WEBVTT 00:00:00.490 --> 00:00:03.370 I got to tell you all something. I heard something 00:00:03.370 --> 00:00:07.190 on the news, and by the news I mean social media, 00:00:07.750 --> 00:00:10.250 that says that apparently, according to Macaulay 00:00:10.250 --> 00:00:13.490 Culkin, Macaulay Culkin has declared that Die 00:00:13.490 --> 00:00:18.210 Hard is not a Christmas movie. Mr. Home Alone 00:00:18.210 --> 00:00:22.989 1 and 2 has declared that Die Hard is not a Christmas 00:00:22.989 --> 00:00:26.370 movie. And frankly, I used to like Macaulay Culkin. 00:00:27.520 --> 00:00:31.600 I'm sorry, clearly Die Hard is a Christmas movie. 00:00:31.820 --> 00:00:34.399 I don't care what Macaulay Culkin or even Bruce 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.439 Willis himself says, okay? It takes place at 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:40.380 a Christmas party, there is reconciliation with 00:00:40.380 --> 00:00:43.000 an estranged spouse, and there is even a man 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.159 crawling through the air conditioning ductwork, 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:47.520 which is kind of like going down a chimney if 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:50.530 you squint your eyes just well enough. You could 00:00:50.530 --> 00:00:53.509 also make a case for gremlins being a Christmas 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:56.049 movie it starts with a Christmas gift that goes 00:00:56.049 --> 00:00:58.170 terribly wrong kind of like jingle all the way 00:00:58.170 --> 00:01:00.750 there's a bunch of tiny little creatures running 00:01:00.750 --> 00:01:03.729 around and Everyone seems to care a whole lot 00:01:03.729 --> 00:01:07.590 about midnight and eating But you know there 00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:11.609 is one movie that almost everyone agrees does 00:01:11.609 --> 00:01:15.849 belong to Christmas Even if they don't like it 00:01:15.849 --> 00:01:19.950 love actually Don't forget the comma in between. 00:01:20.989 --> 00:01:23.469 It shows up every year like a relative who lets 00:01:23.469 --> 00:01:26.950 themselves in without knocking. Some people adore 00:01:26.950 --> 00:01:30.310 it. Some people tolerate it. Some people suddenly 00:01:30.310 --> 00:01:32.230 remember they need to cover their kid's eyes 00:01:32.230 --> 00:01:34.950 when certain scenes come up. And I don't mean 00:01:34.950 --> 00:01:39.030 when Mr. Bean appears. And yet it sticks with 00:01:39.030 --> 00:01:43.730 us every year now. Not because it gives a perfect 00:01:43.730 --> 00:01:46.609 definition of love, but because it gives us a 00:01:46.609 --> 00:01:51.489 collage. Love as grand gestures with music and 00:01:51.489 --> 00:01:54.569 learning languages. Love as romantic longing 00:01:54.569 --> 00:01:57.709 between new acquaintances. Love as heartbreak 00:01:57.709 --> 00:02:00.909 in and out of relationships. Love as awkward 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:04.430 friendship between teammates. Love as cardboard 00:02:04.430 --> 00:02:09.650 signs and background music. That, actually, is 00:02:09.650 --> 00:02:12.830 the point of the movie. The movie insists that 00:02:12.830 --> 00:02:17.060 love is everywhere. in all kinds of forms, sometimes 00:02:17.060 --> 00:02:21.580 noble, sometimes messy, and sometimes deeply 00:02:21.580 --> 00:02:26.000 confusing, even wondering if anyone notices them 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.599 at all. But that is exactly where the problem 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:33.740 begins. Because if love can mean anything, it 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:37.400 eventually means nothing other than the momentary 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:42.300 feelings we may experience. If love is only intensity, 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:45.990 chemistry, or how strongly we feel in the moment, 00:02:46.590 --> 00:02:51.629 then love becomes fragile, temporary, disposable, 00:02:52.750 --> 00:02:56.210 easy to abandon when it starts costing more than 00:02:56.210 --> 00:03:00.590 we expected. So Advent presses the question back 00:03:00.590 --> 00:03:05.889 on us, not how do we feel about love, but how 00:03:05.889 --> 00:03:11.539 does God define love? And God doesn't answer 00:03:11.539 --> 00:03:15.300 though with the definition. He answers with a 00:03:15.300 --> 00:03:19.599 story. Actually, He answers with multiple stories. 