WEBVTT 00:00:00.140 --> 00:00:07.919 Well, howdy! Macaulay Culkin has declared that 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:12.919 Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. I used to 00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:16.839 like Macaulay Culkin. I'm sorry, clearly Die 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:21.219 Hard, Bruce Willis, fighting off all of the bad 00:00:21.219 --> 00:00:25.039 guys is a Christmas movie. It takes place at 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.589 a Christmas party. There is reconciliation with 00:00:28.589 --> 00:00:32.509 an estranged spouse, and there's even a man crawling 00:00:32.509 --> 00:00:34.770 through the air conditioning ductwork, which 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:37.549 is kind of like going down a chimney if you squint 00:00:37.549 --> 00:00:40.950 your eyes enough. You could also make a case 00:00:40.950 --> 00:00:43.549 for Gremlins being a Christmas movie because 00:00:43.549 --> 00:00:46.049 it starts with a Christmas gift that goes terribly 00:00:46.049 --> 00:00:48.469 wrong, there are a bunch of tiny creatures running 00:00:48.469 --> 00:00:51.170 around, and everyone cares a lot about midnight, 00:00:51.670 --> 00:00:54.070 but I don't think I'm going to worry about that 00:00:54.070 --> 00:00:57.640 one so much. But there is one movie that almost 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:01.240 everyone agrees is a part of Christmas now whether 00:01:01.240 --> 00:01:07.099 people like it or not love actually It shows 00:01:07.099 --> 00:01:09.659 up every year like a relative who lets themselves 00:01:09.659 --> 00:01:13.480 in without knocking some people adore it Some 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:16.900 people tolerate it Some people suddenly remember 00:01:16.900 --> 00:01:19.500 they need to cover their kids eyes when certain 00:01:19.500 --> 00:01:22.439 scenes come on and I don't mean when mr. Bean 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:26.590 shows up And yet it sticks with us every year 00:01:26.590 --> 00:01:30.629 now. Not because it gives us one perfect definition 00:01:30.629 --> 00:01:35.310 of love, but because it gives us a collage. Love 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:38.370 as grand gestures with music and learning languages. 00:01:39.290 --> 00:01:42.489 Love as romantic longing between new acquaintances. 00:01:43.230 --> 00:01:45.730 Love as heartbreak in and out of relationships. 00:01:46.109 --> 00:01:48.769 Love as awkward friendship between teammates. 00:01:49.390 --> 00:01:52.390 Love as cardboard signs and background music. 00:01:53.099 --> 00:01:55.700 And that actually is the point of the movie. 00:01:56.439 --> 00:01:58.980 The movie insists that love is everywhere, in 00:01:58.980 --> 00:02:02.140 all kinds of forms, sometimes noble, sometimes 00:02:02.140 --> 00:02:06.500 messy, sometimes deeply confusing. But that is 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:11.000 exactly where the problem begins. Because if 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.520 love can mean anything, it eventually means nothing, 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:18.039 other than the momentary feelings that we may 00:02:18.039 --> 00:02:22.240 have. If love is only intensity, chemistry, or 00:02:22.240 --> 00:02:24.520 how strongly we feel in the moment, then love 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:29.060 can be fragile, temporary, disposable, easy to 00:02:29.060 --> 00:02:32.080 abandon when it starts costing more than we expected. 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:37.460 So Advent presses the question back on us. Not 00:02:37.460 --> 00:02:42.539 how do we feel about love, but how does God define 00:02:42.539 --> 00:02:46.639 love? And God does not answer with a singular 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:50.020 definition, but rather, he answers with a story, 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:56.219 or I should say, multiple stories. Sit here for 00:02:56.219 --> 00:02:59.060 a moment and let the tension build while we hear 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:03.879 about Joseph and Mary. Joseph is engaged to Mary, 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:08.340 which in his culture actually does already carry 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:13.039 legal and social weight. It's not a casual arrangement. 