THE BOOK OF JONAH.
Fishy Story

The story of Jonah in the Old Testament is a wonderful reminder of the symmetry of God's Word - it reminds us that God's judgment may be delayed for a while due to God's pity on humanity but that His mercy and grace require an accounting.

Jonah becomes the sign that Jesus gives the Jews who are looking for reasons to believe He is the Messiah -  When for the umpteenth time the Jews asked Jesus for a sign, He said no sign would be given except for the sign of the Prophet Jonah.

“For as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the huge fish, so the Son of Man will be 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the Earth.” (Matthew 12: 40).

This reference validates Jonah’s role as a prophet in Israel, verifies the accuracy of his story and points to the Lord’s own resurrection.

But what’s the deeper meaning to all this?

First, Jonah is like all of us. Seeking God’s grace for our own deliverance, we

desire only justice for our enemies and are often angry when He shows
them mercy.

Second, the story of Jonah is also a parable of Israel and the Gentiles. Israel failed in her first effort to fulfill her mission as God’s witness (Isaiah 43: 10-13) and

ceased to exist as a nation. God sends Jesus so that the Kinsman redeemer could
reconcile not only Israel, but all gentiles to Him, as Creator.

Nineveh may only have relented from evil by doing good works (Jonah 3: 10) but nowhere is actual repentance reported, Nineveh’s destruction was only delayed, not cancelled, by God.

The story may sound fishy, but it’s all true and designed to show us God’s Love. 

Here is the text of Jonah, chapter 2 & 3 (NKJV): 

Chapter 2

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish's belly. 2 And he said: "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.

3 For You cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas, And the floods surrounded me; All Your billows and Your waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, 'I have been cast out of Your sight; Yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.' 5 The waters surrounded me, even to my soul; The deep closed around me; Weeds were wrapped around my head. 6 I went down to the moorings of the mountains; The earth with its bars closed behind me forever; Yet You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord, my God.

7 "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 "Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord." 10 So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Chapter 3

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you." 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.

4 And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day's walk. Then he cried out and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" 5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

6 Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 8 But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. 9 Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?

10 Then God saw their works that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

Jonah is a lot more than just a children's Bible Story - it's a true presentation of God's Love and Grace.

LEVEL GROUND
John 1: 43-51 NRSV

Two apples up in a tree were looking down on the world. The first apple said, "Look at all those people fighting, robbing, rioting -- no one seems willing to get along with his fellow man. Someday we apples will be the only ones left. Then we'll rule the world."

Replied the second apple, "Which of us -- the reds, yellows, or the greens?"

This story appeared in an Our Daily Bread Meditation: In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India.

So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people.

Sadly, Gandhi left the church and never returned. "If Christians have caste differences also," he said, "I might as well remain a Hindu." That usher's prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior.

Some prejudices are hidden by humor and stereotype. They exist in the stories and jokes we tell. We understand that the subtle meanings of our words speak those things we can’t say directly, and are counting on those who hear to know that.

A prejudice is defined as “an act or state of holding an unreasonable preconceived notion, judgment, or conviction toward a person, organization, group of people, or certain behavior based on having an adverse judgment or opinion formed unfairly or without knowledge of the facts: it can be due to believing an irrational suspicion, fear, or hatred of a particular social group, such as a race or a religion.”

We usually try to cover-up our prejudices and hide them in subtle ways.

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth." 

Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!" 

Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you." Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 

Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these."  And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Nathanael, believed to be the disciple Bartholomew, experienced a tough first meeting with Jesus. When Phillip called him to come and meet the Messiah, Nathanael was skeptically prejudiced, but he followed along anyway.

Nathanael said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” What’s is so interesting about this prejudicial statement is that Nathanael, is from the area around Nazareth, and was speaking about himself as well: It is if Margaret or Joan  said, “The National Pike, can anything good come from the National Pike?”

As Philip introduced him to Jesus, the Lord declared, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." Immediately Nathanael wanted to know, "How do you know me?"

