WEBVTT 00:00:00.649 --> 00:00:03.149 Hello, you are listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.270 --> 00:00:06.209 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:06.889 --> 00:00:08.750 It's our hope that these sermons will draw you 00:00:08.750 --> 00:00:11.169 more into the life of following God, Father, 00:00:11.330 --> 00:00:14.150 Son and Holy Spirit. Please consider coming and 00:00:14.150 --> 00:00:16.469 joining with us each Sunday morning at 10am in 00:00:16.469 --> 00:00:18.809 the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. You can find 00:00:18.809 --> 00:00:22.329 us online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Facebook, 00:00:22.609 --> 00:00:25.030 Instagram and YouTube. We hope you enjoy this 00:00:25.030 --> 00:00:30.690 sermon. God Bless. We're going to consider some 00:00:30.690 --> 00:00:32.990 of that passage, that gospel passage from Luke, 00:00:33.030 --> 00:00:36.409 so if you want to turn your bulletin there. Actually, 00:00:36.850 --> 00:00:39.689 no. First, turn your bulletin to the front cover, 00:00:39.770 --> 00:00:44.030 okay? I'm going to give you three seconds to 00:00:44.030 --> 00:00:48.850 find Mary and Joseph. Starting, are you all there? 00:00:49.850 --> 00:00:55.469 Now. Wow. Okay, Gordon got them. Maybe some of 00:00:55.469 --> 00:00:58.560 you found them. We've had about three seconds. 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.539 That's probably enough time. I don't know. Maybe 00:01:01.539 --> 00:01:04.420 you found them, maybe you didn't. Maybe like 00:01:04.420 --> 00:01:07.900 many, you don't see the Lord in this season. 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.959 I mean, we are swallowed up in busyness. I brought 00:01:11.959 --> 00:01:14.859 some of my children even today to find presents 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:18.359 for each other. And it's Christmas even if you 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:21.180 don't know it's a day that pastors tend to have 00:01:21.180 --> 00:01:23.640 a little more going on and just a little more 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:25.989 in our heads and stuff. Anyway, we get caught 00:01:25.989 --> 00:01:28.290 up in the shopping lists and the deadlines and 00:01:28.290 --> 00:01:31.049 all of the wonderful baking is taking place. 00:01:31.150 --> 00:01:33.150 And sometimes we get caught up in the worry of 00:01:33.150 --> 00:01:37.090 family meals. Is the uncle gonna ask that question 00:01:37.090 --> 00:01:40.790 like he did last year? It's a real question for 00:01:40.790 --> 00:01:44.950 some of us. Sometimes we're overwhelmed with 00:01:44.950 --> 00:01:47.530 the sadness of the season because there are emptier 00:01:47.530 --> 00:01:51.650 chairs, chairs that were once filled. There's 00:01:51.650 --> 00:01:54.590 a song that Jess has sung for us in years past 00:01:54.590 --> 00:01:58.609 for communion in this season that I love by a 00:01:58.609 --> 00:02:00.590 group out of Seattle called The Sing Team. It's 00:02:00.590 --> 00:02:03.310 called Make Room. The first verse is like this. 00:02:06.310 --> 00:02:08.490 I always feel such a struggle as some of you 00:02:08.490 --> 00:02:10.870 know. I so want to sing it, I'm not going to. 00:02:11.430 --> 00:02:15.590 It's like this, blinded by lights, burdened with 00:02:15.590 --> 00:02:19.939 choice. That's one of the great. burdens of our 00:02:19.939 --> 00:02:21.800 day, you know, we go down the chip aisle and 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:25.479 we're frozen. Burdened with choice and distracted 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:30.139 by the shiniest toys, the traditional chaos and 00:02:30.139 --> 00:02:32.960 the ritual noise drown out the wonder of the 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:37.300 still small voice. So if you look back with me 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:40.219 at this beautiful painting by Peter Bruegel, 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:45.780 the Elder, what you see is just everybody seemingly 00:02:45.780 --> 00:02:51.650 going about a normal winter day in 16th century 00:02:51.650 --> 00:02:56.270 Holland. It's a Dutch scene, the 16th century. 00:02:57.430 --> 00:02:59.849 Some guy, maybe you see that actually sort of 00:02:59.849 --> 00:03:02.909 right in front of Joseph, is tapping an enormous 00:03:02.909 --> 00:03:06.650 keg. An enormous keg that's carried by these 00:03:06.650 --> 00:03:09.250 huge wheels. There's another person slaughtering 00:03:09.250 --> 00:03:13.110 a pig, it looks like. There's sledding and skating 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:16.979 taking place on the pond. people are carrying 00:03:16.979 --> 00:03:19.039 their burdens. A lot of people are carrying burdens. 00:03:19.180 --> 00:03:21.259 There's a lot of people gathered together at 00:03:21.259 --> 00:03:24.219 what is probably a store. Maybe it's an inn of 00:03:24.219 --> 00:03:28.659 sorts. There's about 200 people actually in this 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:30.560 painting. I was reading about it this week and 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:32.699 it's just a busy normal kind of life. It just 00:03:32.699 --> 00:03:35.620 depicts the mundane Dutch winter life in the 00:03:35.620 --> 00:03:38.659 16th century. And of course it's a deliberate 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:43.340 anachronism. Bruegel never thought Mary and Joseph 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:49.379 appeared into a 16th century Dutch town. He had 00:03:49.379 --> 00:03:52.139 read what we read tonight that they made their 00:03:52.139 --> 00:03:57.500 way from Nazareth up in Galilee down to Bethlehem 00:03:57.500 --> 00:04:01.439 in Judea. But what Bruegel is doing is what I 00:04:01.439 --> 00:04:03.620 want to suggest to you is that we must do today. 