SERMON: LOSING JESUS

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 2:41-52

 

Luke 2:41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

 

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

 

-- I read about this single mother who had two young sons -- she was having a difficult time with them, and they were getting into all kinds of trouble -- one day, after they had been caught taking something that didn't belong to them, the mother went to talk to her pastor -- "Leave it to me," he said. "I'll make sure and put the fear of God in them and make sure they know that they need Jesus in their lives"

-- so, on Sunday morning, the preacher started in on one of those hellfire and brimstone sermons -- at one point, he turned and pointed his finger right at the oldest boy and shouted, "Do you know where Jesus is?  Do you know where Jesus is?"  -- the oldest boy jumped up from the pew and took off running for the back of the church with his little brother hot on his heels

-- when they made it outside the church, the older brother turned to his little brother and said, "We're in trouble now."  His brother said, "What do you mean?" -- the older brother said, "Jesus is missing and they think we did it."

 

      -- this morning, we are looking at the passage from Luke where Jesus really does go missing -- it’s a familiar passage -- it’s a passage we’ve looked at before, but as we know from Hebrews 4:12, “the Word of God is alive and active -- Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow -- it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” -- that means that God can and will speak to us in passages that we’ve studied before or heard taught before -- such as the passage before us today

      -- in case you haven’t realized it yet, since Advent, we have been progressing through the life of Christ in our messages for the last several weeks -- we began in Advent by looking at the miracle of the incarnation -- at how God prepared the world to receive His Son by first gracing Zechariah and Elizabeth with a child, who would grow up to be John the Baptist and who was sent to prepare the way for the Lord

      -- we then looked at the announcement to Mary and Joseph that they, too, would have a child -- only their child would come through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and He would be the Son of God -- and then we moved through Christmas and the birth of Jesus to the Epiphany -- the revealing of Jesus as the King of the Jews to the world through the visit of the Magi -- and then on to the story last week of Simeon and Anna’s prophecy about Jesus when He was presented in the temple at 41 days of age

      -- the story this morning is the next chapter in Jesus’ life -- it occurs twelve years after Simeon and Anna prophesied about Him and proclaimed Him the long-awaited Messiah

      -- my plan is to continue following the life and ministry of Jesus through Ash Wednesday and the Season of Lent, right up to Easter, when we celebrate the victory of Christ over sin and death through His resurrection

 

      -- with everything going on in the world today -- with wars and rumors of war in the news -- with plagues and pestilence and disease affecting people worldwide -- with natural disasters from earthquakes to tsunamis to excessive heat and cold affecting us -- to the political, social, and cultural conflicts in our country and beyond -- I thought it was a good idea to take our eyes off the world -- to silence the voices of discontent and discord -- and put our attention back on the One we should be paying attention to and focusing on in our lives here on earth

      -- so, as we look at the life and ministry of Christ over the next few months, we will definitely be looking at passages that we are familiar with -- passages that we have heard before

      -- but I want us to approach them with open eyes and open hearts and open minds -- without thinking that we have already heard this and know everything about these stories and messages from the Bible -- so that we can see these passages in light of what God is doing in our lives and in this world today -- and hear His message for us today -- so that we can grow closer to God as we begin to give Jesus all our attention and focus again and begin to love Him again with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength

      -- so, with that long introduction, let’s begin our study for this morning

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Luke 2:41-52)

            -- if you would, look back with me at verse 41-44

 

Luke 2:41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.

 

            -- so, as we come to the end of Chapter 2, Luke closes his account of the early years of Jesus’ life -- we don’t know a lot about the early life of Jesus -- we have records of His birth in Bethlehem and the Magi coming to visit -- we know that He was taken to Egypt by Mary and Joseph to protect Him from the wrath of Herod -- and we know that He came back to live in Nazareth with His parents

            -- but we hear nothing more about Jesus’ childhood until Luke gives us this story of Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover when He was twelve years old -- as far as we know, this is the first time that Jesus has gone up to Jerusalem with His parents to celebrate this feast and to worship with them and the other believers in the temple

 

            -- after reading this passage one morning, a Sunday school teacher asked her class why they thought Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them to Jerusalem at this time -- one little kid had a great answer -- "They probably couldn't get a baby sitter."

 

            -- now that’s not the real reason, but it’s funny, none-the-less -- Jesus, at twelve years of age, was on the precipice of becoming an adult according to Jewish customs -- when a child turned 13 years of age, they were considered adults and were now responsible for their own actions -- before, they had been under the protection and education of their parents -- but now, they were to move on into adulthood by taking responsibility for their religious, social, and cultural lives

-- Jewish communities today still recognize this transition into adulthood -- that’s what a Bar Mitzva or Bat Mitzva celebrates -- when a Jewish boy or girl turns 13, this ceremony signifies the leaving behind of their childhood and childish ways and the start of their adult life and all the responsibilities therein

 

-- so, that’s where we find Jesus -- up to this point, Jesus would have been under the guardianship and tutelage of His parents -- He would have received the normal education that all Jewish boys received -- every Jewish boy was taught the Torah -- the Jewish scriptures -- in their synagogues and by their father until they were around twelve or thirteen years old -- they were given a basic education in Jewish life, especially in the religious traditions and practices of God’s chosen people

-- after they turned 13, those who were most promising and who had the means to do so would seek additional training under a Rabbi, who would carry them deeper into the teachings of God -- they would go live with the Rabbi and be trained to be a Rabbi or scholar or scribe -- you can think of it as starting higher education with a focus on religious training

            -- the rest of the Jewish children would begin vocational training -- apprenticing with either their father or another craftsman to learn a trade that they would carry on in their adult life

