Our December Sermon Series will be called Journey, focusing on the journey of all the "Christmas" players to the manger of baby Jesus. In a sense their journey is an allegory of our journey to Jesus' side. All of the players in the drama have brokenness. Mary is, to all outward appearances, an unwed mother. She both carries the scorn of the people and the uncertainty of a teenage girl processing her part in the play. Joseph is called to be a faithful husband (though the marriage hasn't happened) and a surrogate father who loves this child as his own. This would have been a difficult thing in 1st century Judaism. Elizabeth (Mary's cousin and mother of John the Baptist) was part of the announcement of Jesus' birth and part of the introduction of Jesus to the world through the ministry and life of John the Baptist. Both Mary and Elizabeth had reason for joy and probably a sense that both children, being totally devoted to God, would come to a difficult end ... when you are totally for God people will and do reject you. Other characters, like Herod, the magi (who came on the scene three years after Jesus' birth), the shepherds, the angels and the animals in the grotto, played their parts in the most amazing story of a great gift from God.
We can see ourselves in this story. We are troubled, uncertain, misunderstood, put down by family and friends, taken advantage of and many other negatives. But I want us to focus on the positives. We are all used by God ... all usable for God's glory ... all special creations by a God who loves us ... all gifted for god's special purpose ... all able to bear fruit for God's kingdom ... all seen by God in a vastly different light than the darkness of the world. In fact, I pray that you and I will be able to see and understand that amazing purpose God has for all of our lives ... a purpose lived above the fray going on around us and toward a God who has a higher purpose for each of us. In the words of C. S. Lewis, may we be willing to go "higher up and further in" as we journey to the manger. Thanks for listening ... Pastor Randy
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