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:07.280 He's inviting us to see Jesus, and in some ways 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:11.439 the ordinary, mundane reality of our life. What 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:13.419 he's saying is that Jesus doesn't just come 2 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:16.399 ,000 years ago in a way, but the reality of Christmas 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:18.939 is the gift of God, not just for them long ago, 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:24.180 but for us, the reality of Christ dwelling now, 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:30.300 today. So he depicts them in his time. And I 00:04:30.300 --> 00:04:32.680 want to suggest to you in a way that that is 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:36.319 also what Luke does. He points us to Jesus coming 00:04:36.319 --> 00:04:39.279 into the ordinary of our lives. And so I want 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:44.959 to do that this evening by highlighting for us 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:47.339 a few details that if you have been to a Christmas 00:04:47.339 --> 00:04:50.500 Eve service, or if you have heard of the Christmas 00:04:50.500 --> 00:04:54.360 story from the Bible, you likely know these details, 00:04:54.379 --> 00:04:56.259 but I want us to highlight some of them, okay? 00:04:56.620 --> 00:04:59.259 So verse one. Verse one, if you have it open 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:03.500 there, the Luke passage, it begins this way. 00:05:03.579 --> 00:05:05.980 I'm gonna read one to three. In those days, a 00:05:05.980 --> 00:05:07.939 decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:10.600 the world should be registered. This was the 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:13.100 first registration when Quirinius was governor 00:05:13.100 --> 00:05:16.839 of Syria, and all went to be registered, each 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:21.459 to his own town. If you know Luke, he's the doctor 00:05:21.459 --> 00:05:23.560 and he's very specific and he's wanting to tell 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.120 you this happens in real time, in real space. 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:28.819 There's a date, there's a specific event into 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:30.959 which Jesus comes into the world. But what I 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.519 want you to see in some ways this morning is 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:35.779 what we have right at the beginning, is that 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:38.100 some of the ordinariness into which Jesus comes 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:45.019 is the ordinariness which we don't choose. These 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:50.689 are faithful Jews. Rome is in charge. Rome says, 00:05:50.930 --> 00:05:54.110 we're having a census. You need to be registered. 00:05:54.930 --> 00:06:01.470 And you got to do it now. So they went. You had 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:03.370 to do it. You had to go to your own hometown. 00:06:04.449 --> 00:06:06.889 And this is just the fact of life. Much of your 00:06:06.889 --> 00:06:09.470 life, much of the ordinariness of your life is 00:06:09.470 --> 00:06:11.769 the stuff in which you don't choose. It's forced 00:06:11.769 --> 00:06:16.410 upon you. I read the other day that many Many 00:06:16.410 --> 00:06:21.350 adults actually love contemplation, the contemplative, 00:06:21.949 --> 00:06:25.389 to contemplate and to have some stillness. But 00:06:25.389 --> 00:06:27.389 children on the other hand, love action, they 00:06:27.389 --> 00:06:31.470 love play, they love movement. If you are with 00:06:31.470 --> 00:06:34.790 children tomorrow morning, observe how they unwrap. 00:06:35.470 --> 00:06:37.449 They probably won't do it the same way you do. 00:06:37.569 --> 00:06:41.009 I remember watching my dad, now he was an architect, 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:43.209 he's a pretty meticulous person, but he would 00:06:43.209 --> 00:06:47.910 so carefully undo the wrapping and we would just 00:06:47.910 --> 00:06:53.170 go for it. And in some of our best moments as 00:06:53.170 --> 00:06:55.209 Christians, we wanna sit and be with the Lord 00:06:55.209 --> 00:06:58.050 in prayer and in His word and contemplating His 00:06:58.050 --> 00:07:01.949 ways. And in many of those best moments is just 00:07:01.949 --> 00:07:05.259 when... There are fight breaks out upstairs, 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:10.160 and we are called into parental action, breaking 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:13.019 the peaceful contemplation which we were cherishing. 