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:16.509 This is a future that has already begun just 00:03:16.509 --> 00:03:21.210 waiting for consummation. And then everything 00:03:21.210 --> 00:03:26.009 collapses. Because Mary is pregnant. Joseph knows 00:03:26.009 --> 00:03:31.050 one thing for sure. The child is not his. But 00:03:31.050 --> 00:03:33.430 let's just sit with this for a moment. This is 00:03:33.430 --> 00:03:36.389 not a sitcom mistake that can be cleared up with 00:03:36.389 --> 00:03:38.490 a quick conversation and a commercial break. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.439 It's not even Alan Rickman giving Emma Thompson 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:44.520 a Joni Mitchell CD and revealing a cheating heart. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:50.379 This is life altering, reputation ending, community 00:03:50.379 --> 00:03:54.419 shattering. Matthew tells us that Joseph is righteous 00:03:54.419 --> 00:03:57.840 though, which we often hear as following the 00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:02.460 rules, moral precision, doing everything correctly. 00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:06.580 But look at what righteousness looks like here. 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:12.439 Joseph is planning to divorce Mary quietly. Instead 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:15.620 of making a spectacle of her in order to exonerate 00:04:15.620 --> 00:04:19.500 himself that he is not a part of this, he's trying 00:04:19.500 --> 00:04:22.959 to be merciful. That means that he's going to 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.620 absorb some of the shame instead of spreading 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:29.199 it. He chooses mercy rather than public scrutiny 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:33.100 that could bring about her death. He loves Mary 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:36.290 enough not to ruin her. even while his own heart 00:04:36.290 --> 00:04:40.550 must be breaking. The coming of the Messiah could 00:04:40.550 --> 00:04:44.290 have ended before it had even begun. But you 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:47.470 see, this is love without applause. No speeches 00:04:47.470 --> 00:04:50.689 of righteousness, no vindication of choices, 00:04:51.430 --> 00:04:55.810 no montage of goodness. But then, what does God 00:04:55.810 --> 00:05:00.490 do? He complicates things further. The angel 00:05:00.490 --> 00:05:03.509 appears and Joseph is asked to do something even 00:05:03.509 --> 00:05:08.000 harder. not just to spare Mary, but to stay, 00:05:08.980 --> 00:05:12.800 to take her to be his wife, to claim her publicly, 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:17.279 even being pregnant, to raise a child that will 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:20.899 never biologically be his, to accept a story 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:25.399 that sounds unbelievable to everyone else. Joseph's 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:29.100 love becomes obedience that costs him the story 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:34.000 he had always wanted. Hope for Joseph is now 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.199 in a future that he cannot understand. Peace 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:40.060 is here not in the absence of chaos, but the 00:05:40.060 --> 00:05:44.300 decision to trust God inside it. Joy for Mary 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:47.060 is by not being abandoned in her most vulnerable 00:05:47.060 --> 00:05:51.339 moment. Joseph does not get a glowing halo at 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:54.019 that moment to show he made the right choice. 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:58.899 He gets a dream, a command, and a lifetime of 00:05:58.899 --> 00:06:02.870 awkward conversations. Love, according to God, 00:06:02.990 --> 00:06:07.529 often looks quieter than we expect. This is love 00:06:07.529 --> 00:06:10.649 that carries hope because Joseph believes God 00:06:10.649 --> 00:06:14.529 is at work beyond what he can see. It carries 00:06:14.529 --> 00:06:17.790 peace not because things are calm, but because 00:06:17.790 --> 00:06:22.089 he entrusts himself to God's promise. It carries 00:06:22.089 --> 00:06:27.410 joy, quiet and stubborn, rooted in faithfulness 00:06:27.410 --> 00:06:31.089 rather than circumstance. And it teaches us That 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:33.829 love sometimes looks like staying put when the 00:06:33.829 --> 00:06:38.269 world says, exit