Collision Week 4 - The Aftermath

Merry Christmas! So today, is Christmas Eve, and I wanted to ask you about one memory you have that stands out to you about Christmas. Now in the last couple of weeks, I’ve asked you about your favorite movies, and songs, but in one word or phrase, what is your stand out memory?

I would describe one of my standout memories from Christmas as bursting pipes, and squashed spiders.

Here’s the story. I was living in that house in Comanche where I got my velveteen rabbit Christmas, for those of you who remember that story from a couple of weeks ago. The following year, after I got that rabbit, my dad had caught a tarantula and we kept the little guy as a pet. Well, it just so happened that for Christmas we took a train ride from Sacramento, California to Grand Junction, Colorado to see some family. It was a fun time, but it wasn’t as memorable as when we got home. When we came back home after a really long trip, we found out that it had been a very cold week. So cold in fact, that the pipes in the house had burst. On top of that, and more important to a seven year old boy, our tarantula had escaped.

Well, eventually we had to move out of the house because of the damage, and then found out later, that the people watching our house at the time, had killed our pet after they found him crawling around. It was a devastating year. But one, that has become a standout memory, that I’m reminded of every Christmas.

That’s one thing that can be good and bad about Christmas. Because it’s such a big deal in our society, the memories that are made around this time, get brought up yearly. Whether we want them to or not. That one moment at Christmas can continue to affect us, years, and even decades after it happened.

And that is what we see with the Collision of Christmas, when 2,000 years ago, heaven met earth. When God collided with humanity. Today we’re going to be jumping around the Christmas story, because we only have one week left, but we still have more repercussions to see. So if you have your Bibles we’re going to be starting in Luke chapter 2, verse 8.

But as you find Luke chapter 2, verse 8, let’s talk about the three parts of the collision of Christmas that we have talked about so far.

In our first week we talked about Mary. The obscure girl from an obscure town, who was chosen by God to bring God into this world. She was a virgin girl, right about to get a husband and start her family. But then God stepped in and told her he had a plan for her. And that plan was that God would create a child in her, through supernatural means, rather than the natural way. She understood that by accepting God’s plan, she could very well be killed, or at least be ostracized from her community. But God used this nothing girl, to bring about the Savior of the world. God used a girl that had nothing to give, so in turn God could give everything.

In our second week, we talked about Jospeh, the man who Mary was going to marry. We found out that he was both a man that followed God closely and a very loving man. And when he found out that Mary was pregnant, instead of having her killed, or making a big deal about it, he was going to call the marriage off, and move on with his life. But he too was convinced by God to follow God’s plan. God called Joseph to adopt a son who was not his, so that God could adopt humanity. 

Each of these two parts of the collision of Christmas happened before the collision actually occurred. Yet because of both of these people, God was able to come into this world, through an obscure way, to adopt us.

This led us to last week, where we talked about Jesus, the collision. God colliding with this world. But not in the way that as fitting for a King. Instead of being welcomed as the Savior of the world; as the one who would fix everything, and fulfill every deep desire of humanity. Instead he was rejected, time and time again, having no place to be born, except a stable; no where except in an animal’s food dish. And at what should have been the greatest moment in human history, pasted by most of the world, as a whisper of the night. Jesus wasn’t received the way he should have been, but his impact was no less great. And the reality of the Collision of Christmas is that it happened quietly.

Which is where we come today. To the aftermath of the Collision of Christmas. How this one night, has radically changed the course of human history. So let’s get into it, starting in verse 8 of Luke chapter 2.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Let’s talk a little about shepherds. These guys, shouldn’t be seen as social outcast on the same level of say some who collected taxes. But rather they were not seen as particular educated. Like Jospeh, who we talked about being a carpenter, these shepherds worked with their hands. They were not highly educated in the ways of religious teaching, nor were they particular wealthy individuals. And being with their sheep at night, meant that they were probably not the owner of the herd, but rather hired hands. 

These shepherds represent the common person. In today’s view, people that go to college are seen, in some circles as more well off. Whereas people who work with their hands, are seen as less educated. Even though this view is wrong, it’s still a view that people hold, and it parallels this time in history. Those that have education are seen as higher class; those who work with their hands are seen as lower class.