            -- so now at the age of twelve, we see Jesus coming up from Nazareth with His parents to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast as an adult for the first time, according to the custom of the Jews

 

            -- and I want to pause here for just a second to make a statement -- it’s common for us to see people post on social media or ask friends for church recommendations -- and, invariably, they will always make the statement, “We’re looking for a church with children’s programs” -- and the implication here is that if a church doesn’t have a program for children, then they’re not going to attend

            -- we’ve all been in churches that had programs like that -- usually, the kids sit in the church until after the singing is over -- and then there might be a children’s sermon taught up front at the altar -- but at some point, the children will be taken out of the church and into the back for the children’s program -- some churches have similar programs for kids during the week where they are separated from the adults

            -- but I want you to know that this is not a biblical practice -- not as part of the church or the Jewish religious communities -- and I have to question whether this is a good thing

            -- statistics show that there is a vast falling away of young people from the faith after they leave home -- there are certainly many reasons for this, but one reason has to be that they were not taught how to worship God as adults -- they were not given the foundations of the faith and were not taught by the example of their parents -- they were separated from the main life of the church -- ushered into the back and into separate programs just for them -- and, as a result, when they become adults and leave home for the first time, they do not have the foundation or the established practice of worship in their lives -- and it's easy for them to fall away

 

            -- I know that this is not an issue for us here today -- we don’t have any kids in our church -- but we will -- and when they come -- when we start to get kids coming to the church -- we need to keep this in mind and we need to consider whether setting up alternative children’s programs is the best thing or not, because it doesn’t appear to be preparing our children and young people for a life with Christ as adults

            -- I want to encourage you to take some time and think about this and consider it and explain this to people when they ask if we have children’s programs -- in my mind, it may be best to not have alternative children’s programs, but to follow the example we see here in the Scripture -- where young children are taught by their parents and other people in their community and are involved in worship as a family and not shunted off into the back, so that they can learn how to worship and live for Christ through the example of the adults around them

            -- that’s what happened in the life of Jesus -- and that’s what happened to all young boys in Jesus’ day -- they would be trained in the Scriptures until they reached the age of 12 or 13, at which point they were expected to take up the responsibility for their own spiritual lives and begin participating in the faith community as adults -- just as we see Jesus doing here in this passage

           

            -- let’s move on

-- after the Passover had ended, Mary and Joseph headed back home with their caravan of friends and family -- even though the Romans controlled the province of Israel, it was probably safer to travel in a group -- and so family and friends would travel together to and from Jerusalem, especially for the major feasts

            -- but something interesting happened as they headed home -- they lost Jesus

            -- after about a day of traveling, they realized that they didn’t know where Jesus was -- in the hustle and bustle of getting everything loaded up and hitting the road, they just forgot Him -- they just assumed that He was walking with somebody else in their caravan and would show up at some point -- but He didn’t and so they started looking for Him among their relatives and their friends

 

            -- Greg Laurie points out something important about this passage -- he wrote that Mary and Joseph hadn’t “lost their love for [Jesus] or their faith -- they just lost Him”

            -- now understand this: Mary and Joseph loved Jesus -- they believed in Him -- they knew the circumstances of His conception and birth like no one else -- more so than anyone else on earth, they knew Jesus was the promised Messiah -- that had been confirmed to them by Gabriel at the time of Jesus’ conception -- by the angels in the field the night of His birth -- by the shepherds who visited them in the stable -- and by Simeon and Anna when Jesus was presented in the temple at 41 days of age

            -- out of all the people in the world that you would have expected to not lose Jesus, it would have been them -- but, yet, they still lost Him -- and we can, too

 

            -- I have no doubt that everybody here loves Jesus just as Mary and Joseph did -- but I can tell you, from my own personal experience, it is all too easy to lose Jesus in our lives, especially when things get busy -- especially when we’re occupied with doing life -- with just getting by -- with doing all that we have to do

            -- think about Jesus’ parable of the sower who goes out and scatters the seed -- Jesus said some of that seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants -- He told His disciples that these are the people who hear His word -- who receive His word -- who love Him -- but who lose Him because of the worries of life and chasing after wealth

            -- the thing to know is that this parable was given to the disciples -- the message was for them -- not for the lost -- and what He’s saying there is that we can lose Him, if we’re not careful -- we can be in a relationship with Him -- we can love Him -- we can know that our sins are forgiven -- but we can let the thorns and weeds of life choke us out and  we can end up leaving Jesus behind, just like Mary and Joseph did

            -- they were busy -- they were packing up -- they were worried about getting back and Joseph was probably thinking about all the carpentry jobs he had ahead of him and how he was getting behind in his job and he was worried and anxious -- and they lost Jesus -- they just left Him behind

 

            -- so, let’s say we realize that we have done the same -- we’ve lost Jesus -- we’ve forgotten Him somewhere along the way, just like Joseph and Mary -- how do you find what is lost?

 

            -- look at verse 45-52

 

Luke 2:45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

 

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

 

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

 

 

            -- what do you do when you lose something?