while you can. But then we turn 00:06:38.269 --> 00:06:41.350 from the living room of Nazareth to the throne 00:06:41.350 --> 00:06:46.430 room of Judah. The tone shifts. The same love, 00:06:47.089 --> 00:06:50.149 but a different posture. You know those moments 00:06:50.149 --> 00:06:52.629 when someone has made it clear that they are 00:06:52.629 --> 00:06:54.910 going to do exactly what they want and no one 00:06:54.910 --> 00:06:58.790 can change their mind? It's been said of me a 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:02.589 time or two. When they walk away from the people 00:07:02.589 --> 00:07:06.209 and places that are loving and safe, while then 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:10.370 pursuing those who would make life worse. Isaiah 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:14.509 stands before King Ahaz, and Ahaz is afraid. 00:07:14.769 --> 00:07:18.209 Not of Isaiah, though. The kingdom is under threat. 00:07:18.569 --> 00:07:22.290 Enemies are gathering, alliances are being negotiated, 00:07:22.709 --> 00:07:26.689 plans are being made, and Ahaz wants control, 00:07:27.329 --> 00:07:31.879 not trust in God. See, at this point the king 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:36.399 of Judah, Ahaz, was considering entering an alliance 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:40.779 with Assyria to protect Judah against northern 00:07:40.779 --> 00:07:45.100 Israel, used to be their friends, and Syria. 00:07:45.959 --> 00:07:50.500 The two kings you dread. Isaiah urged Ahaz not 00:07:50.500 --> 00:07:53.000 to enter the alliance, though, with Assyria. 00:07:53.759 --> 00:07:57.000 To strengthen the force of his advice, Yahweh 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:02.810 threw Isaiah offered Ahaz a sign that Isaiah's 00:08:02.810 --> 00:08:07.550 advice was sound, but Ahaz refused. He said, 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:10.110 I will not put the Lord to the test, but Isaiah 00:08:10.110 --> 00:08:15.089 persisted in giving a sign. You see, God tells 00:08:15.089 --> 00:08:19.670 Ahaz to ask for a sign. Please, ask for anything, 00:08:20.269 --> 00:08:23.029 depth or height. God is willing to meet him there, 00:08:23.029 --> 00:08:26.709 but Ahaz refuses. I will not put the Lord to 00:08:26.709 --> 00:08:31.769 the test. It sounds spiritual. It sounds mature. 00:08:32.009 --> 00:08:36.529 It sounds humble. So many times people can say 00:08:36.529 --> 00:08:39.970 things to appear like they are doing such good 00:08:39.970 --> 00:08:44.289 things. But Isaiah hears it for what it is. This 00:08:44.289 --> 00:08:48.470 is not humility. This is avoidance, dressed up 00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:52.149 as piety. This is not Liam Neeson convincing 00:08:52.149 --> 00:08:55.149 his son to play the best drum solo ever to win 00:08:55.149 --> 00:08:57.470 the girl of his dreams while his own heart is 00:08:57.470 --> 00:09:01.730 still aching. This is Isaiah with his heart in 00:09:01.730 --> 00:09:04.710 pain, wishing the king would listen for his own 00:09:04.710 --> 00:09:08.669 sake and for the sake of the kingdom. You see, 00:09:08.870 --> 00:09:11.710 King Ahaz wants to make his own choices without 00:09:11.710 --> 00:09:15.110 trusting in God or frankly anyone besides himself. 00:09:16.129 --> 00:09:20.370 Ignoring Isaiah's advice, Ahaz would become a 00:09:20.370 --> 00:09:23.909 slave to Assyria and almost lose the kingdom. 00:09:25.350 --> 00:09:28.110 But here is where love surprises us again, because 00:09:28.110 --> 00:09:33.710 Isaiah does not back off. He does not say, well, 00:09:33.789 --> 00:09:38.570 suit yourself. He presses in. He speaks anyway. 00:09:39.570 --> 00:09:42.850 He announces the sign, whether Ahaz wants it 00:09:42.850 --> 00:09:47.289 or not. All that King Ahaz would need to do is 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:52.289 wait just a little longer, and Israel and Syria 00:09:52.289 --> 00:09:55.950 would no longer be a threat. For behold, the 00:09:55.950 --> 00:09:58.970 young woman will be with child, and you will 00:09:58.970 --> 00:10:04.549 call his name Emmanuel. You see, if we would 00:10:04.549 --> 00:10:08.549 see that the young woman would have his son Hezekiah, 00:10:08.950 --> 00:10:11.710 and wait until he was just three years old, finished 00:10:11.710 --> 00:10:14.919 with weaning, He would see that his land was 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:18.419 now a place of peace again, where people were 00:10:18.419 --> 00:10:22.940 eating curds and honey. But instead, Ahaz would 00:10:22.940 --> 00:10:26.879 choose to offer his loyalty to Assyria, and in 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:30.100 so doing Assyria would take a toll on Judah, 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:34.320 though it would be Hezekiah who would keep Assyria 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:39.740 from exiling the nation. This is love that risks 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:44.659 being unwanted. Isaiah loves Judah enough to 00:10:44.659 --> 00:10:46.659 tell the truth that they do not want to hear. 