A Place at the Table

Prayer of the Day

Lord God, your lovingkindness always goes before us and follows after us. Summon us into your light, and direct our steps in the ways of goodness that come through the cross of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.

Isaiah 9:1-4

¹There will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the former time [the Lord] brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
 ²The people who walked in darkness
  have seen a great light;
 those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
  on them light has shined.
 ³You have multiplied the nation,
  you have increased its joy;
 they rejoice before you
  as with joy at the harvest,
  as people exult when dividing plunder.
 ⁴For the yoke of their burden,
  and the bar across their shoulders,
  the rod of their oppressor,
  you have broken as on the day of Midian.

Psalm 27:1, 4-9

 ¹The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then ^| shall I fear?
  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I ^| be afraid?
 ⁴One thing I ask of the Lord; one ^| thing I seek;
  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek God ^| in the temple.
 ⁵For in the day of trouble God will ^| give me shelter,
  hide me in the hidden places of the sanctuary, and raise me high up- ^| on a rock.
 ⁶Even now my head is lifted up above my enemies ^| who surround me.
  Therefore I will offer sacrifice in the sanctuary, sacrifices of rejoicing; I will sing and make music ^| to the Lord. 
 ⁷Hear my voice, O Lord, ^| when I call;
  have mercy on me and ^| answer me.
 ⁸My heart speaks your message— ^| “Seek my face.”
  Your face, O Lord, ^| I will seek.
 ⁹Hide not your face from me, turn not away from your ser- ^| vant in anger.
  Cast me not away—you have been my helper; forsake me not, O God of ^| my salvation.

1 Corinthians 1:10-18

¹⁰Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. ¹²What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” ¹³Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

 ¹⁸For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Matthew 4:12-23

¹²Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. ¹³He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
 ¹⁵“Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali,
  on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
 ¹⁶the people who sat in darkness
  have seen a great light,
 and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
  light has dawned.”
¹⁷From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

 ¹⁸As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. ¹⁹And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” ²⁰Immediately they left their nets and followed him. ²¹As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. ²²Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

 ²³Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

There are parts of Matthew’s gospel that I absolutely dread as a pastor and preacher, but today through the end of February include the passages I love. I love watching Jesus gather follows and begin his movement with teaching moments that are so memorable and iconic. The truth is I am here, in this work of Christian ministry, because of passages like today’s. 

John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner, came preaching, calling for repentance, “for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This morning Jesus both imitates that call but also makes it his own. He tells the crowd to repent. Repent is not meant to conjure up sorrow or remorse. It is about a change in perspective, a change in how we view the world. Get yourself a new orientation for the way you live; and then act on it. Jesus could be talking about individual repentance or collective repentance. I like to think he would welcome both. 

Last weekend I was at a continuing ed event in Southeast Georgia. Since I traveled all the way over there, I decided to be a tourist in Savannah for a day. One of the places I toured was the Owens Thomas House and Slave Quarters. The mansion was built in 1819. It was only owned by the original family for a few years. In 1830, lawyer, landholder, and enslaver George Welshman Owen purchased the property at auction. He lived there with his wife, six children, and up to fourteen enslaved laborers. 

Over the next 121 years, the home was owned by the Owens family until the last descendent, Margaret Gray Thomas, bequeathed the property upon her death in 1951 to the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences to be run as a house museum. My tour included the mansion, slave quarters, and garden. The basement of the mansion held large replicas of letters by the Thomas family in which they wrote, in dehumanizing language, about the enslaved people.

Another woman on my tour asked the guide what he thought Margaret would have thought of the tour. He answered that she probably would not approve of it. My follow-up question was, “how long has this been the script for the tour?” 2018 was the answer. And later I found a plaque thanking the donors who had made possible the “2018 Reinterpretation Project.” 

As our entire country continues to reckon with bigotry, antisemitism, racist actions, and racist systems, my tour of the Owens Thomas House and Slave Quarters was both sad and heartening. This is what repentance can look like. I imagine the conversation among museum staff:

We were not telling the story of everyone who lived here. We dehumanized the enslaved people by hiding that history. Now we are trying to tell a more complete history. And when we tell a more complete history, we can see better the outcomes of that history. We build empathy, understanding, a broader view. We can better address injustices today and prevent injustices from happening. What does that conversation sound like in Southwest Idaho? What does repentance look like? What new perspectives does repentance draw us into?