But it is the lower class, that is greeted by the angels. It is the uneducated that the birth of the Savior is announced. The unimportant, are called important by God, and called to witness the collision of Christmas. Let’s take that, and switch to the book of Matthew chapter 2, verse 1.

Where in Luke we learn about the unimportant ones of society, in Matthew 2, verse 1, we learn about the most important.

1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

These Magi, or wisemen, or kings, are on the other side of the coin. The shepherds represent the least important, the Magi represent the most important. But these men had to be on the look out for the Savior. They were invited to, but only if they were wise enough to see the invitation. They had all the wealth and tools necessary to find Jesus, but so did others. The difference, is that they also had the drive to meet Jesus.

And so, when we put both of these groups together we realize one of the aftermaths of the Collision of Christmas is that God has come to everyone. God’s not just here for the rich, because we can’t earn God’s favor. God is not just here for the poor, who are in need. Instead, rich or poor, all are welcome, all are sought after by God.

In the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night,” a stanza in the original French says this, 

“The Redeemer has broken every bond:

The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.

He sees a brother where there was only a slave,

Love unites those that iron had chained.

Who will tell Him of our gratitude,

For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.

No matter our social, ethnic, gender, or economic background, Jesus was born for us, to bring us to God.

The aftermath effect of God coming for everyone and not a select group, moves us to our second aftermath of Christmas. Which is found in the same story of the Magi. And it happens in one verse, the next verse. Verse 3 says, “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.”

This is a very interesting verse, because it’s obvious why King Herod is disturbed with Jesus being born. Jesus represents a challenge to his throne. But why does it say, “all Jerusalem with him?”

I don’t know if you have ever been awoke in the middle of the night, but I have, for several disturbing reasons. But do you know what the most disturbing reason I have ever been woken up is? Throw up. The sound of a dog or a child regurgitating their food, is the alarm that doesn’t let you hit snooze. And it can be disturbing. And it’s so disturbing, because usually it happens when everything is at peace. Your bed is warm, your dreams are pleasant, and your sleep is sound. And that one emission smashes it all to pieces, and you’re left half-awake dealing with a disaster. 

When I read that all Jerusalem was disturbed with Herod, I realize, that they realized that their status quo is about to be puked on. Because of Jesus every ounce of human history becomes effected. Rome drastically changed, because of Jesus. Millions of people have had their lives complete altered because of Jesus. Nations have risen and fallen because of Jesus. We even revolve our calendar and the way we count history around Jesus.

You might have heard this quote that is attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, he says this about Jesus’ effect on humanity. “I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have founded great empires. But our empires were founded on force. Jesus alone founded His empire on love, and to this day millions would die for Him. I think I understand something of human nature, and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man. Jesus Christ was more than man.”

“I have inspired multitudes with a devotion so enthusiastic that they would have died for me. But to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, my voice. Who cares for me now removed as I am from the active scenes of life, and from the presence of men? Who would now die for me?

“Christ alone across the chasm of eighteen centuries makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy. He asks more than a father can demand of his child, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart. He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally, and forthwith His demand is granted.”

“Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man with all its powers and faculties becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man’s creative powers.

“Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame. This is what strikes me most. This is what proves to me quite convincingly that Jesus Christ is God.”

And this another part of the aftermath of the Collision of Christmas, God changes the course of history. If we had more time, we could chart the course of human history before Jesus’ birth and come up with possible outcomes that would follow. And how different those outcomes would have been without Jesus. But because of Jesus’ birth every drop of human history following has been touched in some way.

But it doesn’t stop there. The final effect of the aftermath that I want to share with you today, comes from a part of the story we don’t usually talked about. Again we move back to the book of Luke, where we find a man named Simeon in verse 25 of chapter 2. 

In Luke chapter 2 verse 25, we see a custom of the Jews that on the eight day, after a boy was born he was presented in the temple to be circumcised. After that happened, Mary and Jospeh met Simeon.

