The Hidden Hope of Christmas

Luke 2:1-7  ¹In 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.)  ³And everyone went to his own town to register.  ⁴So 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.  ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Titus 1:1-2  ¹Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— ^2a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time
Luke sets the surface scene for the birth of Jesus by saying “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…”  Immediately we know a lot about those days, even 2000 years later, because Caesar Augustus is one of the most famous personalities in history. His life and his time have been thoroughly studied and well documented. On the surface was the famed “Pax Romana”, the Roman peace. Caesar Augustus had established a world peace unparalleled in the history of humanity. 
We also know that beneath the surface peace there was restlessness and emptiness among the people. Caesar Augustus had tried to calm the restlessness by restoring the glory of gladiatorial combat as a means of venting anger, allowing fertility cults to flourish…something to take the edge off their life. 
That is what life was like “in those days when Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census be taken of all the inhabitants of the land.” Those inhabitants included the blind and the lame who had resigned themselves to a career of begging. It included tax collectors who had learned to play the game and get ahead even if it cost them their soul. It included the working class, many of whom assumed there was no higher purpose in life than trying to survive as best you could. 
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus…” and in those days “the time came for the baby to be born.”
The Scripture says it in many different ways, “the days were complete,” “in the fullness of time,” “at the appointed time,” “in his own good time,” but every time they were saying the same thing. They were saying that the time had come on God’s calendar of events to make visible that which had been hidden from human eyes.
When “the days were complete” we see beneath the surface scene of things. We see that it was not the decree of Caesar Augustus that sent Mary and Joseph on their journey to Bethlehem, but the decree of God, who overrules the powers that be to accomplish the fulfillment of God’s plans and purposes for life.
When the days were complete, Christ was born, a new creation had begun, a new kingdom and a new kind of king entered our world. When the days were complete, possibilities erupted leaving even the cynics surprised. kWhen the days were complete, the chains of the past were broken, and the hope for the future came alive.

Advent Day 1 A Broken Blessing

Ephesians 1:1, 4-10 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. ⁵He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight ⁹he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

This Christmas season let’s think of moments that have touched our soul and made a lasting difference to our life.  There are several words in Scriptures that describe such moments, and one of the most popular is blessed.  To be blessed is to have an inward sense of well being, a well being that is not dependent on what we have materially, nor determined by how life goes for us (or against us), and that is not disturbed by what we still need and lack. We sometimes describe people who are blessed as people who seem to have it all, and that is what Paul is saying to you and me. We have every blessing. To be blessed is to have an inner sense of well being that nothing can destroy.

Do we know ourselves as blessed? Is being blessed a reality of our soul that we enjoy and live with? Paul says God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ, the lasting Gift of being blessed. Do we know that to be true in our own soul? We are blessed because of what Christ did for us. We are blessed by a Gift that we had absolutely nothing to do with. Jesus came into the world. He poured out His love for us and was raised again for us. That happened. That is. And we had nothing to do with it. We receive this Gift or we resist the Gift. We resist with popular beliefs that we will be blessed when we are out of school, or married, or get a good job and make enough money, or when our children are grown and married, or when we retire. But these types of blessedness depend on “when I … then I will be blessed.”

We can receive the gift and be blessed, or we can resist it and keep trying to be blessed in some other way. Jesus was broken so that our resistance might be broken and we could receive the Gift of an inner sense of indestructible well being that continually infiltrates our thinking, and our feeling, and the way we behave. We may not always experience our blessedness, but the reality remains and returns again and again as truth to our soul.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

Advent DAY 2 - Without A Doubt

From Luke 1 (NRSV) 26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, ²⁷to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ ²⁹But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. ³¹And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. ³⁴Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ ³⁵The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. ³⁷For nothing will be impossible with God.’ ³⁸Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

Mary was in a dream world called betrothal when she and Joseph were to make plans for their marriage and life together. Suddenly, this dream was shattered by a light, by a figure clothed in white, by a voice that spoke her name. And, as Mary responds to the angel’s announcement and God’s request of her, she offers you and me a gift. I call this gift the choice of acceptance. Acceptance is difficult for many of us. It is difficult because we have been raised to be determined rather than accepting, and when we are encouraged to be accepting it is usually to accept a forced option … “you’ve just got to accept it,” we are told. “Acceptance is good for you … it is the only way you will find peace, it is the only way to get on with your life, it is the only way you can allow God into your life.” Acceptance may have been good for us, but it was also a kind of  “bitter medicine” we had to take, more of a weary resignation. Acceptance is not likely to work its miracle in our life if it is seen or felt as force.

