Matthew 1:18-25

O Come O Come Emmanuel, and Ransom Captive Israel. So goes the Advent hymn. God will be with us. Our story reminds us how this came about. God chose to become human in a way that is at the same time normal and abnormal. God became human by the Holy Ghost impregnating a young woman which is very abnormal. But God came into the world through a woman which is very normal. We all are born of a woman.

God became human and had to be raised by a step-father as more and more of humanity has to deal with. God became human to poor parents as the majority of humanity has to come into the world. God became human as his country was occupied by another powerful nation that was in the middle of nation building. All of this sounds very normal, but this child was not just like any other child. This child had to deal with many of the same issues that we have to deal with, but this child was different. This child was God with us. This child in a sense showed humanity that God has not left us alone.

So to the children that do not have their biological father in the house, God is with you. To the families that are struggling to survive economically, God is with you. To the nations who have an occupying force in their land that do not understand their heritage or traditions, God is with you. Praise God that the abnormal and the normal have united in the little child of Bethleham. God is with us.

Acts 1:12-26

Two individuals were chosen by the group as possible replacements for Judas. One Matthias and the other Justus. Both Matthias and Justus were only mentioned in the Bible in this one place, but they stood with Jesus and followed for the whole time. We know that they both were true followers. They had been with the movement from the baptism of John through the great difficulties of the death and resurrection.

We learn about the lot being cast and that the apostles were happy that the scripture was fulfilled and yet we see nothing more about either one. One might wonder why such an occurance is even in the scriptures.

For some reason the story of Justus calls me. Here was an individual who had been there and now was the possibility that he might become a part of that inner group. No doubt he had looked on on many occasions only to be placed back in the front lines to do the work that needed to be done by the other disciples that were not apostles. Perhaps he longed for the companionship, closeness, and no doubt noteriety of being in that elite 12. Now a lot was cast against him.

No doubt if he had been through all that had happened to that point he still stood firm in the Jesus movement, but there surely had to be disappointment. I definitely know and understand Justus. Justus is all of us who have done work for the master and do not think we get what we deserve. Sometimes it seems as though a lot is cast against us and others get the place that we want.

I don’t know what happened to Justus, but I do know that God has called me to be a true desciple even if I never become an apostle. Even if the lot doesn’t fall on my name, God still calls us and I pray that I will be true to God even if the story of Justus becomes my story.

Matt 1:1-17

This is a geneology of Jesus Christ. What is of interest to me is that most geneologies in the Bible do not include women at all. However this one does include women. Why the difference here?

One might conclude that there were some women who did spactacular things to overcome the cultures desire to show little regard for women in this way. If one concludes that way one would be wrong. The women are Rahab the harlot who helped Isreal defeat Jericho. They are the foreigner Ruth. Another is the “her who had been the wife of Uriah.” The writer is not trying to hide anything there.

Ruth was a foreigner. Foreigners are often not held in high esteem even today in america as we battle with how we will deal with foreigners who come into our land to work. And yet that Bible writer chose a foreigner to include in the list.

Rahab was a prostitute. While she did help Isreal why include her when we are dicussing Jesus’ geneology? Why not just set it aside. Finally the mother of Solomon. who can forget all the sex, murder, and intrigue that ended in the birth of Solomon. And yet the Bible writer wanted to remind us of that as being important in the geneology.

Perhaps God is telling us that God can bring the messiah even through our own mishaps. Perhaps God is telling us that God can bring the Messiah even through people who might be considered “other.” Perhaps God is telling us that there is no place that is unredeemable. I praise God that God uses even a foreigner, prostitute, and the situation that brought forth Solomon.

Matthew 2:1-12

Here you are sitting in your seat of power that you have worked so hard and deligently to get and out of nowhere some outsiders come up to you and ask where is the new leader? Where is the one who is to take your position? Where is the King?

The Bible says that Herod was frightened of what he had heard. And not only was King Herod frightened, but the Bible says that all of Isreal was frightened with Herod. Why were so many people scared of what is to happen? Right now everyone knew who was their leader. Those individuals who were friends of Herod might lose their power if there is another King beside Herod. Those who have learned how Herod looks when he is bluffing and what they can give to Herod to get what they want had much to lose if Herod is replaced.

Many were scared of this replacement. Many were scared of what could happen. Many didn’t know what to do and so God chose to allow some foreigners to be at the vanguard of preaching about the replacement. Where is he that is born King of the Jews?

Many of us find ourselves in the same position. We say we want Jesus, but do we want the totally new orientation that comes as a result? We say we want Jesus, but do we want the first to really be last and the last to really be first? We say we want Jesus, but do we really want to order our lives by the new way that God has set up? Jesus is coming…no wonder it strikes fear in our breasts, but thank God for the outsider who has nothing invested in our current setup. Thank God for the one who will rejoice that Jesus is come. I pray that I will be like thsoe wise men who knew that the disorder of the Kingdom of God is better than anything we call order in this system.