Last
Week: Do you remember what three things we
were to check for?
- The peace of Christ ruling…
- The Word of Christ dwelling…
- The Name of Jesus doing…
This
week’s texts: Colossians 3:18-21; and Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2,
This passage is usually taught as a
guide to healthy family relationships and it is that, in both the short version here and the long version in Ephesians 5. However, I wonder if we have ever
applied this passage to the Holy Family, that of Jesus himself.
18 Wives,
submit to your husbands,
as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands,
love your wives,
and do not be harsh with
them.
20 Children,
obey your parents in everything,
for this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers,
do not provoke your children,
lest they become discouraged.
Let’s
be honest. This passage pushes everyone’s buttons doesn’t it? I think that was
in fact part of what Paul was doing. Talking about putting on the attributes of
the “new man” in Christ, letting the peace
of Christ ruling and the word of
Christ dwelling is all hypothetical until we ground it in the daily nuts
and bolts of our own family. Paul gives the Colossians and us a starting place
to having a holy family. Let’s take a brief look at what this passage means and
then see how it played out in THE Holy
Family—Marry, Joseph, Jesus, and God the Father at that first Christmas.
Wives, submit: (hüpotä'ssō) is a military term which means to arrange under,
subordinate, the picture of an orderly system designed for mission. In essence
Paul is saying You-all keep being submissive to your husbands.” While this
verse pushes the buttons of many women who have heard this verse used too often
to relegate them to a marginalized position, it comes in the larger Christian context
of mutual submission (Eph. 5:21) as part of our submission of ourselves to God
(James 4:7) as modeled by Jesus himself. Kittle writes that, “The
general rule in [New Testament] exhortation is that there should be mutual
readiness to renounce one’s own will for others.” (Kittle 1160)
Why should we submit?
Because “It is fitting (anēkō) in
the Lord.” It is the way God himself works within the Trinitarian community of
the God-head. If we were to state this nnegatively,
we might say that if we are not hupotasso,
our lives are not fitting to God. Such willing submission becomes possible
because of Christmas.
Husbands, Love (agapao)
If there is only one Greek word we know, chances are god it is this
one, the word for the sacrificial, serving love that Jesus shares with us the
church. This directive to husbands to sacrificial and serving love was further
qualified as to the way it should be done. Husbands were not to be “harsh” or “embittered” (pikrainō) towards their wives. This is
not talking about fits of anger and name-calling but dealing with the heart and
minds. We should not be bitter, angry, irritated, or indignant with our
spouses. We should not treat them in such a way that they might feel that way
about us either. This love, is described so well in 1 Corinthians 13, “Love is patient
and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or
rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or
resentful…” (v. 4-5). Warren Wiersbe comments that, “bitterness in your
hearts will produce trouble in the home” for bitterness will produce no
sacrifice, no submission.
Children, Obey (hüpäkü'ō),
The button-pushing doesn’t stop with husbands and wives,
but being a holy family involves obedience. If children don’t learn to obey their
parents they are ruined for they will not easily obey any kind of authority. As
a result they will not dwell long in the land. But Why should children obey? Because
it is pleasing to God or as the KJV translates, well-pleasing (yüärestos) Its right there in the
Greek word…if you don’t obey “you arrest us”!
All kidding aside, we all need to obey the Lord if we are members of
his family. Jesus made a point of this once when his family was trying to get
past the crowd to see him.
While he
was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood
outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does
the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matt.
12:46-50)
Fathers (or Parents
see Heb. 11:23), do not exasperate /provoke (erethē'zō):
The word translated “provoke” can be either good, or bad, depending on the
context; either to excite or infuriate. Dads are especially good at getting
their kids wound up at the wrong times. Perhaps some of you have heard a warning
like this, “Don’t you dare get them all riled up before bed time!” You know who
you are! Well thankfully this command is not that! Paul warns us to avoid
living in such a way that our children experience the side effects of “losing heart” (äthüme'ō). What can we do
that causes them to be discouraged, disheartened, or more literally, dispirited?
Such internal defeat comes from the long-term frustration parents cause by:
§
Asking them
to do something which we won’t or don’t do ourselves.
§
saying “No”
or “Yes” without really listening to them or considering their feelings, interests,
and unique God-given gifts. Both extremes often produce the same result.
§
Not being a
good relational role model.
The holy family which God calls us to become will involve all four of
these elements. So how did this all work out that
first Christmas?
