The Neighborhood

It had been roughly 400 years since there had been a public Word from God. To put that in perspective- America has only been a nation for 239 years. Imagine all of the history that has transpired in the USA since 1776- and in all of that time there was not one public moment when God’s power or voice was seen or heard.... I bet it was a dark time.

You know, the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day and the USA today actually have a lot in common. At the time of Jesus’ birth Rome was the greatest world power. In fact, Rome was the most influential and powerful player on the global scene- a lot like the USA today. Another similarity is the kind of unrest that was on the people in Jesus’ day. There was a lot of conflict politically, and the people were up in arms about the empire, the government, and the rulers. A lot like the USA today. Finally, the Roman Empire was full of desperate people, a lot like the USA today. There was so much space between the rich and the poor; so many people were taking advantage of the less fortunate; and it was impossible to get ahead in the eyes of the world.

And in the midst of this dark, confused, stressful, evil world....Jesus enters. I love the way that the Message translation of puts this amazing event:

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

Jesus is a move into the neighborhood kind of God....let’s think about that, because this idea can really influence the way that we approach the Christmas season.

You know for the majority of the existence of America we have been an exception in the story of Christianity. Here is what I mean by that. For the majority of American history Christians have been a major public influence. We have been the majority in most settings and discussions. We have had presidents and people of power that were Christian and for many of us we have heard all of our lives that America is a “Christian Nation” but in recent history we are starting to really question if that is still the case.

Think about it, whether it has to do with sexuality, abortion, war and violence, racism, pick the issue, the morals, ideals, and commands of the Bible have less influence on society than they have ever had. I have shared with many of our older members that part of the tension we see as Christians in current America is that for 200 years the laws of America, the public moral structure, and the Bible have, for the most part, run parallel paths. From sexuality, drug use, alcohol, abortion, and more we have seen Christianity be in harmony in our culture.

No so long ago it was considered Biblical unacceptable by most people to use marijuana. Good new for Christians, it was also illegal in the USA to smoke marijuana- being caught doing so would get you a conviction in court- so the laws of the land were in harmony with the opinion of the Church; also, marijuana usage-for the most part- was seen morally unacceptable in the general public- a failed drug test would get you fired, and there were almost no public settings that encouraged marijuana use. But that all started to change sometime in the late 90s and early 2000s. Instead of being morally inexcusable, more and more people started to be open about marijuana use

What’s the point, Jon? You may ask- well I am glad you did, because this is the point. The very first Advent was a lot like that.

When Jesus showed up in the world the world was not as excited as we make it out to be. Jesus shows up and who does the announcement in our passage go to? Shepherds. Well, if the world is going to just welcome Jesus with wide open arms I think I would have picked a more influential first audience. Or how about Bethlehem? They did not seem too excited about this birth. We have no record of the town shutting down, no stories about parades or welcome parties, no just a small group of people coming to see him in a stable. Or how about Herod? Surely, if there was a Savior to be born that was going to change the whole world for the better the King would be among those coming to see him; right? Wrong- in fact not only did Herod not come to see Jesus- he had all the babies in the Kingdom massacred in order to try and get rid of him.

In other words, the entire Christmas story takes place in a world that is not all that excited, accepting, or open to the message of the Gospel.

In fact, Jesus made the opposite pretty clear in

English Standard Version Chapter 15

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

This should be a reminder for us, friends, of what our prayers should be like at Christmas time. I think many of us can get frustrated at Christmas time in the lack of CHRIST in CHRISTmas. We can get frustrated with the amount of consumerism, the focus on stuff, the business and the like. We can get so mad when people are offended when we say Merry Christmas, or when people are so bent out of shape when we talk about Jesus....but remember, this is exactly what Jesus said would happen.

And what does the Bible tell us our response should be? Not anger, not stress, not despression, no.... Our response should be more reliance on the Holy Spirit.

Yesterday I had a short conversation with a friend regarding prayer; and in that conversation I reminded them that prayer is not about approaching God like a spiritual Santa Claus , no, prayer is about asking and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform YOU and YOUR WILL and YOUR DESIRES and YOUR WANTS. In prayer we are not changing God, but hopefully God is changing US.

So, when thinking through this sermon I realized that for every time I pray for the world at Christmas time, I need to also pray for myself. For every time I pray for the person in front of me who is more concerned with what is in the CART that what is in the HEART- every time I bow my head and say “God, help them understand that Christmas is about Jesus” I also need to bow my head and say “God, help me to grow more in my understanding that Christmas is about Jesus.”

One of the things that breaks my heart as a pastor is the amount of things we will complain about in the world, but we will do nothing to try and fix. Let me give you an example.

That person that you know misses the point of Christmas- have you told them any different? Have you done your part in showing them Jesus? Or do you just return to your desk, or your office, and shake your head, and say “God, please show them more.” Because maybe, just maybe, God’s response is “I am trying to show them more of me- that’s why I put YOU in their life.”

We have a God that moves into the neighborhood, and so we should be a neighborhood people. A people that do not retreat when the world rejects God, hates Jesus, persecutes Christians, we need to be a people that strive to show them how wrong they are.

The world needs you, church, a lot more than you need them- but they may not realize that yet.