A Holy Mess

     It was the first Sunday of Advent and the sanctuary was finally ready. The service was about to start when it happened. The lights on the Chrismon Tree went out. You could hear the gasps and several people leapt into action. After some jiggling, order was restored. As the prelude was being played the acolytes were lighting the candles. One of the candles just wouldn't light. Then it was time for the welcome and announcements and the sound system wouldn't work. Would nothing go right? You could just feel it in the air, this isn't what Christmas is supposed to be like. Christmas is supposed to be perfect.

     It was late, it was cold, and the town was bustling with people. They were late and all the accommodations were already taken. This is livestock. Those are shepherds. This is a dirty stable. This isn't how this is supposed to go. Christmas is supposed to be perfect. 

     Christmas is perfect, but it is also messy. That is what Christmas is. If it wasn't messy, it wouldn't have been necessary. The world that Jesus entered was not perfect, it was far from it. His entrance was messy, birth is messy. Christmas is messy. If your Christmas is not going as planned, welcome to the club. Messy isn't bad, messy is why we have Christmas. Messy is why we need Christmas. Celebrate the messiness and embrace the Savior that entered this mess to make it clean.

     The sound system started working. The lights stayed lit on the tree. The candle finally was lit. The word was preached. The sermon was title, "A weary world rejoices." That is what Christmas is, perfection entering a messy weary world to make it whole again.

  

Fully Man, Fully God

     On Good Friday it is common to hear the Seven Last Words of Christ. These last seven utterances of Jesus are full of  significance and there are lots of teachings to be found in them. Today I want to look at the fourth word. It can be found in Mark 15: 33-34. At this point, Jesus has been on the cross for six hours and is near death. He cries out, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" (Which means, :My God my God, why have you forsaken Me?) Jesus was both fully human and fully God. At this point Jesus, who knew no sin, has taken on all of the sin of mankind. Because of that, God could not look on Him and for the first time Jesus feels separation from God. This feeling, that we as sinful humans are used to, was a new sensation to Jesus and it causes him to cry out in despair. Oh that we could be so sensitive to the presence of God that we notice when He averts His gaze due to our sin. 

    There is more to this though, I think. Jesus was also fully God and He knew exactly what He was saying. You see, His words were not just random words of despair. Come with me to Psalm 22.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from saving me,

    so far from my cries of anguish?

2 

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

    by night, but I find no rest.[b]

3 

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

    you are the one Israel praises.[c]

4 

In you our ancestors put their trust;

    they trusted and you delivered them.

5 

To you they cried out and were saved;

    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6 

But I am a worm and not a man,

    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.

7 

All who see me mock me;

    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.

8 

“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,

    “let the Lord rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

    since he delights in him.”

9 

Yet you brought me out of the womb;

    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.

10 

From birth I was cast on you;

    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 

Do not be far from me,

    for trouble is near

    and there is no one to help.

12 

Many bulls surround me;

    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13 

Roaring lions that tear their prey

    open their mouths wide against me.

14 

I am poured out like water,

    and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

    it has melted within me.

15 

My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,

    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

    you lay me in the dust of death.

16 

Dogs surround me,

    a pack of villains encircles me;

    they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.

17 

All my bones are on display;

    people stare and gloat over me.

18 

They divide my clothes among them

    and cast lots for my garment.

19 

But you, Lord, do not be far from me.

    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.

20 

Deliver me from the sword,

    my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21 

Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;

    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 

I will declare your name to my people;

    in the assembly I will praise you.

23 

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!

    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 

For he has not despised or scorned

    the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

    but has listened to his cry for help.

25 

From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;

    before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.

26 

The poor will eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek the Lord will praise him—

    may your hearts live forever!

27 

All the ends of the earth

    will remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

    will bow down before him,

28 

for dominion belongs to the Lord

    and he rules over the nations.

29 

All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—

    those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30 

Posterity will serve him;

    future generations will be told about the Lord.

31 

They will proclaim his righteousness,

    declaring to a people yet unborn:

 He has done it!

Sound familiar? Even minutes from death, Jesus is choosing His words with the utmost care, He knows that many of those at the foot of the cross were religious scholars. They would instantly recognize that He was quoting the Psalms and they would know how it ends. Psalm 22 sounds like it was written after the events of the crucifixion, not centuries before. It ends declaring the glory of the Lord. Jesus used His last words to let His accusers know that this was all ordained from the beginning. Good Friday is called Good for this very reason. Because of His sacrifice, "The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who see the Lord will praise Him..."

Empty Baskets

     In chapter 14 of Matthew you will find a familiar story. After a long day of watching Jesus heal the sick the disciples came to Jesus and said, "We are in the middle of nowhere and it's getting late. Tell the people to go back into town so they can find some food." Jesus said, 'They don't need to go anywhere, you feed them." When the disciples told Him that they only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, He said, "Bring them to me." He then told the people to have a seat while He blessed the food and handed them back to the disciples.

     We all know the story and we know how it ends, but I want to stop right here for a minute and consider the disciple's point of view. They are now standing in front of a hungry crowd expecting to be fed and they know something the crowd doesn't' there are only 5 loaves and 2 fish. That means that 5 of the disciples were not holding anything, they were standing there with empty baskets and were expected to feed thousands from them. So often I have felt like that, standing in front of a crowd knowing full well that my basket was empty. They were doing what Jesus had told them to do, but they had to be having some second thoughts. There is an important point here, when you are in the middle of God's will, the fact that your basket is empty is irrelevant, God will handle that part. You just need to do what He has called you to do. God will fill your basket, not just to sufficiency but to abundance.

     When you find yourself exactly where God has placed you but with an empty basket. Take heart, just like the disciples, you will find yourself with leftovers if you just believe in the one that has called you to that place. Your empty basket will be filled and filled to abundance.