A Sandwich

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Men’s Breakfast for all

Men’s Breakfast for all

Sermon

Intro

All he wanted was a sandwich. Most of you know my nephew Jacob, part of the youth group, drummer, great kid, now a student at the University of Washington…but we love him anyway.

Earlier this week, all he wanted was a sandwich. In the busyness of college life he had time to stop at starbucks, get a frappochino beverage and a double smoked bacon cheddar breakfast sandwich.

Being one of these beautiful days we’ve been having, he went to sit the brick plaza they call Red Square. He sat down, and began to unwrap the aroma of bacon and smoked cheddar. small flakes from the croissant bun picked falling to the ground, then (motion to move to mouth) WHAM.

Jacob is hit from behind. The sandwich slips from his outstretched fingers and begins to fall. In slow motion he sees his meal tumble away from him. And then in a blink, his assailant sweeps in front of him, grabs the sandwich, flys over the center of the square, and drops it.

At which point all the other seagulls swoop in to share the spoils of battle their ringleader aquired in his smash and grab operation.

Give it a moment…All I wanted was some groceries. Walking from my car to Walmart, I was making this quick stop in order to provide for my family this night.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see Amazon was letting me know something I ordered was shipped. Great. Still with my eyes fixed on the phone, I was struck in the face by a length of metal. Just under my left eye.

A pickup had a load of thin metal flashing that stuck out behind it. It the moment I looked down…I walked right into it.

I checked to see if I was bleeding, whimpered ever so slightly, then went into the store.

2 True crime dramas for you this morning. Two stories of pain and disappointment. Two of us wondering if anyone else saw that.

In this life, there are events that impede our current direction. They fall into two broad categories. Interruptions and disruptions.

My trip to the store was interrupted. A brief moment, a little black eye, but it really only delayed me a few seconds before I went about my business…just a little embarrassed.

Jacob…he faced a disruption. His day changed. One, he was still hungry. Two and more significantly, he had been victimized by a team, no…dare I say a street gang of aggressive gulls. He will likely always look over his shoulder before sitting down to eat outside. Not to mention this story will now be a part of his life forever.

When he told my sister, she said, you know what Uncle Shaun would call an event like this? A sermon illustration. Smart girl that sister of mine.

A few months into the pandemic, the national discussion amongst pastors was one of asking if the lockdowns we were living through were an interruption in how we do church, or a disruption. After nearly two years and some return to normal, there’s not much debate left that even though much has returned to normal, there isn’t a church that wasn’t left disrupted.

Some closed, All changed. Not the mission, but at the core, it changed the story at at least some level.

Since the garden and the fall, interruptions and disruptions have been a part of our lives. Some God causes, most God allows. But one thing I am convinced of, is that God always uses both the interruptions and disruptions in our lives to accomplish his will.

Developing our character, creating opportunities to share the gospel, deepening our faith, separating us from both things we depend on and things destructive to us so we might depend on him more closely.

Though we can always choose to fight or ignore what God wants to do…and I believe we lose opportunities constantly to this.

Today we read through the story of the birth of Jesus. This series is looking at how the life of Jesus changes everything. We are finally going to see him in the flesh. Everything up to this point has been in preparation for the life of Jesus. But it was essential, because if the life of Jesus is going to change us, going to change those we love, our neighbors...

We have to be willing to see Jesus as he really is

We have to be willing to believe

We have to be willing to choose the adventure

We have to be willing to lean into a God who is never finished

And we have to understand that God will not always shield you from every foolish choice you make that gets you hit in the face, he will not always guard you from the attacks of birds in pursuit of your sandwich.

He won’t stop events on the world stage from disrupting church, life, relationships, and everything else.

But he never wastes it.

In the birth story of Jesus, this truth stands out. If God was going to make everything go smooth for anyone, shouldn’t it have been the woman bearing him into the world? The family that would raise him? And yet that isn’t what we see! Instead we see God actually add to the disruption, and this young already challenged couple have to respond.

And they do so good. But let’s consider for a moment the way God disrupts and what it can accomplish.

PRAY

God disrupts

Our People (ref1-7, 8-20)

Mary is coming along in this pregnancy. When a decree is issued from on high, that everyone needs to be counted…and they have to go to the place their ancestors were from.

Now for us, in our mobile society, that might be tricky. I was born in Eugene, but my dad in Northern California. My paternal great grandfather Frank was from Oakland… That’d be a long walk. Mary and Joseph had it easy then, only 90 miles or so.

Then while they were there, she gave birth, and since there was no guest room, they stayed in the barn and used the manger for the cradle.