            -- you do what Mary and Joseph did -- you go back to where you were -- you go back to the last place you remember seeing the thing you lost

-- when they realized they had left Jesus, Mary and Joseph immediately headed back to Jerusalem, the last place they had seen Him, and started looking for Him everywhere -- they probably went back to the place where they had stayed -- they checked with friends and family -- searched the market -- they looked everywhere -- for three days, they searched for Him -- and, finally, they found Him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions

 -- that’s what we do if we lose something -- we go back to where we last had it -- the place we last knew it was with us -- and begin our search there

            -- one of my favorite passages in the Bible is from the letter to the Church in Ephesus from Revelation 2 -- in verses 4 and 5 of this chapter, Jesus counsels the church in Ephesus -- He tells them to look around at what they are doing and what they have -- He tells them that they are doing a lot -- they are busy -- they have lots of programs and ministries going on -- they are busy serving the Lord

-- but they have forgotten something -- they have lost Jesus -- He tells them that they have forsaken their first love -- they had lost their first love -- and it doesn’t matter how much they do or how busy they are -- even being busy serving Him -- without Him, they are nothing -- and they need to find Him again

            -- and so, Jesus tells them to go back to where they were before -- to retrace their steps -- He tells them to remember and repent -- to do the things they did at first if they want to find their first love again -- if they want to find Jesus again

            -- that works for us, too

 

            -- Friedrich Justus Knecht wrote the following: “Mary lost Jesus through no fault of her own; but with what sorrow she sought Him -- with what joy she found Him! -- He to whom this misfortune has happened -- [to those of us who have lost Jesus in our lives] -- they must seek Jesus with sorrow and tears of penance, and he will find Him again in the Temple (His church)”

 

            -- what do we do when we lose something? -- what do we do when we lose Jesus and leave Him behind?

            -- we go back to where we last had Him -- we go back to the place we last knew Him -- we go back and begin doing the things we did when we were last with Him

            -- for some of us, that means coming back to church -- coming back to prayer -- to reading and studying the Bible -- to quiet times with God -- to setting aside the things of the world that are distracting us and intentionally seeking God throughout our day

            -- if we find that the reason for losing Jesus is the result of sin in our lives, we confess and repent of our sins -- we turn back to Him -- for, as John wrote in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from unrighteousness” -- in other words, when we get right in our relationship with Him again, we will find Him there with us again

            -- and keep in mind that this restoration doesn’t come quickly -- it took Mary and Joseph three days to find Jesus -- it took the disciples three days to find Jesus again after His death on the cross -- it takes time for us to find that which was lost

-- don’t lose heart if you begin praying and reading the Bible and setting aside time with God only to not hear from Him or not feel Him near -- it takes time to get your heart back in alignment with His -- it takes time for you to get back to the place where you can find Him again

 

III.  Closing

-- Mary and Joseph searched diligently for Jesus for three days -- and then found Him in the place they should have gone to first -- they found Him in the temple -- astounding the teachers with His questions and His knowledge -- knowing more than someone at His age and His social status should know

-- when Mary finally found Jesus and exclaimed, “Why have you treated us like this? -- We’ve been searching for you night and day for three days!”, Jesus responded: “Why were you searching for Me? -- Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

-- and it’s with that statement we realize that Jesus wasn’t the one who was truly lost in this story -- He was where He had always been -- He was where He should have been -- in His Father’s house -- doing the Father’s work

-- so, we come to realize here at the end of this story, that this is not a story about Mary and Joseph losing Jesus -- but about them leaving Him behind when they should have done what was necessary to keep Him close

 

            -- in the same way, when we feel like we have lost Jesus in our lives, it is not Him who is missing -- His absence is because we went on in life and just left Him behind

 

            -- it’s like the story of the married couple driving in a pickup truck -- one day, the wife mentioned how far away from her husband she was -- she told him, “when we first started dating, we always sat side by side and you would put your arm around me and just hug me while we rode around -- but now, I’m all the way over here by the window, and you can’t even touch me” -- to which her husband replied, “I’m not the one who moved”

 

-- so, to keep that from happening, we have to be intentional about where we are in relation to Jesus -- we have to be intentional about staying close to Him -- we have to be intentional about doing the things that keep us close to Him

-- we can’t let the busyness of life make us forget about Him -- we can’t let the worries of this world cause us to leave Him behind -- we have to be living for God -- we have to be in a right relationship with Him -- living holy and devout lives of faithfulness -- doing the things we need to do to keep Jesus by our side

-- Jesus didn’t leave Mary and Joseph -- they left Him -- and if you’re missing Him in your life this morning, then it’s probably because you did the same

 

            -- so, as we close this morning and leave this place and go back into the world, don’t forget to take Jesus with you -- look around -- make sure He’s with you

-- slide over into the middle seat again so you’re sitting right next to Him -- and don’t leave Him behind in your life

            -- let us pray

 

 

[Modified from 12 December 2021]

SERMON: THE WATCHERS

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 2:21-40

 

Luke 2:21-40

New International Version

 

Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

 

Jesus Presented in the Temple

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

 

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

 

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,

31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

 

36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[d] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

 

            -- in Bible study this week, I mentioned the novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” by Alexander Doerr, and the Netflix miniseries based on this novel

            -- Doerr’s novel is the story of two young adults who find themselves thrown together during the Battle of Saint-Malo in France, some time after the Nazis occupy Paris, as they try to make sense of their place in this dark world

            -- at the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Marie LeBlanc, who is blind and who has taken refuge with her father at the home of his uncle and aunt in Saint-Malo -- seeking to flee from the Germans who are seeking a gem that Marie’s father possibly has

            -- unable to see or find her way around the unfamiliar setting of Saint-Malo, Marie’s father makes for her a model of the city, which she uses to learn her way around -- letting her fingers be her eyes as she learns to “see” where she is now living

            -- the other main character is Werner Pfennig, a gifted German orphan who has been forced to serve in the German army -- growing up as an orphan, he learned to see the world through the radio broadcasts that he received on his home-made radio -- as the war progressed, the Germans used Pfennig’s skills to search out and destroy radio transmitters used by the resistance