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

Simeon was a man waiting to die, but God had promised him that he would see the Savior of the world. So day in, and day out, Simeon waited. How long? Only God knows, but when Simeon saw Jesus, he saw God’s promise fulfilled. The collision of Christmas puts an exclamation mark on the fact that God keeps his promises. In Jesus’ life he fulfilled over 350 very specific promises of God. Some of which were completely out of his control. Things such as who he was born to, what town he would be born in, where he would grow up, how he would die, and the results of his death. 

And this is another aspect of the aftermath of the collision of Christmas, God keeps his promises. And one of those promises, is that whoever puts their faith in Jesus will be Saved. Will be adopted into God’s family. That our sin, those things we do that are not from God, can be forgiven, if we accept what Jesus has done for us.

Just this past year in our denomination alone, 26,903 people trusted in Jesus as their Savior. That’s 26,903 lives that have been changed by Jesus. Changed by the promise of God.

These men and women follow a long line of those who have trusted in the promises of God. And today, God is calling each of us to experience the aftermath of the Collision of Christmas.

It started with an obscure girl, she was joined by the adopted father, it came in like a whisper to those who would receive it. It collided with earth for every person, effected every aspect of history, all so that God could show he keeps his promise. Now the question becomes, what will we do with the Collision of Christmas? What will be do with this Jesus, that has impacted the world so much?

Will we leave him to lay in a manger, not accepting what he offers us, or will be take him to be our king accepting him as our Savior? To leave him in the manger means that we do not accept the collision of Christmas, that we believe it cannot affect us. But to take Jesus as king means that we will trust that the collision that happened 2,000 years ago can still effect our lives today. Effect our lives in a way that calls us to follow the path of God, and not our own.

Today I want to challenge you with this: May a list of all the ways that Jesus' birth has effected two areas: history in general, and your life specifically. Think deeply about each. This one event of God coming to earth in human flesh, what has resulted in history because of it? What has resulted in your life because of it? It is probably more effective than any of us realize.

       Now may the God who can change the course of history through a babies birth, effect you this day so that you are never the same again. Amen.

Collision Week 3 - Open the Door

I want to thank all of you who have gone out these last two weeks and shared with other people. Thank you to everyone who took the challenge of giving a stuffed animal away. Thank you to those who took the challenge of taking an angel tree child and adopting them. Through you I have seen and heard the work of God being carried out through his church. So I just want to say thank you. 

In the past two weeks, we have talked about fond memories of Christmas, where I shared with you my memory of the sacrifice of my parents that is wrapped up in a stuffed animal. Then last week we have talked about our favorite movies. To which I shared with you one of mine which is the original “Miracle on 34th Street.” This week I want to ask you, what is your favorite Christmas song? For me, I haven’t decided on one yet. I love hearing Christmas carols, but which one is my favorite, I don’t know. Two modern Christmas songs that I like, are “Jospeh’s Lullaby,” and “Hope Was Born This Night.” But I can tell you this, out of all the Christmas songs that are out there, the one that pops into my head when I think of Christmas is, “Hark! The Herald Angel Sing.” Now recently, my wife has informed me that apparently “A Charlie Brown’s Christmas” and I have something in common in this song. See, the reason this song comes to my mind when I think about Christmas has nothing to do with the song and it’s message, but rather because of one single line in the song. It’s the line that says, “Hark! The Herald angel sing.” The reason why this stands out to me, is because growing up, I always thought the angel’s name was Hark, and his title was the herald angel. So Hark the heard angel sings. I always thought it was some angel named Hark that was singing the song. In my mind there was the angel Michael, Gabriel, and Hark. Which is a weird name in my thought process, but the Bible has several strange names, so who was I to judge.

I eventually learned, and to my amazement, hark wasn’t an angel’s name, but meant listen, and pay attention. Obviously I was not listening to what the song was telling me, because I didn’t even understand that hark wasn’t one of God’s angels.

Songs, like movies, can find a place in our hearts and minds, that bring about the memories of Christmas that have themselves a little room within our lives. And it’s that very room that we’re going to be talking about today. So if you have your Bibles we’re going to be dropping into the Gospel of Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 1. 

Now if you’re lightning fast, you might see the heading in your Bible that reads something like this: “The Birth of Jesus.”