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.159 He loves the future enough to confront the present. 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:53.980 He loves God enough to say what God has actually 00:10:53.980 --> 00:10:56.179 said and not just what the king would prefer 00:10:56.179 --> 00:11:00.980 to hear. Hope is offered even when it is not 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:05.820 received. Peace here is not reassurance of your 00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:10.919 choices but alignment with God. Joy is delayed 00:11:10.919 --> 00:11:14.039 and it will come with the next king, Hezekiah, 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:18.700 not immediately. Sometimes love looks like refusing 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:21.519 to pretend that everything is fine. Sometimes 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:26.000 love says, this path that you're on leads somewhere 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:30.240 dangerous. That kind of love does not trend well 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:33.639 on Insta where everyone is always perfect. It 00:11:33.639 --> 00:11:37.159 does not photograph nicely. or make a great AI 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:39.580 -generated image as the Green Ranger fighting 00:11:39.580 --> 00:11:45.080 Godzilla, but it is still love. Isaiah's love 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:48.919 carries hope, because it refuses to believe fear 00:11:48.919 --> 00:11:53.559 has the final word. It carries peace, not by 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.860 avoiding conflict, but by anchoring Judah in 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:00.580 God's presence. It carries joy because God is 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:03.799 still active and present, even when the kings 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:08.039 are faithless. And it shows us that love does 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:11.460 not always feel kind or popular in the moment, 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:16.820 but it is faithful to what leads to life. Isaiah's 00:12:16.820 --> 00:12:20.700 sign does not end with a Hasda. It stretches 00:12:20.700 --> 00:12:24.179 forward across the centuries. The virgin shall 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:27.220 conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:31.200 Immanuel. See, in Matthew that ancient promise 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.980 takes on flesh and breath, not just a young woman. 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:40.779 A virgin. Love does not remain an idea that we 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:43.019 think about for a few minutes during Charlie 00:12:43.019 --> 00:12:46.120 Brown. Love does not stay at a safe distance 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.659 to keep from offending or causing discomfort. 00:12:49.639 --> 00:12:52.720 Love enters into the world and makes itself felt 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:57.340 and known. Scripture says something bolder than 00:12:57.340 --> 00:13:00.139 love actually ever could. Not just that love 00:13:00.139 --> 00:13:04.159 shows up in unexpected places, but that God shows 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:08.259 up. in the middle of ordinary, complicated lives, 00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:12.799 not polished ones. A carpenter with a reputation 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:15.419 to protect, a young woman with the dangerous 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:18.659 secrets, a child born into political tension 00:13:18.659 --> 00:13:22.639 and family vulnerability. But God does not fix 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:27.620 the world from afar. He moves into it. And once 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:31.279 you see that, you start seeing echoes in the 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:35.000 lives of his people. Love that keeps showing 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:38.700 up to care for a parent whose memory is fading. 