00:07:13.860 --> 00:07:15.959 I read a lovely little book a couple years back 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:18.540 by the Catholic writer, Ronald Rollheiser. Maybe 00:07:18.540 --> 00:07:20.360 some of you have read him. It's a little book 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:23.540 titled, Domestic Monastery. And the point of 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:26.800 the book is very simple. He's suggesting that 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:29.379 the mother's life, the mother's work mirrors 00:07:29.379 --> 00:07:32.740 in many ways the work and the life in the monastery. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:37.259 The monks give themselves, give up their power 00:07:37.259 --> 00:07:40.199 over their time and over their life. And so when 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:42.199 the bell tolls, they wake up. When the bell tolls, 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:43.920 they go to prayer. When the bell tolls, they 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:48.480 eat. When the bell tolls, they pray. Their life 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:50.300 is kind of put upon them. They do the work that 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:53.579 they're told to do by the abbot. And when the 00:07:53.579 --> 00:08:00.399 baby wakes, You wake. And when the baby's hungry, 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:03.959 you feed the baby. And your life is now in some 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:06.000 ways not your own. It's sort of this life that's 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:08.180 forced upon you. But here's the truth is that 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:11.639 in both of those times and in those places is 00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:15.160 when sort of the value and the gift of powerlessness 00:08:15.160 --> 00:08:18.860 is learned. Oftentimes we actually meet God in 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:21.899 the times that are forced upon us. Places where 00:08:21.899 --> 00:08:26.870 we say, I'm powerless. and God is present. God 00:08:26.870 --> 00:08:29.970 often shows up when we aren't in charge in the 00:08:29.970 --> 00:08:33.210 ordinariness in which we don't choose. Look with 00:08:33.210 --> 00:08:35.190 me at another detail that you will know, verse 00:08:35.190 --> 00:08:41.389 six. Maybe you have this memorized. And while 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:43.850 they were there, the time came for her to give 00:08:43.850 --> 00:08:51.929 birth. Remember that part? Why? Why? Why this 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:57.049 timing? Christians believe that God is over all 00:08:57.049 --> 00:09:00.909 things. He speaks and the world comes into being. 00:09:02.450 --> 00:09:06.690 Certainly he can choose to be born when they're 00:09:06.690 --> 00:09:11.830 at home. When Mary and Joseph had not had to 00:09:11.830 --> 00:09:14.389 make the long journey, as I mentioned on Sunday, 00:09:14.750 --> 00:09:17.529 the journey being about 90 miles from Nazareth 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:21.320 down to Bethlehem. Why did they have to meet 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:25.220 the promise to Messiah when all the others who 00:09:25.220 --> 00:09:27.220 are of the house and lineage of David happened 00:09:27.220 --> 00:09:32.039 to be in Bethlehem at the same time? And why 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:34.220 did Bruegel depict a holy family coming into 00:09:34.220 --> 00:09:39.139 town when it was winter and snow? And if you 00:09:39.139 --> 00:09:41.059 noticed, if you found Mary, what you found was 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:45.000 that she was bundled up. What an inconvenient 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.590 time for a mother. Did Bruegel do this because 00:09:49.590 --> 00:09:53.470 Christmas happens in winter? Maybe. Maybe he's 00:09:53.470 --> 00:09:56.889 teaching us something. He took so many other 00:09:56.889 --> 00:09:59.909 liberties in the painting. I wonder if what he's 00:09:59.909 --> 00:10:02.070 saying is that God meets us in the inconvenience 00:10:02.070 --> 00:10:07.289 of it all. And I want to suggest this too, that 00:10:07.289 --> 00:10:10.669 it's true that sometimes we are more ready to 00:10:10.669 --> 00:10:13.789 receive God when things seem a bit off, when 00:10:13.789 --> 00:10:16.090 our life just doesn't seem to be going as we 00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:19.570 had planned it out to. to go. When we're thrown 00:10:19.570 --> 00:10:22.570 a little bit off kilter, when there isn't room 00:10:22.570 --> 00:10:26.549 in our calendar for Him, maybe we actually meet 00:10:26.549 --> 00:10:28.769 God when we've had another fight with our spouse 00:10:28.769 --> 00:10:33.149 or when our child angrily left the house and 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:35.450 we come face to face with our life is not quite 00:10:35.450 --> 00:10:40.909 what we thought. The inconvenience of life. But 00:10:40.909 --> 00:10:43.509 there are more details here, more details that 00:10:43.509 --> 00:10:50.559 you know. Think of the shepherds. Sometimes, 00:10:51.519 --> 00:10:57.519 again, I think maybe often, God shows up when 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:01.200 there's just the tapping of the keg and the normal 00:11:01.200 --> 00:11:04.320 slaughter of the pig and putting on the ice skates 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:10.419 or dinner. Maybe you have these planned dinners 00:11:10.419 --> 00:11:13.120 tonight or tomorrow or festive time with friends 00:11:13.120 --> 00:11:19.080 or coffee down at Little Amps. doing life, right? 