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The True Story of Mary's Baby
Gen 32:9-31; Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
Sermon preached a St Mark’s Bassendean on 21 December 2025
Intro
Again, right up against Christmas, we have been stunned, shocked and full of grief as we've watched the reports of the killing at Bondi and listened to a confused range of explanations, and suggestions about what to do. And many of us have our own griefs & troubles.
It seems that around every Christmas there are tragedies or disasters that grieve us, or make us afraid. These things happen at other times of course but they seem to stand out in contrast to Christmas.
Christmas is a very good time to think and reflect about these things because this is when God did something to rescue us humans that you couldn't have imagined or guessed.
I want to tell you the true story of Mary's baby.
Like all stories it will be good to start at the beginning.
1.The Beginning
In the beginning God said (Genesis 1:26-27) Let us make humans in our image, after our likeness. ...So God created humans in his own image, in the image of God he created them...
So there was a True Image or likeness of God that was the model for making the humans. He was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-2) This True Image is exactly like God and shares God's being, (Heb 1.3). In other words the True Image was God.
So there was the True Image
and there was the earthly image,
the humans, - modelled on the True Image.
The earthly image is the whole race of humans - without distinctions or divisions of language or culture, of geography or religion.
At first God and the humans got on very well in the Garden Orchard.
Until the humans decided that they wouldn't do what God told them to do. They decided to do what they wanted to do.
God said that if they did that they would die.
So God pushed them out of the beautiful garden
and they died, and kept on dying, one after the other.
Since then humans have been resistant and hostile to God. And hostile to each other. The story of Jacob fearing Esau and wrestling all night in the dark with a man he didn't know, is a good picture of this struggle and hostility. (Gen 32.9-31). Jacob didn't know the man's name, but he thought he was the face of God.
God tried many times to bring them back to him: a special family to model how to relate to God, simple rules for living, prophets, warnings, judgements, exile, new starts ...
but no change. Still hostile. Still dying.
2. Immanuel
And then God did an astonishing thing. The True Image joined himself with an earthly image. He did this by being born as a normal human being - as a baby - Mary's baby (Matt 1.21-23).
As for the hostility, the authorities tried to kill him but failed this time. However they did kill all the little boys near Bethlehem.
This baby, Jesus, is the real actual True Image of God (Luke 1.31-35). Fully God. He is also a real human being, one of the earthly images. The two images, human and divine, are united in Jesus as one person (Rom 1.1-6). In Jesus, God is with us as a human (Matt 1.23) Immanuel.
And then for the next 30 or more years we see that it is possible for the earthly image and the True Image of God to live together in perfect harmony. Jesus is never confused about what to do. He always does what God wants him to do. He follows the word and will of the Father all the time.
So there is hope for the humans after all.
3. Rescue
But the human earthly image, we humans, have two big problems.
We have a rebellious streak that has never been overcome. More than a streak. More like an inner corruption of our nature. And up to the time of Christ no solution had been found to fix it or remove it.
And God has against us a complete list of all the things we have done because of our rebelliousness. Which explains our other big problem: that we all keep dying. Which is what God said would happen if people didn't do what he said.
But God never stopped loving his earthly images. He is quite attached to them. He stepped in to rescue the earthly image - us humans - and did an even more astonishing thing.
Mary's baby, who is now a grown up man, still both the True Divine Image of God and still a normal human being, this Jesus died.
Not because the earthly image in him deserved to - on the contrary he didn't need to die.
Rather he took on himself everything that stood against all of us humans. All our rebelliousness, all our sin. All our violence. The complete list of charges against us. (Col 2.14) He died our death for us. (2 Cor 5.21)
So we could be forgiven.
And - this is magnificent - he took the earthly image to the grave with him, killed it off, if you like. But he didn't leave it for dead.
When Jesus was raised the True divine Image was still united with the earthly image, but something was different about the earthly image. Now Jesus had a body that would never die. A transformed immortal body that could ascend with him to the presence of God.
And now we see at the right hand of God the True Image united with the transformed earthly image in the person of Jesus.
One human has been brought into the presence of God to share in his glory. Only one.
4. Including Us
Or perhaps we should say the First One (Col 1.18). Because God's great plan is to have an uncountable number of other humans join Jesus (Rom 8.29), be at peace with God, end the hostility, and be transformed to be like the True Image.
How does that work for us rebellious humans?
