Jesus Comes for the Humble

At Christmas, God's Child gave up the majesty and beauty of heaven, to come down to this earthly, broken world.
Consider the person God chose to bear his Child in human form - Mary, likely a teenage girl from a poor family.  Mary had little in what we consider advantages for a teenager - education, things,- but she had faith and a willingness to serve.  That's all that one needs, to be used by God - a trust in God and willingness to serve.

Look at whom God's angels first announced the divine birth to - the shepherds.  Really!?  Shepherds?
There had been a time, centuries before, when shepherds were good, honest, upright people.  Maybe you're familiar with the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23.  That was during Israel's good days.  The priests were also called shepherds, those who cared for Israel's spiritual needs & represented the people before God.

But as the years went by, Israel's shepherd-priests were not always faithful.  In fact, by the time one gets to the Old Testament prophets, shepherd-priests were criticized for their faithlessness & misleading the people. Jeremiah 10:21 says, The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.  Jeremiah 23:1-2 says, “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. ² Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 34:2 says, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?

By the time of the New Testament, shepherds could not enter the temple, because living out in the fields with the sheep, they did not keep the Jewish laws of cleanliness.  Because they were seen as untrustworthy, they were not allowed to testify in court.

Yet, when it came time for God to announce the birth of his Son to the world, God sent his angels to shepherds out in the fields - amazing & ironic!

Perhaps you have felt or done faithless, dirty or untrustworthy things, like the shepherds.  The great news is that God's Son has come for people like that.  The message of Christmas is for lowly, humble people whom the world looks down upon.

Then look at the setting in which God's Son was born - in the stable (a barn), a place where you find animals and manure.  Not a place for a royal child to be born.  A manger is a feeding trough for animals -not the place for a royal Child!  You'd expect to find God's Child in a majestic place, a place fit for a king, not an animal in a barn.  When you go out to the barn, you don't expect to find a child in an animal feeding trough, much less the newborn Son of God!

The whole scene seems so mixed up.  Or is it?
Is it possible that God specifically chose this scene for his Child to enter the world?

Instead of announcing his Son's birth to kings, presidents or the news media, God sends his messengers to the lowest of the lowly, the shepherds.  God doesn't announce it to a full crowd in the temple, or even at a college bowl game.  No, God chooses some of the humblest people on earth, in a dirty, earthly setting.  The whole scene shouts HUMILITY - Mary, shepherds in a pasture, a manger in a stable. 

God's making it clear that his Son is coming for lowly, humble people.  No, Christmas is not about being the best, or the brightest or the biggest or the loudest.  No, Christmas is for those who are lowly, humble, faithful.  Maybe events in the last year or two have humbled you, and perhaps you feel lower than you've felt in a long time.  If that's true, then Christmas is for you.

God's sending his Son to earth at Christmas, was God's way of pursuing his people, because God longs to have a relationship with everyone, including you.

Mary was a humble servant of God, who was willing to serve and be used.
The scene of the manger in the stable was a humble setting for God's Son to be born.
God's angels announced the royal birth to lowly, humble shepherds who accepted the message & went to Bethlehem to see & worship the newborn Jesus.
God sent Jesus to those who are humble.  Jesus comes to the humble.

The question for each of us is, do we have the humility to admit that we cannot overcome our sins on our own, that we need help from a Higher Power.  Do you have the humility to bow down before Jesus as the shepherds did?

O come let us adore him; o come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.
Let us bow our hearts & heads before the newborn King.
Come & worship, come & worship, Christ the King!

Scoundrels in the Stable

            

In Jesus’ day, shepherds were thought of as shady, disreputable, untrustworthy, irreligious, but not good.  A shepherd was sneaky, shifty, and likely a thief.   Shepherds were despised by religious leaders, since living out in the hills, they were unable to wash regularly and observe the ceremonial and dietary laws.  Shepherds were not eligible for judicial office.  They were not permitted to be a witness in a court because they were so untrustworthy.  They were not allowed to enter the temple.

                                   

For Jesus to say, “I am the good shepherd” sounded strange, like a contradiction or oxymoron.  Imagine someone today saying "I am the good thief," or "I am the good drug dealer."  Maybe Jesus identified with shepherds because He too was scorned by the establishment.  Jesus knew what it was like to be despised, to have people watch you with squinty, suspicious eyes. 

           

Somehow it seems only fitting that the first visitors to see the Lamb of God were shepherds.  They hustle to the stable and are first in line to touch the hem of heaven.  God communicated first to the shepherds in the fields.  Not the pure and holy, not the high and mighty, not the Bethlehem ministerial association, but the sneaky, low-life shepherds.  I guess God sees the good in the worst of us and the bad in the best of us.  I guess we should think twice before we look down our noses at present-day shepherds.

Shepherds were the first to hear the Good News of the birth of God’s Son.  Shepherds were the first to visit and honor the baby Jesus in the stable with Mary and Joseph.  If God could allow scoundrels like shepherds in the presence of his Son, I guess there’s hope for people like you and me.

            

Your Attitude will Make You or Break You

Next to knowing Christ as Savior and Master, nothing is more important than having a GOOD, POSITIVE, MENTAL ATTITUDE.  Your attitude will heal you or hurt you.  It can make you friends or enemies.  Your attitude can make you miserable or happy; it will lead you to failure or success. Your attitude can MAKE or BREAK you.

