Christmas Eve 2022

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Christmas Eve 2022

Merry Christmas and welcome to Jesus Church

So honored that you chose to spend you Xmas Eve with us

• Remembering the story of Jesus birth and true reason we celebration
  • And we will all celebrate tonight/tomorrow
  • We will eat great food and open gifts
  • But the greatest gift has already been given
• Lets start tonight by reading the Christmas story found in Matthew

Matt. 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

[Pray]

Story – 1 thing we love to do at Xmas is watch movies

One of our “GO TO” movies is Home Alone

• Maybe yours is A Christmas Carol / It’s a wonderful life / Grinch
  • And of course they’re fun to watch
  • Probably a bit of nostalgia
• Common thing that all of these movies have
  • They tell us something about the character is the story
  • But they also tell us something about ourselves
• And that’s true for really any well made movie or book we read
  • I can argue truth from Jurassic Park or Star Wars
  • Just as must as a book on the American Revolution
    • About human nature… about hope/desire… resolve/betrayal

And that happens through telling stories (fiction or non)

• And as we get to know the characters in a more personal way
  • We get to know ourselves better
  • Yes we are told a story about Luke Skywalker
  • At the same time Luke Skywalker tells a story about you and me

Same with being a parent and having children (PIC OF JOEY/LYLA)

• Wonderful and fun and creative… our kids are great
  • But Michelle and I live with these kids – all the time
  • Parents knows: Most amazing & challenging thing at same time
• Everyday we get to know them better.. but here’s what happens
  • As we get to know them better
  • We also get to know ourselves better
• Like when I realize at times how selfish I can be: EXAMPLE
  • How I think day will go is destroyed by call from school nurse
  • Or I’m ready to relax for the night… but help w/ math homework
    • So that isn’t a ton of fun to realize about myself
• But same time… realize new capacities for self giving I didn’t know
  • Because there are a lot of times you have to do inconvenient stuff
  • And I actually find joy in going out of my way for my kids
  • Don’t even think about convenience… do it b/c they’re awesome

TAG: So I discover who these little people are… but also who I am

• And this is true for me – but also for every one of us
  • If you put the 2 most significant people up on this screen
  • You could say how you have learned about who they are
  • But you could also say how much you’ve learned about yourself
    • Reason we need people… we learn through relationship

As Matthew tells Xmas story – This is what he wants

He actually specifically picks out only a few stories around Jesus birth

• The stories aren’t exhaustive to what Matthew knows
  • He chooses specific stories that help us to see
  • Not only who he is… also who we are
  • Just look at who he starts…

Matt. 1:1

This is the genealogy of Jesus…

• Word genealogy (Gk – Genesis) – Which means the beginning
  • This is the beginning of Jesus…
  • But he also tells us the whole family history of Jesus

Matt 1:18

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about

• Word birth (what do you think that Greek word is) – Genesis
  • But now its not a genealogy… it’s a birth story
  • So this is a birth story… but its about his family history as well

And Matthew is leading us to this story of Jesus’ Origin

• Which really translates well to our culture today
  • Any good therapist that you go to… talk about family of origin
  • Talk about how you have been shaped by whole life experience
    • How you were raised… parents… environment
• Goal is never just rehash the past – But to illuminate present
  • To learn new things about yourself through your origin
  • And that is exactly what Matthew is doing
• That through these Christmas stories (not just cute/fun/sweet)
  • We would learn about who Jesus is… what he came to do
  • But we also learn about ourselves… why we need a savior

Tag: Matthew is inviting us to a story of discovery through Xmas

Back into the story

I want to focus in on a very specific part of the story… The name Jesus

• Because as we look at this story – The name seems a bit ironic
  • The name given to Jesus meaning… “GOD SAVES”
  • But ironically all around Jesus there seems to be this danger
• This name was probably a huge question mark for Mary
  • Pregnant not by husband (punishable by stoning)… God Saves
  • 100 mile trip on a donkey while 9 months pregnant… God Saves
  • Then a King sends Romans to find & kill your son… God Saves
• Where Mary finds herself… is where many of us would find ourselves
  • When hardship/tragedy/uncertainty hits our lives
  • We start asking questions
    • Where is God… why is this happening… will you save me