Is God calling you to get into unity with Jesus? To have him take up residence in your life so that you and he are at peace and harmony and you do just what he tells you?
Is God promising you forgiveness because of Christ's death?
(Col 1.14)
Then you should turn to Christ and do what God says: ask forgiveness, ask for his Spirit.
If not you will die under the judgement of God that Jesus died to free you from.
When you do turn to Christ the True Image will fill you with his presence. His Spirit will join with your spirit and bring God's presence into your life. And bring you into God's presence.
He will transform the old rebellious nature into one that loves God. Making you into the newly created true image - like Jesus (2 Cor 3.18; Col 3.10). And fill you with his comfort, and power
Is this your life? Is your life tied into the life of Jesus? Is Jesus filling you with his presence?
All this is a sign that the same God who raised Jesus will raise you and transform your mortal body into the likeness of the True Image, the man from heaven. (Rom 8.11; 1 Cor 15:49; Phil 3.21)
It was always God's intention that those who belong to Christ should really become like the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. (Rom 8.29). Are you one of them and enjoying it?
This is the true story of Mary's baby.
This is the story we need whenever there is a tragedy.
This is the story we need whenever there is not any tragedy.
This is the story we need all the time.
This is the Great Story
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What Can you See?
Jesus gets under people’s skin. The mis-named story of the Labourers in the Vineyard is an example. As is the story it is part of, that of the RichYoung Man (Matthew 19.16 – 20.16).
The rich man asked Jesus about what “good” he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus rejected the possibility – only God is good. And then Jesus listed some of the Ten Commandments. “All done!” said the man. The only lack was with the first two commandments which Jesus didn’t mention at first. But then he did. Sell your possessions – and rid yourself of the idols you are depending on. And follow me so you can serve only God.
The man goes away sad. The disciples are astonished. If the rich can’t be saved who can? No one. Impossible if left to themselves, says Jesus. But certainly possible with God.
And then Peter’s big question: We have left all for you – what is there for us? What do we get? Lots and lots Jesus says. Thrones for the apostles. And for anyone who has left all for Jesus – a hundredfold – and eternal life (the young man’s hope).
But wealth and privilege won’t count. Many who are first will be last and the last first. Here is a bookend for the next story. It is an unsettling story. We want to sympathise with the all-day workers. Their treatment is clearly not equitable. Read more..
The audio of a sermon preached on this topic at Holy Cross Cathedral Geraldton on Wednesday August 17 can be found here.
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What Can you See?
Jesus gets under people’s skin. The mis-named story of the Labourers in the Vineyard is an example. As is the story it is part of, that of the RichYoung Man (Matthew 19.16 – 20.16).
The rich man asked Jesus about what “good” he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus rejected the possibility – only God is good. And then Jesus listed some of the Ten Commandments. “All done!” said the man. The only lack was with the first two commandments which Jesus didn’t mention at first. But then he did. Sell your possessions – and rid yourself of the idols you are depending on. And follow me so you can serve only God.
The man goes away sad. The disciples are astonished. If the rich can’t be saved who can? No one. Impossible if left to themselves, says Jesus. But certainly possible with God.
And then Peter’s big question: We have left all for you – what is there for us? What do we get? Lots and lots Jesus says. Thrones for the apostles. And for anyone who has left all for Jesus – a hundredfold – and eternal life (the young man’s hope).
But wealth and privilege won’t count. Many who are first will be last and the last first. Here is a bookend for the next story. It is an unsettling story. We want to sympathise with the all-day workers. Their treatment is clearly not equitable. But it is fair based on the employment agreements.
What is their problem? Some translations have them envious. ESV says ‘begrudge’ (v15). The King James Version translates it more literally: “Is thine eye evil, because I am good?” – they have an evil eye, or a bad eye (see Matt 6.22,23). An ‘evil eye’ was thought to refer to envy. But in this story the feeling of the workers is more like resentment. They grumble (v11). The problem is with their eye. What they see.
What do you see when you look at this story? It is titled in our Bibles as the “Labourers in the Vineyard”. But the start of the story tells us it is about the Kingdom of Heaven- what it is like. The Kingdom is like the Master of a house. A master who is able to do what he chooses with what is his (v15), and who is good (v15). The old translation of v15 is much better here because it takes our mind back to the start of the story of the rich man. The Master is good.
