Title: The Saint's Posture
Contents
Text Matthew 1:18-21
Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, one day before Christmas.
People around the world generally think of Christmas as a time for drinking parties and gatherings in association with the year-end party, and also as an opportunity to go out to play and exchange gifts. However, Christmas is not a feast given to drink and surprise, but a season given to prepare, wait, thank, and celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.
What do you think of when you think of Christmas? Or, the baby Jesus is nowhere to be found, and the Christmas tree, Santa Claus, snow sleigh, dawn song, and the exchange of gifts for teenagers are in the center of their hearts, aren't they?
All of these are backgrounds and extras, and the main character of Christmas is only Jesus. All you need is Jesus. As we approach Christmas, we need to learn the attitude of the people who appeared at the birth of the baby Jesus 2000 years ago.
1. Let's learn obedience from Joseph and become obedient people.
Joseph is very upset when he finds out that Mary is pregnant regardless of him. But he was a righteous man. He is trying to solve the problem quietly, without any humiliation or rumors, but out of nowhere an angel of the Lord appears in his dream and says: “Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for she who has been conceived is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). To this, Joseph obeys without hesitation.
From a human point of view, it is impossible to say ‘Amen’ easily, such as one’s own face, the public opinion around them, and the opposition of adults. But Joseph got up and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him to take his wife.
It is a great purebred. Through obedience, Joseph brought Jesus Christ, the last Adam, to this world, and as a result opened the history of human salvation.
Obedience is precious. That is why the prophet Samuel taught that “obedience is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22). The person who will welcome Christmas is a person of obedience.
2. Let's be used like Mary.
Protestants who oppose Catholicism's cult of Mary do not regard Mary as sacred. Of course, this is a biblical and true form of faith. But when God conceived His only begotten Son, did He conceive in the womb of any woman? It wouldn't have been possible.
In Israel, when a betrothed marriage occurs, the two do not sleep together, but become a formal couple. But in Luke 1:34, the angel who came to him said, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you... and you will give birth to a son." Of course, Maria jumps. “I don’t know the man,” said Maria, who must have been quite confused at this point. How to deal with this absurd thing and what to explain to Joseph, you must have seen the stinging eyes of the townspeople and the stone of a strict legalist flying at you.
What we can see here is that “No one is used by God.” It means that God uses those who are willing to sacrifice and even die when they conceive. What I realized here was that Mary had already received a lot of grace when she was a teenager. The Lord uses prepared people.
3. We must worship like shepherds.
The shepherds who were tending their sheep in the fields hear the angel's words and go to Bethlehem to worship the baby Jesus (Luke 2:8-20). The zealous people who do their best in their work could have the glory of meeting the baby Jesus and the joy of worshiping them. The joy of Christmas is not a gift, not a year-end party, but a worship of the baby Jesus.
4. Let's offer a precious gift like the wise men.
“The wise men studying the stars in the East find an unusual star and detect the birth of a great king or great man and come to Israel (Matthew 2:1-13).” The wise men brought gold, brimstone, and myrrh as gifts to Jesus, worshiped him, and gave it to him.
Of course, Joseph and Mary would have received it instead of the baby Jesus, but the gift must have come in handy when they fled to Egypt to escape from Herod's presence and stayed there for several years. What kind of money did the poor carpenter Joseph have? Lao-tzu must have come to Bethlehem with a little provision, so it seems that God provided the necessary money for the refugees to Egypt through the wise men with precious things like gold, sulfur and myrrh.
I pray that you will become obedient people like Joseph, those who are used like Mary, those who live hard like a shepherd, and like a wise man from the East, we pray that you will become the saints of the shepherd who celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.