Posted on Sunday, January 4, 2009
<-Previous | Sermons | All Sermons | Next->

THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

4 January Anno + Domini 2009

"The Paradox of the Christ”

Matt. 2:13-23

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

According to Webster's dictionary, this is the definition of the word "paradox":  "That which is seemingly contradictory or opposed to common sense and yet is true."  An example of a paradoxical statement would be, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."  The Christmas season is full of paradoxes.  A virgin has a baby.  God lies in a manger.  The incarnate King of the universe is first worshiped by lowly shepherds.

And in our text, we are presented with another paradox directly related to those I just mentioned, one that would hold true for the entirety of Jesus' life.  It is this:  In Christ, God is both vulnerable and almighty.  He is controlled by circumstances, and yet He is in control of everything.  Today we are going to look more deeply at this reality and discover that within this paradox there is a great deal of comfort to be found for our own often paradoxical lives.

One thing that comes through loud and clear in this passage is that Jesus was vulnerable, at risk of being hurt or killed.  When King Herod found out from the Wise Men that another King had been born, he was fearful for his throne.  He tried to use the Wise Men to find Jesus so that he could have Him killed.  But when that plan failed, Herod flew into a terrible rage.  Because Jesus was at least a year old at this time, he ordered that all male children in Bethlehem two years of age and under be slaughtered.  As this was about to happen, Joseph was warned by an angel to flee that night and escape to Egypt.  Imagine that, the Son of God having to escape under the cover of darkness, being rescued from a murderous monarch by a frightened father and mother.  Joseph did as the angel said, and they took up residence to the south in Egypt until the death of Herod not long afterwards.

However, even then Jesus wasn't completely safe.  Upon returning to Israel, Joseph found out that Herod's son, Archelaus, had become ruler of Judea, the region in which Bethlehem was located.  He feared that Archelaus would try to do the same thing that his father did.  And so, being warned in a dream, Joseph took the child and His mother north, to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, an area outside of Archelaus' territory.  Here again, we see Jesus being carted around to this place and that to keep Him safe from harm.  Clearly, as a true human being, Jesus was vulnerable to danger and death.  By all appearances, it would seem that circumstances were beyond His control.

And yet as we read through this passage we discover that all of this occurred in fulfillment of prophecy, according to God's plan.  What at first appeared to be an unwanted vacation in Egypt turned out to be a fulfillment of a prophecy uttered by Hosea, "Out of Egypt I called my son."  God's eternal will was here being carried out.

And this is not just some minor prophetic detail.  That the Messiah was to proceed from the land of Egypt was a significant part of God's plan to save mankind.  For Hosea's prophecy was originally spoken concerning the entire nation of Israel.  You recall that the Israelites were once a nation of slaves under the rule of the Pharaoh in Egypt.  But despite their condition, God chose them to be His own people and powerfully saved them from their bondage.  He brought them safely out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and finally led them into the Promised Land.

That is why it was important that Jesus also would be called from Egypt.  For it was His task to be the embodiment of God's people, to do perfectly and without sin what Israel had failed to do.  The children of Israel had grumbled against God and complained and rebelled against Him.  They did not live as His holy people or glorify His name among the nations.  But now the Child of Israel, Jesus, had come to do that perfectly, accomplishing God's will completely on behalf of Israel and all people.  Thus, in the seeming minor detail of the calling of Jesus out of Egypt, we see that He was fulfilling the Law for us, actively doing all that was necessary to rescue us.

And just as there was an important reason for the move to Egypt, we also find that the same sort of thing is true in the last part of our text when the holy family had to move to Nazareth in Galilee.  Though political circumstances seem to have put them there, God reveals to us here that all of this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets, "He will be called a Nazarene."  Again, we see that God was working in and through the complexity of human events to accomplish His good and perfect will.

But why would it be that Jesus had to be a Nazarene?  Well, in the Old Testament we learn that, paradoxically, the Messiah would be humble and lowly and ultimately even despised.  And if there was ever a lowly town in Israel, one that you didn't want to admit you were from, it was Nazareth.  Because it was an obscure little town and very near Gentile territory, Nazareth and its inhabitants practically became interchangeable with the word "despised".  Even one of Jesus' own disciples once said, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?"  That is why Jesus was a Nazarene, because the Messiah was to be humble and despised.