When we begin to feel that things stink, the problem is not w/ the world or w/ others, but with ourselves.  Invite God to change your negative attitudes into positive ones, and it will result in your changing your world.

Your attitude is more important then your past, your education, your financial wealth or poverty, or any other conditions surrounding your life.  Attitude can literally MAKE OR BREAK YOU.  When God created the human mind, He gave us the ability to use our minds to think, reason and decide whether we will focus on positive thoughts or negative thoughts.

Have you heard the story of Victor Frankl, a courageous man who survived the Holocaust?  Under the glaring lights of the Gestapo court in a Nazi concentration camp, soldiers took away all his remaining earthly possessions - his clothes, watch, and even his wedding ring.  Frankl said that he stood there naked, lacking everything except for one asset.  He still possessed something that no one could steal or exploit.  At that moment, he realized that he still had the power to choose his attitude.

We are NOT responsible for other’s dispositions or behavior.  We ARE responsible to God for our own thoughts and actions.  No matter what others do, the attitude we adopt is our own responsibility.

Many make the mistake of allowing negative, unhealthy, or sick people around them shape their outlook.  Rom. 12: 2 reminds us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world.”  Don’t let the world squeeze u into its own mold.

Your attitude affects ALL YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.  A friend once shared, after he’d listened to a sermon, the Holy Spirit showed him what a destructive attitude he had carried toward his father, and how it’d been a detriment to him his entire life. 

Only one person has gone thru life, never having a bad attitude.  I know people who always have a bad attitude.  I know some those w/ a good attitude most of the time.  The ONLY person who ALWAYS SHOWS a shows a gracious, loving, positive, healthy attitude is Jesus.  That’s why Philippians 2:5 tells us that our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”  Although He was the same nature as God, He lived on earth in human likeness.  As our ultimate role model, He showed us the attitudes that we can adopt to succeed in G’s eyes, no matter what circumstances we face. 

Choose to have a good attitude, because your attitude will make or break you.

A Prayer by St. Francis of Assisi

You are holy, Lord, the only God, and your deeds are wonderful.
You are strong, you are great, you are the most high, you are almighty.
You, Holy Father, are King of Heaven and Earth.
You are Three and One, all good.
You are good, all supreme good, Lord God, living and true.
You are love, you are wisdom.  You are humility, you are endurance.
You are rest, you are peace.
You are joy and gladness, you are justice and moderation.
You are all our riches, and you suffice for us.
You are beauty, you are gentleness.
You are our protector, you are our guardian and our defender.
You are courage, you are our haven and hope.
You are our faith, our great consolation.
You are eternal life, great and wonderful Lord,
God almighty, merciful Savior.

by St. Francis of Assisi
-from Jesus, Be the Center, by Rev. Eunice McGarrahan
This is a great descriptions of God.

The Last Days of Jesus

This week is fearful and confusing for Christ-followers, as we seek to walk with Jesus in the last days of his life on earth.  Yes, the resurrection is coming, but we first experience the terrifying, bewildering events in the last days of Jesus’ life on earth.  Unfortunately, most followers take the easy skip from the Palm Sunday parade to the Easter resurrection.  Can’t say I blame them. 

Who wants to see your beloved Teacher arrested on trumped-up charges, betrayed by a friend, and deserted by the rest of the so-called followers?  The trial scenes in the temple or Herod’s place are not easy.  The sight of Jesus’ being beaten is heart-breaking for us helpless followers, at least those of us who dared to watch the whips snapping up the lines of blood on his back.  (This was the R-rated part of The Passion movie.)  Then they put that crown of thorns on his head to mock Him, & one guard actually spit on Him. 

The soldiers forced Him to carry his cross on the road leading outside the city, until He fell down, too weak to get up, when a bystander is drafted to carry it the rest of the way.  Some of us followed the long, winding road to the hill outside Jerusalem where He was nailed to a cross like a rotten criminal left to die a slow, excruciating death.  With the crowd there, we watched the last hours of life slowly drain from his body in agony. 

This week, we’re challenged to deny ourselves and stand up for our beloved Jesus, but like the disciples, we fail, we deny the Master, desert Him when authorities make Him suffer.  But don’t give up; keep walking with and following Him.  This hard, dark path leads to good.  Pray to God for strength and courage.  Ask the Savior to forgive your failures.  Seek the Spirit amidst other followers. 

It’s sad that some churches have no service on Good Friday (which was actually Black Friday or Death Friday) or Maundy Thursday.  How can we have a new life without experiencing the death of our Master or ourselves?  Read Matthew 26:17 – 27:44 or John 18:28 – 19:37.  A short version can be found in Mark 15: 1-39. 

This Thursday is Maundy Thursday - that last night in the upper room, when the Teacher washed his followers’ feet, shared the bread and the cup, and his last words. Maundy Thursday gets its name from the Latin word mandatum, which means "commandment." Near the end of the Last Supper, the Teacher said, "A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another."  (John 13:34)

If you do not attend a church, you’re welcome to come to First Presbyterian Church, Hugo; our Maundy Thursday service will begin at 7 PM.  The service will include communion, chimes music, Scriptures and songs on the path to the Cross.