00:03:21.099 --> 00:03:23.759 Sit here for a moment and let the tension build 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:27.520 when we hear about Joseph and Mary. Joseph is 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.840 engaged to Mary, you may have heard, which in 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:34.520 his culture already carries legal and social 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:38.520 weight. It's not a casual arrangement. They are 00:03:38.520 --> 00:03:42.409 legally... on the inside of marriage. This is 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:45.469 a future that has begun. It's just waiting for 00:03:45.469 --> 00:03:50.629 consummation and then everything collapses. Because 00:03:50.629 --> 00:03:53.990 Mary is pregnant and Joseph knows one thing for 00:03:53.990 --> 00:03:58.599 sure, the child is not his. But let's just sit 00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:02.020 with this for a moment. This is not some sitcom 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:05.159 mistake that can be cleared up with a quick conversation 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:08.159 and a commercial break. This is not even Alan 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.539 Rickman giving Emma Thompson a Joni Mitchell 00:04:10.539 --> 00:04:14.759 CD and revealing a cheating heart. This is life 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:18.980 altering, reputation ending, community shattering. 00:04:20.339 --> 00:04:22.579 Matthew tells us Joseph is righteous though, 00:04:22.779 --> 00:04:27.879 which we often hear as following the rules. being 00:04:27.879 --> 00:04:32.100 morally precise, doing everything correctly. 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.860 But look at what righteousness looks like here. 00:04:36.540 --> 00:04:41.759 Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly. Instead 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:44.800 of making a spectacle of her in order to exonerate 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:50.019 himself, he wants to be merciful. That means 00:04:50.019 --> 00:04:53.480 he absorbs some of the shame instead of spreading 00:04:53.480 --> 00:04:57.709 it. He chooses mercy rather than public scrutiny 00:04:57.709 --> 00:05:02.089 that could bring about her death. He loves Mary 00:05:02.089 --> 00:05:05.350 enough not to ruin her even while his own heart 00:05:05.350 --> 00:05:09.970 must be breaking. The Christmas story almost 00:05:09.970 --> 00:05:14.170 could have ended before it even began. And then 00:05:14.170 --> 00:05:17.910 God complicates things further. He has a habit 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:21.009 of doing that, doesn't he? The angel appears 00:05:21.009 --> 00:05:23.589 and Joseph is asked to do something even harder. 00:05:23.980 --> 00:05:29.420 Not just to spare Mary, but to stay. To take 00:05:29.420 --> 00:05:32.980 her as his wife. To claim her publicly. To raise 00:05:32.980 --> 00:05:36.279 a child that will never biologically be his. 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:40.399 To accept a story that sounds unbelievable to 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:44.699 everyone else. Joseph's love becomes obedience 00:05:44.699 --> 00:05:48.100 that costs him the story he had always wanted. 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:52.079 Hope for Joseph is now in a future he cannot 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:55.639 understand. Peace here is not the absence of 00:05:55.639 --> 00:06:00.120 chaos, but the decision to trust God inside it. 