We can see he is good because he goes out repeatedly to the place where workers are waiting for a job to see if any more need some work. These workers are not slacking – they have just not found a job in the daily pick up of day labourers. Could the Master’s method be rorted? Not easily if work is scarce. But if you couldn’t find work one day you would know which employer to look out for.
This one is a “large hearted man who is compassionate and full of sympathy for the poor.” (J Jeremias). He is a picture of God, of Jesus.
So the story title should be “The Good Master” or maybe “What Can You See?” This might help us answer Peter’s question: ‘What will we have?’ Will I get what I deserve? No! by God’s grace. So what can we see? What you think are your rights, or approval according to the privilege you have? Or will you see not yourself but the King; the good, compassionate, and generous King?
For us who are part of the Cathedral church a test is coming. It concerns money: for the Precinct Development and building maintenance. Some of this is not very romantic. Not much glory in church roofs. But the some of it is very strategic for the King’s Kingdom. Like the Master we too can choose what we do with what is ours. When we are called on to give what will our eye see? We could see what we will lose, like the young man. Or we could see the generous Master who gives a hundredfold to those who leave all for him. It depends on your eye.
And don’t forget the last bookend. The last first and the first last. The good master can upset us by wonderfully blessing us to our surprise.
Dale Appleby
The audio of a sermon preached on this topic at Holy Cross Cathedral Geraldton on Wednesday August 17 can be found here.
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Insulting the Salt
Verbal abuse, Defamation, and Salt. Matthew 5.11-16
I have been reading the Sermon on the Mount and reflecting on persecution, abuse and Jesus' teaching about salt. Jesus does not think his disciples will lose their saltiness (partly because the word Matthew uses doesn't mean "to lose saltiness"). On the contrary, in the face of abuse their good and salty deeds will bring about change in their opponents and glory to their Father. You can read the article here. A YouTube version is available here
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The Mystery of the Empty Void
An empty void filled the church. Empty, of course. Voids are always empty. This one didn't fill everything. It was more like a ceiling, hovering above the worshippers, a block of nothing, thick, invisible and impenetrable. or so it seemed.
You could tell it was there because it seemed to be a kind of sound barrier to the divine voice. A ceiling of silence that stopped the worshippers hearing from heaven.
How did it get there? Some say it gradually grew. It began when a priest started to get serious about what God thought about things. The more the priest went on about God and what God had to say, the bigger the void became.
Some said it was projected from the worshippers. Or some of them anyway. A kind of protective barrier to keep out the disturbing ideas. As the priest talked more and more about God and what he said, resistance grew. This was very strange. And surprising.
After all the worshippers were there to worship God. But deeper down in the lives of many were the seeds of a resistance movement. A struggle, maybe a confusion, certainly a resistance about - not what God said - but about who was really God.
Not that it was ever put in those terms. God, after all, was God. But many wanted God to be God on their terms. Pliable, amenable, helpful, but not interfering, or going against what they thought.
And so as time went on, and God was heard to claim to be God in every way and in every life, to really be God, the void started to grow. It filtered out what some didn't want to hear. And, shockingly, it worked.
It may have been invisible, but more and more, people could hear less and less. Priests came and went (as priests do) but the ceiling stayed. Although no-one could see it, many could not hear from heaven anymore. But others were very frustrated. With what seemed to be deaf worshippers.
How could the void be removed? Or filled? How could the worshippers hear again?
Dale
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What are you handing on?
Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, all wanted their successors to do well. Solomon was sceptical about that: "I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless." (Ecc 2.18)
Nevertheless when old Joshua farewelled the leaders of Israel, he told them what to do (Josh 23.6ff). David did the same for Solomon: told him what to do (1 Kings 2.2ff). So did the apostle Paul when he farewelled the elders of the Ephesian church for the last time (Acts 20.17-38). Each of them told their successors what to do. They didn't tell them how to do do it, just what to do.
Of course it wasn't the only time they told people what to do. But when the time came to make sure the succession was secure they made it very clear.
And all of them said more or less the same thing: do what God said to do. In every case there were dangers and threats ahead. Courage was needed in the next generation, as it had been been before. Courage to do what God had commanded and not turn from it to the right or to the left. Not to be sidetracked.
The handing on to the next generation is always a gradual thing. And therefore a continuous process. Two dangers beset traditional churches. One is that there is nothing to hand on. The other is that what is handed on is how to do it, not what to do.