Inconvenienced
by Love
As much as we love Christmas,
sometimes the things that go with the season are neither easy nor convenient—landslides
(twice this last week), traffic jams, crazy drivers, and crowded shopping
malls, bad weather, perhaps hanging up the outdoor lights in the bad
weather, topped off by and trying to please all our relatives. In fact,
some things about the Christmas season might be, for us, downright
uncomfortable. Such trials pale in comparison to those faced on Christmas 2000+
years ago.
If you are
like me, you like to feel warm, cozy, and comfortably at ease and call it being
in the Christmas spirit. However, the first Christmas was neither comfortable
nor convenient for any of the main characters (the Holy Family) or the
supporting characters (inn keeper, shepherds, Magi, and even Herod). In fact, why do we want comfort and convenience at
Christmas?
In all actuality, the peace and joy of the season are rooted in discomfort and
inconvenience. In fact they depend upon it. That first Christmas wasn't convenient
either.
1)
Christmas submission
wasn't convenient for Mary (v.18; Luke
1:26-38; 2:1-7). Why?
And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let
it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
She was the one who was pregnant—very
pregnant—likely riding on a donkey for the nearly 80 mile journey, then giving
birth in a dirty barn, or more likely, the living room floor in a stranger’s
house in a strange city.
Mary submitted to the Lord’s plan for
her life, to her husband’s decision in response to her pregnancy, to his plan
to go to Bethlehem, then the new plan to go to Egypt in the middle of the night
[do you believe that God can talk to your husband like that?]. Later she went
along with the plan to come home to Bethlehem…and the new-new plan to move back
to Nazareth instead.
2)
Christmas
loving wasn't convenient for Joseph (Matt. 1:18-25). Why?
His reputation was at stake as a
result of her unwed pregnancy and the certain rumors that would spread, yet he
chose not to defend his honor publicly. Joseph was getting an instant
family…and not the way he would have planned. However, he chose to love her—first
in deciding to put her away quietly (instead of stoning her) secondly in taking
her as his wife…and treating her gently. After deciding to take the angelic
message to heart he and Mary began the long trip to Bethlehem for some stupid
government census declared by a foreign emperor. She rode the donkey (tradition),
while he had to walk. She would not give birth in the home he would have built
in preparation for their marriage, but somewhere else depending of the
hospitality of others.
3)
Christmas
obedience wasn't comfortable for Jesus the Son of God (Gospels)
It was the Father’s counter-intuitive pleasure
that the Son, the Creator of the Universe, would take time perhaps on a cold
winter night, some 2000 years ago—
·
to
be born as a baby, in a humble house with a feeding trough for a cradle,
·
to
spend a number of years as a refugee in Egypt,
·
to
live as a carpenter's son in Nazareth until He was thirty,
·
to
spend the next three years on the road trying to teach stubborn and
hard-hearted people
·
before
spending 33 days in the grave to set us free from sin and death
—but He did it joyfully. He
recapitulated all of human life in his own, assuming our sin, sorrow, and shame
so that we might be healed. It wasn't comfortable for the Son to come to earth
as a man--but He did it willingly. It was not convenient nor was it comfortable
that He should be rejected, abused, tortured and crucified for those same
people--for us, and then to spend three days in the grave--but He did it obediently
and completed his mission.
Certainly that first Christmas for
Christ Jesus was not about convenience, nor was it about comfort. It was about
doing the Father’s business. Thus it was about compassion for lost souls and a
commitment to do something about it by the only One who could. It is about an
incomparable love.
As I consider the selfless, loving
attitude of our Lord I am convicted of my lack of Christ-likeness and
challenged to let his attitude, his very Spirit, dwell in me—even this
Christmas—so that my focus would not center around my comfort and my
convenience, but on that of others.
How ironic it is that in sacrificing
our own expectations for God's best in the lives of others, that we receive
God's best for us!
4)
Christmas
news wasn't convenient for the supporting cast:
· Shepherds (Luke 2:8-20). Why? They were badly frightened by the
angels, then they left their flocks and their watch-fires to find this new-born
king. They worshiped and witnessed to others…“You won’t believe what I saw
tonight!”
· Wise men from the east (Matthew
2:1-12). Why? They studied long and hard, they left
behind their families and careers to travel a long way, worship the child
Jesus, give gifts, and then they had to take the long way home. They worshiped and then were warned to go home a different way with perhaps “a price on their
heads.”
