What do Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, and the Wise Men and King Herod have in common? For one thing, they all had unique experiences of God showing up. They all said “Immanuel” one way or another. Apparently, there isn’t just one way God shows up to people. Zechariah was doing his duty in the Temple. He and his wife Elizabeth were known for being good, faithful people. God showed up to them in a very peculiar way in their old age, with an unexpected invitation.
I think we can assume Mary was a nice enough gal. She had hopes and dreams much like any peasant-class young woman of her day. We don’t know how she felt about her engagement to Joseph, but we can be sure that the invitation she received from God was more like a nightmare, initially. But the broader point is that God showed up, personally, to an ordinary, poor, young woman.
Joseph was a carpenter, which meant he wasn’t going to get much money or respect in his life. But he was getting things in order: a career was chosen, and so was a wife. All set. Until God showed up to him: a poor, less-than-peasant man of little education and no social status.
The shepherds watching their flocks had a decent gig – they may have been tending sheep used at the Temple. But they were commoners at best. They probably smelled like sheep. They probably felt like pawns in a giant game of the gods, where nobody cared what happened to them. And then they got a visitation from not just one angel, but a choir of them. Who could have anticipated that?
Simeon and Anna both spent their time in prayer at the Temple. Both incredibly devout, both looking for God to make a move. When they laid eyes on Jesus, they had eyes to see and hearts sensitive to what God was doing – they experienced God in the baby himself.
The Wise Men experienced God speaking to them through their study of the heavens. The stars aligned, and they sensed significance.
Even King Herod experienced God – through the surprise visit of the Wise Men, and again by their refusal to return with Mary and Joe’s address. He knew something was up that was bigger than him.
God shows up. Are we paying attention? Are we expecting God to show up like God shows up for someone else? And when it doesn’t happen that way, do we wonder if God really shows up? Perhaps a good approach is to bank on a fundamental reality we witness in the birth narratives: God does show up. Building on that premise, maybe we simply need to be open to God showing up, and pay attention more and doubt less. Perhaps then we will have our focus sharp enough to catch a glimpse of Immanuel.
But my teaching really isn’t about God showing up. It’s really about us showing up. My thoughts this week aren’t about believing, but doing.
The characters listed above had another thing in common: they did more than believe.
Zechariah and Elizabeth named their miracle son John – an act of obedience and faith even though their lifelong hopes were probably to have a little Zechariah or Elizabeth running around.
Mary responded to God’s news with humility and willingness to be used however God saw fit. That set in motion lots more doing…
Joseph did as the angel instructed, which required him (like Mary) to eat a lot of crow, face certain amounts of inner turmoil, and endure family scorn. His journey was no picnic, no mere mental ascent that God was up to something. Joseph was in the game. He had grass stains on his uniform and scrapes and bruises from being on the field.
The shepherds didn’t wait until dawn to see what was up with that crazy choral announcement. They hurried to find the scene that was described for them. The sheep could wait. This was too important to push off to another day.
Simeon prayed and prayed and prayed. And once he saw the baby, he embraced the child, and then blessed the parents with love and honesty about the significance of this kid. Similarly, Anna praised God when she saw Jesus. But she took it a step further. She also let other people know what she was experiencing.
The Wise Men didn’t send a Hallmark card when they got they noticed the astrological birth announcement. They went to great expense of time and money to make their way to the land where the new king had been born. Once there, they gave even more as an act of worship: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
We are not called to hear the good news of what God has done in Jesus and then sit on our hands. We are not called to a belief where we just come to some theological conclusions that give us inner peace. The Good News calls for action. Yes, we are saved by faith, but our works work out the salvation in our lives and in our world. Most of the characters in the birth narratives are heroes not simply because they believed, but because their beliefs motivated them to act. As they were enlightened, they were called.
A retired woman at our church came to see me awhile back. After some good catching up conversation, she said she had something for me. During her working life, she would set aside money each month for travel in retirement. But once she retired, she really didn’t feel like traveling! And her family was well provided for, so she pondered what to do with this nest egg. She handed me four envelopes, each holding $2,000 in cash. She said she thought the church could use it. Her funds bought everyone’s dinner at our Thanksgiving Feast, which inspired people to donate more than we ever have before for that meal, generating over $3,600 for Furaha’s feeding program for our orphans in the slum of Huruma, outside Nairobi, Kenya. Her donation provided funding for Rebecca DeMatteo to attend a conference which will no doubt light her fire, and make her an even more powerful force in her ministry here. The rest will help renovate CrossWalk’s building through our Legacy campaign, which means many more people will be impacted by the Gospel. Faith doesn’t sit around and spectate. Faith moves.
Pete Duenas got his life turned around by Christ while serving time in prison. ever since he got out, he has been a force for the Gospel in profound ways. If you ever want to get inspired, spend a meeting with them talking about how they can give back out of the blessings they have been given. Their faith is not simply one about a decision they made once to follow Jesus; theirs is faith in action, and lives are being changed and the world is improving because of it.
What do you believe about God? Instead of telling me, show me what you believe with your life. You believe God is graceful and loving. Are you? You believe God shows up to be with people in need. Do you? You believe God forgives. Do you? You believe God stands alongside the oppressed. Do you? You believe God is generous. Are you? You believe God wants peace. Are you a peace-seeker?
As we celebrate Christmas, let’s remember that the authors of these narratives had an agenda. It wasn’t that we’d sit around arguing about whether or not Mary was a virgin. It was that we would get a thumbnail of what the rest of the Gospel would include. A story about a man greater than John the Baptist. A story about God breaking into history through some of society’s least-appreciated: the elderly, women, the very poor, and all humble. A story about God loving and reaching across the aisle to non-Jews. A story about an incredible person – Jesus – whom God used in such powerful ways that people exclaimed “Immanuel”! A story that describes the response of those who first found themselves engaged in God’s epic movement in Jesus Christ. A story written with the hopes that we would be moved to believe, and that we would do much more than just believe. That we would do. Because that's how we do...
But don’t just listen to God’s word.
You must do what it says.
Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
– James 1:22
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