00:11:19.960 --> 00:11:25.299 I mean, the shepherds, verse eight, and in the 00:11:25.299 --> 00:11:26.919 same region, there were shepherds out in the 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:28.639 field keeping watch over their flock by night. 00:11:28.820 --> 00:11:30.600 And if you were living at that time, you would 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:36.279 have been like, yep, that's what they do, right? 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:38.940 I mean, this is the most ordinary statement about 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:43.470 shepherds. It's nothing like flashy. they were 00:11:43.470 --> 00:11:46.649 doing something crazy and an angel appeared to 00:11:46.649 --> 00:11:50.850 them nope not at all they're just doing normal 00:11:50.850 --> 00:11:52.830 shepherd life watching their flocks so that some 00:11:52.830 --> 00:11:55.789 other animal predator won't come and snack that 00:11:55.789 --> 00:11:59.269 snap them away eat them up but again i want to 00:11:59.269 --> 00:12:01.029 suggest to you that this is again the way of 00:12:01.029 --> 00:12:06.789 god we love the mountaintop experiences the camp 00:12:06.789 --> 00:12:11.299 high is real The experience when you're out in 00:12:11.299 --> 00:12:12.899 the woods with friends and you're having to do 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:15.519 something you don't think you can do, and you 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:17.779 do create some bonds in those experiences, that's 00:12:17.779 --> 00:12:22.139 true. But so often, God is present in the folding 00:12:22.139 --> 00:12:26.299 of diapers, in the normal friendships that are 00:12:26.299 --> 00:12:30.419 made over time spent playing pickleball together, 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:34.110 hopefully not twisting your ankle. The long slug 00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:36.509 of just doing the same job day in and day out, 00:12:36.509 --> 00:12:38.409 sometimes going, I love this, sometimes going, 00:12:38.450 --> 00:12:40.230 I don't really like this so much, maybe I should 00:12:40.230 --> 00:12:42.549 do something else. And God just ends up appearing 00:12:42.549 --> 00:12:45.330 in those just normal shepherds in the field watching 00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:50.070 over their flocks by night, moments. Let me give 00:12:50.070 --> 00:12:52.610 you another detail, one that you will be familiar 00:12:52.610 --> 00:12:59.110 with yet again. There's no room in the inn. So 00:12:59.110 --> 00:13:01.289 verse seven tells us this, and she gave birth 00:13:01.289 --> 00:13:05.980 to her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling 00:13:05.980 --> 00:13:09.200 clothes and laid him in a manger, because there 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:13.120 was no place for them in the inn." Which is to 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:15.879 say in some ways that they were alone, Mary and 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.639 Joseph. More or less they're alone. I mean, it 00:13:18.639 --> 00:13:21.720 is likely that they were around donkeys and sheep. 00:13:22.379 --> 00:13:25.960 What is the manger for? For a feeding trough, 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:32.470 right? But they're alone. There is no room. And 00:13:32.470 --> 00:13:34.809 think about this in some ways. I want you to 00:13:34.809 --> 00:13:38.070 think about the details of this little verse 00:13:38.070 --> 00:13:42.269 because I think it also connects with how often 00:13:42.269 --> 00:13:44.429 is the case that God meets us in this kind of 00:13:44.429 --> 00:13:47.649 place, in the aloneness or in the feeling of, 00:13:47.710 --> 00:13:51.210 man, I wish I'd planned this better. Why did 00:13:51.210 --> 00:13:54.450 this happen? How had this happened to me being 00:13:54.450 --> 00:13:59.269 cast away? The town was full. for the mandated 00:13:59.269 --> 00:14:01.429 registration, the census that was commanded by 00:14:01.429 --> 00:14:06.070 the Romans. And yet it seems like they relate 00:14:06.070 --> 00:14:09.409 to the game. There was an in. Can you imagine 00:14:09.409 --> 00:14:12.830 Joseph? I can imagine being Joseph and thinking, 00:14:13.250 --> 00:14:16.149 why didn't I leave earlier? I knew that this 00:14:16.149 --> 00:14:18.330 drive was going to take me this long. And now 00:14:18.330 --> 00:14:22.809 my wife, who's nine months pregnant, might not 00:14:22.809 --> 00:14:26.850 have a place to rest her head. And just feeling 00:14:26.850 --> 00:14:29.409 like nobody else does this kind of thing. Why 00:14:29.409 --> 00:14:33.110 am I doing this? This is a lone dejected kind 00:14:33.110 --> 00:14:35.629 of, why can't I get my stuff together place? 