Repent, Jesus says. Something new is on the horizon, breaking in now. So, get a different orientation, a different perspective. For better or worse this perspective is not going to make your life easier. When we are following in the steps of Jesus there is a lot in this world that should bother us: the increased wealth gap, the propensity for violence, every type of othering of people not like us, harm of the planet. And the church, the body of Christ, should be heartbroken by all of it and moved to action. To follow Jesus, as those first disciples did, means to be frustrated, heartbroken, and occasionally outraged by so much of what we see in the world.

But to follow Jesus also means to have hope. Why? Because Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John and, imperfect as they were, they followed him. They left their nets and two of them left their father. They leave him to follow Jesus who has announced that the kingdom has come near. As one scholar put it, “the kingdom born in this man, the kingdom of David, requires a transformation that all his disciples must undergo. The new David is not one whose [royalty] is immediately evident, but rather his power can be found only in the crucifixion. It will take new eyes and ears to see and hear the truth proclaimed through the cross.”

Following Jesus will be costly in so many ways, but when the imagination gets hold of the kingdom here and now, that is a powerful and life-giving force. God is the provider of light in darkness, as Isaiah and Jesus proclaim. God, through Jesus, proclaims that the kingdom of heaven is near. Emmanuel, God with us, in Jesus, is living proof that God’s reign is indeed breaking into the world. The kingdom is already present, not a hypothetical future nor a gift awaiting fulfillment of fine-print conditions on the part of the hearer. The kingdom has come. It’s near, it’s real, and it rolls onward. Our response is to repent. 

After my time in Savannah, I drove south to Epworth by the Sea, a Methodist Conference Center on St. Simon’s Island. The event I attended included around 700 people from many different denominations. If you had told me when I left that I would return ready to talk about the sacraments, I would have given you a quizzical look. But there is something about being in ecumenical spaces that reminds you of the gifts of your own tradition. Mixed into the keynote addresses about language, injustices, theology was a longing for sustenance. How is one sustained and nourished for the hard work of transformation and restoration? And my inner dialogue was, “I return to the Lord’s Supper and the promises it holds.” 

I know from my own experience and years as a parish pastor that there are many things that sustain Christians. I am buoyed by a walk on the perimeter of my subdivision where I get to the view the snow covered Owyhees or the budding fields. Lunch with a friend gives me laughter and encouragement. A phone conversation with my mom reminds me I am unconditionally loved. 

All of these things are sacramental, all of them have the potential to be means of God’s grace. But only in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper does Jesus promise to always be present. The Lord’s Supper stands at the center of our lives as Lutheran Christians. In that meal, we received Jesus’ presence into our very bodies. We receive God’s gifts of forgiveness of sin, new life and salvation. At the same time, as a community God makes us into the body of Christ, one with all in every time and place who share this holy meal.

It was this very community Jesus begins calling together today when he calls the first disciples. We become the body of Christ for the sake of the world. That is, we participate in God’s mission. Having been showered with God’s gifts, God sends us forth to take that love and compassion out into the world to the lonely, the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, and those suffering in mind, body, and spirit. 

The first two promises we make in Affirmation of Baptism are to live among God’s faithful people and to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper. There’s a reason those two are first; they are how we receive the love and courage and nourishment for everything else involved in following Jesus. Gather together around the table with the communion of saints. Receive the gifts of bread and wine given freely. Trust the promises of forgiveness and new life. Hear the words, “given for you” and trust that you are loved beyond measure by the God who calls you.

Prayers of Intercession

Called together to follow Jesus, we pray for the church, the world, and all in need.

A brief silence.