Jesus got his attention when he answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Well, that stopped Nathanael in his tracks. In his surprise he said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel."

Scholars believe that Nathanael was studying and reading from the Book of Genesis, chapter 28, about Jacob’s ladder when Jesus saw him.

In the story, Jacob is fleeing from his brother after stealing his birthright from him, and is on his way to his relative's house at Haran, Jacob lays down for the night near Luz. As he was dreaming, he had a vision of a ladder, or stairway, between Heaven and earth. God's Angels were on it, ascending and descending to earth.

Jacob saw God standing above the ladder. God repeated the promise of support he had made to Abraham and Isaac. He told Jacob his offspring would be many, blessing all the families of the earth. God then said: "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Remember God’s promise of a kinsman redeemer that He told Eve would come?

Nathanael realizes that Jesus is the Messiah sent from God in that second because of all the things Jesus has said and done.

In fact, Nathanael recognizes Jesus as a metaphorical form of Jacobs’ ladder, because He will provide access to Heaven, as well. All of the things he believes, real or imagined, prejudiced or not, are instantly wiped away. And Nathanael is now free from human guile and deceit.

Nathanael garnered only a few lines in the Gospels, but in that instant he became a loyal follower of Jesus Christ.  Larry D. Wright once wrote: “Given half a chance, people often crawl out of the boxes into which we've relegated them.” I think Nathanael would agree.

There is a short drama entitled “The Long Silence” that says it all:

At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God’s throne.Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them.

But some groups near the front talked angrily, – not with cringing shame, but with belligerence, “Can God judge us? How can he know about suffering?” snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. “We endured terror … beatings … torture … death!”

In another group an African-American boy lowered his collar. “What about this?” he demanded, showing an ugly rope burn. “Lynched … for being black!”

Far out across the plain there were hundreds of such groups.

Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering he permitted in his world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred. What did God know of all that man had been forced to endure in this world? For God leads a pretty sheltered life, they said.

So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he had suffered the most. A Jew, an African-American, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed arthritic, a thalidomide child. In the center of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case. It was really rather clever.

Before God could be qualified to be their judge, they told Him He must endure what they had endured. Their decision was that God should be sentenced to live on earth – as a man!

“Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it.

Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge.

Let him be tortured.At last, let him see what it means to be terribly alone.

Then let him die. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify it.”

As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled. When the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence.

No-one uttered another word. No-one moved. For suddenly everyone realized that God had already served his sentence. “For God so loved the world…”

Each of the people gathered there suddenly realized that in there pride and human pain they had rejected God and would now be judged fairly by a righteous God.

Titus 2: 11 reads: “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.”

The only distinction and prejudice that will remain, and be justified is whether there is repentance or not, deceit or not.

Romans 5: 12 says: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

Nathanael recognized that everything he knew or thought he knew must change if he were to trust and believe in Jesus.

In Romans 1: 16 it is written: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

General Robert E. Lee was a devout follower of Jesus Christ. It is said that soon after the end of the American Civil War, he visited a church in Washington, D.C.

During the communion service he knelt beside a black man. An onlooker said to him later, "How could you do that?" Lee replied, "My friend, all ground is level beneath the cross."

Friends, we are all equal on the level ground before the Cross of Christ. We are all in equal need of salvation regardless of who we are: no matter what our color, creed, national origin, “supposed sexual identity or preference,” or familial status.

This the lesson Jesus teaches Nathanael and us. In the final judgment there will be one great distinction made - believer or deceiver. 

 We are to seek him out, speak truth in God, and reject all things that are false and evil in His eyes. If we are to remain prejudiced in anything it must be against those who would compromise the beautiful truth of God and hide it from others. From them we must flee. Amen.

BIRTHMARKS
Mark 1: 4-11 NRSV

After the Baptism of his baby brother in church, little Johnny sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, "That pastor said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, but I want to stay with you guys."