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:04.160 Joy for Mary is by not being abandoned in her 00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:08.459 most vulnerable moment. Joseph at this moment 00:06:08.459 --> 00:06:12.100 does not get a glowing halo to show that he made 00:06:12.100 --> 00:06:16.019 the right choice. He gets a dream, a command, 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:20.879 and a lifetime of awkward conversations. Love 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:24.949 according to God. actually looks quieter than 00:06:24.949 --> 00:06:29.170 we expect. This is love that carries hope because 00:06:29.170 --> 00:06:31.850 Joseph believes God is at work beyond what he 00:06:31.850 --> 00:06:35.110 can see. It carries peace, not because things 00:06:35.110 --> 00:06:38.930 are calm, but because he entrusts himself to 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:43.449 God's promise. It carries joy, quiet and stubborn, 00:06:43.629 --> 00:06:46.850 rooted in faithfulness rather than circumstance, 00:06:46.889 --> 00:06:50.680 and it teaches us that love sometimes looks like 00:06:50.680 --> 00:06:53.660 staying put when the world says, exit while you 00:06:53.660 --> 00:06:57.660 can. But then we turn from the living room of 00:06:57.660 --> 00:07:02.519 Nazareth to the throne room of Judah. The tone 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:06.220 shifts, the love is the same, but the posture 00:07:06.220 --> 00:07:09.779 is a bit different. You know those moments when 00:07:09.779 --> 00:07:12.079 someone has made it clear that they are going 00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:15.689 to do exactly what they want. and no one can 00:07:15.689 --> 00:07:18.110 change their mind. It doesn't matter what they 00:07:18.110 --> 00:07:20.470 learn, it doesn't matter what they see. When 00:07:20.470 --> 00:07:23.449 they walk away from the people and the places 00:07:23.449 --> 00:07:27.589 that are loving and safe, while then pursuing 00:07:27.589 --> 00:07:31.649 those who would make life worse, and they refuse 00:07:31.649 --> 00:07:36.110 to do anything differently. Isaiah stands before 00:07:36.110 --> 00:07:41.790 King Ahaz, who refuses to change his mind. Because 00:07:41.790 --> 00:07:45.160 Ahaz is afraid. The kingdom is under threat. 00:07:45.500 --> 00:07:49.939 Enemies are gathering all around. The alliances, 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:52.740 they're being negotiated. The plans are being 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:57.720 made. Ahaz wants control rather than trusting 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:02.939 in God. You see, at this point the king of Judah, 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:07.360 Ahaz, he's considering getting into an alliance 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:12.129 with Assyria, the bad guys. to protect against 00:08:12.129 --> 00:08:16.709 the northern Israel and Syria, the two kings 00:08:16.709 --> 00:08:21.329 you dread, forcing him to go with them into battle 00:08:21.329 --> 00:08:25.970 against Assyria. See, Isaiah though, he's urging 00:08:25.970 --> 00:08:29.810 Ahaz not to get into that alliance with Assyria. 00:08:30.790 --> 00:08:34.169 To strengthen the force of his advice, Yahweh, 00:08:34.309 --> 00:08:37.730 God Himself, through Isaiah, has offered Ahaz 00:08:37.730 --> 00:08:42.120 a sign. that Isaiah's advice was sound. Something 00:08:42.120 --> 00:08:45.320 to prove. You can trust him. You can listen. 00:08:46.580 --> 00:08:49.779 But Ahaz refused. I will not put the Lord to 00:08:49.779 --> 00:08:54.379 the test. But Isaiah persists in giving a sign. 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:58.620 You see, God tells Ahaz just to ask for a sign. 00:08:59.179 --> 00:09:02.139 Just ask for it. Ask for anything. Depth, height. 