CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

November 7, 2004

CONTINUE IN PRAYER FOR:

Our congregation                                                  Our college students

Our nation, military and leaders                           Various friends, relatives and co-workers

Yevette’s mother is not doing well.  She is           David and Leon in the Navy

making arrangements to travel to Tennessee.

EVENTS:

Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving Day

IN THE BEGINNING

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26).

I don’t know what type of conversation God had within the Godhead when He decided to create man.  The discussion certainly centered on a number of themes.  There was God’s love and that in creating humans, He would act in our best interests.  Being created in the image and likeness of God also meant that there would be free will or choice.  Humans would have a choice of being loved by God and following Him or not.  Thrown into that mixed was the rebellious beings led by the Liar.  What to do about humans if they chose to reject God?  A plan was made that before He created the universe, He would plan for the salvation of those who at first rejected and then changed their minds and wanted to follow Him.  Added to that would be God’s pursuit of humans through various resources, using natural events and people, sometimes even sending heavenly beings to deliver messages and show His pursuing love and discipline to those who would seek Him.  When we read the Hebrew scriptures, we should read them with all of this in mind.

Then came Abraham, Moses, David and the prophets.  They spoke about a merciful and gracious God who sought them and they spoke of His everlasting love.  Beyond that they talked, mostly in veiled terms, about someone coming from God.  He would be born into the family line of David and would be a King like David.  David conquered and this King would too, but not in the same way.  It was clearly taught that He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  Not so clear were other texts that talked about His name - Immanuel, which means God with us (see Isaiah 7-9), about being born of a virgin (7:14), and that He would be called out of Egypt (Hosea 11:1).  During the silent times between the Testaments, about four hundred years, the theology of the Messiah developed and the expectations grew.  Near the end of this period some would make the claim to be the long awaited Messiah and would lead people out into the wilderness only to be hunted down and destroyed by either political or religious leaders or both.

It would be Paul who would comment on this time.  “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” (Galatians 4:4).  At just the right time God acted.  Why was this the right time?  Whatever we can reason about it, it was God who chose.  We can see that historically, the Romans had brought about a peaceful world (the Pax Romana) so that for the most that part of the world was at peace with one another.  There was a road and transportation system throughout the Empire that made travel easier for the message to be proclaimed.  There was a common language, Greek for the most part, that made communication easy as well.  But there is more.

All the characters that we meet at the birth of the Messiah were in place.  Each had his or her role to play in the witnessing of God breaking in to this world.  It began in an obscure way and grew just like the parable of the mustard seed would tell us.  The events began to unfold but it would be three decades before all of these were understood.  We are entering the time of year when we begin thinking about what happened some two thousand years ago.  Unfortunately, many are too busy thinking about holiday preparations and pleasing people than about the Messiah.  And to some extent, maybe that was happening in the ancient time period as well.  Though there was an expectation of One to come, the routines of daily and yearly life were being followed.  People worked, ate, visited, celebrated, mourned, and went about what we all do.  Taxes had to be paid, disagreements had to be worked out, food had to be brought, and special holidays had to be prepared for, rather than thinking about expectations. 

When the first of a series of events occurred, it became a source of conversation but there appears to have been little or no follow up on it.  A man named Zechariah, as a priest, was chosen to serve in the temple of the Lord.  It was there that he encountered an angel from Yahweh.  Surprised by his sudden appearance, Zechariah received a message from the angel.  The angel told him that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child and that the child would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, another one of those Old Covenant prophecies.  But Zechariah had doubts.  So the angel told him that he would not speak again until the child was born.  One other thing; they were a couple who was “well along in years.”  This reminds one of a similar event with Abraham and Sarah.  When Zechariah came out of the temple he could not talk, wrote down what happened and returned home.  Something happened, people were curious, and discussions occurred.  But after it all died down, people went about with their lives.

And isn’t that the way it is today.  The holiday that we call Christmas has just become another one of those days.  A day off from work.  A financial burden.  A desire for things.  Family time which is not always peaceful.  Travel.  Disappointment.  Loneliness.  Is this what we are to find in memory?  Others will ask why celebrate it at all?  I think Luke brings this into focus.  He writes to a believer named Theophilus about the things believed among Christians.  Luke thought it important to begin with this event.  He will write about the beginning of the Messiah, reminding us of God’s plan to redeem His creation from the rejection that occurred after the creation. 

Telling stories was an important part of Hebrew theology.  This was to carry over into the congregations of the Lord.  Maybe it is time for us as families, and even as the family of God, to set aside a day to tell of these first events.  We have the songs.  We have the story.  Instead of being totally wrapped up in the consumerism of the day, we could talk about the selflessness of our loving Father who sought us through His Son Jesus Christ.  We could celebrate it and draw people back into the reality of sin and the need of salvation, of the healing of loneliness in the fellowship of the King.  We have so much to offer around this event, especially since society is somewhat thinking about it.  What do you think?

                                                                                                   George B. Mearns