And you might be thinking to yourself, why are we talking about the birth of Jesus before Christmas Sunday? And the reason is simple, we’re following the Christmas story as it played out 2,000 years ago. We started with Mary two weeks ago. We talked about how God used an obscure virgin girl from a nowhere town to bring about his greatness. We took away from Mary, that God wants to use people that the world finds irrelevant, to make himself known. People like you and me. Then last week we talked about how God then called her husband Joseph to be the adopted father to God the Son. This led us into the understanding that God was calling Joseph into God’s adoptive work of bringing humanity into his family. And when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we too are adopted into God’s family, where we can experience him for eternity.

We have been calling what is happening within the Christmas story, a collision. Where heaven collides with earth. When God collided with humanity. Where God himself took on human flesh. And the next step in the Christmas story is this collision. We cannot simply jump ahead, because if we do that, we’ll miss the collision, and how it impacts what we will be talking about next week.

So here we are, talking about the birth of Jesus, one week before we’re supposed. But we’re exactly where we need to be. So let’s read Luke 2 starting in verse 1.

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

Short and to the point. There’s not much here. To break it down, we have a census being taken. Joseph takes a very pregnant Mary on a 100 mile, 8 to 10 day trip. When they get to Bethlehem they seek a place to stay, but all the homes unavailable. So they find shelter in a stable, and Mary gives birth. Quick side note. The man writing this is Luke, who is a doctor, and I love that the birthing of a child is glossed over. Luke writes, “the time for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.” I’ve never been through child brith myself, but I’m pretty sure it’s a little longer than that. Anyway, finally we get Jesus’ first night in this world being born in a stable and being laid in an animal feeding trough. Do you know what a stable is? It’s a place to distance yourself from the smelling, fly covered animals. It’s a place that you only go to when you have to. It’s not exactly the most sterile place for birthing a child. It’s a place that is out there, while the family is in here.

And that’s it. That’s the birth of Jesus. Simple. But why? Out of the four gospels of Jesus’ life, only one tells the story of Jesus’ birth, and in that one it’s only given 7 verses, with 134 words. Compare that to Jesus’ cousin John’s brith in the previous chapter of Luke. He gets 9 verses, and 180 words. Looks to me like Jesus, who the stories about is getting the short end of the stick.

So one of my favorite all-time movies is the 1989 Batman film by Tim Burton. The first one with Micheal Keaton as Batman. I know it’s not a Christmas movie, but just go with me. One of the reasons I love this movie is because of the introduction to Batman. It starts out with a family walking down an alley and being mugged by these two drug addicts. Then it cuts away  to them going through their spoils up on a roof. While they’re up on the roof, one guy becomes really uncomfortable and starts to look around. He talks about how he’s heard stories of the bat dropping people off buildings. The other guy is very firm when he says, “There ain’t no bat.” That’s when it happens, out of nowhere there is Batman. They shoot him, he falls, but then he rises back up, kicking one guy through a wall, grabbing the other guy and hanging him off the side of the building. The guy, who didn’t even believe Batman exists, ask the question, “Who are you.” And that’s when we get the iconic line, “I’m Batman.”

Now that’s an entrance. But that’s not what we get here. Jesus, doesn’t get a Batman entrance. Instead, he gets this line, “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.”

That’s it. Kind of a let down if you think about it. Mary met an angel. Joseph had a dream about an angel. Jesus? Well, he gets a trough. A trough? Really? In the Gospel of John book, we’re told this about Jesus, “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it….14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Have we grasped the enormity of this occasion yet? Here’s another way of looking at it, which you’v might have heard before. For Jesus to just be born in Bethlehem at the time he did, the odds would have been: 2.8 in 1 million. For Jesus to fulfill 8 prophecies of his birth, it would be one in one hundred quadrillion. In other words, this Jesus is no ordinary baby.

And all he gets as a first introduction is 7 verses with 134 words?

Why don’t we get a grander snapshot of his birth? Why does the hero of the story, get such a small first appearance?

To me, the reason boils down to this phrase, “because there was no guest room available for them.” The world didn’t make room for Jesus, and Luke wants us to understand that. In John’s Gospel he puts it this way, “11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”

The collision of Christmas happened with what amounted to be a whisper in the grand scheme of things. 