00:14:37.990 --> 00:14:40.730 How do we know there wasn't room left in the 00:14:40.730 --> 00:14:43.309 inn? Well, what we get at the end of the text 00:14:43.309 --> 00:14:44.990 is that Mary treasured all these things up in 00:14:44.990 --> 00:14:47.490 her heart. It's almost certain that Mary was 00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:49.870 the one that was sharing these stories about 00:14:49.870 --> 00:14:52.860 what had happened. And you can imagine. You know, 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:55.620 she's sharing the story of how, of all people, 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:58.799 they, nine months pregnant, I'm nine months pregnant, 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:03.100 and I go and they won't let me in. There's all 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:05.220 these other people, you know, it's like getting 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:07.519 on the Metro in New York and you're like, all 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.080 the seats are taken. There's a pregnant lady, 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:12.580 you're supposed to get up and let her in. Let 00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:21.860 her sit down. A normal, crazy aloneness. And 00:15:21.860 --> 00:15:23.440 of course, what mother wouldn't want the best 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:24.860 for her child? Do you think she was thinking 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:29.960 like, well, this will do. I don't mind giving 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:35.960 birth to the long promised Messiah who is conceived 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:40.820 by the Holy Spirit next to some animals. That's 00:15:40.820 --> 00:15:45.320 totally fine. But again, I just want to suggest 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:46.700 to you that in these details, we're learning 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:49.789 something deeply important. It's the same lesson 00:15:49.789 --> 00:15:51.529 that we're getting from Bruegel that so often 00:15:51.529 --> 00:15:53.809 God meets us in these sort of ordinary places 00:15:53.809 --> 00:15:56.450 and so often our ordinary lives are our lives 00:15:56.450 --> 00:16:01.230 where we feel so alone and so incapable and so 00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:03.610 wondering what is happening in my life right 00:16:03.610 --> 00:16:08.370 now. The places we least desire. He meets us 00:16:08.370 --> 00:16:10.090 when we come to the end of our abilities and 00:16:10.090 --> 00:16:14.990 the roadblocks, the plans. God comes to us in 00:16:14.990 --> 00:16:17.350 crowded places. He comes to us in busy places 00:16:17.350 --> 00:16:20.450 where we don't really want Him. At times when 00:16:20.450 --> 00:16:23.490 we don't expect Him. When we're just going about 00:16:23.490 --> 00:16:27.750 our normal business when we're alone. And my 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:31.549 guess is that as I list some of these, maybe 00:16:31.549 --> 00:16:32.990 you don't associate with all of them, but my 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:34.889 guess is all of us associate with something. 00:16:37.730 --> 00:16:40.690 Maybe this is where you find yourself. Maybe 00:16:40.690 --> 00:16:43.519 you aren't so sure about Him. Like I said at 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:44.659 the beginning of our service, maybe you have 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:48.220 more doubt than faith. Maybe you're so frazzled 00:16:48.220 --> 00:16:51.299 with all that we have going on in this season. 00:16:53.139 --> 00:16:55.299 Maybe your heart really is aching because there 00:16:55.299 --> 00:16:58.259 actually is an empty chair. I know, if you're 00:16:58.259 --> 00:16:59.600 part of this congregation, you know that there 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:02.240 are empty, there are places in our pews where 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.879 there were people that sat there last year that 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:06.240 aren't sitting there now. Maybe because they 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:07.980 had gone on to glory, maybe because they had 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:11.079 left, moved away. They're no longer a part of 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:15.259 our community. Maybe you're dreading some of 00:17:15.259 --> 00:17:17.839 the demands upon your time and emotions that 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:22.319 others are putting on you. Maybe you are just 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:26.400 so busy and so excited inside of yourself, children, 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:28.859 more likely you than the adults, about what is 00:17:28.859 --> 00:17:33.259 going to be under the tree tomorrow. But what 00:17:33.259 --> 00:17:35.640 I'm suggesting to you is that this is the good 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:38.720 news. The ordinary life is where God meets us. 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:43.160 He comes to us so often in the mundane. At the 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:45.700 place where there's no room in the inn, where 00:17:45.700 --> 00:17:48.940 the shepherds are just doing their stuff, our 00:17:48.940 --> 00:17:53.339 normal lives. Sometimes it's not when we want 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:56.880 Him. Sometimes it's when we absolutely need Him. 00:17:58.140 --> 00:18:00.000 Sometimes it's just when we're busy with other 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.660 things. Sometimes it's when we're deeply alone. 