Before performing a baptism, the pastor approached the young father and said solemnly, "Baptism is a serious step. Are you prepared for it?" "I think so," the man replied. "My wife has made appetizers and we have a caterer coming to provide plenty of cookies and cakes for all of our guests." "I don't mean that," the pastor responded. "I mean, are you prepared spiritually?"

 

"Oh, sure," came the reply. "I've got a keg of beer and a case of whiskey."

Not quite the “spirits” the pastor was hoping for.

Baptism is one of those things we expect Christians to undergo before church membership as an infant as it is an occasion to commit oneself to following Jesus. We are told that baptism signifies being baptized into Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the new life Jesus, as spiritual water, gives to us. It is a sign and seal of belief.

As an avid people watcher I am sometimes amazed by how much someone resembles a parent, grandparent, or an aunt or uncle. In my family I am reminded of how much I and at least 2 of my brothers looked like my mother. Of course I have always told people she had more facial hair (and she’d kick me for saying that)!

Of course in the movies and in legends and stories people are frequently seeking the lost heir to the kingdom or to an inheritance by discovering a long lost child with the family birthmark or other physical sign of relation.

In the days before DNA testing/matching having a family birthmark or some physically distinctive feature was the one true form of identification, and the sign of relationship between family members. Baptism can be viewed like that as well.

Listen to the Baptism of Jesus, and watch carefully for the elements I talked about:

And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

Jesus’ family birthmark, given at His baptism, is a dove (“peristera” in Greek).

We celebrate and submit to baptism because we believe God's Spirit goes before us. We believe God is working in our lives from the time we are born to bring us to the point in our lives when we are prepared to accept God’s free gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ for ourselves and become children of God

Some churches and faith traditions treat baptism as if it were waterboarding in order to insure the person has committed to Christ. It is like the ordeal medieval knights went through before they were “dubbed” knights.

For me, the mark of Baptism is best regarded as God’s putting his family birthmark upon us. The Christian must be warned that Baptism does not ever become a birthright to superiority or bad behavior. It does not confer special rights and privileges as a member of a church. That always becomes a path of rights, obligations, and responsibilities.

The Grace of God has always been free à accepting it has always had a price.

For Christians, baptism is our first initiation into God’s Church, the beginning of an amazing journey. It must become the foundation upon which our lives are built. For in Christ we are never homeless, we are always surrounded by God’s grace and love.

I once heard a pastor friend say, "children without a Christian foundation have little to build upon." What would it feel like to be a child who is never surrounded by a community who believe in God's love? To have no moral grounding or compass in your life?

Sadly, some children, do grow up thinking that saying "Jesus Christ" is just a swear word! And that the cross is only jewelry. No wonder we live in such a graceless and cruel society.

It’s no wonder people are having difficulty fighting back against a warped image of God perpetuated by those filled with hate because they have no gage to measure it against.

We cannot know the love of God until we experience it for ourselves. Baptism is where and when Jesus tells us who we are and where we belong.

God is the One who initiates that love, and the Church is the body of Christ called to live out that love on earth.

Now, if you were baptized as a youth and then confirmed that baptism, or professed faith as an adult, that means that you made the decision to dedicate your life to Jesus Christ, and your baptism was an outward sign of the decision you made and the conversion you experienced to seek out and live a new life. This is the meaning of the birthmark of new life or "the sign that you are reborn of God."

We do not believe that infant baptism saves us, but we do believe it is a sign of God’s grace going before us that protects and seals until that infant can make the decision to accept Christ for themselves.

This is an important point: Infant baptism must be confirmed later. There is no free "get out of judgment later card" because your parents had you baptized. We do not use sugar water and baptism does not inoculate you against difficulty, suffering, and pain.

God's plan simply requires each of us to acknowledge Him, confess our sins, repent, confirm our baptism, and begin to be regenerated into a new person as inspired by the Holy Spirit.

