Recognise Jesus!

2024  12  22  ADVENT 4C  Micah 5.2-5a Song of Mary  Hebrews 10.5-10  Luke 1.39-45

 

Welcome to the 4^th week in advent where we celebrate and recognise the great love of God. … and an important aspect in recognising the love of God is the verb in the sentence, “Recognise”. 

It might seem simple, but we know it isn’t, because we know our own children don’t always recognise the love of a parent  - especially when the parent is saying, “NO”.  Why would we be any different as the children of God? 

 

In less than a week we celebrate that first coming of Jesus and Christians recognise him as Lord, and as the prophesised Messiah, however, although many Jews recognised him and became followers, there is a whole nation, precious to God who didn’t recognise him…. And still don’t.

In the light of the war and the antisemitic rallies that we’ve seen, these readings ought to prompt us to pray for this nation of Israel, because they are precious to God.  The nation of Israel only exists because of God.  

The God who we worship, who loves us, chose to reveal himself to the world through this nation of Israel.  Israel began when a man name Jacob wrestled with an Angel, who then blessed him and gave him the name Israel (Meaning, he strives with God and overcomes). 

 

That man, Jacob, was a twin with Esau.  Both Esau and Jacob were sons of a barren lady, Rebecca.  Her husband prayed for her to conceive, and she did.  That husband by the way, was Isaac.  You might remember Isaac… he was the child that was born to an old man, Abraham.  Isaac’s mother, Sarah, who had been barren all her life, bore him at the ripe old age of 90.   Jacob and Esau were the result of prayer, and Isaac, their father, was an undeniable miracle – he only existed because of the miraculous intervention of God.    The whole nation of Israel only exists because of this miracle birth.  And now we, Christians, are spiritually joined to that nation and we are called into the family of God through another miracle birth… the birth of Jesus.

 

God promised that through David’s line the Messiah would be born.   Today we read from the prophet Micah, who prophesied about 700-800 years before Christ.  At the reign of King David’s grandson, there had been a split in the Kingdom and the tribe of Judah (& Benjamin) remained ruled by a descendant of David, but the other clans in Israel broke away and chose their own king, by methods both fair and foul.   Prophets came and spoke the word of God in both Judah and Israel, but Micah, whose prophecy we read today was situated in Judah.

 

There are so many layers of meaning in this prophetic word of God from Micah. The town of Bethlehem means, “House of Bread”, and we know that Jesus declared himself to our bread of life.  Ephrathah is mentioned because there were two towns of Bethlehem and Ephrathah defines which one, but also means, “Fruitfulness”.   This little town of Bethlehem is where King David was born and is about 7 miles south of Jerusalem.  (but 90 miles -or 150 km from Nazareth – a 4 day journey on foot).

 

The prophecy claimed that from Bethlehem would come one whose origin is from of old.  What this meant, and there was no mistake, was that this one existed from the beginning of time.  The Messiah was with God in the beginning.

 

I read an article from neverthirsty.org about all this as I prepared for today, and the article was from one who studied many Rabbi’s commentaries on Micah.  He noted that the ancient Rabbi’s (before Christ) commentary clearly pointed to Jesus, but more contemporary Rabbi’s interpret it slightly differently, putting a more symbolic interpretation on it, so that it doesn’t point clearly to Jesus.  These contemporary Rabbi’s interpret the scripture to match their biased belief that Jesus is not the Messiah.  

 

The writer also commented that those closer to the times of the writings had a much better idea of those things than those writing after.   However, history tends to get re-interpreted according to our contemporary bias, many times it is with all good intentions, but it actually leads to falsifying history, or actually getting it so wrong that we never recognise God at work, even when it is right in front of us.

 

This re-interpreting has always happened when we can’t understand something, or our bias belief prevents us from accepting something in the word of God – Even to the point that I’ve heard of some Theological lecturer that deny the miracles of Jesus, explaining them away as something natural that we don’t understand yet.  Is God truly God, or is he not?    We need to be warned, against re-interpreting scripture to fit our modern lifestyle, as it misrepresents God, and God himself warns against it.  Instead, if we don’t understand something, we need to practise sitting with the mystery and ask God for clarity.  Let it remain something we don’t understand rather than making it up according to our own bias. 

 

We are reminded today, to recognise Jesus.    He will come again, and if we are in the habit of re-working the word of God, such that we make our theology fit the god of our own making, we will not recognise Jesus when he comes, just as the Pharisees, who were the religious experts of the day, did not recognise Jesus that first time.

 

Scripture gives us answers if we are willing to hear.  In Luke1:15 we are told something about John the Baptist, “for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.”  Before he was born, God filled him with the Holy Spirit!  This tells us God knows us, is concerned about us and all this, even before we were born…..  such is His love.

 

In our Gospel reading today we note that John leapt in his mother’s womb at the greeting of Mary.  The Holy Spirit was with him before he was born.  Even as a babe unborn, that Holy Spirit of God filling John, enabled him to leap for joy in his mother’s womb.  Then she, Elizabeth, being filled with the Spirit, declared Mary to be the mother of our Lord.  She also, recognised Jesus.

 

One day, we will need to recognise Jesus when he comes again.  We’ve been told that many will come in his name declaring to be him, and we will need to recognise him.  In the meantime, do we see Jesus at work here in our world?  We are called to be the body of Christ and also, like Mary and Jesus and the followers of Jesus, say, 'See, I have come to do your will, O God'.  Doing the will of God is more important than having correct theology.  It is more important than burnt offerings and sacrifices.

 

Those Pharisees who rejected Jesus were good people trying their best, yet they failed to recognise Jesus because of pride and bias… and their own interpretation of how the Messiah would look and act when he came.  So how can we see Jesus?  How can we recognise him?

 

Let scripture speak.   Live with the mystery.  There are some things we have been told, but we don’t understand.  We read… we believe and we wait.

 

In the meantime, Jesus says, what you do to the least of these, you have done it to me.  Jesus calls us his body and asks us to care for each other and others.  To see him in others and at work in our world. If we are recognising Jesus in our world and celebrating his love, what will this look like?

 

Surely it is to have compassion for those who are hurting, and care for the vulnerable.  In our readings today an unborn baby was filled with the Holy Spirit and leapt for Joy in his mother’s womb because he recognised Jesus.   In fact, if you look back over the readings, you will find that the Holy Spirit is the key.  We need God’s Holy Spirit alive and active in us, so that we can recognise Jesus.  God is a father who gives good gifts and He has already given us the Holy Spirit.  In prayer & scripture reading we open that gift.  May we, like Jesus, Mary and others, say, 'See, I have come to do your will, O God'.  As we hear his voice and reflect the love of God in all that we do and say, hopefully others will even recognise Jesus in us.  This we pray!