And to me, it’s a perfect entrance. To me it’s more like a black ops, undercover mission, than a grand party. Because that is exactly what God was doing, he was colliding with humanity, without humanity even knowing he was there.

The question becomes why? Why does God collide with us in this way? The answer is, because it’s unexpected. No one would assume the Creator of the world would arrive in such a lowly manner. No one would expect a King to lay down in a manger. No one would expect him to have no place to stay.

But his entrance goes further than to merely show God’s humility; Jesus’ entrance shows us our state of reality. This world has made no room for the King of kings. This world has no bed for him. This world does not seek to lift God up into the place that he deserves. So when Jesus entered this world, he entered right where the world wanted him to be, nowhere.

“there was no guest room available for them.”

For thousands of years, the Jewish people prepared for the King’s arrival. From the first prophecy in Genesis 3, to the final prophecies of Zechariah and Malachi, the Jewish people were preparing. But when it came time for Jesus to enter this world, there was no room for him. 

The prophet Daniel, gave the time frame. The prophet Micah gave the town. The book of Numbers gave the celestial appearance that would proceed him. The prophet Isaiah gave the mother. The Psalmist talked of the gifts given to him. All these and more spoken hundreds of years before, were given to point to the Collision of God and humanity. Yet, “there was no guest room available for them.”

And Jesus speaks of this arrival in the book of Revelation, chapter 3. “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

Every Old Testament prophet who spoke of the coming Savior, was pointing to Jesus standing before the world knocking, saying these words, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

The collision of Christmas is Jesus calling out from a manger, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

And today, the ramification of the Collision that happened two thousand years ago is Jesus still calling out, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”

The angel asked Mary if she would receive Jesus, and she did. The angel asked Jospeh if he would receive Jesus, and he did. They asked others in Bethlehem if they would receive Jesus, but there was no room for them.

Today, Jesus is calling to us, will you receive me? This is what the Collision of Christmas is about: the reception or rejection of Jesus into our lives.

If you have already received Jesus into your life, my question to you is, are you making room for him? Is Jesus out in your stable? That place that has no connection to your life. That place that is on the fringe, where you keep him at a distance? Or is he inside, eating with you, conversing with you, changing your life?

If he is in your stable, but not in the home of your life, what is keeping him there?

If you have never received Jesus, today is the day. You might be thinking, I can’t receive him, I don’t have a place for him. My life is too messed up to let God in. To which I say, if God was willing to lay his head in a dirty animal’s food dish, he is willing to live in your messed up life. I know he does, because he did for me. And all it takes is a simple prayer that recognizes your need for him, and his collision with you.

As we come to a close, I want to tell you, usually as I prepare for Sunday’s messages, through my prayer time, and through the time it takes to be led by the Spirit, God usually brings me to an idea about what he wants us to be challenged with. This week it wasn’t so easy. How are we to be challenged to make room for Jesus in our lives? Is the question I have asked several times in the last few days. 

And this is where I was led to: something very simple, if somewhat elementary. Take a piece of paper about six inches long and write, "Jesus is welcomed here." After you have done this simply tape it to your front door. Let it be known to the world that Jesus is welcomed in you house, even if he is not welcomed anywhere else.

       Now may God who searches for those who would welcome you, be welcomed into your life. And through your welcoming, may others open their hearts to the knock at their door. Amen.

Collision Week 2 - We Are Adopted

Quick question, what is your favorite Christmas movie? I have two, the original Miracle on 34th Street, and the Muppets Christmas Carol. Both I find extremely funny, and both deal with the same themes. Those themes are faith, helping others and change. Now, most Christmas movies have at their heart a redemption story. A story that seeks to change a main character into something better, by helping them see past the things of this world and focus on what really matters.

In Miracle on 34th street, Fred says to Doris, “Look Doris, someday you're going to find that your way of facing this realistic world just doesn't work. And when you do, don't overlook those lovely intangibles. You'll discover those are the only things that are worthwhile.”

But why is it? Why do our Christmas stories have these themes of faith, helping others, and change? I believe it’s because of the collision that happened 2,000 years ago, when heaven collide with earth. When the God of creation took on human flesh to walk among his creation. It’s because of that moment of impact, that we are still feeling the effects today. And one of those effects, are our Christmas movies.