This is the "born again" experience that has often been debated and discounted. Yet, as the new believers in the Book of Acts received the Holy Spirit, so we also open ourselves to Him, when we seal our baptism. 

Just as baptism seals our faith, Holy Communion, which we observe frequently, serves as the commemoration of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Baptism and Holy Communion has little meaning to the unbeliever but all meaning to those living in faith to Jesus Christ.

These are the only two sacraments, in the Reformed tradition, we observe.

Baptism is something that binds us to others. I am reminded of the story a little girl once told her mother about the first day of kindergarten:

 When asked if she had problems during her first day the little girl told her mother, “When I got there the girl sitting next to me said she was just as sacred as the day she got baptized at church. I told her I was scared at my baptism too, so we held hands and were scared the rest of the day together.”

 God placed a birthmark on us at our Baptism just like Jesus received.

 Praise God and uplift His name. Amen.

TERRORISM STRIKES IN PARIS:

 

L A Marzulli (www.lamarzulli.net) wrote this on his blog today:

Black-clad gunmen shouting “Allahu Akbar!” stormed the Paris offices of a satirical publication known for lampooning Islam Wednesday, killing 12 and injuring as many as 15 before escaping, French officials said.

As many as three Kalashnikov-toting shooters were being sought following the 11:30 a.m. attack at Charlie Hebdo, the publication known for challenging Muslim terrorists with a 2011 caricature of Prophet Muhammed on its cover and which recently tweeted a cartoon of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Two policemen and several journalists – including the cartoonist behind the weekly publication’s provocative images, were among the dead.

“We’ve avenged the honor of the prophet!” the killers shouted, according to witnesses who spoke to Sky News. Other witnesses said the men shouted “Allahu Akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.” The gunmen spoke French without any accent, according to Le Monde.

The back-story on this is satire is a no-no and will be met with the harshest of terms, period.  Twelve people are now dead in France because of a cartoon.  This is the face of radical Islam and it’s not going to go away.  France has a very large muslim population as well as other countries in the EU.  Certain sections of Paris are now completely controlled by Muslims and are under Sharia law. http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2367/european-muslim-no-go-zones.

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Read the rest and also read the post on the “European No go zones.” Those of us travelling in Europe over the past 10 years could see this coming. We also can see it happening here in the U.S. as well (go to Dulles Airport if you doubt me!)

America has always been a place that welcomes difference as long as that difference was willing to bend a little to assimilate into our common values, identity, and the American Dream – you don’t have to do everything the same, apply every core attitude and faith practice to your neighbor, or even expect them to eat the same foods you do.

When will we wake up to the invasion that is occurring around us?

We Christians expect this to happen as the end of days approaches but there are those who are going to be caught as deer in the headlights.

Friends the faith of our enemy holds deceptionalism as it’s core philosophy. Open your eyes and ears – THIS WAS A TERRORIST ACT, not an incident of workplace violence, misuse of guns, or a cult. It was pure religious hate and this was an act of war perpetuated on unarmed civilians.

“ON YOUR TOES”
MATTHEW 2: 1-12 NRSV

“Be on your toes because some of these people aren’t right,” the psychiatric aide at Harrisburg Hospital told me on my first visit in 1980. It was my first exposure to such a place, and the first of many visits to institutions serving mentally ill and mentally deficient people over my mental health career.

When I sat down to read the scripture passage for this week that memory came back to me as I thought, “What type of place and environment was King Herod’s palace and throne room?” What would the Wise men have encountered as they sought the child that was foretold to be the King of the Jews?

Let’s hear their story:

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

To understand what the Wise men may have encountered in Jerusalem as they sought information there are some things we have to know.

Let’s first understand that the Herod here is “Herod the Great,” the father of Herod Antipas, who would later endorse the Pharisee’s and the High Priest’s demand of Jesus’ death at the hands of Rome. That Herod Antipas was “King of Galilee.”

