[Machine transcription]
Rise and take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you.
For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.
In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Dear baptized believers in Christ’s Church, Happy New Year!
But what is happiness?
Where do you find happiness?
The unbelieving world has already moved on past the decorated trees, the unwrapped presents,
the overflowing tables of food and all the festivities of December as they continue to
chase the things of the world for self-pleasure, desiring to feel happiness, that unknown emptiness.
but the chancel of the church is still dressed in white as we continue to focus
on God’s gift to the world in the sinning of his son born of the Virgin
Mary born in the little town of Bethlehem the incarnation God in the
flesh the creator of all things entering into his creation now these 12 days of
the Christmas season that followed December the 25th will eventually lead
us up to the epiphany of our Lord on January 6 where we will celebrate the
entrance of the wise men. They followed the star from the east westward bearing
gifts for the king that was born among the Jews. Even though time had passed
Where the shepherds visited that baby-filled manger, these Gentile scholars traveled from
afar to a residence in the village of Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem, and they will bow down
and they will honor and they will worship King born of the Jews, King Jesus, who is
now standing before them as a little toddler of one to two years of age.
This is a season of celebration.
This is a season of joy.
The wait is over.
The promise sent to send a Savior in the world, which was first spoken by God to the devil
in the Garden of Eden in the presence of Adam and Eve.
and upon the prophets of God through time gave additional details of his
coming into the world to the Old Testament Church has now been fulfilled
in the person of Jesus who is the Christ to God and true man king of kings and
Lord of Lords now things will be all good for us in all manners on earth true
True perfection, true happiness, right?
As we ponder this thought.
Is this why the church has placed the Feast of St. Stephen the Martyr on December 26th,
immediately following Christmas Day, commemorating his standing before the Sanhedrin and the
others who had gathered?
He spoke about God’s continued goodness.
God’s continued grace upon the people of Israel through the centuries, as well as
their continued rejection of God and His representatives as they chased the things of this world and
their immoral and ungodly activities.
Stephen equated their father’s rejections to that of what they personally did to Jesus,
as God’s representative, God’s Son, the Savior of the world.
He was proclaiming the law and the gospel of God’s Word to them.
But instead of confessing their sins, they reciprocated with hatred and rejection.
For Scripture states, now when they heard these things, they were enraged and they ground
their teeth at him and their emotions overflowed into actions as they picked
up stones to end his life. As Stephen was being struck and the stones were piling
around his feet he said, Lord receive my spirit and falling on his knees he
cried out in a loud voice, Lord do not hold this sin against them. And when he
had said this, he fell asleep. In the midst of all of the sin-inflicted
brokenness of this story, there was the one who was the possessor of peace, and
he was the bearer of truth. The gift that he had received from God through Christ
Jesus, Stephen was dispensing continually, continually those gifts all the way to his
last breath, for he knew that he was not losing, but he was gaining an inheritance in heaven
as a gift from his Lord and Savior.
But now, from the worldly perspective, to what happened to Stephen, an atheist who believes
that they have clinched to the formula that proves that God does not exist.
It goes like this, if God exists and if God is good and all-powerful and there is bad
in the world, this proves that God is not real because God is not able to stop the bad
things that are happening.
But like the religious leaders of the day of Stephen, they are blinded to the truth.
Is this why the church has also historically placed today’s gospel
lesson in the season of Christmas on December the 28th? It’s called the Feast
of the Holy Innocents. The wise men they had departed from Bethlehem to return to
their homeland by another route without going through Jerusalem as requested by
King Herod. This change of plan was due to a warning that was given to them in a
dream, there in Bethlehem was good. There in Bethlehem was perfection that dwelt
in the middle of this broken world corrupted with sin. In the midst of all
of the other baby boys in that region was the means of salvation who was on a
mission, but it would not be fulfilled in that place at that time.
For there was so much more for him to say and do according to the sacred scriptures.
So the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, rise, take the child
and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you.
for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him. So he did,
fulfilling the words of Hosea, out of Egypt I called my son. Now when Herod
learned that the wise men had disobeyed him he was furious. He had no intent to
worship the newborn king but to destroy him for he wanted no rivals for his
throne and history proves this to be true. For he had his brother-in-law who
was the high priest drownded. He put to death 46 members of the Sanhedrin. He
killed his mother-in-law with his favorite wife and two of their own sons
for he considered them potential competitors to his place of power and
prestige. It was even reported that Caesar Augustus himself once said it is
better to be Herod’s dog than to be one of his children. When placed in this
context, his order in the second chapter of the Gospel of
Saint Matthew does not seem that far out of character. His soldiers went into the
region of Bethlehem and they killed all the male children who were two years old
and younger according to the time that had been asserted to him by the wise men.
