Pastor Lee was back with us Sunday. She had a bout of sickness, and folks jumped in at the last minute. Well, on the human side, people jumped in at the last minute. The Holy Spirit knew what was happening all along.
from East Cobb United Methodist Church’s website found HERE.
The sermon series Living WITH God continued for this second Sunday of Advent. The scripture for the day was Luke 2:14, but the passage that was read ran through Luke 2:20. Or I should say the passage I’m going to quote is Luke 2:1-20.
1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
6While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
7And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”
16So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
17When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
18And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
19But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
20The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.
Luke 2:1–20 (NASB95)
Pastor Lee referenced a book, What if Jesus was Serious About Prayer? by Skye Jethani. I have not read it, but you can find it HERE if you are so led.
The message opened with a question, “What does it mean to not just live “For” God but live “WITH” God? The counter question presented was a fictitious someone responding, “Well, I want to do great things like Jesus did.” That’s an admirable goal, but it is a blanket statement filled with generality. We need something more specific, more tangible that we can plan for, work toward, and accomplish. The thought that occurred to me centered around more the idea of what if our “great things” are really lots of small things right next to us rather than some great big grand thing “over there?” Couldn’t the pile of little things someday amount to more than that one great big thing? That was not part of Pastor Lee’s message; they just occurred to me as I sat and listened.
I would contend the little things are easier to accomplish, quicker to give us that return on effort, and less prone to failure than the one big thing. My point isn’t to dash anyone’s “Great Thing” dreams. My point is that we shouldn’t overlook the one homeless guy on the corner while we try to feed five thousand in a stadium.
The message turned to the Latin, and you all know how much I love digging into the Greek behind scripture. This intrigued me, so I took a note to investigate it. Let me pause here to both refill my coffee and start digging into the internet to find a Latin source I can use. Hmm, I wonder if Logos has a Vulgate I can access? If you want to know what the Vulgate is, go HERE.
Pastor Lee brought the word Radical into the message at this point. She stated the Latin for “radical” meant “root.” I looked it up. You can find one source for the Latin of “radical” HERE. The word I found was “radix.” Radix does indeed carry the meaning of radical, but it also means origin, radish, and base. Like Greek, Latin has multiple uses for the same word. I have zero exposure to Latin, so I will make no inference beyond the idea being communicated that doing radical things is at the base, the root of who we are as Christians is sound. At least from the standpoint of that word usage.
The point here is that Christ was doing radical things in His time. If we claim to follow Him, we should do radical things too. It is at the base. It is the root of the plant that has grown into who we are as a church of Christ-followers.
As I listened to the message, a question came to mind, “How do you live for Jesus doing radical things while still going about the mundane things our lives require?”
The message covered the idea that Jesus’ public ministry only lasted a little over three years. Prior to that, He worked as a carpenter. We really don’t know much at all about that time in His life. The connection I made here was that maybe we aren’t supposed to know much about His life then.
Why?
My conjecture is that if we knew specifics, Jesus would appeal less to all people and more to just “those people.” Who do I mean by “those people?” I mean those people who did similar things as reported to us about Jesus’ life during that time. By not having specifics about what He did, all people can see themselves in His life.
“But I’m not a carpenter. How can I identify with that if I don’t know anything about it?”
That’s the beauty of it. Our imagination fills in the gaps making it make sense to our mind. In doing so, it becomes more familiar because no one can tell you how you see it is wrong because we don’t know. This ambiguity of how He grew up and lived His early life is almost as important as the specifics of His public ministry. His public ministry was all about the whole world having faith, not just those who were “carpenters” or could “identify with that way of life.” He came for everyone, and that ambiguity preserves that and supports it rather than detracting from it.
14“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
John 3:14–19 (NASB95)
We don’t get John 3:16 in context very often. I suppose it is because verse nineteen is somewhat condemning. It doesn’t mince words or exclude anyone. It flat-out says we all loved darkness rather than the Light because our actions are evil. That verse means all of us, not just “those people over there.” Folks don’t want to hear that they are evil. But we are. Under God’s rules, we are condemned because we can’t keep them all, and once we’ve broken one, we deserve punishment. We all believe we are good people, and some reject the idea that they need salvation. Not that it is a good idea, something nice or fun. It is needed.
9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
10as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;
11There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;
12All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”
Romans 3:9–12 (NASB95)
Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3
Do not reject the message because the truth is painful. This is simply stating a fact about human existence. The counterbalancing fact is that through faith in Jesus, that evil is wiped away. Done.
That’s why Jesus came: to wash away the sin from each of us and set us right with God.
If you are reading this and still reject the idea that you’ve broken some of God’s rules, I pray the Holy Spirit walks with you further. It is something I cannot affect. Only God can change a heart. You do you, but I urge you to pray to God and ask Him to walk with you in His ways and move away from the World’s ways. Continue reading, and perhaps the last bit will help.
The message used the Luke passage to refocus on the baby in the manger. The Christ-child was born. The angels appeared to the shepherds in the fields, and they were compelled to visit the child. The magi journeyed to see the baby. People came from all around to gaze upon the child, which is interesting because the innkeeper never made room for him at the inn. He just left this miraculous birth in his stable, in the manager. However, Pastor Lee made a point that stuck with me: no one who came to see the baby wanted anything from the child. They all just wanted to see Him. I find that very interesting and a little convicting. I’m not sure why it is interesting, but I know why I feel convicted.
My prayers are frequently asking God for something; help with this, deliverance from that, keep this thing from me, and on and on. Thankfulness and praise for things that happen for which I am grateful are there too, but I’ll wager if a tally were kept, I ask for more than I am thankful for, and that’s convicting.
I don’t think God disapproves of us asking Him for things. I think God is just pleased we are talking with Him. Whether or not he answers our requests has more to do with His path for us and whether or not the things we’ve asked for help or hinder His task for us.
Pastor Lee summed up with a quote from the book, “Be filled with the presence, the fullness of God, and carry that with us in all that we do.” She stated all that God wants is for us to “just be with Him.” But that seems to not ring true given things in scripture like the Great Commission telling us to go and make disciples. Other scripture tells us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the orphan and the widow as well. These things are not just “being with Him.”
To counterbalance that, though, I think there were many times Jesus went off alone to pray and “be with Him.” The garden at Gethsemane is a great example. I think the point is a good one that we do need to take time to just “be with God,” but it is not the only thing God wants of us, in my opinion. I think it is a vital component of what God wants for us, though.
On this second Sunday in Advent, the candle of peace was lit. The message started from a position of being at peace with all people by just being with God. That’s not all there is to being a Christian, but it is a good beginning. It does beg the question, though, what does it mean to simply be? Be with Him. Be at peace. Be a Christian? Be a person of faith? Be filled with the presence, the fullness of God, and carry that with us in all that we do.