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"Unexpected Packages" Luke 2
by Clancy Nixon
December 24, 2005
Church of the Holy Spirit
Ashburn Virginia
Thank you for that gift of that original drama. Some of my favorite gifts have
been the ones that I did not expect to receive. I love a surprise. When I turned thirty
just a few, short years ago my wife threw a surprise party for me. She kept the secret
well; people inside were hushed, till I opened the door to shouts of joy; dear friends had
traveled a long way to be there. I was overwhelmed with love. Just yesterday my family
received an unexpected gift: two green portraits of Ben Franklin from anonymous
friends. What a blessing that gift is! You and I have come to expect gifts from family at
Christmas. Unexpected gifts shock us by reminding us that we matter, beyond anything
we deserve. When a husband gives his wife a bouquet not on her birthday, but out of the
blue, she knows that it's not duty that motivates him. That kind of unexpected gift is all
about love - about the delight a husband takes in a wife, just because.
We expect Christmas it's embedded in our calendar and culture, despite the
efforts of some to erase or downplay its message. It was not always that way. The first
Christmas shocked and overwhelmed the shepherds, first with one angel, then with a
celestial army of terminators with wings I mean angels! The shepherds were afraid.
Why? They saw a huge angel of the Lord, who always brings momentous news, whether
good or ill. We don't know what kind of angels filled this choir over Bethlehem in Luke
2, but perhaps they were Cherubim, which are not chubby infants with wings and arrows
we know from culture. According to the prophet Ezekiel, some cherubim have four
faces, four wings, and are huge. Fearsome creatures, bringing an unexpected gift of good
news. Let's read aloud together the message of the angel of the Lord to the shepherds:
"Fear not; for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in
the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10,11.
Friends, this is the best news ever given! The messiah has finally come, after a
thousand years of waiting. The one who will save his chosen people; the one who will
free us from every yoke, every bondage; the promised King in the line of David has
come. In 1000 B.C., the prophet Nathan had prophesied that David's throne would
continue forever. In 700 B.C., the prophet Isaiah had prophesied that the messiah would
be a suffering servant. His coming was an article of faith; when someone waits 700 years
to show up, you are excused from being surprised when they do. The timing was
unexpected. That he was poor and laying in a feed trough was unexpected. Finally, the
Savior had come!
Let's look closely at the message at the first Christmas found here in Luke 2:10-
14, found on page 1014 of your blue pew Bibles. In verse 10, the message is, fear not,
there is good news. In verse 11, the message is, a Savior is born, the Davidic messiah.
And in verse14, the message is, "on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
What have we to fear? In Ashburn, we often fear meaninglessness and
abandonment. Sometimes in life, things happen that cause us such pain, our suffering
can seem so purposeless, that we are tempted to lose hope in the Christian God who cares
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about us. Christmas can be an especially poignant time of year, when we are painfully
reminded of strained or broken family relationships. It's easy to feel abandoned by
friends who are no longer friends, or by your mate when your marriage has been marred
by emotional distance or painful divorce. On top of it all, many of us are exhausted
because we are spending so much energy trying to keep it together, to suppress the pain,
and keep up a good appearance. The message of Christmas for those caught in the grip of
fear is that is that you matter to God. He cared enough about you to leave his
prerogatives in heaven and come to earth to rescue you. Your wounds matter to God. He
wants to save you not just for eternity, but for today as well. Salvation includes healing.
He wants to heal you, to speak soft words of comfort and joy to you. Christmas means
you need never be alone again. God will not abandon you. When the church is working
as it should, the church will not abandon you, either.
Many of you remember the story of Ruth from Fort Portal, Uganda. I met her
there in August. Ruth has full-blown AIDS, and she and her three children have been
homeless for over a year. Her husband and family abandoned her after her disease
became apparent. Ruth made these necklaces out of soda bottle labels. Ruth loves the
Lord Jesus, but she needs a home. She is born again and saved for eternity, and the
church, this church, is part of God's plan to bring healing and wholeness to her life. We
took up a collection for Ruth and you gave over two thousand dollars to buy a home for
her. I heard from Ruth this week by email, and she is so grateful that the Diocese of
Rewenzori is buying a plot for her and building a house for her family. This is what she
wrote: "Honestly on my knees I say thank you very much ... I feel there is nothing worth
your love, mercy and care that are portrayed through the great support you are rendering
me." God's love came to Ruth in an unexpected package. Her story is a gift to us. When
the church is working as it should, we do the same for our brothers and sisters here in
Loudoun.