Herod the Great, while not really Jewish and not really a nice person at all, had convinced the Roman Emperor to give him the throne and title to Judea after several long battles and wars in the region. Herod was a schemer and survivor more than anything else and lived on paranoia and conspiracy theories.

During nearly his whole reign, Herod faced trouble within his own family. As early as 29 B.C. he had killed his wife, Mariamne, out of jealousy. As the years went by, the whole matter was further complicated by the question of who would replace him on the throne. Herod – multiple wives, multiple children, multiple threats.

Like many people with a strong will to power and rule, Herod could not face the idea of losing it. Three of Herod's sons were put to death, and his brother was said to have "escaped death only by dying."

Complicating the issue is that Herod’s health was never good and he eventually died of intestinal gangrene caused by parasites and poor hygiene.

When Herod finally did die in 4 B.C., two of his other surviving sons claimed the throne and the Emperor Augustus finally settled the matter by splitting the inheritance between these two sons and a third one, and not allowing the title of king of Judea to any of them.

Historians have written that the only good thing that can be said about Herod the Great is that in an age when small countries were at the mercy of aggressors and depended on the will of Rome, Herod did keep Judea safe, secure, and prosperous.

Throughout his career Herod suffered from being caught somewhere between Jew and Gentile (and was thought of by the Jews as a gentile abomination). But despite his wish to strengthen the Jewish state, he still sought the favor of Rome, and this conflict between loyalty would prove his ultimate failure.

Herod the Great undertook great building projects in Judea, including whole cities like Caesarea Maritima and Masada and the rebuilding of Jericho. He also rebuilt the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.

But he did things that infuriated the Jews. After he completed the work in the Temple, he deeply offended the Jews of Jerusalem by placing an eagle, the emblem of Roman rule, on the Temple. His last act in life was overseeing the execution of the Jews who had torn it down.

In our scripture from Matthew the wise men from the east, travel to Jerusalem to ask Herod the Great where the King of the Jews was to be born.

Think of that for a second – they came into the palace of a paranoid, power hungry, and physically tormented king with limited but “absolute power” and asked where the King of Jews was just born? Not un like walking into an airport and saying “terrorist,” and “bomb,” in the same sentence to a young fuzzy lipped TSA agent!

Herod was deeply disturbed, because he had been given the title, King of the Jews, by the Romans, and he was planning that one of his sons would inherit the title from him. Equally disturbing was the news that the child would be born in Bethlehem, the site of Herod's summer palace.

Herod tries to get the travelling Kings to keep him informed. But they probably were tipped off by their own intuition or someone in the palace who knew the score and tipped them off like the aide did for me so long ago. Perhaps they left as if they were walking on the proverbial eggshells. God also came to them in a dream and warned them to go another way home..

Herod was frustrated at every turn in seeking out and putting down this new threat to his rule. Is it no wonder that Herod ordered the slaughter of all boys under the age of two years, and that Joseph took Mary and Jesus to Egypt for safety. Joseph did not bring his family back to Nazareth until after Herod’s death in 4 b.c.

After the death of Herod the Great, the Romans divided his kingdom between 3 of his sons, and none of them were called King of the Jews, but rather became rulers of smaller territories.

Herod Archelaus ruled Judea after the death of his father. In Matthew 2: 22, Joseph decided to take his family north to Galilee where Herod Antipas was King, because he was afraid of Archelaus. Archelaus ruled so badly however, that the Romans removed him after ten years, replacing him with a Roman procounsil.

This information helps us understand the politics and society that Jesus lived in as he grew and developed into the man who would become our Lord and Savior.

It’s no wonder Jesus suffered death in this culture – because some of those people weren’t right! And just as some of the people in our world and in power aren’t right either on their understanding, acceptance, and acknowledgement of Jesus. Amen.

PROMISE REALIZED - Part 2

Luke 2: 22-40 NRSV

Last time we talked about God’s promise of a “Kinsman Redeemer” about to be delivered. This week we see the promise realized in the baby named Jesus.