            -- but it was through those radio transmissions that Marie and Pfennig came together -- you see, as they both lived in a world of darkness -- Marie in darkness because of her blindness and Pfennig in darkness because he was an orphan in a country bent on conquest and persecution of those who were not like them -- they found light in a science broadcast that came across their radios every night -- and the voice of the professor and the lessons they learned in that broadcast enabled them to see beyond their situations and to learn to look for light and goodness in the darkness

            -- not to give too much away from the story, but it turns out the broadcast that both Marie and Pfennig had relied on to bring hope in their darkness originated in the village of Saint-Malo -- with both Marie and Pfennig eventually finding themselves in Saint-Malo as the Germans sought to destroy the French resistance headquartered in the village and as the allies began their attack to free France from the tyranny of Germany

            -- the title, “All the Light We Cannot See,” refers to the radio waves which ultimately bring Marie and Pfennig together -- as you know, radio waves are part of the electromagnetic spectrum of light, along with gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet light, visible light, infrared, and microwaves

-- and while we cannot see radio waves with our human eyes as we can visible light, we can learn to look for the light we cannot see, like Marie and Pfennig did in this story, and find hope and salvation there -- for the light that we look for and cannot see as Christians is the Light of the World born to us at Christmas

 

-- this passage from Luke 2 that we opened with is the story of two such individuals -- Simeon and Anna -- who were watchers -- who were looking with eyes of faith for the Light that was to come

-- so, let us look at this passage together this morning and see what we can learn about watching for Jesus -- about looking for the Light that we cannot see with human eyes -- from their story

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Luke 2:21-40)

            -- if you would, look back with me at Luke 2:21-24

 

Luke 2:21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

 

Jesus Presented in the Temple

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

 

-- Luke gives us these verses to lay out the context of the passage for us -- in the first part of Chapter 2, we read of the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem -- we read how the angels led the shepherds in worship -- and how the shepherds were the first evangelists of the newborn Messiah -- sharing the good news that a Savior had been born in the town of David

            -- but even though the shepherds may have shared the news to those people they came into contact with in Bethlehem, here in Jerusalem, no one knows that the Messiah has been born -- the priests and the leaders of the Jewish people weren’t visited by angels that night announcing the birth of Jesus -- and if they heard the reports of the shepherds from out in Bethlehem that angels had appeared to them, they probably paid little attention to it -- not believing their wild story -- the same as we would pay little attention to a homeless guy on the street corner proclaiming that the end was near

-- the Magi haven’t come yet to the court of Herod to inquire over the newborn King of the Jews -- that won’t happen for at least another year or so -- and so, no one in Jerusalem knows that the Messiah has come -- all because no one has been looking -- even those who should have been looking and proclaiming the coming of the Messiah

 

-- it’s like Casting Crowns sang in their song, “While You Were Sleeping:”

 

“Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping

For God became a man and stepped into your world today

Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history

As a city with no room for its King”

 

-- there’s a warning there for us in this -- as we’ve discussed before, there is nothing left on the prophetic calendar before Christ comes again -- He may come at any moment -- it might be today -- it might be tomorrow -- it might be 100 years from now -- but the Bible tells us that He is coming and that we should be watching and preparing to receive Him, just as the Israelites should have been watching and preparing to receive the Messiah when He came the first time, 2000 years ago

 

            -- back to the story -- Luke tells us here that Mary and Joseph went to the temple to present Jesus to the Lord, in fulfillment of the Levitical Law given by God to Moses

            -- in Leviticus Chapter 12, God said that a woman who was pregnant and gave birth to a son would be ceremonially unclean for 7 days -- on the eighth day, the child was to be circumcised as a physical sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham

            -- and 33 days later, following the prescribed period of purification for the mother, the law said that first-born sons were to be presented to the Lord at the temple, for in Exodus we read that all the first-born in the land of Israel belong to the Lord

-- when they presented their first-born son at the temple, the parents were to carry with them a sacrifice to the Lord, to redeem their son -- to buy him back from the Lord -- as Beth Moore writes, "When Jewish parents presented their firstborn son to the Lord, they were symbolizing the act of giving him up by saying, 'He is yours and we give him back to You' -- then, they would immediately redeem him or, in effect, buy him back through their offering"

-- so, 41 days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph go up to the temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the Law and present their first-born son to the Lord -- Luke tells us they brought with them a pair of doves to offer as a sacrifice, indicative of their financial status

-- the Law said that parents were to offer up a year-old lamb as the redeeming sacrifice, but if they could not afford a lamb, they were to bring two doves or two young pigeons -- one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering -- to make atonement for the mother and to redeem their son

 

-- now I want you to understand that as Mary and Joseph made their way through Jerusalem to the temple carrying Jesus, they attracted no more attention than any other couple with a newborn babe -- no one was looking for them -- no one was watching out and proclaiming the coming of the Christ -- there were no cries of “Hosanna, Hosannah” -- no palm branches -- no coats on which to tread

-- no angels in the sky singing glory to God -- no shepherds carrying the news that the Messiah was coming -- no Magi presenting their gifts

 

-- they were just another ordinary couple carrying what people assumed was just another ordinary baby, fulfilling the ordinary law in the ordinary way

-- everyone they passed saw them, but no one noticed them -- everyone they passed saw them, no one “saw” them -- because all those they passed looked on them with human eyes and not with eyes of faith or anticipation -- and so, they all missed Who was in their midst -- and did not see what was truly happening in this moment  

-- but that changed when they had finished the purification and dedication rites in the temple

 

            -- verse 25-35

 

Luke 2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

 

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,

    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.

