At the threshold of a New Year, we have fresh in our minds the stories pertaining to the birth of Jesus. We continue to bask in the glow of the Good News that God the Son would care for us enough to choose to be with us--even more, that He would come amongst us in such a vulnerable mode. A baby seems so helpless. It must trust to the love and care of others for its survival and growth. Interesting, isn't it, that Jesus would begin His mission to change this world forever...in the form of an infant, who is totally dependent and not able to accomplish much of anything.
Also intriguing is that, according to the story we read in Matthew 2:13-18, Joseph was forced to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt when Jesus was just a toddler. King Herod was filled with homocidal paranoia at the prophecy of a "King of the Jews" who was to be born in Bethlehem, and he wanted Jesus killed. Again we find the Messiah, destined to conquer sin, death, and eventually the whole world, in a completely vulnerable state. Neither one of these pictures of Jesus makes sense to human thinking -- the Savior of the world, God the Son, on the run? A helpless Baby, born to a poor family and laying in a feed trough seems an inauspicious start; how could such a start lead to the Kingship of heaven and earth? And yet these paradoxical pictures are part of what makes the Kingship of Jesus yet more glorious: a poor baby, a political refugee, a Servant King, whose court isn't filled with nobles and guards, but with the blind, the lame, the lepers, sinners...and little children.
As the New Year begins, we Christ-followers find ourselves embedded in a world awash in violence and hatred. There are wars happening, not just in Iraq and Ukraine, but our city streets are virtual war zones too. The protests are wreaking violence, destruction, and murder wherever we find them. Things only seem to be getting worse, as those entrusted to keep the peace are being gunned down, one by one. Juxtapose these violent scenes with the various places that completely peaceful scenes have been constructed: the state houses where a simple Nativity scene has been displayed. These harmless images as an infant Prince of Peace have been banned by courts, or mocked by atheistic and Satanic displays quite nearby. As a godless world rips itself to shreds, it also makes clear that it wants nothing to do with our Servant-Messiah, nor those who follow Him.
Do you, my brothers and sisters, feel overwhelmed by the culture that destroys itself and blasphemes Christ who died to reconcile God and men? Do you feel vulnerable? Do you wonder how we could possibly make the slightest dent in such a world as we have today? I need to remind you..and me...then, that a Servant King, constantly vulnerable and in danger of His life, changed the world forever. He conquered sin and death. His Church transformed the culture. All of this from a starting point of complete vulnerability. If Jesus started out so seemingly low, and ended up so exalted, you and I should not be cowering in a corner somewhere.
The Gospel we carry is the antidote to a world that is rotting away from a terminal, spiritual cancer. As much as they proclaim that they want nothing to do with our Christ, there is nothing they can do to stop the Gospel from spreading its Light, and ransoming individuals, families, neighborhoods and communities from the kingdom of darkness. That's because the worldly regime, directed from the shadows by the "prince of the power of the air," knows only aggression to force its way. The Gospel advances by methods that the worldly kingdom has no idea how to counter. We use, not force, but...Love. Grace. Mercy. Humility. Service. Compassion. Kindness. Prayer, even for our enemies. And a quiet, loving courage that proclaims the atoning sacrifice of Jesus even as the world shrieks that it won't bow to our Servant King. The worldly regime has no effective counter for the methods used by Christ's Church. It tries to use violence against us, but even as they apply their force to muzzle us, we simply pray, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing." The enemy has literally nothing that it can do in the face of such love.
So, my friends, use 2015 to change the world. How? Simple--change your corner of it, with Christ's help. All around you there are friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, people you see in the store, many of whom desperately need Christ. You can bring the light of Christ to everyone you encounter. Love them. Serve them. Bring them joy. Show them that they matter to you, and to Jesus. When the opportunity comes, tell them about the Jesus who can transform their lives just as He has yours. As they accept the Servant King as their ruler, teach them how to do the same thing you just did, and send them out to change their corners of the world. Put the proper tools and tactics in their hands--not the weapons of this world, but the unconquerable love, humility, and service of Jesus.
