Rebirth of Vision

Matthew 1:18-25

December 22, 2013

Prescott American Baptist Church

Prescott Church was born with a vision for peace, equality, respect and social justice. This Christmas is a time for a rebirth of your vision, a time to experience a new way to see how God is at work among you and with you. And when you think about it, isn’t that how we live into our faith? Every year we move more deeply into God’s vision for us as the Christ child is born and reborn into the manger of our hearts.

I shopped at Target between Black Friday and December 15^th. I’m guessing that many of you did too. Now we are told that hackers broke into the system and stole the card information from 40 million shoppers. Once we swiped our card, we were robbed. Our name, card number and the three secret digits were in the hands of anonymous hackers. Nothing we can do about it. It’s done. And our spending was no longer in our control but in the hands of crooks, smart crooks, out there somewhere, completely out of our control. 

It’s just one small example of what we cannot control in this life. We get up in the morning, get to work on time, do what’s required with as positive an attitude as possible. We reduce our salt and sugar intake because it’s good for our health. We smile at the customer because it’s good PR. We help the boss because it’s good for our career. We drive defensively and get home safely. And like you, I pat myself on the back many evenings, thinking that I have done a good job of checking tasks off my list, getting things done in a timely fashion and maintaining all that’s of value in my life. Of course I am choosing to be unaware of all that exists outside of my control. But when we stop to consider- we realize how all of us are so very vulnerable, always exposed in one way or another to the hackers.

Joseph, a carpenter before he became the husband of Mary, must have been a good guy. He realized that the young girl he planned to marry was pregnant and he first decided to dismiss her quietly. No fuss. He wasn’t willing to expose the girl to public disgrace. Her pregnancy was a disappointment, a true turn of events for Joseph. But he was a good guy and he wasn’t going to add more pain to what was already painful enough.  

Apparently Joseph was the kind of guy God might trust with a dream. An angel explained to Joseph that Mary’s child would be of divine origin. “Don’t be afraid,” the angel urged Joseph. But everything Joseph had imagined for himself and his family has been turned upside down. Everything he trusted was being challenged. He had never intended to be part of a scandal. He was a carpenter who planned to work hard, do what was right and live simply.  He knew, I suspect, even as we know that nothing is ever perfect and most things that matter aren’t easy. Joseph probably knew there would be surprises in life. He had a good heart, a faithful heart, the kind of heart God might trust with the gift of a dream.

The people of Prescott have stayed close to God. Your history marks a clear path of social justice. You were pioneers in the struggles for civil rights and gender equality. Early on you chose to have respect for diversity. You are good people, a congregation with a good heart. The kind of people God has trusted with the gift of a dream. 

Joseph woke up from his dream and shook his head. What to do now that he was awake and aware? What to do now that he realized how his life would be changed? What to do now that he was being asked to give all control to God while God refused to give any definite answers to his questions? How did this happen? And the real question: Is this fair?

Dreams are interesting. I consider my dreams when I remember them.  I journal about them, pray about them and look for what they might mean. Sometimes I learn important lessons from my dreams. I can see more deeply into my own brokenness, my need for something more.

Through a dream, God sent an angel to Joseph. And the angel reassured the man, basically saying, “Although this is nothing like what you had planned, God’s plan is to do something wonderful. Despite the fact that according to Jewish custom and law you are in a socially unacceptable situation, remember this: You are in a situation with God.” 

Joseph’s life was hacked. His plans shredded. The carpenter opened his life and his soul to return the gift, not as in taking it back because it was the wrong color or size but as in establishing a mutual gift of trust between God and the man. A mutual trust was born. 

And Joseph took Mary as his wife. He named the baby Jesus, the one who will save us from our sins, the one who will show us how to let go of control completely for the sake of trust.

We have spent the last few weeks preparing for the birth of Jesus. We allowed ourselves to imagine a world of peace where lions and lambs would be changed and neither would be a threat to the life of the other. We dreamed of a future when swords would be beaten into plowshares. We have given ourselves over to the work of preparing a place in our lives for the Christ child to be born. 

What’s important for us to acknowledge now is how much we need the miraculous gift of salvation. It’s important for each one of us to recognize that the gift of this child, this Jesus, this Savior among us is something we need. Or else the miracle has no real meaning. 

Every year we come back around to the manger and we look into the face of this baby. It’s hard for us, those of us who have made great plans for our lives and worked to see them through, those of us who live comfortably and conveniently… it’s hard for us to acknowledge that this infant in a stable is able to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.  

In preparation for this sermon I have spent time this last week acknowledging the places in my life that require a Savior, the deep needs of my soul that I cannot meet by my own power. Maybe you would like just a minute here to consider that too. What is this infant going to save you from when he comes into your life this year? ***********************

This poor, homeless and illegitimate child has power over the things of our life that we cannot control.  He has come to give us a rebirth of vision, a new way to see how God is at work in us and among us. He has come to show us how to live with truth and to trust the mysteries that come with God’s love.

In one way or another hackers come into our daily lives and make it clear that we need a Savior. Christmas allows us like children to trust, simply wake up from our dream and trust the one who trusted us with the dream. 

As the baby was born, so was Joseph reborn. He let go of the need to plan, to control, to understand. He looked into the face of this child and experienced rebirth, a rebirth of vision. A way to see life through the eyes and heart of God's perfect love.

Prescott Church was born with a vision for peace, equality, respect and social justice. This Christmas is a time for a rebirth of your vision, a time to experience a new way to see how God is at work among you and with you. And when you think about it, isn’t that how we live into our faith? Every year we move more deeply into God’s vision for us as the Christ child is born and reborn into the manger of our hearts.

Amen