His evil act destroyed lives. His evil act destroyed families. His evil act
destroyed communities. The streets were full of wailing and tears. These little
ones that are the ones referenced to and remembered in the Feast of Holy Innocence are also considered
by many to be the first martyrs for Christ.
The crime of these circumcised sons of Israel that deserved death was their association
with Jesus in the midst of all the tears, were their cries of, O Lord, have mercy on
us.
At that point in their lives, God seemed absent from their trials and their tribulations.
Bad seemed to be the victor, but outside of their knowing, God was present, and He was
working for their good. Matter of fact, God was one of them, a human being on a
mission to save them from the biggest enemies in their lives, sin, eternal death,
and the power of the devil, and to provide for them a place where only good
exists that will be eternal. Do you see for yourself how this text applies to
you? Has bad ever touched your life, your body, your marriage, your family, your
relationships, your livelihood, your home, your community? And you could continue
with a list of things that would be particular to you. Has bad ever touched
your life. Those days are tough. Have you ever cried out to God, have mercy on me
and raising your voice extra loud because you felt that he was so far
away? I have. Be assured brothers and sisters in the faith, he is near you, he
is near me. This truth is not based on our awareness or our feelings but on the
word of God and the word made flesh in our lives. The bad in this world which
has corrupted man’s nature and all creation is because of the fall and the
domino effect is due to the original sin that is passed down to generation to
generation through procreation. The Lord has never promised you in me a rose
garden here on this world but he has promised to be with us as he provides
for us and he leads us you and me through this the thorns and the thistles
of this life as we sojourn by faith through the valley loaves and we go
across the mountain highs as he works for the good of those who love him
according to his perfect timing and his perfect will. Like the people of Israel
in the wilderness of Sinai, God had freed them from the bondage of Egypt, had
brought them through the Red Sea, provided for their daily needs in the
He was leading them to the promised land as he dwelt among them in the pillar of
fire by day and the pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. Their
journey was a type of our spiritual walk. God has freed us from the bondage
of sin, death, and the power of the devil. And because of the blood of the Passover
lamb dripping down the wood to the ground for us.
We have been brought through the waters of holy baptism.
Now God tabernacles in us with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as we sojourn through the
wilderness of this world.
Instead of the miracle of the water from the rock and the manna and the quail from heaven,
he gives us his body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and the
strengthening of our faith for the journey as aliens and strangers in a
place that is not our home. The Apostle Peter encapsulates this in his first
letter when he writes, according to his great mercy God has caused us to be
born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead and inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept
in heaven for you who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for the
salvation ready to be revealed in the last time in this you rejoice like st.
Stephen, it is a peace that passes all understanding. It is true, yes, it is true
that Jesus was not in Bethlehem when Herod’s soldiers slaughtered all of those
little baby boys, but like the sheep that were raised on the hills outside of
Bethlehem for the purpose of the sacrificial system at the temple in
Jerusalem, Jesus’s future destiny would lead him to that same city to be pierced
for our transgressions once and for all. On the cross he would die for you to pay
for the price for your sins. So through Jesus you have peace with God. A true
happiness that is divinely given and on the third day he rose from the dead
confirming all that he had said to be true which includes the promise to
always be with you during the good days as well as the bad ones and the one day
in the future you will receive in the fullness all your inheritance in heaven
to brothers and sisters in the faith as we step into the year 2023. We do not
know and I do not know what it will personally hold for each of you but this
I do know and here I proclaim it to you with great joy and happiness that in
Christ, you are victorious.
For Peter continues in a letter as we wait for that day of the coming of the Lord Jesus,
though you have not seen Him, you love Him.
Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible
and full of glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your
souls. So we walk, we step into this new year with something that God has given
to each of us and through all the circumstances and with the words the
prophet Isaiah that we carry in our ears behold the Virgin shall conceive and
bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which means God with us amen
the peace which passes all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
