SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:16-20
TEXT: 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. THEME: Being present with Jesus changes our lives with God’s peace. INTRODUCTION The shepherds are present at Jesus’ birth. Angels have announced the birth to them. But it is at an unusual setting, a stable. And they should be allowed in with no problem. Christ’s birth was announced to them. They were invited to go and see. And they did. No enyo hold back SCRIPTURE They didn’t shower. They didn’t change their clothes. They didn’t try to get the sheep smell off the them. They didn’t bring any omyage with them, Not even a lamb, a sheep skin or lamb chops. They were the presents, They were present. No Shame. One of the lyrics we hear during this season is “I don’t want a lot for Christmas….” Ending with: “All I want for Christmas is you “Yeah." This is what God is singing to us at Christmas. “All I want is you…” “Baby" This is exactly what God is doing at Christmas, God is giving, God’s self to dwell with us in the baby Jesus, Which makes it possible for us to be present with God. I’m sorry, but nobody is the Queen of Christmas. No act Jesus puts the Christ at the CENTER of our worship or mass And THAT is all there is room for. So Christmas is about showing up and being present. Ourselves being present before God. Like the shepherds who come, Showing up and being present. After they took their selfies with the Christ child, They put their phones away so they could be present, Focused, And take in all that they could from the time they had with Jesus. Hele Mai come by here Christmas, it is about our being present with God and taking in all we can from Jesus. That’s why we take the extra effort to be with each other at Christmas. It is the Spirit of God that moves us to be together. Being together has always been God’s plan. From in the garden, to wilderness, to God’s gift of Jesus, And to having a vision of heaven being right here on earth Where God gets to Ohana with us. APPLICATION To be present, as a family, is one way God’s Spirit moves us through this ‘gift giving’ holiday. To be about relationships, reuniting, reconnecting, reconciliation and renewing. It also has become a way of acknowledging, appreciating, and celebrating the event of Christ’s coming together. God is relational and is always moving us towards communities of love and care. The Spirit of God moves us like how the Shepherds come down from the hillsides to be present. God’s Spirit in us moves us to be welcoming, inclusive, accepting, loving and kind, to all people. We will see through Jesus that as human beings we can forgive hurts in broken relationships and do the work of reconciliation. Wise persons from the East detect God’s activities through the stars and come to be present. They cross scientific, religious, racial and political boundaries to do so. Powerful autocrats are threatened by God’s movement in the hearts of people and seek to exercise their power to destroy what they fear Jesus will take away from them. Love will always be in conflict with those who exercise their power to create fear in others. Love will always give confidence to those who are confronting those motivated by fear. The freedom Jesus baby brings is messy, chaotic. uncontrolled and un-uninformed. That is salvation away from Empire, Autocracy, fascism, and tyranny. Individuality, corporately, diversity, inclusion, acceptance, appreciation, held together with our presence, present at the manger crib, surrounded by parents, shepherds, animals and angels bathe in the presence of God. Live Aloha CONCLUSION The shepherds show us that there is nothing keeping us from God’s self accept our own selves. No enyo, No be shame, no act, hele mai, Ohana and live Aloha. God is at peace with us through love. We can be present at Jesus’ birth as we are willing to come. No Fear.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Pastor robbSermons Archives
May 2024
|