COUNTED WORTHY Luke 2:1-10 Pastor Joyce Reed/Crossroads/December 22, 2013

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1 COUNTED WORTHY Luke 2:1-10 Pastor Joyce Reed/Crossroads/December 22, 2013 I want my life to count. Have you ever said that? I want my life to count. I want my life to mean something.... To be more than ordinary. I want to stand up and be counted. Have you ever said that? I want to stand up and be counted. I want to be noticed.... I want to be heard; I want to make a difference. Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. A census. An event where you must stand up and be counted. Of course, mandatory government accounting doesn t usually nourish our souls. Isn t usually convenient to our lives. Doesn t make us feel like we re accomplishing a task of critical importance. But God used a census To cause Joseph and Mary to travel 80 miles... from Nazareth to Bethlehem Because not only their lives, but also the life of the child Mary carried in her womb... counted. All three of them, counted. I once heard a missionary tell about how she explained Christmas to a boy in South Africa. The missionary told the boy that we give Christmas gifts to each other because God sent His Son as a gift for all of us. When Christmas day came, the boy brought the missionary a beautiful seashell. She asked, Where did you ever find this extraordinary shell? I ve never seen anything like it? 1

2 The boy explained that such shells were only found in a certain bay that was five miles away. The missionary was astounded, knowing that the boy had walked the entire distance. She said, This is a wonderful gift, but you shouldn t have walked all that way just to get a gift for me. The boy gave a big smile and explained, The long walk is part of the gift. i How far would you journey to deliver a gift of love? 5 miles? 80 miles? God journeyed from heaven all the way to earth. From divinity to humanity. Why? Because, we matter. Because, we count. While Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Even the worst inn you ve ever stayed at would still not compare to the inn of Bethlehem. Inns in those days were a series of stalls opening off a common courtyard. If you were lucky enough to get a stall, you still had to provide your own food. The innkeeper only provided a cooking fire and some fodder for the animals. On this night All the stalls were occupied Mary and Joseph were huddled in the common courtyard. Swaddling clothes consisted of a square of cloth with a long bandage-like strip coming diagonally off from one corner. The child was first wrapped in the square of the cloth, and then the long strip was wound round and round about him. The word translated manger means a place where animals feed. In this moment, Mary and Joseph Jesus, the Son of God Were displaced. 2

3 Displaced from their home Displaced from their beds Displaced from anticipated comforts Displaced from the need for privacy Displaced from safety Displaced from sanitary conditions This was not how Mary had imagined the birth of her first child. This was not how Joseph had imagined the birth of his first child. This was exactly how God had planned Jesus birth from before the dawn of time. Mary and Joseph In a familiar town In a place where there should have been nothing to fear They were strangers And there was plenty to be afraid of. Have you ever been the stranger? The refugee? Two years ago, in March 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria. The result? Today, one million lives uprooted. One million desperate souls trying to start anew with nothing, far away from home. Syrians have fled to the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq. Absorbing the massive influx of refugees has been an enormous challenge for Syria s neighbors, with strong implications for the stability of the entire region ii Families living in tents. Thousands of tents. Sanitation, water, food, safety, privacy, healthcare at a bare minimum. Strangers... Sojourners. 3

4 Seeking hope, Seeking peace, Seeking joy, Seeking love. Wanting their lives to count for something. I am a poor wayfaring stranger Wandering through this world of woe And there s no sickness, toil or danger In that bright land to which I go I m going home to see my savior I m going home no more to roam I m just a goin over Jordan I m just a goin over home. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. At this time in history, In the Jewish Temple Morning and evening... an unblemished lamb was offered as a sacrifice to God. In order for a supply of perfect offerings to always be available, the Temple authorities had their own private sheep flocks. They were pastured near Bethlehem. Shepherds The ones who looked after the Temple lambs Were the first to see the baby Jesus... the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The Glory of the Lord shone around them. Angels spoke to them. 4