Last week in our Collision at Christmas sermon series, we talked about Mary. The obscure virgin girl, engaged to a man, who accept the weight of bringing God into this world. We talked about how Mary accepted the reality that when she was found to be with child, that she could very well be killed. Or at the very least shunned by her community, living the rest of her life in poverty. And we talked about how God uses the obscure things of this world to show his greatness.

She accepted her role in the grand work of God, and today we are still feeling the effects of her decision. God can uses you and I today, because Mary stepped out in faith and was used 2,000 years ago.

This bring us to the next part of the Christmas Collision, where we meet a man named Jospeh. And just like last week, we’re still waiting for the storm to break. We’re all in the lead up to the full Collision of heaven meeting earth, of God colliding with humanity. This next part of the story comes in Matthew chapter 1, starting in verse 18. So if you have your Bibles, you can open up the Matthew 1, verse 18. 

As we get into Jospeh’s collision story, we’re going to be referring back to Mary, showing the difference between the two. So, let’s dive into Matthew 1, verse 18.

18 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. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Let’s hold on for a second, I don’t know about you, but if I were Jospeh, I would be livid. I mean think about it, he finds out his soon to be wife is pregnant. I don’t know how Mary presented this to everyone, but if you ever get a chance to watch the Nativity movie that came out a few years back, I think they nailed Jospeh’s reaction. In the movie, he’s standing with Mary’s father and when she walks in with her pregnant belly, that cannot be hidden, his face just drops. I mean, how would you react? But let’s take a moment and think about who Jospeh is. 

We know from the passage that he was faithful to the law. This idea of being faithful to the law, means he was a zealot for it. In other words, Jospeh was a man who took the law very seriously. When Mary reveals to him that she is pregnant, I can just imagine the thoughts that were going through his head.

Things like: I gave your family the mohar, the betrothal gift that sealed you to me. A monetary gift that took me years to save up for. I have kept myself sexually pure for you. I have been working to prepare a home for us. And you go out and get knocked up?

Jospeh had done everything right. He went through the process of working to get enough money to give to Mary’s family to help them survive with the absence of their daughter. He had gone through the customary waiting period that was given to him by Mary’s father. Jospeh had done everything that was required of him by both God’s law and tradition to marry this girl, and now, she was tainted. And the only excuse she could give for this pregnancy is that God’s spirit put the baby inside her.

I’m sure at that point Jospeh was thinking: Really? You want to bring God into this? You want to bring a holy God into your unholy act of betrayal?

But, Jospeh either was able to overcome his anger, or he is a way better man than I would be in that situation, because he decides to end the whole thing. and he decides to do it quietly. He doesn’t want someone to die, but he doesn’t want to take on the responsibility of raising a child that isn’t his. Nor does he want the social repercussion from it. So he decides to end it and move on, without making a big deal about it.

But that’s not the end of the story. Let’s pick it up again in verse 20.

20 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. 21 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.”

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

So Joseph decides to move forward with his plan to end the whole affair and move on, but then something happens to him, he has a dream. Now let’s not take this lightly, because Jospeh didn’t. Dreams a very important factor within Middle Eastern cultures.

In the Jewish Talmud, which is a collection of Rabbinical teachings and interpretations of the Old Testament, dreams are said to be one-sixtieth of prophecy. And that dreams that are left uninterpreted are the same as leaving a letter unread. In the Muslim religion, dreams are seen as direct communication with Allah. Muslims will ask Allah to direct them in life through a dream, to which they will change their entire life to follow the dream. This was the case for the Muslim turned Christian apologist named Nabeel, who sought God in a dream while he was struggling to accept Jesus as his Savior.

So for Jospeh, this dream was monumental. And what was contained in the dream led him to the place where God wanted him. 

So what do we learn from this dream? Well, we learn that Jospeh was fearful to take Mary as his wife. Most likely because of the social ramifications that would eventually come. But I don’t think that was the only fear he had. I mean think about it, here’s a guy that is suppose to be getting married to this girl, and from the get go, he’s already going to be a dad. The fear of fatherhood is something a lot of men experience. And to top it all off, the kid isn’t even his. So not only does Jospeh have to face the social repercussions this is going to bring, not only is he going to be a dad right out of the gate, he has to be a father to a child that isn’t even his. Jospeh has a lot to fear. 