Can you imagine Mary’s prayers each time her family’s lives are in danger

• Her prayers were probably around “God where are you right now”
  • And that’s the question the story of Jesus comes to answer
  • Where is God in the darkest points in our lives
• But these stories challenge how we think of God/suffering/storms
  • B/C what human nature wants… this myth of religious fulfillment
  • That if I invite Jesus into my life – God is good/kind/loving
  • And I have all these hopes & dreams I have…
    • God will make them happen
      • Its like playing Monopoly and going straight to boardwalk
• Then it doesn’t happen… opposite happens… Mary’s story happens
  • And where is God.. how can there be a God
  • When the train seems to go off the tracks

Again Matthews Goal – Show Jesus… Show ourselves

Real quick – Lets just go to the worst of the stories (train off the tracks)

• Matthew 2… Mary/Joseph survive the rumors… survive the journey
  • Jesus is now 2 or 3 years old
  • Wise men come to give their gifts
• But there is this insecure political king over the Jews
  • Wise men went to him & actually asked “Where is the new king”
  • Note to self – Never ask a ruling king where the new king is
  • Imagine going to N. Korea and asking that (what’s gonna happen)

Matt. 2:13-16

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “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.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son”.

Hear story – Seems train is off the tracks… God is gone

But Matthew is actually showing us the opposite

• Does it through this prophecy… which we assume is about Jesus
  • But did Jesus come out of Egypt or go into Egypt – He went in
    • This prophecy isn’t about Jesus… it’s a reminder of history
    • Where another king decides to kill people because of control
• Matthew is showing us a pattern in human nature
  • See the story hasn’t come off the rails… its right where expected
  • Its just that the humanity track isn’t all that great
• And it doesn’t take the Bible to see it
  • Look at the holocost / Or Chinese Civil war – millions killed
  • The Atlantic & mideast slave trade
• Matthew is showing us there is a pattern in the human condition
  • Its actually shown in the entire story of the Bible
  • And it isn’t something we can save ourselves from
    • Its deep inside of us

And right here you might be thinking… well that’s not me – I’m good

• And if we could all just be good to each other… everything is fine
  • And “good to each other” is great – core teaching of Jesus
  • But to view that as the solution to the world
  • As if we could all just do GOOD… its naively hopeless
• Because it doesn’t get to the heart of the problem
  • 1: We are all very selective on who we need to be good to
  • 2: We are all a mixed bag of good/evil
    • Mob boss orders an assassination and then flowers for mom
• So simply saying be good – ignores the complexity of the question
  • Everyone thinks they are fighting for good
  • Why do you think terrorists blow things up – Not to be evil
    • They believe that they are doing it for good
    • Its about conflicts of good… millions that die in the middle
• That is the hopelessness condition of the human situation
  • So “Be Good” like giving Vitamin C to someone w/ broken leg
  • It doesn’t even acknowledge the complexity of the problem

So what Matthew shows through the story – Same as history tells us

• This Jesus comes to Earth… as a human
  • To save us from the human condition
  • From the historical failure of humanity to actually be GOOD

Matt. 1:21

You’ll give him the name Jesus, b/c he will save his people from their sins

• The word sin – it literally means failure
  • Jesus came to take our sin – And save us from it
  • And Matthew presents Jesus to us as the only place we can find it

And you can reject/accept/consider that claim… but you can’t ignore it

• Jesus came on Christmas to be the human we aren’t capable of being
  • To be a solution from outside the human condition
  • Yet still being uniquely within the human situation
• It’s the divine and human coming together to save and rescue
  • So as we reflect on the story… we learn about Jesus & ourselves
    • Christmas is about understanding God is hear to save us
    • Christmas is also about us needing to be saved

I believe Jesus came as a baby… as Xmas gift – As the hope of world

• He is the light at the end of the tunnel
  • He is the beacon that leads us safely to the shore
  • He is the hope in a world broken with no solution to be fixed

• Jesus is the Light of the World