GOD'S LOVE GIFT
As I was plugging away on the gym treadmill, this
Liberty Mutual ad caught my attention. It was about people remembering
commercials with nostalgia. A family opens gifts at Christmas. A mother asks,
what did you get, Rayan? With glee in his eyes, he says, "It's customized
home insurance from Liberty Mutual." She asks the other son what did you
get Mike? He says, with a sad face, "A bike and kicks it." The mother
laughs, saying nothing.
It made me think these days. We don't know
what makes our kids happy during Christmas or other times. Are parents
failing to teach their kids about contentment? If you grew up in this part of
the world, you might remember Christmas with nostalgia. It is about
giving and receiving gifts, but that is not how the rest of the world celebrates Christmas.
As Christmas Day approaches, our anxiety and
anticipation increase. As gifts are piled up under the Christmas tree,
you discreetly look through the pile to find out who got the biggest package and whether
you have a gift. Suppose you find a box that says, "God's Love Gift, with
your name on it. When it is time to open presents, how eager are you to open that
gift?
During this Christmas season, God's love Gift is for
everyone. No one should be disappointed. It is customized, and it has your name
on it. You may or may not open it, So I am asking the youngest among us to come
forward and open it for us and let's see what we will find there. On this
fourth Sunday of Advent, we will observe how God unfolded His love gift to
shepherds while watching their flock. Luke 2:8-20
I.
Ancient Prophecies Fulfilled.
Last week we saw how John the Baptist came as a
fulfillment of two prophecies of Isaiah and Malachi. Today we will look at the
fulfillment of two other prophecies. In the O.T., God raised prophets to shepherd
His people in Israel. Instead of caring for God's sheep, some prophets have
destroyed and scattered the ones they were expected to care for.
Jeremiah prophesied in 586 B.C. how God would raise a
righteous descendent from King David's line. Jeremiah 23: 4-6 "For the
time is coming," says the Lord, "when I will raise up a righteous
descendant from King David's line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He
will do what is just and right throughout the land. And this will be his name:
'The Lord Is Our Righteousness. 'In that day, Judah will be saved, and Israel
will live in safety."
Two hundred years later, around 800 B.C., a southern
prophet Micah prophesied where and how this descendent of David would be born
and what He would do. Micah 5:2-6, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are
only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose
origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.
The people of Israel will be abandoned to their
enemies until the woman in labor gives birth…And he will stand to lead his
flock with the Lord's strength, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
Then his people will live there undisturbed, for he will be highly honored
around the world. And he will be the source of Peace."
Let's see how these two prophecies converged in the
foothills of Palestine. It was like any other cold winter night in the
mountains of Palestine. A group of shepherds was grazing their flock in an open
field under a starlight sky. Suddenly, an angel appeared, and the whole place
was lit up with the glory of God. The shepherds were frightened to death.
The angel said, "don't be afraid." I brought
Good News that will bring great Joy to all people. Today, in the town of
Bethlehem, where David was born, a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord, has been
born." The Messiah was not born in a palace, unlike the earthly kings but
in a stable. His birth announcement bypassed the kingly and priestly community
but was first revealed to a shepherding community. One day this king will
shepherd all of God's people. His birth is God's love gift for humanity. This
good news will bring great joy to all people. How so?
The Greek word translated as Joy was intensified by
its prefix "megas," from which we get the English word, Mega. This
great joy is not human-based happiness that comes and goes. Instead, it is true
and lasting Joy that comes from God and no one else. As a fulfillment of this
prophecy, later on, Jesus invited his disciples to ask, "You haven't done this
before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant
joy." John 16:24.
II.
God's Love Gift
Let's see how God wrapped his love gift and sent it to
the world and what it contains. His love gift was wrapped in a tiny baby boy as
angels announced to the shepherds. Luke 2:12, "And you will recognize him by
this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger."
God's love gift to this world is His Son, the savior, the Messiah, and the
Lord.
In ancient times babies Babies were snugly wrapped in
long strips of cloth, giving them warmth, protection of extremities, and a
sense of security in their newborn existence. God sent him as a helpless babe
to be loved and cared for by the warmth of his mother.
The combination of a newborn baby's wrappings and the
use of the manger for a crib would be a distinctive "sign." They also
imply that despite the seeming rejection of Jerusalem due to her sins, in
(Ezekiel 16:1-5), the baby in the manger became the special object of his
mother's love and care. This sign might have reminded people that God has not
abandoned them and would look favorably upon His people by restoring their
fortunes and the rest of the world.
After delivering this wonderful news, the angel was
joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven in praising and singing
how this God's love gift will be shared in the world. As a result of giving
this gift, God will get all the glory, and there will be Peace on earth for
those with whom God is pleased. That is the good news we all desperately need
to hear. There is so much war and violence going on in the world. Oh, God!
Please let there be Peace in the world.
III.
Sharing God's Love Gift with others.
How
would you have responded suddenly in the middle of the night if a bunch of angels
showed up in your room and said, "Today a savior is born, and this is how you
would recognize him? You might have shouted at the angels for disturbing your
Peace and would go back to sleep. You might have been frightened thinking that
you had a nightmare.
It was not how the shepherds reacted to the angel's
news. Apart from being frightened, we don't see any skepticism about the angels
or what they have heard. They believed the message and hurried to the village
to find out firsthand what had been told by the angel.
After seeing everything exactly as the angel said, the
shepherds returned to their flocks glorifying and praising God for all they had
heard and seen. They also told everyone what they had witnessed and the message
about this child, God's love gift.
What can we learn from this classic Christmas story?
First, God wrapped all His love in His Son and sent Him to the world as a tiny
baby. Second, God used His heavenly army to convey this good news to the
uneducated shepherds, possibly considered social outcasts.
Thirdly, the shepherds did not stop at just believing
the angels' word but went and verified it themselves. Fourthly, they did not
keep that good news to themselves but became the first evangelists and shared
God's love gift, the good news, with everyone.
On this Christmas day, search for God's love gift, Jesus, by faith as you open gifts. He came into this world as a helpless baby but
didn't remain that way and grew up to be a man. He was full of grace and truth.
During his ministry, he claimed to be the Good Shepherd who would love, care
and be ready to die while protecting his sheep. As the scriptures foretold, He
offered himself as a perfect sacrificial lamb on the cross to restore us to the
Father. That is the good news of great joy for everyone, which must be believed
and shared with everyone. Amen!