Mary’s acceptance opens the way, not only to fulfill God’s plan for the world, but also for Mary’s life, but her first response was not acceptance. It was hesitancy, wondering, even doubt. Acceptance needs to be freely chosen and is seldom chosen at first. It is almost a sign of our freedom that we wrestle with and resist the decision we need to make. When someone is so full of assurance that they rule out the possibility of doubt and discussion, almost instinctively we suspect that there is something false here. Likewise, we recognize truth in those who have come to the point of acceptance through the difficulties and doubt. Mary’s experience of the angel’s announcement is powerful, but not overpowering. She was awed, but not overcome. God does not do that. God speaks to us in the particular, personal way we need to hear, in the way that respects our freedom even as it challenges us to choose.

Acceptance in all its beauty and glory and grace is seen in Mary and in her response to the angel. Let it be to me according to your word, even though your word changes the dream I had for my life. The gift of acceptance fills us with gratitude and overflows in celebration and service. 

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

Advent DAY 3 Who Are You To Tell Me What To Do

Matthew 1:18-20, 24 (NRSV) 18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. ²⁰But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²⁴When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife ...

How? When? The questions raced through his mind, but in the end it did not make any difference. Answers would not change the fact: Mary is pregnant. Joseph had two options. One was to write a public statement of divorce. It would serve as a reminder to the whole village that God demanded faithfulness. But public divorce also meant punishment for Mary, possibly being stoned to death, or at least banishment from her home and village. Or, Joseph could fill out the divorce papers privately in the presence of only two witnesses and that would be the end of it, and this is what Joseph decided to do. The decision brought a certain measure of relief, and Joseph drifted off to sleep. And in his sleep Joseph saw a light, and in the light he saw a figure dressed in white, and the one in the light spoke to him, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.

In Mary’s response to the angelic message brought to her we are offered the gift of acceptance. In Joseph’s response to the angelic message brought to him we are offered the gift of obedience. It will help us see and receive this gift if we remember that there are several kinds of obedience. One is forced obedience. We obey because we have to. Forced obedience often gives obedience a “bad name” in our minds. Another kind of obedience is free obedience where “have to” and “want to” combine. But there is another kind of obedience. It could be called faithful obedience. We obey because we are told to by God. In this kind of obedience there is no fear of punishment from God, nor is there any hope of reward. There is only the Word and the command, and we remain free to accept or reject. Faithful obedience rests solely and squarely on the Word of God to our life. It is what we do despite the pressures on our life to do differently.

The pressure may be our pride, ridiculing us inwardly, or fear that we will lose everything, or the pressure may be pride and fear combining to cause confusion. We begin to reel with worry. On this side of obedience, before the decision is made, all we can see is the risk and the reasons for NOT doing as commanded. The only thing that can resolve our dilemma is the decision to obey God as best we presently understand His Word and His Will for our life. Every act of obedience leads to more light. Faithful obedience is the gift Joseph offers. It is not a glamorous gift but it is the way Christmas comes into our world. Christmas comes into the world through our obedience, and through our obedience, Christmas comes to us. 

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

Advent DAY 4 Hope is A Happening

I Peter 1:20-21 (Common English Bible) ²⁰ Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you, ²¹ who through Christ are faithful to the God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So now, your faith and hope should rest in God.

During those years before the first Christmas, a deadening despair settled over the people of Israel. The Scriptures would read of the promise of the Prophets: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will  rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NASB). But the words did not help. They rolled over the backs of the people burdened and oppressed by life’s problems and difficulties. And the people settled into their rut of hopelessness. As we begin looking forward to Christmas now, I wonder if an air of hopelessness hangs heavy over our lives? “Don’t worry, it may not happen,” but it does. “Don’t worry, your problems will take care of themselves,” but they don’t. “Cheer up. Things could get worse,” and they do.

Hope can begin happening to us when we realize that as Christians we are not spared the trials, problems, difficulties, and sufferings of life. Despite all we may know, somehow we may still build up the expectation that when we become a Christian everything will take a turn for the better. But God never promised that. As long as we live with the false hope that we will not experience the problems and difficulties of life we cannot know the true hope we have in God. The difference is how we face those problems and difficulties knowing that God is with us.

Christianity offers no Pollyanna hope to life’s problems and difficulties, but Christmas is the invasion into our lives of the clean, pure air of hope. Let us breathe deeply of that air as we hear again the words of Simon Peter: Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you, who through Christ are faithful to the God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So now, your faith and hope should rest in God.

