Do you want a Saviour Messiah Lord? Luke 2.1-14
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Christmas and Epiphany
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Do you want a Saviour Messiah Lord? Luke 2.1-14
Sermon preached at the Christmas midnight service at Christ the King Willetton 2013
Is this story unbelievable? Is it meant to be unbelievable? Who might believe it?
The Star 29 Dec 13
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
The Star
Around 1600 Johannes Kepler worked out the mathematical mystery of the orbit of the planets. He thought they rotated around the sun in perfect circles, but his observations led him to the view that they traveled in elliptical orbits. Once he had discovered this he then worked out the mathematical equations that could describe the path of the planets at any time and from any viewpoint on earth.
Kepler was a believer and he started to calculate what planets could have been seen from Mesopotamia at the time of Jesus’ birth. He was hindered because he did not know the exact year of Jesus’ birth. And his calculations took a long time.
Nowadays with computer programs it is fairly easy to have a picture of the night sky for any night of the year in any place. And back in about 6 or 7 BC it seems that there were conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn (three times some say) and Mars joined in too. So astronomers (or astrologers as they probably were) would have sat up and taken notice. Their own theories about these planets may have led them to believe the conjunction indicated an important ruler was to be born. But they may also have heard prophecies from the Jewish community which indicated that they were expecting a ruler that their prophecies referred to as a star (Num 24.17).
So was God giving the Magi a secret message?
Notes on Matthew 2.13-23 Sunday after Christmas 29 December 2013
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Notes on the Gospel readings from Matthew
Notes on Matthew 2.13-23 Sunday after Christmas 29 December 2013
This story follows the story of the Magi. Unfortunately the Lectionary has changed the order of the stories to fit the Church Calendar. The story of the Magi is connected to the Epiphany. We will read it next week.
This story shows the danger that Jesus and his parents were in. Herod ordered that all the boys in Bethlehem less than two years old were to be killed. He did not want any rivals to his rule. The grief reminds Matthew of the reference to grief in Jeremiah 31. His readers might also remember what else was said in Jeremiah 31. God made great promises of salvation and rescue in that chapter. Promises that came true in the life of Jesus.
Jesus and his parents fled to Egypt. They stayed there until Herod died. Matthew links this with the time when Israel was in Egypt. In both cases God called his son out of Egypt. Jesus will have his own “exodus” at the cross when he rescues his people from sin and death.
The second part of the passage is about Jesus’ return from Egypt. The family does not want to go back to Judea because of Herod’s son, Archelaus. So they head to Nazareth. Jesus is therefore known as a “Nazarene”. In this case it has the idea of an unimportant place. An out-of-the-way place. A person who came from there would not be famous. They would be despised.
This fits the whole of these early chapters of Matthew. The Messiah is despised and rejected right form the start.
Dale
The Saviour's Rest Matthew 1
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Christmas and Epiphany
{podcast id=17}
The Saviour's Rest Matthew 1
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 22 December 2013
Bible Readings: Isaiah 40.9-11; Romans 1.1-7; Matthew 1.18-25; Matthew 11.25-31
God comes to be with ordinary folk, as in the genealogy, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth etc. He comes as the Lord who tends his flock and calls his people to come to him and find rest.
Christmas and death 22 Dec 13
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Weekly Reflections
Christmas and death
Christmas and death; Christmas and violence; Christmas and war. The December headlines always seem to remind us of the chronic corruption of humanity. There seems to be no end to the evil and suffering which people inflict on each other. Even the people and nations that consider themselves good are seen to act more out of self-interest than natural goodness. All this is in contrast to the advertisements, the piped music in shops and the general sentiment that surrounds Christmas.
One could be forgiven for thinking that the two had nothing to do with one another at all. And as far as the general sentimentality of Christmas is concerned this is nearly true. The connection between them is that the sentimentality can be seen as a form of denial, a refusal to take seriously, or perhaps to escape for a while from the terrible state that the human race is in.
But denial does not improve things. It should be obvious by now that humans have only limited power to improve things. The best ordered and most civilized societies are still full of corruption and evil. And death itself continues to haunt the human race.
Notes on Matthew 1.18-25 Advent 4 22 December 2013
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Notes on the Gospel readings from Matthew
Notes on Matthew 1.18-25 Advent 4 22 December 2013
The beginning of Matthew’s gospel is more interesting than it looks. Matthew gives 8 verses to tell about the birth of Jesus from the point of view of Joseph (the actual birth is described in just one verse). He gives 17 verses to explain that Jesus descended from Abraham.
The genealogy does not seem very interesting. It seems to be a long list of names. But there are two things we should note. One is to notice the five women who are mentioned, and to remember their stories. The other is to see that Matthew organises his list of ancestors into three sets of fourteen generations. He makes Abraham, David and the exile the significant starting points for the story of God’s people.
Matthew wants us to see that Jesus comes from the line of Abraham and David. In this way he comes as the one who fulfills the promises of the Old Testament.
The story of Mary’s pregnancy fits the stories of the women in the genealogy. Joseph is very embarrassed that Mary has become pregnant before they have been married. Although they are engaged, or pledged to each other, the marriage had not yet taken place. Until they were married they were not allowed to have sexual relations.
The fact that Mary was pregnant meant that Joseph could divorce her. It could have been a very bad event for Mary. Joseph decided to divorce her quietly so that she would not suffer public shame.
Read more: Notes on Matthew 1.18-25 Advent 4 22 December 2013
The least in the Kingdom is greater that John Matthew 11.2-11
- Written by: Dale
- Category: Advent Sermons
The least in the Kingdom is greater that John Matthew 11.2-11
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 15 December 2013
Bible Readings: Isaiah 35.1-10; Psalm 146; James 5.7-10
What's so good about Jesus; What's so great about John; How are the least greater than John? And what can we do about it?