Make your church one in purpose, proclaiming the message of the cross. Help us to work together across differences. Energize ecumenical partnerships, including the World Council of Churches and Lutheran World Federation (other ecumenical ministries in which the congregation takes part may be named). Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

We rejoice at the bounty of your creation. Fill the land and sea with your abundance. Bless harvests in the southern hemisphere and fallow fields in the northern hemisphere. Equip farmers to till and keep the earth sustainably. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

In Christ your reign comes near and calls all to repentance. Break the rod of the oppressor in every nation. Dispel the shadow of death in places of war and persecution. Grant us leaders who lift the yokes that burden those in need. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

Be a stronghold for those in trouble and a rock for all who are afraid. Rouse communities to care for neighbors who need shelter, are facing maltreatment, or are isolated and lonely. (Especially we pray for . . . .) Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

Sustain the ministries of this congregation and all churches in this community (neighboring congregations may be named). Nurture each congregation’s unique witness to your presence; foster mutual respect; inspire our cooperation in loving our neighbors. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

We praise you for the faithful who have gone ahead of us, both famous and unknown. Help us to leave our nets and follow, and bring us with them to the fullness of your promise of eternal life. Merciful God,

receive our prayer.

We bring to you our needs and hopes, O God, trusting your wisdom and power revealed in Christ crucified.

Amen.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, you made this holy night shine with the brightness of the true Light. Grant that here on earth we may walk in the light of Jesus’ presence and in the last day wake to the brightness of his glory; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Isaiah 9:2-7

 ²The people who walked in darkness
  have seen a great light;
 those who lived in a land of deep darkness—
  on them light has shined.
 ³You have multiplied the nation,
  you have increased its joy;
 they rejoice before you
  as with joy at the harvest,
  as people exult when dividing plunder.
 ⁴For the yoke of their burden,
  and the bar across their shoulders,
  the rod of their oppressor,
  you have broken as on the day of Midian.
 ⁵For all the boots of the tramping warriors
  and all the garments rolled in blood
  shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
 ⁶For a child has been born for us,
  a son given to us;
 authority rests upon his shoulders;
  and he is named
 Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
 ⁷His authority shall grow continually,
  and there shall be endless peace
 for the throne of David and his kingdom.
  He will establish and uphold it
 with justice and with righteousness
  from this time onward and forevermore.
 The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Titus 2:11-14

¹¹The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, ¹²training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, ¹³while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. ¹⁴He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

Luke 2:1-14 [15-20]

¹In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. ²This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. ⁵He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
 ⁸In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: ¹¹to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
 ¹⁴“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
  and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
[
 ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.]

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

The story from Luke chapter 2 is so well known, so often portrayed in music and the visual arts, that we forget both its strangeness and wonder. I got to spend just a short amount of time this past summer with my great nephew, who was when I saw him, just a newborn. Perhaps for that reason, my sense of awe in God’s decision to arrive as an infant was renewed. A baby born in the best of circumstances today is incredibly vulnerable. Add to that world powers making Jesus’ parents travel far distances, a census filling up Bethlehem, and the chances of things going awry are greatly increased. 

And yet all of this is so in God’s character. From the beginning, God has shown up in the hidden and unexpected. A tour through the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament that God loves to be revealed through the hidden. This same God is so often reminding humanity to care for the outcast and the lowly. Like any good teacher, when it comes to the incarnation, God uses it as an opportunity not just to tell but show. All of this foreshadows Jesus’ own life and ministry. Though Jesus will grow up to be one of the most quoted and revered teachers, he will teach not just through telling but through showing. That showing begins with his first bed, a simple manger, and his first visitors, the lowly shepherds. 

There is a great deal that art and imagination have added to our understanding of Jesus’ birth that are not actually present in Luke 2. We often project sheep, cattle, a donkey, and innkeeper, and a barn onto the narrative, but they are not in the text. But what is present in our scripture passage tonight is plenty of good news, for you and me and the whole world. 

We hear and learn so much about this vulnerable infant laid in a manger. He is the Messiah, we are told, one who saves. And it becomes clear even this early in the story that he will not only save the Jewish people, but all people, as the angel makes clear to the shepherds. He is the savior of the world. That word is loaded and misunderstood, and I think it speaks to people differently depending on their life circumstances. But salvation has to do with healing, forgiveness, abundant life, and hope.

