Hope In The Name

Grace, mercy, and peace, be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Merry Christmas! Today is a day filled with joy. It is a day filled with celebration. It is a day that if you are lucky - you get to open presents from family! Growing up there was this running joke, running question after every gift that wrapped under the tree. Is this gift going in the return pile or is this something that you really want to keep? You may have experienced this, perhaps disappointment - as you pick up a present with your name on it, you have an idea of what if could be for you, your rip open the wrapping paper, you open the box - and then it is something that you didn’t expect, it is something that you didn’t really need or want, it is something that begin to wonder - did a I drop an unintended clue somewhere along the way for someone to buy me this gift? There is nothing on Christmas Eve or for Christmas that can give you a rollercoaster feeling - then receiving an unwanted gift or unexpected gift. Maybe you open a package and you received a pair of socks - and you smile politely, but this thing wasn’t exactly on your Christmas list. Or maybe you open a wrapped gift with your name on it, and receive the outdated model of something - something that doesn’t receive any more updates, or something that is a step below the most recent model. Or perhaps you receive something - that you aren’t entirely sure what it is, you look at it in a confused state and the giver of the gift begins to explain to you what the gift is used for, and how it works. There is nothing like an unexpected gift that can completely through your Christmas for a loop.

Well in our text, we have Matthew’s account of the first Christmas story. And at this first Christmas, Joseph receives an unexpected gift and an unwanted gift - that definitely wasn’t on his Christmas list. There is no way that Joseph saw anyone giving him this gift. Joseph seemed to have things going in the right direction; Joseph seemed to be following the pattern of everyone else life. Joseph found a nice girl Mary, and they were pledged to be married, they were looking forward to that wedding day. But in the build up to this wedding day, Joseph receives an unwanted gift, an unexpected gift. Before their wedding day, Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit; Mary was pregnant! I imagine Joseph being like someone receiving a gift on Christmas day that definitely was going in the return pile, but he was polite about it. And Joseph may have even been thinking what can I return this for - to receive something else? What can I do with this to trade this in for something else? It says in our text that Joseph resolved or decided to divorce her quietly - because he didn’t want to put her to shame! Jospeh had decided to return this gift from God, but didn’t want to make a big deal about it, didn’t want to insult Mary, he didn’t want Mary to have to deal with all negativity that would be brought her way because of this situation. This definitely was an unexpected, unwanted gift on the Christmas list this year.

But before Joseph can return this gift, an angel of the Lord delivers the news that this gift is very different that Joseph could have even imagined! An angel comes to tell Joseph - “Hey this a gift you won’t want to return to the store”. As Joseph went to sleep that evening - as he considered divorcing Mary, an angel of God comes in a dream and says to Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. It’s through this unexpected way that God delivers the news of salvation to Joseph, He lets Joseph in on the plans of what is happening and how He is working in this world. This gift wasn’t on Joseph’s wishlist this year, but it was the gift that he needed and in fact it is the entrance of Jesus Christ into this world, that everyone needed!

What’s on your Christmas list this year? What are the things that you are hoping for this year on the Christmas tree with your name on it? What clues did you drop in an obvious way that you hope your loved ones pick up on to finally give you thing that you want this year? Christmas time and the build up to Christmas, we spend moments in our lives figuring out what we don’t have. We spend moments to reflect on all of our possessions, all of our belongings, all of our stuff, and we figure out the things that we are missing, that things that we don’t have, the things that other people can buy us. And we hope on Christmas Day - when we open presents we hope that these “holes” or this lack will be taken away as we receive the new things with our names on them.

Maybe in our spiritual lives - it can seem very obvious to things that we are lacking this Christmas season. Perhaps this Christmas season as we reflect on our lives, we are lacking peace - we feel this great anxiety of what the future holds, we feel this great fear of what is going to happen in the next up coming year, or maybe we are going through a transitional moment in your life, a new chapter of life, a new routine - and you are hoping for PEACE this Christmas season. Or maybe as you reflect about your live this Christmas season, you feel this lack of hope. - Perhaps you look in the world this Christmas season in the midst of difficult situations, and you see no solution to the problems you face. Perhaps you are facing situations that seem to be an uphill battle - with no simple solutions. Or perhaps you are dealing with situation that - you need a miracle to over come it. As you reflect on your life - you are desiring HOPE this Christmas season.

This Christmas season, Jesus comes to this world for you - to deliver the greatest unexpected gift for you! Jesus Christ for you - saw the brokenness of the world, He saw His loved creation straying far from Him being overcome from the power of sin and temptation. And Jesus out of His love and mercy has come to deliver God’s grace for you! Jesus has come to deliver God’s love and forgiveness for you! Jesus has come to deliver the undeserved gifts of God, the unexpected gifts of God for you - that you may be His people, that you may know the love of God for you! That you may be saved through His work on cross for you - as He takes your sins away! This Christmas season - Jesus comes, God Himself comes to be with you - and comes to deliver His gifts to the broken world, gifts that the world wasn’t asking for, gifts that the world was expecting, gifts that the world didn’t see coming - but gifts that world needed! In Jesus there is no lack! Jesus gives us a complete PEACE that we can’t find in the world! Jesus gives us solid HOPE - as He has come to do all the work of salvation for us!

So this Christmas season, as you spend time with family opening all the different gifts with your name on it, as you spend time opening the gifts that your family has ordered or bought for you this Christmas season. May you continue to look to Jesus - the One who has come for you! May you continue to find and hear Peace in the One who has come. In Jesus we have hope, in Jesus we are set free, in Jesus we are forgiven, in Jesus we receive the gifts of God - gifts that weren’t on our wishlist, but gifts that we absolutely need!

Now may the grace of God, may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, may it guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.