5 One in particular declared: DO NOT BE AFRAID! I sometimes wish that an angel would appear to me give me a pronouncement from God. Tell me exactly what was coming next. Where to be, what to do. Oh, to have been a shepherd that night! I conveniently forget the part... and they were terrified However, holy terror is quite different from earthly terror. We all recognize earthly terror. This week, in South Sudan, violence erupted... CNN reported that deadly clashes in Africa's newest nation began Sunday evening. President Salva Kiir later said his forces had halted a coup attempt. U.N. officials have expressed deep concern about the unrest, saying between 15,000 and 20,000 people have taken shelter in the organization's compounds in the capital, Juba. "There are many, many people who have run away, and there are also people who have been killed," said one woman who fled the fighting. iii One week ago today... People running People dying People being killed. People searching for loved ones. People grieving over loved ones. People counting the dead bodies of loved ones. That is earthly terror. But heavenly terror results in something totally different. First, it assures you: Do not be afraid! 5

6 It transforms your fear into the ability to listen, to absorb, to be amazed at this compelling message... GOOD NEWS. GREAT JOY. ALL PEOPLE. A SAVIOR. How often have you heard someone say: I need some good news today. I don t know where all my joy s gone; I can t find it anymore. I m never included. I m always left out. Life isn t fair! I wish someone would come along and save me. GOOD NEWS GREAT JOY ALL PEOPLE A SAVIOR He s... wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger. Seems too good to be true. Really? A baby? I don t know. But what if the sky was suddenly FULL OF ANGELS An entire sky of angels. Singing Shouting Celebrating Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. 6

7 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. Would you have believed then? Would you have gone... Would you have gone to see the baby? Would you have left your livelihood, the sheep, the Temple s sheep no less, and wandered around Bethlehem half the night, going from inn to inn, looking for a baby in a manger? That was the sign: A baby, Wrapped in cloths, Lying in a manger. Not much to go on. Didn t get a street name. Didn t get the name of the inn. Didn t get the name of the parents. Didn t even get the name of the baby. But you did get this: Messiah Lord Savior Somebody worth looking for Somebody worth meeting Somebody worth following Somebody you could count on Would you have gone? Or... Would you have gotten sidetracked? Today, baby Jesus is often competing for attention with Santa Claus. 7

8 Did you know that Santa Claus has ? Probably Facebook and Twitter, too I didn t check. But you can Santa at Santa.com He gets over a million s a year. Here are some of the intriguing comments he s received: Jon wrote, I m sorry, but I don t have a chimney. I ll leave the cat flap unlocked for you, but please watch out for the litter box! Alex, age 8, said, Thank you for the remote control car last year even though it broke the day after. I know you tried, and that s what counts. Art wrote, I m sorry for putting all that Ex-lax in your milk last year. But I wasn t sure if you were real. My dad was really mad. Christa asked, Mommy and daddy say I have not been very good these past few days. How bad can I be before I lose my presents? Kayla, age 9 pleaded, Pleease don t bring me any new clothes! And Roseanne, age 11 said this, Do you know that Jesus is the real reason of Christmas? Not to be mean, but he is. iv Down in a lowly manger Our humble Christ was born And God sent us salvation, That blessed Christmas morn: Go, Tell It On The Mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, Tell It On The Mountain That Jesus Christ is born. Today s Scripture from Luke invites you to immerse yourself into the lives of ordinary people Mary, Joseph, and some Shepherds who turn out to be counted worthy to be part of an extraordinary event: the birth of God s Son, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with Us. But did you pay attention? 8

9 We re counted worthy too... GOOD NEWS GREAT JOY FOR ALL PEOPLE A SAVIOR. ALL PEOPLE That s you and me Everyone in our families Our neighbors People we work with, go to school with, hang out with Mexicans, Canadians, Americans Europeans, Africans, Asians, Latinos Old, young, fat, thin, wealthy, poor, educated, unschooled ALL PEOPLE Everyone counts No one is left out Jesus came for everyone Even you. Even me. Counted Worthy Amen. from God s Gift by Edward Skidmore ii iii from South Sudan says order restored after 500 killed, but U.N. still concerned By Jethro Mullen and Marie-Louise Gumuchian, CNN updated 5:32 PM EST, Wed December 18, 2013 iv Reader s Digest, December 2010/January 2011, page