30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,

31     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

 

 

            -- even though most of Jerusalem was just going about their day as if it were just another ordinary day, Luke tells us there was someone in Jerusalem that day who was different -- someone who was waiting and anticipating and looking for the coming Messiah -- Simeon, who Luke describes as a righteous and devout man

 

            -- the word "righteous" means that you are in a right relationship with someone else -- in this case, Simeon was in a right relationship with God

            -- to be spiritually righteous means you are right with God -- you have a heart for God -- you are living for God -- to be righteous means that you have a heart that longs for the coming of Christ

-- a righteous person is one who hasn’t been blinded by the ordinary -- who hasn’t been dulled by the same-old, same-old and the drudgery of life here on this earth

-- a righteous person is a person who still sees with eyes of faith -- who looks for the promises of the Bible -- who listens for the call of God

-- someone who gets up each morning and asks, "Is this the day that the Messiah is coming?"

 

-- he was also devout -- that means he was devoted to God -- that means that he was sold out to God -- he gave more than lip-service to the Law, but lived out his faith with his life and with his practices

-- Luke’s description of Simeon as devoted implies that he was intentional in His relationship with God -- that he spent time with God every day -- that he read the Scriptures and listened to the teaching of the Scriptures -- that he practiced the spiritual disciplines of prayer and obedience and walking with God in faith -- living a life of holiness through his devotion

 

-- that is who Simeon was -- and Luke goes on to tell us that because of his righteousness and devotion, Simeon was "waiting for the consolation of Israel" -- a term used in Scripture to describe the Messiah -- for it was through the Messiah that the nation of Israel would be consoled

-- in other words, it was through the Messiah that the nation of Israel would be redeemed -- it was through the Messiah that the promises of God for restoration and revival would come -- it was through the Messiah that all would be made right again

-- but while the nation of Israel just went through the practice of religion that pointed to the coming of the Messiah -- while their spiritual senses were dulled by the same-old, same-old of following the Law and the religious traditions day in and day out -- Simeon was actually waiting for the promise to be fulfilled

-- he had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Messiah -- and so, every day, Simeon would get up and say, “Perhaps today is the day,” and go to the temple and look for the promised Messiah

-- and on this day, the Spirit spoke to Simeon and moved him into the temple courts -- and when he looked up and saw Mary and Joseph and the baby, Simeon rejoiced, for he saw what no one else did -- he saw the Messiah -- the Savior of the world -- who had been sent by God for Israel and for all creation

 

-- taking the baby in his arms, Simeon proclaimed the promise fulfilled -- he cried out to God, “dismiss your servant in peace -- for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people -- a light for revelation to the Gentiles -- and for glory to your people Israel”

-- because he was righteous and devout -- because he looked with eyes of faith -- Simeon saw the Light that no one else did

 

-- verse 36-40

 

Luke 2:36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

 

39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

 

-- but Simeon was not the only one there in the temple that day who was looking for the Light -- Luke tells us that Anna, a prophetess, was also there

-- Anna was a widow -- she had lived with her husband for seven years, but then he had died -- and she had sought refuge from her grief in the presence of the Lord -- living there in the temple since her husband’s death

-- just as a note, the text is not clear here whether Anna was eighty-four years old or whether she had lived in the temple for the past eighty-four years -- more than likely, she was eighty-four years old, since otherwise she would have been close to a hundred

-- regardless, the main thing to glean from this statement is that Anna had been living a holy and obedient life in the temple of God for a long time -- Luke tells us here that she was known as someone who was righteous and devout, just as Simeon was -- he says that she never left the temple, but worshiped night and day -- fasting and praying -- and attending to her relationship with the Lord

-- and, just like Simeon, she was drawn to this ordinary couple with their extraordinary child -- as Simeon was standing there with Mary and Joseph, praising God for the coming of the Messiah, Anna came up and began prophesying about this baby -- she recognized who Jesus was and proclaimed His birth and His name to the people gathered there that day because she was a prophet -- because she was one who heard from the Lord -- confirming what Simeon had just said

 

-- I’ve mentioned in here before the television show, “The Chosen” -- the drama about Jesus and His disciples that explores their relationship with Him -- one of the great taglines for that show is the statement, “Come and see”

-- when their family and friends began questioning why they were following this itinerant preacher from backwoods Galilee, the disciples simply said, “Come and see”

-- when I think about the story of Simeon and Anna from the passage today, I like to think that’s what they proclaimed to everyone around them -- “Come and see! The Messiah has been born! -- Come and see Him!  Come and worship Him! Come and fall down before Him.”

-- but, more than likely, no one paid them any attention -- no one came -- no one saw

 

-- Luke closes this section of his gospel by saying that after Joseph and Mary had fulfilled the Law of the Lord and done everything that was required of them, they went home

-- there’s a gap in time here that Luke doesn’t cover in his gospel -- for we know from the gospel of Matthew that the Magi sought Jesus and visited the family while they were still in Bethlehem -- and we know they fled to Egypt to avoid Herod’s fury

-- but both Luke and Matthew state that, eventually, Mary and Joseph and Jesus found their way home again -- they returned to Nazareth in Galilee and began their life together -- and Jesus grew and became strong -- filled with wisdom and the grace of God

 

III.  Closing

-- I’ve always been amazed at how people can be in the same place and look at the same thing but see something entirely different -- a couple of years ago, I went with another biologist down to Grassy Pond to check on the bald eagle nest -- to see if the pair had hatched young that year and how old the babies were

-- we hiked in about two miles to the nest and then headed back to the truck -- when we got back, we compared notes -- I had seen or heard about twenty different species of birds, and I asked my companion if she had noticed them -- she had not

-- because while I was looking at the birds, she was looking at the reptiles and amphibians -- and she pointed out that we had passed by seven different kinds of frogs and toads -- a couple of lizards -- and one snake

-- we were in the same place -- walking the same trail -- but what we saw was entirely different

