He didn't Come to Save Angels

www.faithdomian.com

At Christmas time, angels are everywhere. They bring news to Mary,  instructions to Joseph, travelling directions to wise men, and most spectacular of all, a flash mob singing about good news in the hills around Bethlehem. In the hierarchy of life, the Hebrew people placed angels higher than themselves, just under God.

The writer of the book of Hebrews though, points clearly to the fact that Jesus did not come to save angels. He became a man, a real human man, born in a stable, who suffered along with his sisters and brothers. Jesus came to save us, the angels came to tell the story. This Sunday we will consider how this good news changes everything for us.

What's in a Name

http://www.scottkim.com/inversions/inversionsnames.html

Names are important. They say something about who we are, something about the state of mind of our parents at the time of our birth, their hopes and aspirations for us. Sometimes they say something about where we came from, our ancestory. They are usually given to us, with little input from us. They are part of us like the colour of our hair, our height, our shoe size. We learn to live with our names and the things they say about us.

Matthew writes to try to show us who Jesus is.  At the beginning of his story, we get what seems to be a contradiction. He tells us the angel instructed Joseph to name the baby Jesus which means God saves, but then goes on to argue that Isaiah's prophecy from centuries before has been fulfilled. That text says the baby will be called Immanuel, God with us. Matthew seems confused, or at least pulling texts out of context to prove his point. In fact, he is not confused at all. Jesus is both. He is a man calling for God to save, and he is God with us all at the same time. A holy mystery which we hope to unpack this Sunday.

A King is Coming

Its a coronation! Trumpets blast, people bustle to their seats. Those unable to get inside the building throng outside, hoping for a glimpse of the new king. Anticipation and excitement is in the air. Reporters stand poised with pens and cameras, ears glued to cell phones, as they await the words that will define the reign of this new king. Those words come in the form of a prayer "endow the king with justice and righteousness", just those two things. Imagine what a country would be like, led on just those two standards. Psalm 72 is a prayer of coronation. None of the kings who heard that prayer were able to live up to its high standard.

Jesus Christ has ushered in a new kingdom where righteousness and justice will prevail. This Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, we will look at our world and the coming kingdom through the lens of Psalm 72.

The End of Time

We are fixated with the end. We want to know when it will come, how it will take place. We want some control of the situation, to be ready, really ready. Some folks have built careers predicting the end, pointing to the signs of the times, even nailing a particular date on the calendar. In Luke 21 Jesus tells his followers quite clearly what will happen before he returns, unfortunately for us, none of his markers will actually help us in confirming a date. In fact, he says we shouldn't listen to any of those predictors, just trust that he will protect us, give us the words we need to speak, that he will be with us. Its really all we need to know as we continue to work in the world.

Tree Climbing

Climbing trees was a sport of youth. I remember a cousin climbing a pine tree, getting impossibly high. I tried to follow, but common sense overcame the adventure, fear overwhelmed courage, and I was soon on the ground again. Zaccheaus climbed a tree, not for the adventure of climbing, but for an opportunity to see Jesus for himself, anonymously. He was something of a voyeur, wanting to see while not being seen, not really interacting with the situation. Jesus, to the surprise and chagrin of the crowd, stops under the tree, exposes Zacheaus, and invites himself to his house. Its all quite alarming for everyone. This Sunday we will consider Jesus actions and our response to them.

The Good Guys and the Bad Guys

Gustav Dore: The Pharisee and the Publican

Its seems to be part of human nature to categorize folks, to put them in boxes. We do it very quickly too. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector seems to be a rather straight forward case of good guy and bad guy. We know whose side we should be on, who Jesus is pointing to as the example we should follow. But do we? Is the bad guy, apparently the Pharisee, really that bad? And what about the tax collector, should we really emulate him? He was an enemy conspirator after all. The story is really about where we put our eyes. Are they on Jesus or are we busy looking at others.

This Sunday we will look more closely at this parable of good guys and bad guys.

Thankfulness

It's thanksgiving weekend and we will be spending time this week thinking about what it means to be thankful. On Sunday we will be considering the story or the ten lepers and look at the significance of the return of the Samaritan leper to give thanks. Jesus commends this person and tells him that his faith has made him well. But what about the other nine? They too were made well weren't they? Or did they receive a different measure of wellness.

We will meet on Thanksgiving Day as well, at 10am, to set time aside to just be thankful. Our lives however should be models of thanksgiving, our world should be seen through a lens of thankfulness. We will consider Paul's words in Philippians 4 as a guide for thankful living.