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:06.299 In some ways, this is just the whole good news 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:09.680 of it all, that God comes to us. It's not just 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:13.640 some other life. That's not really good news 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.420 if God only shows up to you when you're at camp 00:18:16.420 --> 00:18:18.880 with your friends. That's not really good news. 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:26.019 We'll hear in our final reading that he takes 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:31.559 on flesh and he dwells among us, makes his habitation 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:36.720 in our neighborhood, pitched his tent around 00:18:36.720 --> 00:18:43.630 us, just moved in. Not far off, but close. Not 00:18:43.630 --> 00:18:45.809 to some mountain high, but into the normal life 00:18:45.809 --> 00:18:50.789 that you live, God comes. And part of the beauty 00:18:50.789 --> 00:18:52.970 of Bruegel's painting is how sort of inconspicuous 00:18:52.970 --> 00:18:55.849 Mary and Joseph were. Gordon did find them quickly. 00:18:55.950 --> 00:18:57.710 Maybe some of you did. Some of you are really 00:18:57.710 --> 00:19:01.369 smart. I get it. But in some ways, they're just 00:19:01.369 --> 00:19:05.970 there. They're just there. They look so normal. 00:19:07.569 --> 00:19:10.289 Jesus arriving into town, They're all just doing 00:19:10.289 --> 00:19:13.710 their thing. And I think that's part of the beauty 00:19:13.710 --> 00:19:19.789 of it. God is coming to us. That's the message 00:19:19.789 --> 00:19:23.029 of Christmas, that God actually takes on flesh, 00:19:23.170 --> 00:19:26.569 this real life flesh, and he does it for us in 00:19:26.569 --> 00:19:32.750 our normal, real lives. It's into your life that 00:19:32.750 --> 00:19:34.670 the angels are declaring there's glad tidings 00:19:34.670 --> 00:19:38.569 and great joy. Okay. So we've considered one 00:19:38.569 --> 00:19:40.549 of these great classic paintings of the Christmas 00:19:40.549 --> 00:19:44.509 season. Now, to close, though, it's going to 00:19:44.509 --> 00:19:46.089 take me a little bit of time. So don't think 00:19:46.089 --> 00:19:50.190 like, sweet, it's all done. To close, I want 00:19:50.190 --> 00:19:54.009 us to consider together a modern Christmas masterpiece. 00:19:55.250 --> 00:19:59.190 And that masterpiece is the movie, Home Alone. 00:20:00.910 --> 00:20:04.089 That's right. Right, buddy? Yeah, you know what 00:20:04.089 --> 00:20:06.210 I'm talking about. It's a favorite in our house. 00:20:08.159 --> 00:20:10.380 So I saw this video last week, and I remember 00:20:10.380 --> 00:20:13.980 hearing about this a couple years back. And I 00:20:13.980 --> 00:20:16.099 want to tell you, or kind of read to you some 00:20:16.099 --> 00:20:19.900 of what I watched. But I hope you know the story. 00:20:20.220 --> 00:20:22.240 I mean, it really is a favorite in the Rowan 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:26.079 household. And if you know the story, Kevin's 00:20:26.079 --> 00:20:30.680 family leaves, and he's there at their home. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:32.799 They're on their way to Paris for Christmas, 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:38.250 because that's what people do. And he does all 00:20:38.250 --> 00:20:40.509 this crazy stuff. He's watching movies, and he's 00:20:40.509 --> 00:20:44.190 ordering pizza, and he's just vegging out. And 00:20:44.190 --> 00:20:46.910 he has to go buy a toothbrush, and he ends up 00:20:46.910 --> 00:20:47.930 at a church, and all this kind of stuff. And 00:20:47.930 --> 00:20:49.890 then, of course, the big thing that happens is 00:20:49.890 --> 00:20:52.990 the wet bandits are coming. They're gonna rob. 00:20:53.369 --> 00:20:56.190 And he puts together this elaborate booby trap 00:20:56.190 --> 00:20:59.430 scenario, and it's awesome. And I don't feel 00:20:59.430 --> 00:21:00.930 like I'm gonna give any of it away, because I 00:21:00.930 --> 00:21:03.109 would guess that 98 % of you have watched it, 00:21:03.109 --> 00:21:06.329 and the other 2 % should. If you haven't by now, 00:21:06.450 --> 00:21:09.210 you know, get on the bandwagon. But here's what 00:21:09.210 --> 00:21:12.390 I want to suggest to you, is that old man Marley, 00:21:12.490 --> 00:21:15.589 you know the neighbor, the old grouchy kind of 00:21:15.589 --> 00:21:21.630 neighbor, is actually, he's a Jesus figure. So 00:21:21.630 --> 00:21:24.049 the first time you see old man Marley, he is 00:21:24.049 --> 00:21:28.029 salting, throwing out salt. He's serving his 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:32.230 neighbors, he's salting. He's salting the earth. 00:21:32.819 --> 00:21:37.200 He's out serving people. The second time he shows 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:39.740 up, Kevin's kind of talking to himself. It's 00:21:39.740 --> 00:21:42.819 almost though Kevin, it's praying in a way. And 00:21:42.819 --> 00:21:44.660 there's Marley in the scene, old man Marley's 00:21:44.660 --> 00:21:48.359 in the scene. And he says, I'm not afraid anymore. 