In the scripture tonight, Jesus is also called “the Lord” which means he will have power and authority. We, who know the rest of the story, know that Jesus will exercise his power and authority in strange and counter-cultural ways: eating with the outsiders, spending time with tax collectors and prostitutes, calling fishermen to follow him, ultimately dying on a cross wearing not a crown of gold but a crown of thorns.

If we reach back to the prophecy read tonight from Isaiah, even more is revealed about this infant laying in the lowly manger. There we read titles that are hard not to sing, thanks to George Fredric Handel’s Messiah. This newborn baby is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. That seems like a lot to put on a baby. But, again, this is no ordinary baby.

As we will sing later, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” The triune God we worship, even manifest in this baby laid in a manger, will take all of the brokenness of the entire world. That includes whatever burdens you are bringing tonight.

Earlier this week I watched one of my favorite movies, Moneyball, the story of Oakland Athletics’ general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players. I realized that one reason I love the movie is because, unlike the Christmas story and so much of the life of faith, there are few unknowns. You put statistics into the computer and figure out what baseball players to recruit. And you getting a winning team. There are days when all of that is incredibly appealing to me. 

We can be sure of God’s love, but what that will lead to, how exactly it will be made manifest, when it will be needed, are all unknowns. And though we are invited to the table to feast on the meal of bread of wine tonight, I have never been able to explain exactly how the sacrament works. 

But there is also a commonality between Moneyball and the story of Jesus’ birth. Both involve the company of misfits, the players or characters no one else really wants, and in both cases the stories are full of second chances; second chances for guys seemingly too old, players who throw the ball strangely, injured players. Likewise in the kingdom of God: virgin mothers, smelly shepherds, widows, orphans, foreigners, tax collectors, sinners, broken people like you and me are welcomed to the banquet. 

And, in his own way, Billy Beane and his data analysis ace Peter Brand turn the baseball world upside down. Commentators and their own manager scoff at the experiment at the beginning of the season. It’s laughable and will never work. At the end of the film, the audience learns that the Boston Red Sox adopt the A’s methods and two years later win the World Series. And for us, Jesus’ mother Mary already sang that the world is about to turn. With Emmanuel, God with us, God is doing a new thing, much larger than changing the game of baseball. God is reversing powers, lifting up the lowly, bringing down the mighty. There is a new reign beginning and it starts with Jesus, laid in a manger, the savior who is Christ the Lord. 

So tonight, let the prayers and familiar hymns and flickering candlelight wash over you. You are part of this story too. You are part of the story of the incarnation because you have heard this story and trust that God did in fact come in human form, Emmanuel, God with us. You do not need to do anything, be anything, prove anything to be the recipient of tonight’s good news of God’s tremendous love. You only need to receive it in this space.

Let the meal of bread and wine fill you up and nourish your body and soul. The one born in Bethlehem is the bread of life tonight, extending gifts of wholeness, belonging, and abundant life to a hungry and broken world. Ours is a God of abundance, a God who came for the entire world, whose bread never runs out, whose cup is always running over. 

The Prayers  

A:  Wonderful Counselor, increase our joy as the church gathers on this holy night to sing of our dear Savior’s birth. May the story of salvation live in the hearts of all who sing of its wonders. God of grace,  C: Hear our prayer.

A:  Mighty God, you have broken the yoke of sin’s burden through the birth of your Son. Comfort those whose burdens distract them from the deeper peace of this holy night and grant them a restful mind. God of peace, C:  Hear our prayer.

A:  Everlasting Father, uphold all who are in sorrow or need of your divine goodness and mercy (especially). We remember with thanksgiving all who have died and who now rest in your peaceful light. God of love, C:  Hear our prayer.

A:  Gracious God, bathe us always in the light of your Word made flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.  C:  Amen.

Prayer of the Day

Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that hinders our faith, that eagerly we may receive your promises, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Amen.

Isaiah 7:10-16

¹⁰The Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, ¹¹Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. ¹²But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. ¹³Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? ¹⁴Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. ¹⁵He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. ¹⁶For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.”