Then, we get to the text just read, Angels appear to the shepherds, proclaiming good news, great joy. TONIGHT a baby has been born, and here are directions to find him. They get a praise song performed by an angelic worship team and then:

Luke 2:15-20 CSB “When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger. After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.”

We could spend days on the importance of the shepherds and angels. Most Christmases, we do. But I want to pull back and look at Mary and though he isn’t mentioned, we know he was there, Joseph.

Last week I joked about Elizabeth being overcrowded at the delivery of John. Let’s look at what Mary had.

Who do you want with you during childbirth?

Who was there?

Let’s back up a minute…where do you want to be? Not ninety miles away with a donkey for transport?

What do our people give us?

Connection, support, encouragement.

There is a lot that good about that. We are supposed to do this for one another. Sometimes, I bet we can all think of a time or circumstance where the person we needed wasn’t there.

maybe circumstance, maybe someone we’ve lost, but still wish they were here, maybe a broken relationship…bottom line is that we find ourselves not having the people we need.

How does God use that?

He reveals our need for him. Both Monica and I went through a season in high school when we began to pursue life with Jesus…and lost the friends we had in the process. I was mad a God for not having new friends lined up. But in that season, we each learned to lean on him. Then in his timing, he replaced them. Not with shepherds, but with Trevor for me and Sabrina for Monica.

It would have been easy for me to avoid adding new people. My core nature is that of an introvert, and the idea of being open to new friends is scary, I hate losing friends in part for that reason. God needed to do some work to grow my dependence on him, and my ability to choose to engage.

For Mary and Joseph, I don’t know what the shepherds did, but I know this: “But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart” She was paying attention.

When there is a new neighbor, new person in church, new co worker…do you think there is a chance you might be called to be like these shepherds? What if they are feeling disconnected, not sure where they fit, a little scared…They are likely being disrupted and God wants to use you to change their story.

See, it works both ways. God will allow disruption of our people. We can withdraw, we can fight it, or we can grieve the loss of those we miss and then look for those God will bring alongside and choose to BE THE ONES God will bring alongside others.

Ok, next section. God will disrupt our people and he will disrupt:

Our Pride (21-24)

Luke 2:21-24 CSB “When the eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus—the name given by the angel before he was conceived. And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every firstborn male will be dedicated to the Lord) and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons).”

Small detail, but a good one to notice. Remember last week when we talked about redemption, I told you that firstborn children had to be redeemed from the Lord. A sacrifice was made. That is what is happening here!

This story leaves out a detail that would have been taken for granted. We read that the law is a pair of turtledoves (12 days) or two young pigeons is the price. But that’s not the whole story. Check this out:

Leviticus 12:6 CSB ““When her days of purification are complete, whether for a son or daughter, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the tent of meeting a year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering.”

Ok, so why does Luke say… well, a couple verse down in Leviticus...

Leviticus 12:8a CSB “But if she doesn’t have sufficient means for a sheep, she may take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering and the other for a sin offering...

Why two turtle doves? Because they were poor. They couldn’t afford to do it the proper way, so they had to pay the price of the poor. This was a public display by the way.

Anybody struggle letting others help? I do. There was a season we needed WIC vouchers and food stamps. I remember planning meals around what we could get for free. There were occasions where we accepted food boxes from the food bank because we had no other options.

I sure didn’t like to talk about it. Maybe it was because I lost a job, or I wasn’t making enough.

But man was it good for me.

Because all of the resistance to receiving help was pride. That sense that I knew what I was doing and didn’t need any help.

God will use disruption to deal with your pride. And I have found in my own life, he will keep working until the job is done.

I wonder if despite the potential scandal of Mary’s virgin pregnancy, if there wasn’t a little bit of pride over the privledge they had to have God’s child?

I wonder if they didn’t struggle with feeling a bit important?

I mean, angels appeared to them, angels sent other people to visit, her cousin’s unborn baby had flipped over hearing her voice...

Coming to the temple and having to offer the smaller sacrifice might have brought them back down to earth.

Paul says that he received a “thorn in his flesh” to keep him from becoming conceited after all the amazing visions he had.

We are bent to focus on our selves. That’s the fall. Pride sees my ability, my needs, my my my. God will break down our pride, whatever it takes.

It is absolutely incompatible with the gospel. 1. The gospel of Jesus, the good news we share in this room every Sunday is that you NEED HELP. You cannot be saved, cannot be in right relationship with God on your own. So God moved first. The one who was wronged, took the wrong on himself, atoning for your wrongs and offered the help you needed to be saved. And 2. the Eden life, the gospel life in community is one where we care for one another, we intentionally look for the needs of others to be met. (supposed to be) If you won’t let people serve you in need…They don’t get the joy of the giving and serving.