 

-- it’s the same way with spiritual things -- outside of Simeon and Anna, no one in Jerusalem that day saw anything out of the ordinary -- they looked at Mary and Joseph and Jesus and just saw another young couple with a newborn, coming to fulfill the law

-- and even growing up in Nazareth, there’s no indication from Scripture that the people who were around Jesus everyday -- those who watched Him grow up and knew Him as a child -- had any idea who they were looking at

-- that’s why they proclaim in astonishment at Jesus’ words in the synagogue when He preaches His first message to them, as recorded in Matthew 13 -- “Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

-- they saw Him every day -- but they never “saw” Him -- when they looked at Him, they saw the carpenter’s son -- they didn’t see the Son of God -- all because they were not looking with eyes of faith and with hearts attuned to the Spirit of God

-- some of us live our lives just like them -- we get too distracted by the things of this earth to see the Spirit moving around us -- our senses get too dulled by the same-old, same-old -- and we miss the magic of the Messiah in our presence

-- we go through the routines of church and move through the seasons of Advent and Christmas -- through Lent and Easter -- and never connect with God Himself

 

-- the message for us in today’s passage is that we need to learn to open our eyes -- to see with eyes of faith -- to go through our lives in faithful anticipation of the coming of Christ -- to look for Him wherever we are

            -- the lives of Simeon and Anna were characterized by faithful waiting -- by anticipation of the coming of Christ -- they were in a right relationship with God -- they knew Him intimately and personally -- they lived life as a reflection of His holiness -- and they faithfully waited and anticipated the day that Jesus would be born -- every day, they got up and asked themselves, "Is this the day of the coming of the Lord?" -- and they went out and looked for Him every single day

            -- we need to become more like Simeon and Anna

 

            -- in the Emmaus and Chrysalis movements, there is a moment on that weekend when the participants are stopped and are told, “Look for Jesus”

            -- that needs to be our mantra -- that needs to be our life -- we need to learn to go through life looking for Jesus -- looking for His return -- and looking for His presence among us

            -- to do that, we have to prepare our hearts and we have to prepare our eyes -- we have to be living for God -- we have to be in a right relationship with Him -- living holy and devout lives of faithfulness -- and we have to be ready for His coming

-- so, as we close this morning, let us open our spiritual eyes -- let us look with eyes of faith for Jesus -- let our hearts be attuned to His presence so that we look forward to His coming with anticipation and excitement -- and let us commit to living lives of righteousness and faithfulness for Him today and all the days to come

            -- let us pray

 

SERMON: A SHINING STAR

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12

 

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

 

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

 

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 

            -- on the news this week, the US Mint announced that they were launching three new coins to commemorate the bicentennial of Harriet Tubman’s birth, and that they were continuing to research the potential for reissuing $20 bills with Tubman replacing Andrew Jackson

            -- the coins are quite striking and include a $5 gold coin, a $1 silver coin, and a half-dollar coin¹

-- the one that really stood out to me was the $1 silver coin -- on the front, there is an engraving of a young Harriet Tubman standing with her hand out, representative of her reaching out to the slaves to lead them to freedom -- and, on the back, you see another hand grasping hers, and above that is an engraving showing Tubman leading a group of slaves to freedom underneath the Big Dipper constellation

-- how fitting is that depiction as a summary of Tubman’s life?

 

            -- to refresh your memory of her, Harriet Tubman was born into slavery on a Maryland plantation in 1822 -- growing up, she watched as several members of her family were sold to other plantations, never to be seen again -- eventually, she found herself alone on the plantation with only her mother left as part of her immediate family

-- When Harriet was about 26 years old, she learned that she might be sold away from her family, too -- and she made the decision that the time had come for her to try to escape to freedom

-- the Underground Railroad -- the people who sought to help escaped slaves along a secret path of safe houses and refuges -- was active already -- but to flee the plantation -- to try to escape slavery and immigrate to safety north of the Mason-Dixon Line -- was extremely hazardous -- escaped slaves faced death or extradition back to their masters, where they would be severely punished for their escape -- but Harriet decided the risk was worth it -- sometimes, you have to leave the place where you are living in order to find safety and freedom elsewhere

-- leaving Maryland in the dead of the night, Harriet made her way some ninety miles along the Underground Railroad -- she traveled at night to avoid slave catchers -- finding her way in the darkness by following the North Star until she reached Pennsylvania and freedom

-- but once she made it there, she came to the realization that she could not just live out her life in freedom while so many still suffered under the bondage and yoke of slavery -- so, risking her own life and freedom, Harriet traveled back into the south, leading scores of slaves north to freedom

-- She gave all the credit to God, explaining, "'Twant me, 'twas the Lord. I always told him, 'I trusts to you. I don't know where to go or what to do, but I expect you to lead me,' and he always did." Her faith deeply impressed others. As abolitionist Thomas Garrett put it, "I never met with any person of any color who had more confidence in the voice of God, as spoken direct to her soul."