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19

Let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved. (Ps. 80:7)

 ¹Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph ^| like a flock;
  shine forth, you that are enthroned up- ^| on the cherubim.
 ²In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, ^| and Manasseh,
  stir up your strength and ^| come to help us.
 ³Restore ^| us, O God;
  let your face shine upon us, and we ^| shall be saved.
 ⁴O Lord^| God of hosts,
  how long will your anger fume when your ^| people pray? 
 ⁵You have fed them with the ^| bread of tears;
  you have given them bowls of ^| tears to drink.
 ⁶You have made us the derision ^| of our neighbors,
  and our enemies laugh ^| us to scorn.
 ⁷Restore us, O ^| God of hosts;
  let your face shine upon us, and we ^| shall be saved.
 ¹⁷Let your hand be upon the one at ^| your right hand,
  the one you have made so strong ^| for yourself.
 ¹⁸And so will we never turn a- ^| way from you;
  give us life, that we may call up- ^| on your name.
 ¹⁹Restore us, O Lord^| God of hosts;
  let your face shine upon us, and we ^| shall be saved.

Romans 1:1-7

¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, ²which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, ³the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh ⁴and was declared to be Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ⁵through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of his name, ⁶including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
 ⁷To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: 
  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:18-25

¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²²All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
 ²³“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
  and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.”²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,  ²⁵but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Sermon – Pastor Meggan Manlove

This was a challenging week for me. I have memories of being down in Arizona two years ago with my mom and half-brother Steve, my dad’s hospitalization and move to hospice. All of that was set alongside what felt like a wave of hospitalizations/critical medical tests/scheduled surgeries for Trinity members and friends. It did not feel like Advent—the season of hope, peace, and joy. 

In addition, early in the week I had some conversations and watched a movie that reminded me that this season can be very stressful for many of you—finding perfect gifts, decorating the perfect house, preparing to cook the perfect meal. I think this pressure shifts up and down as you go through different stages of life, but for some of you (or those you love) it may be very real this year.

And we put all of this side-by-side the story of Jesus’ birth. The story has these moments of awe and wonder and even perfection—in particular the visits from the angels and the star guiding the magi. We may get lulled into thinking that the God we worship only works in those magnificent and perfect ways. We may get lulled into believing that God then has no time for our challenging and messy lives. 

Nothing could be further from the truth. There is peace and joy mixed up with all kinds of scandal in the very beginning of Matthew’s gospel. Remember that long genealogy at the beginning of the story? Sometimes it’s referred as the begats—Harry begat John who began Steven and on and on. There are of course standouts in that list—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Solomon.  

But there are also people we’d call “outsiders.”  Tamar was the Canaanite wife of Judah’s son; after her husband died, Tamar tricked Judah into fathering her a son.  Boaz’s wife Ruth started out as a Moabite, another foreigner.  

The text even makes this note; David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife. That’s right, the story of King David and his affair with Bathsheba is right there in the genealogy. So, it’s quite a way to begin the Gospel.   Finally, it ends, “Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Joseph wanted peace, comfort, and joy. He was engaged after all. But then his world came crashing down. Mary is found to be with child. Since Joseph does not know the cause of her pregnancy, he fears she has been unfaithful.  Betrothal was equivalent to marriage in that time and place—not like engagements today.  Infidelity counted as adultery. The marriage was completed when the groom took his betrothed to his own home. In the interval she remained in her father’s house.

Joseph is described as a righteous man. This means he must divorce his unfaithful wife. The law does not allow him to “forgive and forget.” His righteousness, however, is more than legal. He does not want to humiliate Mary with a public divorce proclaiming her adultery. He plans to divorce her quietly. He refused to act according to the law. Instead, he chose to act in a manner that Jesus himself would later embody by his attitude toward known sinners. 

However, before Joseph carries out this plan, he has a dream in which an angel explains to him that Mary’s pregnancy is of divine origin.  The angel addresses him as “son of David.”  And in this we are reminded of another problem with the whole Christmas narrative.  

That whole genealogy at the beginning of the gospel intends to show that Jesus is the son of David, Israel’s greatest king. But we never read “and Joseph fathered Jesus.” Even God, it turns out has snags: The ministry of Jesus as Son of David will focus on his quest to heal, gather, and restore the lost sheep of Israel. Jesus will reveal his identity as Son of God in manifestations of divine power over sea and storm, for example, but ultimately and definitively in his conquest of death, which had implications not only for Israel and the nations, but for all of creation. There is, however this snag, which God the Father had to resolve if these two identifications are to run together throughout the Gospel: if Jesus is God’s son, not Joseph’s, how can he also be a son of David? 