00:21:48.420 --> 00:21:50.420 And then Kevin of course runs off because he's 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:52.880 actually scared. So he sort of rejects this presence 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:55.420 of somebody, right? The third time, and this 00:21:55.420 --> 00:21:56.980 is when it gets really good. And I remember hearing 00:21:56.980 --> 00:21:59.000 this a few years back. The third time is when 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:00.519 Kevin's in the convenience store. He has to buy 00:22:00.519 --> 00:22:04.180 the toothbrush. And in walks old man Marley and 00:22:04.180 --> 00:22:07.740 a bell tolls. What happens when a bell tolls? 00:22:08.299 --> 00:22:09.640 An angel gets its wings. Y 'all have watched 00:22:09.640 --> 00:22:13.480 other Christmas movies, good job. But also bells 00:22:13.480 --> 00:22:15.460 are places where like the monastery is calling 00:22:15.460 --> 00:22:18.339 you into the presence of God. Oftentimes churches 00:22:18.339 --> 00:22:21.000 have bells, right? This is a religious symbol 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:26.640 oftentimes. And so in walks old man Marley and 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:28.759 he puts his hand down on the convenience store. 00:22:29.099 --> 00:22:31.259 And actually there's, if you watch this, there's 00:22:31.259 --> 00:22:33.980 a little shot from below looking up through the 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:36.660 glass of the convenience store counter. And you 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:38.880 notice that his hand is bandaged and it's bloody, 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:44.559 right? It's bloody in the middle. And Kevin leaves, 00:22:44.839 --> 00:22:48.720 rejected again. Rejects old man Marley there 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:51.519 again. So next time we see him, Kevin is in church, 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:54.190 that beautiful church scene. and he sees old 00:22:54.190 --> 00:22:56.869 man marley and this is kind of amazing too because 00:22:56.869 --> 00:23:01.190 the choir is singing oh holy night and y 'all 00:23:01.190 --> 00:23:03.890 know that song hopefully we're singing that song 00:23:03.890 --> 00:23:07.230 tonight right first i don't know where jess is 00:23:07.230 --> 00:23:09.230 i think we're singing that song i feel like i 00:23:09.230 --> 00:23:11.490 should know what songs we're singing but i don't 00:23:11.490 --> 00:23:15.730 um so they're singing that song right and the 00:23:15.730 --> 00:23:18.549 one of the great parts of that song is fall on 00:23:18.549 --> 00:23:21.369 your knees you know and what what does old man 00:23:21.369 --> 00:23:25.970 marley do He stands up at that point. But you 00:23:25.970 --> 00:23:28.930 say he's not the worshiper, he's the one who's 00:23:28.930 --> 00:23:32.009 worshipped. He's not falling on his knees, which 00:23:32.009 --> 00:23:35.789 is the posture of worship. And then there's that 00:23:35.789 --> 00:23:38.450 scene, the choir says, oh, hear the angel voices. 00:23:38.650 --> 00:23:40.789 And it's that time when Marley finally speaks. 00:23:40.809 --> 00:23:42.809 And what does he say? He says, Merry Christmas. 00:23:43.069 --> 00:23:44.369 And then they have that conversation. Remember 00:23:44.369 --> 00:23:46.670 the conversation he talks about his son who's 00:23:46.670 --> 00:23:50.470 estranged and how he longs to see him and be 00:23:50.470 --> 00:23:53.400 with him. But in that scene again, actually, 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:57.299 he shakes Kevin's hand and we see the back of 00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:59.640 Old Man Marley's hand, and it's bandaged and 00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:02.400 it's bloody on the back. And what is clear is 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.420 that Old Man Marley has been pierced through. 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:08.359 His hands, his palms are pierced through. Now, 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:09.680 if you fast forward to the end of the movie, 00:24:09.740 --> 00:24:12.319 which don't do when you're watching because the 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:14.660 next scene is the great scene with all the booby 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:17.720 traps, don't fast forward that. It's fantastic. 00:24:18.430 --> 00:24:20.589 But Kevin calls the cops and he runs into the 00:24:20.589 --> 00:24:22.569 neighbor's house, old man's Marley's house, and 00:24:22.569 --> 00:24:26.490 he goes down to the basement. And in some ways 00:24:26.490 --> 00:24:28.289 you could say that's when Kevin is reborn. He 00:24:28.289 --> 00:24:30.170 actually runs through waters like the waters 00:24:30.170 --> 00:24:35.269 of baptism. He rises up and the bad guys catch 00:24:35.269 --> 00:24:38.609 him, right? Which is another symbol actually 00:24:38.609 --> 00:24:40.609 when you're following the way of the Lord, they're 00:24:40.609 --> 00:24:45.170 still after you. But who saves him? Right? Who 00:24:45.170 --> 00:24:49.039 saves him? It's old man Marley. Old Man Marley 00:24:49.039 --> 00:24:53.680 there saves Kevin. Now if you go to the end of 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:55.319 the movie, actually Kevin is looking through 00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.759 the window, right? Maybe this is a detail you 00:24:58.759 --> 00:25:01.180 should never miss watching that. This beautiful 00:25:01.180 --> 00:25:04.160 music and he looks out and he sees Old Man Marley 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:08.700 hugging his son. Somehow through this work, there's 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:10.980 