Christmas has come and we need to begin to live with the price of our promises.

In the rush of the last minutes of Christmas shopping, a woman bought a box of 50 identical greeting cards. Without bothering to read the verse she hastily signed, addressed, and mailed all but one of the cards.

Several days after they were mailed she came across the one she hadn’t mailed and then looked at the message she had sent. She was horrified to read, “This card is just to say … a little gift is on the way.”

Unlike this woman God knew what He was doing when He sent us Jesus. In our scriptural passage for today (Luke 2: 22-40) we see the promise already being fulfilled:

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.  It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.

Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 

"Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." 

And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too." 

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.

At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.  The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

A literature and scripture review tells us this about the prophecies of Jesus:

Jesus will come from the line of Abraham. We are told this in Genesis 12: 3 and we see it fulfilled by Matthew 1:1.

Jesus’ mother will be a virgin. The Prophecy is Isaiah 7:14. It’s fulfilled by Matthew 1:18–23.  

Jesus will be a descendent of Isaac and Jacob. The prophecy is given in Genesis 17: 19 and in Numbers 24:17. It is fulfilled by Matthew 1:2.

We are told Jesus will be born in the town Bethlehem in Micah 5: 2. It is fulfilled by Luke 2:1–7.

It is said that Jesus will be called out of Egypt by Hosea 11:1. That prophecy is fulfilled by Matthew 2:13–15.

Genesis 49: 10 tells us that  Jesus will be a member of the tribe of  Judah. This is fulfilled by Luke 3:33.  

We are told by Malachi 3: 1 that the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, will enter the temple. This is important because the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and was never rebuilt. This is fulfilled in our scripture reading from Luke 2.

God promised that Jesus will be from the lineage of King David by Jeremiah 23: 5. This is fulfilled in Matthew 1:6.

Jeremiah 31: 15 predicted that Jesus’ birth would be accompanied with great suffering and sorrow. That prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew 2:16. 

There are many prophecies in the old Testament that tells us that the Messiah will live a perfect life, die by crucifixion, resurrect from death, ascend into heaven, and sit at the right hand of God. These prophecies are fulfilled throughout the New Testament.

The text from Luke today represents God establishing Jesus’ credentials to Israel and to us.

The Jewish Prophet Simeon searched the Jewish Torah for prophecy and signs of the coming Messiah because the days and times he lived in were difficult and seemed to be ripe for the promised one’s coming.  We are told that Simeon was promised that he would meet this messiah before he died.

According to a tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church, Simeon had been one of the seventy-two translators of the Septuagint. As he hesitated over the translation of Isaiah 7:14 (LXX: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive..." that many modern scholars read "young woman" for "virgin" in the Hebrew), an angel appeared to him and told him that he would not die until he had seen the Christ born of a virgin. This would make him well over two hundred years old at the time of the meeting described in Luke, and therefore miraculously long-lived.

The messiah was Jesus, Yeshua, the son of Joseph and Mary. His words are known as the “Canticle of Simeon” and the reformed tradition uses them in funerals as recognition of God’s involvement in our birth, life, and death.

Luke describes Anna as "very old." Many Bibles and older commentaries suggest that she was 84 years old. But this is open to interpretation depending on how the scripture is read.

The Greek text states that "she was a widow of eighty four years." But the passage is sort of ambiguous: it could mean that she was 84 years old, or that she had been a widow for 84 years. Some scholars consider the latter to be the more likely option.

Using the second option, she could not have married younger than about age 14, and so she would have been at least 14 + 7 + 84 = 105 years old. What is certain, however, is that Luke is indicating a very old woman.

Both Simon and Anna show us the perfection and planning God has done to realize His promises and reconcile His creation.

This promise is further refined by Jesus in John 14, of His going to prepare a place for us so that we may be with Him for eternity and  is God’s eternal promise. Amen.