All of this, then, eventually brings us to the cross.  For if there is anything in the Scriptures which epitomizes both the almightiness of God and the vulnerability of God, it is the crucifixion of Jesus.  On the one hand we know that the cross was a part of God's plan from the beginning.  It was His almighty will that Calvary take place.  And yet, when it actually happened, God the Son was utterly helpless.  No escape occurred this time.  There He was, so horribly vulnerable to the taunting and the nails and the spear and the death-completely despised and rejected.  Nevertheless, through that almighty vulnerability, God paid the full price for our sins and brought eternal life to all who dare to worship and place their confidence in Him.

And that finally brings us to the place where we can apply all of this very specifically to our own lives.  For since we have been joined to Christ by water and the Word and made to be members of His body through faith in Him, we should certainly expect to be experiencing His almightiness and His vulnerability in our own lives as well, both individually and as a church.  And that is certainly the case.  On the one hand when you look at the church at large today, it seems to be in a state of disarray, vulnerable to all sorts of problems, looking less and less like God's set-apart people and more and more like the world around it.  God's holy Law and Gospel often seem to be ignored.  Certain preachers and priests are ridden with scandal.  Various denominations engage in false teaching and practices expressly prohibited by God:  denying the inspiration of the Bible or the power of the Sacraments, ordaining women, sanctioning homosexuality and abortion, promoting salvation through one's own goodness.  In our own church body, there are power struggles and doctrinal concerns.  Indeed, events in the church often seem to be quite out of control.

Likewise as individuals, our lives are also often characterized by vulnerability.  Much of what happens to us is beyond our control and seems quite random.  Some have had loved ones die recently.  Others have been having a rough time of it in their families, with their spouse or children or parents.  Still others have been struggling with tough situations at work or in their neighborhoods.  There often doesn't seem to be much order or purpose to the way things happen in our lives.

And yet into the midst of this messy and complex world comes God's Word to us in Romans 8:  "In everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose."  Not only in Jesus' day, but also still today, God is active in human history working out His good and perfect will.  Now that is not to say that God is the cause of sin or evil or trouble.  Certainly not!  But nevertheless, God is not above delving into this sinful and fallen and troublesome world to direct all things for the sake of His chosen ones.

And so as we look at the church, we trust that despite all of its problems, wherever the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, wherever the Gospel of Christ is rightly proclaimed and His sacraments rightly administered, there God has His people, His church, and the gates of hell shall never prevail against it.

And also individually, we trust that despite any appearances to the contrary, God is truly working for good in our lives.  For we know that we were "called according to His purpose" in Holy Baptism, made to be His sons and daughters through water and the Word, all our sin being washed away.  We therefore believe that, in the midst of our human vulnerability, in the midst of the "fiery trials” and "sufferings” St. Peter assures us that we will endure in this life, God is indeed working out His almighty will for our benefit.   

As you look back on your lives, I'm sure that you can think of several examples where that was the case.  A time of trouble or suffering strengthened your faith in God.  A seeming setback turned out to be an opportunity for better or happier employment.  A chance meeting brought you your husband or wife.  Whether or not you realize it, you have all experienced God's gracious working in your lives.

And in those times when you can't make sense of things, when there seems to be no valid purpose or meaning to what's going on in your lives (and that happens to us all at one time or another), God points your eyes again to the cross.  For there in that greatest display of God's almighty vulnerability, there in that senseless and yet most meaningful death of Jesus, you are assured that God's love for you is limitless and unshakable.  There is nothing in all of creation that can separate you from Him and His love.  In fact, the Lord comes so near to you with His love that He actually gives Himself into you in the Sacrament of the Altar.  He imparts to you His very own life with His body and blood.  If the almighty Lord would go so far as to take on your vulnerable human flesh, to die in the flesh and shed His blood, and then give you His resurrected flesh and blood for the forgiveness of your sins, then certainly you can trust Him even in those times when there seems to be no reasonable answers to your questions.  For ultimately, the answer to all of those questions, the solution to all of those problems is the One in the manger and on the cross and in the bread and the wine.  Dear Christians, as you make your way through this new year 2009, never ever stop clinging to the wonderful paradox of Christ, your Lord and Savior.  In His Holy and Precious Name.  Amen.

Now the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting.  Amen.