            -- as Harriet led the slaves towards the north, she would tell them, “If we get separated -- if you get lost -- just look for the North Star -- and let that be your guide”²

 

II.  The Star of Christmas

            -- just as the North Star stood as a beacon of salvation and freedom for all the slaves escaping from captivity, we read here in this passage from Matthew of an earlier star that meant the same thing -- not just for escaped slaves -- but for all Creation and for those held in the chains of sin and death

            -- since the birth of Christ, the star of Christmas has stood as a guiding light for all who seek freedom and release from captivity -- for all who seek forgiveness of their sins and who look forward to the coming Kingdom of God on earth

 

            -- the story of the Magi seeking the newborn King of Israel is such a familiar story to us -- we revisit it each Christmas season -- and even though it’s not biblically correct, it is common to find the three wisemen portrayed in our nativity sets -- gathered before the manger of Christ, along with the shepherds and all the animals that were in the stable on that first Christmas Day

-- just so you know, the Magi weren’t there on Christmas Day -- they didn’t show up until a few years later, when they found Mary and Jesus living in a house in Bethlehem -- which is one reason why we celebrate the visit of the Magi on January 6 -- the first day after the Christmas season, which ends on January 5, the 12^th day of Christmas

            -- January 6 is the Christian holiday called Epiphany -- epiphany means "to show" -- "to make known" -- or "to reveal"

-- when someone says that they've had an epiphany, what they are saying is that they've had some revelation in their life -- some new idea or some new realization or understanding of something that is going to change the way they've been living or the way they've been doing things

            -- our epiphany -- the Epiphany that we celebrate in the church commemorates the revealing of Christ to the world through the visit of the Magi to Jesus

 

            -- like I said, we are all so familiar with the story of the Magi that I’m not going to dive into this passage in any great depth this morning -- to sum up what we read together, some time after the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, these pagan Magi showed up in Jerusalem and came to the court of Herod the Great -- this would have been around 4 BC or just a little earlier, because Herod the Great died in 4 BC, and the kingdom passed to his son Archelaus

            -- they made their way to the throne room of Herod, and told him they were seeking the one who was born King of the Jews -- this disturbed Herod greatly -- no pun intended -- because Herod was not fully Jewish -- nor was he the true King of the Jews -- he had been appointed into this position by the Roman Senate around 40 BC, so he had ruled in Judea and Jerusalem for about 35 years at the time the Magi came calling

            -- Herod is disturbed because he knows he has no real claim to the throne apart from his appointment by the Romans -- and if a true descendant of David and the royal lineage had been born, that child would stand as the true king of Israel and could cause the people to revolt against him

            -- nobody in Herod’s court knew anything about a King of the Jews being born -- they asked the Magi where they came upon this information -- and the Magi tell Herod in verse 2 that they had “seen His star in the East” and they had followed it all the way to Judea -- and now they were here to worship Him

            -- Herod and the priests figured out the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, so they sent the Magi on their way and told them to go to Bethlehem and find the baby -- and to report back to Herod when they found Him, so that Herod could go and “worship” Him also

 

            -- which brings us to verse 9 -- look back at that with me

 

Matthew 2:9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 

            -- leaving Herod, the Magi went out and looked up and they saw the star again -- the same star that they had followed from their eastern home to Judea -- and the sight of that beacon filled them with great joy -- they continued on, following the star, until they found Jesus and Mary at the house where they were living in Bethlehem

            -- and, as we all know, after seeing the child, they were warned in a dream to not go back to Herod, so in verse 12 we read that they departed for their own country another way

 

            -- the main thing I want us to focus on this morning is the star -- the beacon which led the Magi from their country to the east all the way across the desert and the wilderness until they made it to Judea -- this same star continued to lead them to the very place where Jesus lay -- guiding them -- beckoning them -- directing their paths to the Messiah

            -- look back at verse 12

 

Matthew 2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 

-- did you notice anything there? -- the star is gone -- it’s not mentioned -- the star doesn’t lead the Magi back home, because that was not the purpose of the star

            -- the star of Christmas was sent by God for one reason -- to announce the coming of His Son Christ Jesus and to show the world the way to find Him -- and, if the Magi were to look back over their shoulders as they left Judea, they would have seen that star continuing to shine over the place where Jesus was

 

III.  Shining Stars for Jesus

            -- my hope this morning is that we all leave knowing that this same star that led the Magi to Jesus on the first Day of Epiphany continues to shine brightly today -- we see it shining in this very sanctuary -- we see it shining in every person who knows Jesus as their Lord and Savior

            -- for our job -- our mission -- our calling -- is to be that star for the world today -- to shine bright in this dark world and to lead others to where they might find Jesus

            -- it’s just like Earth, Wind, and Fire sang: “You're a shining star -- No matter who you are -- Shining bright to see -- What you could truly be”

            -- we are the shining stars for Jesus

 

            -- in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations -- baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you to do”

            -- we fulfill this command -- the Great Commission -- when we fully embrace our roles as shining stars for Jesus -- guiding others to Him through the light He has placed within us

 

            -- Jesus reiterated this calling in His Sermon on the Mount -- if you would, turn over to Matthew 5:13-16

 

Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

 

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

 

            -- here Jesus doesn’t call us His shining stars, but He tells us that we are the salt of the earth -- we are the light of the world -- meaning that we are to fulfill the same role as the star that led the Magi to Him by seasoning this world with our Spirit-filled lives and letting our light guide the world to Him

            -- in order to fulfill this calling, we have to be both salt and light

 

            -- think about salt for a moment -- what does salt do?          