·
King Herod (Matt. 2:3-8, 16-19) Why? A messianic king in fulfillment of the prophecies would
ruin everything for Herod, whose power was founded on fear and oppression like
that of the White witch in Lewis’ Narnia book, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. He ruled a kingdom with his
own power which led to an amazing amount of paranoia. He was troubled and
caused grief…thinking better that others should die in order to preserve his
faux kingdom.
5)
Christmas
was the eternal plan born of the Father’s love
Jesus was
sent by the Father, directed by the Father, and fully revealed the Father to
us. The incarnation wasn’t without a price for the Father either He chose to give
his Son for a bunch of stubborn people who continue to spit in the face of
their maker. It couldn’t have been easy to watch events unfold as you knew they
would, but in his love he was determined to rescue people oppressed by their slavery
to sin and the fear of death.
Our Heavenly Father doesn’t provoke us! What did
he say to that holy family?
To Mary (Luke 1:30)
And the angel [messenger] said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God.”
To
Joseph: described as a just man was not kept in the dark. He had four angelic
dream warnings, “And
her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame,
resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he
considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife,
for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She
will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save
his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:19-21; 2:13, 19-20, 22)
To Jesus: “…and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove;
and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22)
Matthew 17:5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them,
and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” [Also John 2:5 when Mary
said, “Do whatever he tells you.”]
2 Peter 1:16-18 For we did not follow cleverly
devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when
he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him
by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well
pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we
were with him on the holy mountain.
Don't we all want that kind of encouragement and love from our fathers?
To the Supporting Cast: Lowly shepherds were included in the special
moment, the angelic choir and all; Simeon got to seen the baby born before he
died, wise men joined the prophets and provided for the refugees. Herod…well,
his fear consumed him.
What About Us? What does Christmas do in
our lives? How does it shape us?
A) Christmas tests our Relationship with Christ. (Proverbs 14:14).
"The backslider in heart will be
filled with his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied from above."
At Christmas, we get to see…
·
Whether
we are full of selfishness or if we
are satisfied from above.
·
Whether
we have the kind of love that indicates a
growing relationship with Jesus Christ or if we are shrinking do to
self-focus. [How many selfies do we take?]
·
How
submissive are we in arranging
ourselves under his authority? (James 4:7)
·
How
willing are we to postpone our own
gratification for the purpose of his kingdom? [They were chaste until after
Jesus was born.]
·
How
passionate are we in responding to his love for us?
Do we trust him as we should?
B)
Christmas
reassures us that God will meet our needs (Romans 8:32; Phil.
4:19).
"He who did not spare His own
Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give us all things?" With such a hefty down-payment—no mortgage
insurance is needed. (Romans 8:32)
"And my God shall supply all your
need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19) I have found that it is human nature that submission is
easier when we trust the one to whom we submit.
The gift of Jesus, and all the gift giving that goes on at Christmas, should
remind us…
C) Christmas reminds us to look out for others
in love (Philippians 2:4).
"Let each of you look out not
only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."
D) Christmas reproves us regarding our priorities
(Mark 10:45).
"For even the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
What an amazing role model we have in Jesus!
E)
Christmas
reproduces itself in the hearts of Believers (Phil.
2:5-8; Matt. 10:7-8)
Phil. 2:5-8 "Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it
robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the
form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of
death, even the death of the cross."
Matthew 10:7-8 "And as you go, preach, saying,
'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise
the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
John 15:8 "By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."
2 Timothy 2:1-2 "You therefore, my son, be strong
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from
me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach
others also."
Mary, Joseph, Jesus, God, as well as Shepherds,
Wise men, were willing to be inconvenienced. The great inconvenience of Christ led
to great blessing for us.
Let's turn our seasonal
inconveniences into blessing for others. How?
- Pray for others while we are going
through delays and extra effort this season.
- Go out of your way to bless others and it
may open up a door for us to share what God has been doing in our lives
this year with them. We also benefit from,
- The joy of giving/serving unto the Lord.
He deserves it even if they don’t
- It may open the door for us to share
what God is doing in our own lives.
- Believe that nothing is wasted…God’s plan
redeems our inconveniences
- Others?
May your Christmas season be truly blessed by the goodness of God, and
if the blessing come in disguise may we have the eyes of faith to recognize them!
