Sermon - Journey to Bethlehem

Preached on December 24, 2007 at The First Congregational Church of Tallmadge, UCC

Dedicated to my family: Betsy, James, and Saml; and always to the glory of God.

I want to tell you the story Mary and Joseph and their boy Jesus. I want to tell this story because this is the night to tell it, and also because I think that we may find ourselves in this story; I want to invite you to see if maybe you are on a journey to Bethlehem.

Mary
Our story begins with Mary, on an ordinary day during the time when she was betrothed to Joseph, before they were married. Suddenly, an angel named Gabriel stood appeared, and greeted her with strange words. He said “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Mary was perplexed. She wondered what this could mean. Then the angel told her something amazing!

Gabriel said, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
This was even more perplexing! Mary asked the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel Gabriel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. Even now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God."
Elizabeth was pregnant? Mary thought. How could that be?

Mary was astonished, and still perplexed, but something deep inside of her trusted these words, and trusted God. When she spoke next, the words came out of her mouth like a prayer: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And then the angel left, and then Mary waited. She waited, with fear of what would happen when she told her family, when people found out. Would they believe her? What would they say? She waited with no idea what to expect next. She waited as the nights grew longer for this child to be born. She waited, a child yet herself.

I wonder what experiences in your life have made you feel perplexed or confused?
I wonder how God might do something unexpected that will completely change your life?
I wonder where in your life you might agree to help God? When you might also say “here am I, a servant of the Lord.”

Joseph
Our story continues with Joseph. When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he was crushed. All his visions of a future with Mary and the life they would have had were shattered in this single moment. Of course, Joseph assumed that another man was involved, and that his betrothal to Mary was broken. Joseph decided to call off the wedding very quietly, because he did not want to humiliate Mary by exposing her to public disgrace.

But after he had made up his mind, it all changed on a dark night, when clouds covered the moon and stars, and Joseph lay in a deep sleep. He dreamed, and in his dream an angel of the Lord appeared and explained how Mary was pregnant, and that the child would be very important. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” The dream changed everything. Joseph was in awe as he wrapped his mind around the idea that this child could be from God and that he, Joseph, was the one chosen to name him. In that era, it was the father’s role to name the child, and naming was the official claim of fatherhood. By naming Jesus, Joseph would indeed become his father, and Jesus would indeed become a descendent of the house of David. It was incredible! But still, there were worries. What would others think? Could he handle all that was to come? What blessings and dangers would await a child born of God?

In the midst of these questions he waited. He waited with a trust in his wife Mary, a trust in what the angel had told him in his dream. He waited as the nights grew longer for our child to be born.

I wonder when you have felt surprised, even blindsided by something unexpected?
I wonder how God might be communicating with you in dreams, in experiences, or in the words and face of a friend or stranger?
I wonder what plan for your life you might have to give up for something more important?

Journey to Bethlehem
While they were waiting, the emperor Augustus decreed that everyone in the Roman Empire should be registered in a census. Everyone had to go to the town of their ancestors. Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee in the north of Israel, but Joseph was descended from the family of King David, and so they had to travel to the city of David, called Bethlehem. Bethlehem is in the south of Israel. They had to travel past Samaria, past Ephraim and Jericho, even past Jerusalem. It was a long journey, and Mary was soon to give birth. They left their home and all the preparations they had been making for their new family. It was hard to put everything on hold at such a busy time, just because a ruler who lived far away had ordered it.

As they traveled, they saw things they had never seen before. They traversed a land that was sometimes beautiful, other times treacherous, and often both at the same time.

When they finally arrived in Bethlehem, the city was full with people who had come to be registered. Every room in the inn was taken, and there was no one who would take them in to pass the night. The only shelter to be found was in a stable, where they crowded in with the animals who were eating from a manger filled with hay.

I wonder how events in the wider world affect your life?
I wonder what things have pulled you away from your home?
I wonder how you faced hardship along the way?
I wonder how God might be at work in your life, even in the midst of the things you have to do?

Joseph and Mary’s journey to Bethlehem was not something they chose or planned. It seems that life often goes that way for us. Sometimes I feel like I would be able to do more good in the world if things didn’t keep coming up. I could help more with the kingdom of God if my life wasn’t always caught up in unexpected work, demands, and journeys. But on this night, when I remember Joseph and Mary, it occurs to me that the things that keep coming up and getting in the way may be the very place where God is. It might be that when we find ourselves in a wholly unexpected place, it will be like Mary and Joseph finding themselves in a stable in another city. In that place, we meet God. Or, to say it another way: in that place, we help to bring God into the world.