And it’s here that we see the parallel with Mary, she too was afraid. Both these people God is calling to be the family to the Son, were afraid.

But the angel goes on. The angel confirms that Mary didn’t just get knocked up, but her story is true, that the child is truly from God. Well at least that’s a load off Joseph's mind. At least she didn’t betray him right? A little help with the fear. Just like the angel gave a little assurance to alleviate Mary’s fear.

And then the angel drops a bomb, this isn’t an ordinary baby, this is the Savior of the world. God himself in the womb of Mary. In other words, the angel is telling Joseph you have a choice, you can follow your fear and let Mary go; this will lead her into destitute and poverty. Which means you are allowing God on earth to experience that life. Or you can raise this child as your son, and face the sneers and jeers of society, but knowing that this is part of God’s work.

Finally Jospeh awakes and makes the decision to participate in the work of God. To push aside his fear and walk in the path that God laid out for him.

I have to tell you, out of the entire Christmas story, this is my favorite part. You know why? Because I have learned to identify with Jospeh. I now know what it means to take a child that is not mine, and have them be mine. I understand what it means to push aside fear, to walk the path that God has for me. True my kids are not the saviors of the world, and if Jesus was like my kids, he wouldn’t be either. But luckily for us, he isn’t. But this collision that Joseph experiences, shows us just who God is.

God is the god of adoption. He is the God who brings those who are not his into his family. In Jewish law, the proclamation of adoption meant that a child was now a part of the family. Time and time again throughout the Old Testament, God proclaims Israel to be his children. And in this one moment, God calls Jospeh to walk in the path of adoption. To follow his example, no matter what the world may say. And because Jospeh put his fear aside, and followed God down this path, you and I can experience adoption today.

My parents have a neighbor name Louie. He is an older hispanic man, who loves to talk with my dad. I’ve only met him a couple of times, but a while back, after one of our visits, my dad told me about a conversation he had with Louie. After we had left, Louie came by the house and asked about my children. My dad told him that we had adopted them. Now if you haven’t seen our kids, their hispanic, and, well, Marika and are not. That might surprise some of you, but that’s the truth. When Louie found out that we, a white couple had adopted hispanic children, he was stunned. He told my dad, how great that was, that a white family would take in another race’s kids.

When I read about God’s adoption, I am just as surprise as Louie. I look at myself, and I look at God and I say, how can you adopt this. To which God replies, because I desire to. God’s desire is to adopt you and I into his family. And it was the Collision of Christmas that made this possible. When Jospeh put his fear aside to adopt Jesus, it opened the path for God to adopt us.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John it is put this way, “12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

And Paul says it like this in Romans 8:14-15, “14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

The Collision of Christmas is simple, God wants us to be his adoptive children, and through Joseph’s agreement to adopt Jesus as his earthy father, God’s path of adoption for us was opened.

All we have to do is accept it. We have to accept who Jesus is. That he was God come to earth, to take all of our sin, those things that we do that are not what God wants from us. We need to accept that Jesus took that sin to the cross, and killed it there. When we accept what Jesus has done on our behalf, we can become adopted into God’s family, and now can experience him in this life and into eternity.

If you have not experienced the collision of Christmas is your life, today’s the day to do it. I would love to talk to you after the service about experiencing the Collision of being adopted into God’s family, and what comes next.

But as we end I want to give you a challenge. We’ve been talking about adoption today, and how it is God’s way of bringing us into his family. But not all of us are called to adopt someone, especially at some of our ages. Instead, my challenge is this: find an organization that deals, in some way, with adoption. Compassion International, Hope International, etc. When you have found an organization that you feel led to, adopt them in prayer. You don't need to adopt a child, but instead, adopt the whole organization for prayer. Pray that God will use them, that God will provide funds for them, that God will provide families for them. 

       Let us be God’s people this Christmas season, a people who recognize our adoption, and share it with others.

       Now may the God who has adopted us through his Son Jesus show you a deeper understanding of his adoption of you, and may you be used in his adoption process. Amen.