Sermon 12-18-22 Love
Matthew 1:18-25, The Message
The Birth of Jesus
18-19 The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they enjoyed their wedding night, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. 20-23 While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” This would bring the prophet’s embryonic revelation to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; They will name him Immanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).
24-25 Then Joseph woke up. He did exactly what God’s angel commanded in the dream: He married Mary. But he did not consummate the marriage until she had the baby. He named the baby Jesus.
Angels and Love, 4th Sunday in Advent
Remember how it snowed last Sunday? Well on Monday I had plans with a friend, Gina, to go walk on a trail we had never been to in Clifton Park, where over 6 inches fell. When we arrived at the trail parking lot in our separate cars, it was unplowed. No problem, as there was a slight downhill to the parking lot in, so we parked and went on our way.
What a gorgeous day it was too! The sky was a perfect blue, and there still tufts of snow on the branches of all the trees as well as the weeds in the fields. The trails were well marked, and we had a lovely time, chatting the entire 45 minutes.
When we got back, we knew it might be challenging, as we just had sedans, not four-wheel drive vehicles, and we had to go uphill a slight bit to get out. Gina went first, and after spinning her tires a bit, they finally caught on the asphalt, and she popped up onto the road.
Gina parked her car in a nearby driveway and watched the traffic when it was my turn. My car must have something new with the transmission, because it wouldn’t let my tires spin, only go slowly. So I did not get out at first. I backed up, hoping to get a good head start, but that didn’t work either. I backed up once again, but this time, I prayed and asked the angels to help me get out of this parking lot.
As I was giving it a go, a van pulled up and parked at the side of the road, and 6 Latino looking men wordlessly went to the back of my car and pushed me out! I pulled off to the side and waved to them to come over, and I tried to give them a $20 bill. They said no, but I insisted and with a Merry Christmas they took it.
As I drove away, two thoughts came into my head. The first one was that angels can dress up as Mexican immigrants. The other was that this was a way to repay me for the years that I have volunteered to help Mexican immigrants in our county with transportation.
Angels once again came to rescue, on a day that felt like Christmas morning, with snow everywhere and people giving gifts.
The Christmas Story is filled with angels. In the scripture reading this morning, an angel came to Joseph while he was sleeping. The message given to him was to stay with Mary, that she was carrying God’s child, and to call him Jesus, meaning God saves. The message gave him understanding and directives, so that they would be the family that raises Jesus.
Mary also had a visit from an angel. Gabriel came to explain to her that she would become pregnant, give birth to a son, and call him Jesus. Gabriel said, nothing is impossible with God. Mary was surprised by the visit, but accepted it.
After Jesus was born, an angel visited shepherds nearby to tell them the good news. After telling them, a whole choir of angels sang praises to God, then withdrew. The shepherds then visited Mary, Joseph and Jesus, and later spread the word to everyone they knew.
In the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the word Angel comes up over 300 times. They appear to help people throughout time, to give them messages, or instructions, or comfort. Sometimes they come as they did to the shepherds – “an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified”. Here, the angels must have been quite large and shining brightly.
When the angel appeared to Mary, he told her not to be afraid. So, once again, I think that angel might have looked different than a human. Pictures of angels show them as being huge, with wings. Sometimes with light all around them. Is this what she saw?
Joseph’s angel came in a dream. There was no description of what he might have looked like. There was no mention of Joseph’s emotion, either. However, he was impressed enough to do as the angel said.
Many times, people do not recognize angels as angels. In Genesis, angels engage with many people, looking like men. Angels were sent to accompany the Israelites on their journey out of Egypt. How they appeared is not mentioned.
In Numbers, in the story of Balaam, an angel appears to the donkey that Balaam is riding, yet invisible to Balaam. When the man keeps hitting the donkey, the angel spoke through the donkey, telling him to stop. Sometimes angels dress up as animals. Once God opened Balaam’s eyes, he could see the angel in front of him, holding a sword. So now, we know that Balaam could tell he was an angel and must have looked similar to a man holding a sword. There are other stories in the Bible where an angel appears as a man, sometimes as an “awe-inspiring appearance of an angel” but reveals his status through miracles or vanishing or instructions that will save a person’s life. I could go on and on.
The question is, how does this apply to your life? I have told you of my most recent appearance of an angel, or 6. Sometimes they appear as protection when I have asked, calming a literal wind and rainstorm.
So take a moment now and reflect. We are in a season of angels. Within the past week, when have you been helped or greeted by a kind stranger? Did anyone you know or unknown to you, give you instructions that were just what you needed at the time? Have you asked for specific help that was then immediately given? Has anyone stopped you in your tracks with a prophecy? Have you received gifts that seem to be heaven-sent?
If so, perhaps those were the works of angels.
Once, I had a physical encounter with an angel. It was about 2 weeks before my father died. I was walking my dog in the dog park in a meadow, when a very unusual feather floated down in front of me, about 2 feet away from me so I could catch it. Here is a picture of it.
I was so astounded at it and had never seen anything like it. I showed it to several people, and when asked what kind of feather it was, all I could reply was, “angel”. White feathers are supposedly gifts from angels.
Psalm 91:4 reads “he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge” Under this feather, I found refuge. When my father died, I was able to look back on the experience with love and the knowledge that God had my back.
Do you equate birds or feathers with angels or loved ones who have passed? Is there a certain bird or flying insect that seems to always be around at special events, giving you comfort that your loved one may be gone, but not forgotten? Sometimes angels dress up like birds.
By the way, months later I was able to identify the type of bird feather this is. It belongs to the neck of a great blue heron. I found a picture of one on the internet, although it was not at all as magnificent as this one. A friend asked me, once I knew its origin, if it devalued the feather in any way. I said no, because it is a true miracle that a great blue heron could be flying overhead and drop a neck feather of all things, at exactly the right time to land two feet in front of me. Angels can dress up as great blue herons, too.
I realize that I really want to know what an angel actually looks like. When I thought about it further, though, I thought that if I saw an angel in all his glory, it would spoil the surprise. It might be like peeking at a Christmas gift, then being disappointed on Christmas morning because there was no anticipation, no surprise, no sense of wonder.
Now it is time to go back to the story of my car and the snow. Or actually, to the years before that. I had been volunteering to arrange rides for the families of hard-working immigrants so they could go to the grocery store or medical appointments. Perhaps they have thought of me as an angel. So now, take a moment to think about what acts of kindness you have been involved in. Do you raise money or give gifts for the hungry and the poor? Given rides to someone? Visited someone who was sick? Read to children? How are you an angel, dressed as a human?
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