Our hope is in God alone, not in what happens or does not happen to us. The hope Christianity offers is that in whatever happens or does not happen, God is still with us. Life may get better or it may get worse, but regardless, God is still with us, offering us all the resources of His life. God offers Himself to us only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Never did life seem more hopeless than on that dark day when Jesus died. But, when He arose, with Him new hope arose. Hope is received in the same way it has been offered. Hope will happen to us when we die to our hopelessness and God raises up new hope within us and new Light is seen where there had been darkness.  

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope December 2, 1973

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

Advent DAY 5 The Gift of Waiting

II Peter 3:3-9, 11b-13 (GNT) ³ First of all, you must understand that in the last days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you ⁴ and will ask, “He promised to come, didn't he? Where is he? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the creation of the world. ⁸ But do not forget one thing, my dear friends! There is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to him the two are the same. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins. ^11b … what kind of people should you be? Your lives should be holy and dedicated to God, ¹² as you wait for the Day of God and do your best to make it come soon—the Day when the heavens will burn up and be destroyed, and the heavenly bodies will be melted by the heat. ¹³ But we wait for what God has promised: new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will be at home.

It had been proclaimed that the risen Christ would return. But thus far, nothing had happened. So Peter is saying that there will be mocking of those who wait for the return of Christ. How do we respond to modern mockers? Do we set up elaborate proofs? Do we devise defensive statements and mount sharp arguments? Peter answers with two statements. One is a statement about God. The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you. God is not irrelevant, indifferent, or impotent in the affairs of our life. God is patient and does not take back the freedom He has given us, even it if causes us grief and trouble, and He gives us ample opportunity to come to Him just as the prodigal son returned to the father. The loving patience of God is the loving patience we see in Jesus who delayed two days even after hearing that Martha and Mary were grief stricken over the death of their brother Lazarus, who sat on a hillside and watched His disciples fight for their very lives in a storm tossed sea, and who remained on a Cross even when the crowd taunted Him. The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you. Is that a reason or a rationalization? A revelation or a cover up?

Peter then makes a second statement, about you and me. What kind of people should you be? Our lives should be holy and dedicated to God, as we wait for the Day of God. Those who live expecting and earnestly longing for the coming of the day of the Lord have a faith that is constant because they have the grace of the gift of waiting. Waiting is a wonderful, soul-surviving gift for those who have received it. God’s patience is meant to be met by our steadfastness. With such a faith we begin to sense that somehow we are partners with God in the fulfillment of His purpose both for our life and our world. For once we have seen God in the cradle and that stable we can never be sure where God will appear again or to what lengths God will go or to what depth of humiliation God will descend to in order to reach us and to touch our lives with His presence in Christ Jesus.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope November 29, 1987

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles

Advent DAY 6 Joy Is More Than A Season

John 17:13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

Life is a routine of getting up in the morning, going to school or work, accomplishing our daily duties, making decisions, and hopefully by bedtime checking off another day well done. Occasionally into this routine come moments of joy … the sight of a sunset on the way home from work, a special letter in the mail, the touch of warmth from those we love. Christmas is a season when we are often fortunate to experience many such moments, and because we do I think we are ripe to remember the meaning of joy. But the joy Scripture speaks of is more than a moment. It is more than a brief exuberance. It is deeper than a feeling of emotional effervescence. 

Joy is a gift of grace. The Greek words for grace and joy are almost twins, charis and chara. Out of experiences of God’s grace, in good times and bad, a belief begins to grow - the belief that there is an all rightness at the heart of life. Joy is this growing conviction of confidence that everything is all right even when everything seems all wrong. It is a conviction that is not given by the world and therefore the world cannot take away. It is a gift from God. It is a confidence that gives depth to the good experiences and hope to the bad. It is a miraculous shift in perspective that life is good simply because it is given.

Our joy is not in a life that knows no darkness, but rather that even though we walk through a darkness we have seen a great light. It is into the world that Jesus sends us with that perspective of joy. It is with that conviction of rightness at the heart of things that we are to confront the wear and tear of the routine, the ups and the downs of life. It is with this conviction of joy that we deal with unfair teachers, egotistical bosses, personal failure. For joy is the perspective of truth. Joy corrects our distortions and widens our perception beyond the laughter and beyond the tears. We carry that conviction into a world where we do not get everything we want, but receive everything we need to be co-workers and co-celebrators with God.

We are sent into the world equipped with the perspective of joy. We are to carry out our tasks with the spirit of joy. We are to make our decisions with the wisdom of joy. And we are to celebrate the good that we receive with the gratitude of joy.

For it was into this world One was born whose life was the literal embodiment of joy and of whom the angels said, Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people (Luke 2:10 – NASB).

May the moments of joy we experience this Christmas season contribute to that growing conviction of God’s rightness at the heart of life, and may we take this conviction beyond the Christmas season into all the world.

From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope

© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles