lunchbox.  I pulled out a turkey sandwich as I expected I would. I pulled out the bag of cheddar Sun chips. I saw a peanut butter cookie that I knew that I would get to shortly; and I saw a plastic soufflé cup filled with potato salad. I skipped the potato salad.

When I go to these events I am reminded of our denominational connectedness.  I am reminded of how our combined efforts are impacting the state and the world with the good news about Jesus Christ. Our own neighbors in this northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula are working in all corners of the world to bring the light of Jesus Christ.  But there is resistance.  There are always obstacles. There are good people with different perspectives and different approaches to living well on this earth.  Isn’t that always the case?  I cannot seem to convince the world that potatoes are meant to be served hot and without mayonnaise.

This is a scripture that demonstrates how Jesus met those who opposed him with integrity. He met them on their own ground and argued in their own terms.  Right off the bat the stage is set for a confrontation. 

Some Sadducees, those who say thee is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question.  They asked a very detailed question about how a very narrow circumstance would play out in…THE RESURRECTION! They don’t believe in the resurrection so how much integrity to these folks have in asking this?  Jesus could dismiss them as trolls (for those of you who are confused by this reference, look up troll in the urban dictionary) but he doesn’t.  He meets them where they are. Jesus knows that the Sadducees are ones who only rely on the books of Moses as a source of God’s law and they do not regard the writings of the prophets as Holy Scripture.  So Jesus meets them where they are.

First he affirms the reality of the resurrection then he shows them the truth of it in the scripture that they accept as true.

In Luke 20:37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  Now he is the God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.

Jesus made a connection with those that were there to try to embarrass him. The Sadducees thought they were right. They wanted to be heard but Jesus brought the truth.

These two pictures were taken seconds apart. Its amazing how our perception of the world changes when we focus on different things. 

The message that we have about God is good news.  The message that God loves us; the message that God came and lived among us; that in Jesus we can find restoration and renewal to a state that God originally intended for each of us is really good news.  It should not divide; it should not be controversial, but in our human brokenness it is and it does.

When we have a potluck and I pass by the bowl of potato salad that you brought, salad I don’t mean any offense.  I just prefer my potatoes hot with butter, or gravy or even ketchup.

The good news is that God loves us unconditionally and was willing to sacrifice himself for us so that there could be an eternal connection between us.  God is love.

When there is love there is an implication of relationship.  God is calling us into relationship with him.  Does that mean that God needs us?  No.  By God’s very nature God is already “relationship.” We believe in a 3 in one God.  Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons.  Each of the same substance, each in perfect, seamless agreement but individual in character.  The Holy Spirit is God, Jesus is God, and the Father is God, one God.  The three persons of the trinity of God is by nature already a relationship.  God wants to invite us into that relationship. We are brought into that holy relationship through Jesus Christ. We unite our spirits to his. Jesus imparts his righteousness to us.  We become one with Jesus just as he is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  And that perfect love is grown as it is shared.

If God is love and love implies relationship, then to have a relationship there has to be a connection.  Jesus established a connection with the Sadducees over the issue of the resurrection where before there was only division.

You and I may disagree over the status of potato salad as an acceptable source of food but we may agree that potatoes are not all bad.

Finding points of connection when we disagree is the beginning of relationship. Relationship is the door to love.  And love is really where it’s at.  Love is the goal.  God is love and I want more and more of God.

The difficulty comes when we lose focus on what God wants.  I am going to propose an experiment.  It’s a long experiment but the long-term benefits to us as individuals and to our church will be great.  I want to be very intentional over the next 60 days about our connectedness to God.  Connection leads to deepened relationship which, in turn, leads to greater love. This is called the 60-60 experiment. For the next 60 days beginning now and ending on January 9 I want you to ask God the question “What would you have me do in this very moment?” and pause for the answer.  I want you do to do this every 60 minutes, while you are awake.  Every 60 minutes for the next 60 days we will seek God’s presence and will for our lives.  If you have a journal you can record your experience.  I will record my experiences weekly on Wednesdays on the blog.  I expect this will open our awareness to the awesomeness of God’s working in our lives.  So set your watches, or your phones or whatever you have that can remind you every hour to bring your awareness to God’s presence and lets just see what happens in this 60-day experiment.

Shortly after these sixty days we will have a church conference to vote on the recommendations of the consultation team. If we, as the gathered body of Christ, enter into these sixty days truly seeking God’s will and truly open our awareness to God’s presence the path forward will be much clearer.  Whatever you decide in January, whether you say yes or no to the recommendations we will be able to celebrate.  If you vote no then I will be filled with joy because you have clearly discerned that God has something even better for us.  If you vote yes I will be filled with joy because you have discerned that this is the way God would have us go.  Either way, we are connected. Either way we are in relationship. Either way God’s love flows through each us because of Jesus Christ, and that is the good news we have to share.

So how is it with you today?  As you come forward to receive communion, come knowing that this is a gift of God for deeper connection to God and to each other.  Let’s begin the journey.