this reunion of this family that's been brought 00:25:10.980 --> 00:25:14.619 back together. If you remember the conversation 00:25:14.619 --> 00:25:18.380 they had in the church earlier in the evening, 00:25:18.579 --> 00:25:24.279 it was that he wasn't united with his son and 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:27.200 that was his sorrow. But now you have this reconciliation 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:31.119 of God with his children. I mean, it's the Christmas 00:25:31.119 --> 00:25:33.319 story. Now here's the thing, you're probably 00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:35.619 saying, Peter, you're talking about how God comes 00:25:35.619 --> 00:25:37.460 into the ordinary of our life through this text 00:25:37.460 --> 00:25:39.619 in Luke. There's not a lot of ordinary stuff 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:43.430 in home alone. People don't often fly to Paris 00:25:43.430 --> 00:25:46.289 with like all their cousins and all that. Rarely 00:25:46.289 --> 00:25:50.789 are children left home alone. Rarely are bandits 00:25:50.789 --> 00:25:53.589 breaking into big large houses when a child is 00:25:53.589 --> 00:25:57.150 home alone. And we don't know of any news story 00:25:57.150 --> 00:25:59.930 where that many booby traps worked that well. 00:26:00.509 --> 00:26:03.869 So you're like, this is not normal. Here's the 00:26:03.869 --> 00:26:06.690 thing. I was reading about this because I thought 00:26:06.690 --> 00:26:11.119 this was also intriguing. The impetus for Home 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.720 Alone was actually a deeply normal life. So the 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:18.660 producer for Home Alone was John Hugh, and he 00:26:18.660 --> 00:26:24.180 had this sort of ongoing fear of leaving his 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:28.180 kids, of leaving his kids. And I've had that 00:26:28.180 --> 00:26:32.880 fear. He said, this is a story that needs to 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:36.529 be told. And that idea of leaving their children, 00:26:36.750 --> 00:26:39.890 that fear of it, that in some ways is right at 00:26:39.890 --> 00:26:42.230 the heart of what's happening at Christmas. God 00:26:42.230 --> 00:26:45.730 says, I'm not going to leave you. I'm never going 00:26:45.730 --> 00:26:48.269 to forsake you. You cannot wander so far. You 00:26:48.269 --> 00:26:52.789 can't just be so distracted by all the shining 00:26:52.789 --> 00:26:56.750 toys and the busyness. But I'm going to come 00:26:56.750 --> 00:27:00.170 into that because I need to be reunited with 00:27:00.170 --> 00:27:05.559 you. That is the glad tidings of great joy. That 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:08.319 the fear of being estranged from God cannot be 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:10.460 the final end of the story. That is not the end 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:15.579 of the story. Because God comes for us. He comes 00:27:15.579 --> 00:27:20.500 into our life. And I want you to see him. Grab 00:27:20.500 --> 00:27:23.940 a hold of him. I mean, please, if you don't know 00:27:23.940 --> 00:27:26.759 Jesus, please consider again, afresh tonight, 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:32.880 the Christian story. God coming for you. God 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:38.109 giving his life for you. God desiring you. This 00:27:38.109 --> 00:27:40.450 is the glad tidings of great joy that we announce 00:27:40.450 --> 00:27:43.430 this season. Let me pray for us. Lord, we're 00:27:43.430 --> 00:27:46.789 thankful for this common story that we have heard 00:27:46.789 --> 00:27:53.390 time and time again. A full inn, a manger where 00:27:53.390 --> 00:27:58.150 Mary can lay the Christ child swaddled in clothes. 00:28:00.210 --> 00:28:04.690 Shepherds doing their business. God I pray that 00:28:04.690 --> 00:28:11.430 in our lives that you would come Maybe in just 00:28:11.430 --> 00:28:13.970 buying the toothbrush that you would show up 00:28:13.970 --> 00:28:17.369 maybe in the place of deep fear Where we are 00:28:17.369 --> 00:28:21.609 being chased you would show up We got to pray 00:28:21.609 --> 00:28:24.690 that again We would all give ourselves over to 00:28:24.690 --> 00:28:27.130 you the God who moves into the neighborhood takes 00:28:27.130 --> 00:28:31.849 on flesh and dwells among us God change our lives 00:28:31.849 --> 00:28:37.750 again by the wonder of this story, God for us, 00:28:38.170 --> 00:28:44.609 humbled for us, birthed into this world for us, 00:28:45.390 --> 00:28:49.630 crucified, risen for us. Please do this Lord. 00:28:50.170 --> 00:28:53.829 We ask in your name. Amen. Thank you for listening 00:28:53.829 --> 00:28:56.609 to Second City Sermons podcast. We hope this 00:28:56.609 --> 00:28:58.589 sermon has encouraged you to worship God and 00:28:58.589 --> 00:29:01.440 to celebrate the gospel of Jesus. Please consider 00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:03.839 subscribing to this podcast and joining us in 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:07.000 person each Sunday at 10 a .m. You can find us 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:10.339 online at SecondCityChurch .org and on Instagram, 00:29:10.480 --> 00:29:13.059 Facebook and YouTube. Thanks again for listening. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:13.960 God bless.