Jesus is the savior. What does it mean to have a savior? In the movie Titanic,
Jack enticed Rose out of a life cut off from her heart, and then he rescued her from
drowning. At the end of the movie, Rose said of Jack that "He saved me in every way a
person can be saved." Given that Jack seduced her while she was another man's wife, I
dispute that. Beyond celluloid fantasy, let's look at reality. Only the Lord Jesus can save
us in every way a person can be saved. Why is it surprising that no one but God can save
us? Jesus saves us from sin and death; he gives us forgiveness and new life. Finally, only
Jesus can save us from abandonment and loneliness; he gives us a new community of
love. We will never be alone for all eternity when we love him. And Jesus breaks the
bonds of fear. Halleluiah! No other person can do those things, because no other person
is God. Oh, God has his messengers - angels and people who deliver his salvation to us -
but only Jesus, who is God, can finally save us.
Jesus' very name comes from the Hebrew Y'shua; and the name means "Yahweh
saves." Yahweh is the name of God that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush,
when he said he was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Y'shua is also translated
Joshua, who saved his people from wandering in the desert by leading the conquest of the
Promised Land. Jesus' name means salvation, because that is what he does.
Let's look again at verse 14: "on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Oh, how we need the peace of God now. Jesus said, "Not as the world gives, do I give to
you. Let not your hearts be troubled." The world's message of peace is like a mantra of
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wishful thinking - Rodney King's plea: "Why can't we just all get along?" While this
sentiment is launched in hope, it founders on denial that our life is really that bad without
God, and it ends in false prophecy. We reluctantly conclude that this sentiment amounts
to "Peace, peace where there is no peace." Look at the verse: The angels promise peace
not to all, but rather to those on whom God's favor rests. Because this sounds like God
plays favorites, many people prefer the King James Bible rendition of this verse, which
reads "Peace on earth and goodwill to men." The problem is that the KJV is based on a
single manuscript that is now outweighed by the discovery of many more ancient
manuscripts. It's true; peace comes to some, and not all. This peace came to Mary, called
the highly favored lady in Luke 1. Peace comes to those chosen by God. It is an
otherworldly peace, one that comes in the midst of trouble. Who are the ones chosen by
God? The good news is, the way we know that you have been chosen by God is if you
choose God! Even if you are late, like the peasant girl to the feast, the last shall be first.
Make peace with God. If you have never made peace with God yet, this is your
first step. One day a young man went to his pastor in great distress because of all the
anxiety in his life. He asked the pastor, "Can you tell me what I must do to find peace?"
The minister replied, "Young man, you are too late." The man was devastated. "You
mean it's too late for me to be saved?" The pastor smiled and said, "Oh, no. But you are
too late to do anything. Jesus did everything that needed to be done twenty centuries
ago!" You don't need to do anything except believe.
Have you made peace with God? I'm not talking about a truce. A truce is saying,
"God you stay on your side of the line and I'll stay on my side. You handle all the big
problems of the world and I'll handle my life." That's not peace. Peace is what will come
when you acknowledge your sins, believe that Jesus died in your place on the cross, and
receive Him into your life by faith.
Are you ready to do that? Is there any reason why you would not want that peace
in your life right now? If there is a barrier, I'd love the opportunity to talk to you at some
other time about that. If you are ready, I ask you to pray silently along with me as I pray
aloud. [I Pray]
Keep your eyes open this season for the coming of the Angel of the Lord; keep
your ears open for the coming of the Lord Jesus in your life, in unexpected ways.
remember the message of Christmas: "Fear not; for I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10,11. Amen.
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