Sermon Tone Analysis
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God Is For Us In All Things
12.25.21
[Romans 8:31-32] River of Life (Christmas Day)
What now?
For Mary and Joseph, it was always one thing after another.
First, they had to navigate the unprecedented situation of Mary gestating (Col.
2:9) the fullness of the deity in bodily form.
What now?
I don’t think there were any books available to Mary that were titled: What to Expect When You’re Expecting The Son of God.
What now?
For Mary and Joseph, it was always one thing after another.
Joseph had his doubts at first.
(Mt.
1:19) Joseph was a man who was faithful to the law and when he discovered that Mary was pregnant assumed that she had been unfaithful to him.
(Mt.
1:18) Mary was pledged to be married to him, but they had not yet gotten married, so (Mt.
1:19) Joseph had in mind to divorce her quietly.
(Mt.
1:20) But after he had considered this, he had his own visit from an angel.
What now?
For Mary and Joseph, it was always one thing after another.
The angel assured Joseph that Mary was honest and faithful.
(Mt.
1:20) What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
What now? (Mt.
1:20) So Joseph…Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife.
So that’s what he did.
(Mt.
1:24-25) He woke up and did exactly as the angel of the Lord had commanded him.
He took Mary home as his wife.
But he didn’t consummate their marriage until she gave birth to Jesus.
What now?
For Mary and Joseph, it was always one thing after another.
It would be saying too much to say the marriage started off on rocky ground.
But you have to admit, the whole things was unusual.
For Mary and Joseph, it was always one thing after another.
Then, likely late in her third trimester, they had to pick up and leave.
What now?
One thing after another.
Caesar Augustus, either because he wanted his ego stroked or his purse filled, decreed that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
This meant that Joseph would have to travel from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he was from David’s line.
Caesar didn’t care if Mary went, but she was Joseph’s wife.
How could Joseph leave Mary fend for herself?
So he brought her along to Bethlehem.
When they arrived, they came to appreciate how big David’s family tree was.
Bethlehem lacked the inn-frastructure to provide all these descendants of David a room.
What now?
One thing after another.
Perhaps Mary and Joseph, traveling at a slower pace, arrived later than the rest of those who went to Bethlehem to register.
Maybe Joseph didn’t have the coin or the connections to secure lodging for him and his wife.
For Mary and Joseph, it was one thing after another.
While they were in Bethlehem without a place to stay, Mary’s water broke.
What now?
One thing after another.
The time had come.
So she gave birth to her firstborn, a son, in a stable.
What now?
One thing after another.
If Jesus was treated like any other newborn child—and we have no reason to believe he wasn’t—the umbilical cord was cut, he was washed clean and then rubbed with a combination of salt and a little olive oil.
Then Mary (Lk.
2:7) wrapped him up in swaddling cloths—also traditional—perhaps with a few extra layers because he was a little more exposed to the wintry elements in a stable.
Then she placed (Lk.
2:7) her firstborn in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
What now?
For Mary and Joseph, it was always one thing after another.
Then, it was nightfall.
After labor and delivery and washing and swaddling, any new mother covets a good night’s sleep.
But that was not to be had.
Suddenly complete strangers came looking for her son.
They wanted to see the one who had been born to them.
What now?
One thing after another.
It was always one thing after another for Mary and Joseph.
When they took Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem as a 40 day-old infant for his presentation, a complete stranger took Jesus (Lk.
2:28) in his arms and called him (Lk.
2:30) Your salvation.
(Lk.
2:34-35) He said this child was destined to cause the rising and falling of many in Israel…And a sword will pierce Mary’s soul, too.
What now?
One thing after another.
When they returned to Bethlehem, more strangers came to visit them.
Wise men from the east came to their house and (Mt.
2:11) bowed down and worshipped their son and present him with precious gifts of (Mt.
2:11) gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
What now?
One thing after another.
It was always one thing after another for Mary and Joseph.
Shortly after that Joseph had another strange dream.
(Mt.
2:13) An angel commanded him “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
What now?
One thing after another.
It was always one thing after another for Mary and Joseph.
Have you ever felt like you were stuck in this kind of one thing after another cycle?
Sometimes the challenges, the setbacks, the sadness and the suffering comes in waves.
Sometimes, we dread hearing the phone ring, checking our mailboxes or voicemails or email inboxes because we are so weary of what has been happening to us.
Sometimes we feel like we’re stuck in a Murphy’s Law experiment.
What can go wrong will go wrong.
What now?
At times, it feels like we have been left to fend for ourselves.
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