00:13:40.100 --> 00:13:42.980 Love that forgives when the ball is dropped or 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:46.980 the apology is not really there. Love that stays 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:50.299 in a calling after losing close friends in safe 00:13:50.299 --> 00:13:54.740 spaces. Love that speaks truth and still stays 00:13:54.740 --> 00:13:58.539 at the table to pick up the pieces. Love that 00:13:58.539 --> 00:14:02.320 has everything taken away. but still is willing 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:07.000 to speak kindly and give everything. God's love 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:09.480 does not echo with Hollywood sentimentality. 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:12.600 These are not dramatic movie moments. They do 00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:16.399 not come with soundtracks. They do not get cardboard 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:21.960 signs. But they are holy. Hope that God has not 00:14:21.960 --> 00:14:24.600 abandoned us. Peace that God is present, not 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:27.460 absent. Joy that God delights in dwelling with 00:14:27.460 --> 00:14:30.610 his people. love that does not wait for perfection 00:14:30.610 --> 00:14:34.809 before arriving. See, God's love is not cinematic, 00:14:35.850 --> 00:14:40.110 but it is real. As real as stopping your disciples 00:14:40.110 --> 00:14:43.570 from defending you, knowing how many would end 00:14:43.570 --> 00:14:47.450 up dying for you if you let them do so, knowing 00:14:47.450 --> 00:14:51.029 the accusations against you are only half -truths 00:14:51.029 --> 00:14:53.690 that miss out on showing who you really are and 00:14:53.690 --> 00:14:56.690 what you're really doing. Letting the punishment 00:14:56.690 --> 00:15:00.450 take you not just to the brink, but to the end. 00:15:01.950 --> 00:15:04.149 And while you know resurrection is coming, it 00:15:04.149 --> 00:15:07.590 does not stop the pain and nothingness of death 00:15:07.590 --> 00:15:12.110 beforehand. Love does not fix everything immediately. 00:15:13.309 --> 00:15:16.830 It enters everything faithfully. This love carries 00:15:16.830 --> 00:15:20.350 hope because God refuses to abandon a broken 00:15:20.350 --> 00:15:24.110 world. It carries peace because God is present 00:15:24.110 --> 00:15:27.490 even when outcomes are uncertain. It carries 00:15:27.490 --> 00:15:30.789 joy because salvation begins quietly, not with 00:15:30.789 --> 00:15:37.169 spectacle. And it defines love as presence, faithfulness, 00:15:37.730 --> 00:15:42.009 self -giving. You see, Advent is almost over. 00:15:43.129 --> 00:15:45.570 Christmas Eve is close enough to see on the calendar. 00:15:46.649 --> 00:15:49.850 Soon we will gather again, hear familiar words, 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:53.519 and sing songs we know by heart or thought we 00:15:53.519 --> 00:15:55.600 knew by heart until we hear someone else singing 00:15:55.600 --> 00:16:00.600 the right lyrics. But before we do, Advent asks 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:04.120 us to notice something. Love does not always 00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:07.720 look the way we expect. It stays when leaving 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:12.080 is easy or even logical. It speaks when silence 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.360 feels safer or kinder. It shows up in ordinary 00:16:16.360 --> 00:16:20.059 places with extraordinary faithfulness. Soon, 00:16:20.679 --> 00:16:22.940 we will hear again that the light shines in the 00:16:22.940 --> 00:16:25.860 darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 00:16:26.659 --> 00:16:30.120 But it's not just poetry. It's a description 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:34.120 of love. Not love as the world markets it actually. 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:39.440 Not love as a feeling that fades, but love actually 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:43.899 as God gives it. And that is the love that comes 00:16:43.899 --> 00:16:48.450 to us, that stays with us. and that calls us 00:16:48.450 --> 00:16:53.429 to live by the faith that we have received. Thanks 00:16:53.429 --> 00:16:53.950 be to God.