The only way for that lineage to work is for Joseph to adopt Jesus. He does this completely, even taking on the fatherly job of naming the child—Jesus, which means, the Lord saves.  Only in this way is Jesus is incorporated into David’s genealogy.  

And I take great comfort in the mix of characters in that long genealogy and the fact that a human act like adoption helps Jesus’ remain both Son of David and Son of God. It all serves as a reminder that God wants all sorts of people to be part of the reign of God and that God always finds ways to work through hardships and messiness. It takes all kinds to bring peace and joy and comfort to this earth.  It takes out of the ordinary actions like adoption. And all of that messiness leaves room for you and me.     

Let’s look at Jesus’ parents just a bit more. Joseph also shows us a profound trust. God does not appear to Joseph when he is wide awake and at prayer. There is no assurance of a burning bush or parting clouds on the mountaintop. There is only a dream. But I have to think that Joseph was open to the dream. 

We do not have the dialogue between the angel and Mary in Matthew’s gospel, but that does not lessen Mary’s importance. Without Mary’s obedience and without Mary’s willingness to receive the Holy Spirit, our salvation and healing would be in doubt. As one scholar wrote, “Just as Abraham obeyed God’s call for him to leave his familiar land to journey to a foreign destination, so Mary through her willingness to become the very Mother of God is the beginning of the church. She is also our connection to the people of Israel, for Jesus is born to a Jewish mother. His flesh is Jewish flesh.”

The upside down, backwards, craziness of this morning’s texts is precisely why we can also trust and obey God.  Again and again God’s people have turned their back on God. They have done everything except trust God. Yet God promises to never leave them. In Isaiah, God promises Emmanuel, God with us. Could God be any clearer on the fact that God is not going anywhere?

Consider again that genealogy—the outsiders, tricksters, sinners. God made it work; God did better than make it work. If God can use that messy group of people, God can work through us too. We also can be instruments of the Kingdom of heaven. We do not need to be perfect. We do not need to shy away from heartache and difficult moments. God is with us – Emmanuel. 

There seems to be no way for the story of Joseph and Mary to have a good ending—the righteous man, the pregnancy out of wedlock, the young couple alone in the world. But Joseph pays attention to the dream, listens to the angel of the Lord, and trusts. Mary obeys and is open to the Holy Spirit. Joseph adopts Jesus into that genealogy and sets the stage for a new kind of reign of God. 

Prayers of Intercession

As we prepare for the fullness of Christ’s presence, let us pray for a world that yearns for new hope.

A brief silence.

God our shepherd, let your Spirit move with power throughout the church. Give discernment and wisdom to our bishops, pastors, deacons, and lay leaders. Take away our fear, so that we serve and love, confident that you are guiding us. God, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God our source, awaken us to the beauty of the earth and the marvelous variety of life. Unite humankind in repairing and caring for your creation. Protect creatures and habitats in peril due to rising seas and warming temperatures. God, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God our vision, raise up leaders in every nation who dream of freedom and justice for all people. We pray for the work of international organizations that promote peace and human rights, especially Amnesty International (others may be named). God, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God our helper, come to the aid of all who cry out to you. Shelter migrants, refugees, and those fleeing war and famine. Bring relief to individuals and families experiencing hunger, homelessness, or impoverishment. Comfort any who are isolated or lonely. God, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God our Emmanuel, you are with us in our life together. We give you thanks for gathering us in worship and fellowship, and we remember those who cannot be present. Watch over those who travel. Heal the sick and speed their recovery (especially). God, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

Here other intercessions may be offered.

God our hope, you bring life out of death, and you promise to be our God forever. Shine upon the faithful who now rest in the fulfillment of your promise and bring us also into your blessed reign of peace. God, in your mercy,

hear our prayer.

God of our longing, you know our deepest needs. By your Spirit, gather our prayers and join them with the prayers of all your children. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Amen.