When we freely allow others to see and meet our needs, it moves us to do the same for others. All of a sudden, we have what God desires. A community with no need, because the care is full and mutual and without restriction.

We will never get that perfect because we all deal with pride…all…always…but every time we lower the walls and let people see…Heaven on earth is possible.

God will use disruption to our people, our pride, and also:

Our Peace (25-35)

It’s been a busy week for Mary and Joseph. They haven’t traveled home yet, (Matthew tells us that ultimately they won’t for many years) but Jerusalem is close to Bethlehem, so they stick around for the 8 days. I imagine they were thinking about getting out and heading home soon. They just needed to get through the ceremonial things.

They probably felt like once they were done here, things would slow down for them. They knew Jesus would grow to be the Messiah, but at least for now, he wouldn’t be drawing more attention…right?

Luke 2:25-35 CSB “There was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, looking forward to Israel’s consolation, and the Holy Spirit was on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he saw the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him up in his arms, praised God, and said, Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. For my eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples— a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel. His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and told his mother Mary, “Indeed, this child is destined to cause the fall and rise of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed— and a sword will pierce your own soul—that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

They walk through the temple courts, carrying their child after the ceremony and a grey haired man walks right to them, takes the baby from their arms, lifts him up and says,

NOW my lord you can take me home. You kept your promise and I have seen your salvation, light to the gentiles, glory to Israel!

I heard a stand-up comic make the claim that the highest goal of every man is to do nothing. That when a man does something, it is in order to get to nothing. I disagree in part. I think every man desires peace. Every person.

I spent hours yesterday getting another stump out of the ground. I have hours and hours of more work in the backyard to do. All so we can put in the pool, and a fire pit, and eventually a large pond. That labor, is for the day when I can sit by the fire in the evening, watching my fish play…enjoying peace.

Mary and Joseph have been in a whirlwind. But another disruption comes along in the form of Simeon. Not only the circumstances, but hard words for Mary. “a sword will pierce your own soul-that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed”.

How disturbing must those words have been? We only get this story in Luke. Luke was the investigator. He didn’t only rely on the common stories or his own firsthand experience, he went and asked questions. I’m guessing he spent time with Mary, “what do you remember?”

She remembered this.

Peace is good. I like it alot. But peace can be an idol. A pursuit above any other. God disrupts our peace, or rather, God uses the disruptions in our peace.

Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback church in california, a mega church, accomplishing so much for the kingdom, lost his son to suicide in 2013. I heard him in an interview recently discuss the way that he has discovered anew first God’s great love in the midst of the pain, but also that God has done and continues to do the greatest ministry through our hurts, not our strengths.

You can’t stop pain from coming. We live in a world of pain, loss, grief, and sin. Pain disrupts peace. But God…But God will work through that pain, through the disruption to bring a peace passing understanding if we will lean into him. Not only peace to us…but peace through us.

Not the superficial peace of an evening by the fire, but real peace experienced as we live through the fire. Peace that changes not only us but offers strength to others as they walk through their own.

While the Catholic practice of venerating Mary is, I believe misguided. I don’t think it’s an accident that it happened. We know she was a presence in the beginning church. Had anyone had her soul more pierced than Mary? She would watch her son murdered for the sake of the world. And I would bet there was no one more comforting to sit with. No one exuding peace like this woman of great sorrow and yet infinite joy.

I kind of wanted to end it there, but the story isn’t quite done. There is almost a repeat of the previous moment. It made me think that God will also use disruptions to:

Our Patience (36-38)

Luke 2:36-38 CSB “There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers. At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and to speak about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”

After Simeon, I imagine they were ready to get to a quiet place.

But then Anna shows up.

Anna was a an amazing woman of faith. Lost her husband early and then gave herself to knowing and serving the Lord for 84 years! Praying, fasting, seeking God.

As soon as Simeon stops. She arrives and begins to praise the Lord about their baby to EVERYONE around.

I’ll just say this, Disruptions often last far longer than we would wish. Two weeks to flatten the curve…or two years and now who knows? Trust God to handle the timing. Trust that if the disruption endures, there is work to be done through it.

WORSHIP TEAM UP

Let me close out this story

Conc: God Establishes The Platform

Luke 2:39-40 CSB “When they had completed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him.”

Next week we will see that there was a distressing delay that Luke leaves out, but Matthew reports. But for Luke, this was the essential thing.

When they completed everything according to the law of the Lord…they returned.

God was building into Mary and Joseph a story that would sustain them through the challenges to come.

Today, as you face your own disruptions, let me ask you to consider:

How has God worked through disruptions in your life?

Where have you fought what he was trying and missed it?

What might God be doing now?

How can you notice and engage with others who are going through disruptions of their own?

Pray