-- in our day, we use salt primarily as a seasoning -- to enhance the flavor of the food we eat -- to bring out the quality of the food -- salt just makes things taste better -- and you know the truth of that if you’ve ever tried to eat grits without salt -- it’s nigh to impossible to choke them down without salt as a seasoning

-- but salt was even more valuable and necessary in Jesus’ day than it is in our own day --

in Jesus' day, salt was necessary for life -- in a time without refrigeration, the people depended on salt to preserve food and to store it for long periods of time

-- we still use salt in the same way, to some extent today -- it’s not uncommon to find salt-cured ham or pickles that have been preserved with salt -- but that’s not our primary method of food preservation -- we use refrigeration or freezing or canning to keep our food preserved for long periods of time

-- but in Jesus' day, salt was the main way people preserved food -- if you didn't have salt, you had no way to store food for winter or to keep food in your pantry during the lean times of the year

            -- salt was a necessary ingredient for life -- and the people in the first century AD used salt for a variety of purposes, beyond just preserving food and enhancing flavor -- salt was used to purify and cleanse wounds -- it was used to line the bottom of their clay ovens to keep mold and mildew and germs from growing inside -- and farmers would add salt to their soil as a type of fertilizer

            -- but, regardless of how it was used, the main purpose of salt was defensive -- it was to preserve and purify from germs and bacteria and other microorganisms -- it was how the people of Jesus’ day fought against infection and disease

            -- and, when Jesus tells us here that we are the salt of the earth, He is calling for us to do the same -- the Scriptures tell us that apart from Christ, this world and the people of this world are rotting and decaying -- they have no life -- they have no hope -- they are on a path that is leading them straight to Hell and eternal separation from God

            -- it is our job -- as Christians -- as the salt of the earth filled with His purifying Spirit -- to preserve and flavor the world -- we are to be for them the very presence of Christ -- we are to be His hands and His feet -- reaching out and pointing the world around us to freedom -- to life and salvation and eternity through Jesus

            -- we are to carry the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ to this world -- to let them know that there is hope -- that there is salvation -- that there is forgiveness of sins and restoration of the soul through the body and blood of Jesus

            -- as Christians, we are to live in such a way that we have an impact on our world and flavor it with the presence of God

 

            -- I heard someone quip one time that trying to lead people to Christ is like trying to get a horse to drink -- you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink -- and in the same way, you can lead a person to Christ, but you can’t make them believe or receive Jesus as their Savior

-- but here’s the thing -- it’s not our job to save people -- but it is our job to be salt for them -- and if you feed them enough salt -- if you live your life in such a way that you make everything salty around you, then that salt is going to make them thirsty and they’ll want to drink from the well of Living Water

-- that’s our calling as the disciples of Christ -- we are to be so salty that people begin to thirst for the very presence of Jesus -- we are to be so like Jesus in this world today that people are drawn to Him as the deer pants for water

            -- that is what it means for us when Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth

 

            -- and what about Jesus’ other statement here, that we are the light of the world? -- that ties directly in with our calling to be His shining star

            -- I’ve mentioned before that I’ve found myself in total darkness a couple of times when I’ve been underground in caves, cut off from all light -- it’s scary to be in such a place -- where the darkness feels so thick and all encompassing -- you can literally feel it closing in on you

            -- but when you’re in a place like that, all it takes is a tiny spark -- a tiny glow -- and the darkness begins to flee

 

            -- we live in a dark world -- you can see it -- you can feel it -- just watch the news -- just watch the people -- see how they live -- see what their lives are like -- see how their fears surround them and suffocate them

            -- but in that darkness, we are called to be the light -- to the people who are lost and stumbling in the dark, Jesus says we are to be the light of the world -- we are to be a city set on a hill -- shining brightly before all -- a beacon of light and hope and love that will lead the world to Him

 

            -- He cautions us here to not keep our light hidden -- to not put our lamps under a basket, but to put our lamps on a lampstand, so that it can give light to everyone who is the house

            -- He tells us to let our light shine before men, so that they will see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven

            -- that means that we can’t turn our churches into closed communities of faith -- we have to open the doors and open the windows and let our light shine -- we have to go out into the darkness where the people are and carry the light with us so that we can show them the way to Jesus

-- we must become a beacon to those wandering lost -- to those seeking freedom and salvation and true life -- we have to be the light that leads them to Christ -- just as the star led the Magi to the place where Jesus was -- just as the slaves followed the North Star to freedom along the Underground Railroad

            -- that is our calling -- that is our mission -- that is our purpose here in this new year -- to be shining stars -- to be the salt of the earth -- to be the light of the world -- leading and pointing people to our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus

 

IV.  Closing

            -- I saw a bumper sticker one time that I really liked -- it read, "Lost? Follow Me. I know the Way." -- with “Way” being in all caps -- meaning the way to salvation -- the way to forgiveness of sins -- the way to eternal life in Jesus

            -- Epiphany is about finding the way -- when all was dark in the world -- when it looked like all hope had been lost -- a Savior was born and a star shone in the night, beckoning all to “Come”

-- it was that star that led the Magi to Jesus -- and that same star still shines in His disciples who fulfill the Great Commission -- who fulfill their purpose in Christ by shining as beacons of hope and salvation for people lost in the darkness of this world

 

            -- as Jesus’ shining stars -- as salt in the earth -- as the light of the world -- we are to show those around us the Way -- to guide them to the place where they might find Jesus today

            -- it’s kind of like the guy who went to Egypt to see the pyramids -- when he got there, he hired a guide and the guide led him down this road to the desert -- but when they got to the desert, the road ended -- there was nothing but wind-swept sand as far as the eye could see

 

-- the man asked the guide, "where's the road?" -- the guide looked at him and said, "I'm the road"

-- the guide knew the way -- and if this man wanted to see the pyramids, all he had to do was follow the guide and the guide would show him where to find what he was seeking

 

-- as we leave here this morning, may you be the Way for others to follow -- may you be their road -- their guides -- their beacon of light -- may you be the star that shines in the darkness -- and may our church -- this community of faith that God has planted here -- shine brightly and be a guiding star for those who need Jesus

-- let us pray

 

1 Chandelis Duster, CNN, US Mint releases coins honoring Harriet Tubman https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/04/us/us-mint-harriet-tubman-coins-reaj/index.html

2 Adapted from Eric Metaxas, "Harriet Tubman, on the Money," Breakpoint (5-6-16)