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:05.820 God is willing to meet him there, and Ahaz refuses, 00:09:06.059 --> 00:09:09.620 and he says, I will not put the Lord to the test. 00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.639 Isn't it amazing that someone can take something 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:18.240 that sounds so spiritual, so mature, so humble, 00:09:18.940 --> 00:09:21.860 but they're actually using it as an excuse to 00:09:21.860 --> 00:09:25.759 do the wrong thing? But Isaiah hears it for what 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:31.799 it is. It's not humility. Ahaz is avoiding God. 00:09:32.029 --> 00:09:35.690 but dressing it up as piety. This is not Liam 00:09:35.690 --> 00:09:38.870 Neeson convincing his son to play the best drum 00:09:38.870 --> 00:09:41.590 solo ever to win the girl of his dreams, even 00:09:41.590 --> 00:09:44.690 while his own heart is still aching. This is 00:09:44.690 --> 00:09:48.629 Isaiah, with his heart in pain for his people, 00:09:49.210 --> 00:09:51.570 wishing the king would listen for his own sake 00:09:51.570 --> 00:09:55.409 and for the sake of the kingdom. King Ahaz wants 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:58.330 to make his own choices, though, without trusting 00:09:58.330 --> 00:10:02.830 in God or anyone besides himself. Ignoring Isaiah's 00:10:02.830 --> 00:10:06.549 advice, Ahaz would become a slave to Assyria 00:10:06.549 --> 00:10:11.509 and almost lose the kingdom. But here is where 00:10:11.509 --> 00:10:15.970 love surprises us again. Isaiah does not back 00:10:15.970 --> 00:10:20.690 off. He does not say, well, suit yourself. He 00:10:20.690 --> 00:10:25.509 presses in. He speaks anyway. He announces the 00:10:25.509 --> 00:10:28.929 sign, whether Ahaz wants it or not, the virgin 00:10:28.929 --> 00:10:31.190 shall conceive and bear a son and shall call 00:10:31.190 --> 00:10:36.269 his name Immanuel. All that King Ahaz would need 00:10:36.269 --> 00:10:40.250 to do is just wait a little longer and Israel 00:10:40.250 --> 00:10:44.370 and Syria would no longer be a threat. If he 00:10:44.370 --> 00:10:47.309 would sing that the young woman will conceive 00:10:47.309 --> 00:10:52.570 and bear a son, Hezekiah, and wait until he was 00:10:52.570 --> 00:10:55.980 just three years old, finished with weaning, 00:10:56.779 --> 00:10:59.259 he would see that his land was now a place of 00:10:59.259 --> 00:11:02.480 peace again, where people were eating curds and 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:07.320 honey. But instead of waiting just a little longer, 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.179 Ahaz would choose to offer his loyalty to Assyria 00:11:11.179 --> 00:11:15.639 instead of God. And in so doing, Assyria would 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:19.379 take a toll on Judah. Though it would be Hezekiah, 00:11:19.440 --> 00:11:22.570 his son, who would keep Assyria from exiling 00:11:22.570 --> 00:11:27.029 the nation. You see, this is love that risks 00:11:27.029 --> 00:11:33.269 being unwanted. Isaiah loves Judah enough to 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:35.149 tell the truth that they do not want to hear. 00:11:36.370 --> 00:11:39.470 He loves the future enough to confront the present. 00:11:39.549 --> 00:11:43.389 He loves God enough to say what God has actually 00:11:43.389 --> 00:11:46.669 said and not what the king would prefer to hear. 00:11:48.090 --> 00:11:52.059 Hope is offered even if it's not received. Peace 00:11:52.059 --> 00:11:56.019 here is not reassurance of your choices, but 00:11:56.019 --> 00:12:01.700 alignment with God. Joy is delayed because it 00:12:01.700 --> 00:12:05.899 will come with the next king, Hezekiah, not immediately. 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:11.220 Sometimes love looks like refusing to pretend 00:12:11.220 --> 00:12:16.059 that everything is okay. Sometimes love says 00:12:16.059 --> 00:12:19.039 this path that you're going down is dangerous. 00:12:19.940 --> 00:12:23.600 That kind of love does not trend well on Insta 00:12:23.600 --> 00:12:27.179 where everyone is always perfect. It does not 00:12:27.179 --> 00:12:30.899 photograph nicely or make a great AI generated 00:12:30.899 --> 00:12:34.100 image of yourself as the Green Ranger fighting 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:39.480 Godzilla. I have no idea who would do that. But 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:43.639 it is still love. Isaiah's love carries hope 00:12:43.639 --> 00:12:46.919 because it refuses to believe that fear has the 00:12:46.919 --> 00:12:50.460 final word. It carries peace. not by avoiding 00:12:50.460 --> 00:12:54.279 conflict, but by anchoring Judah in God's presence. 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:57.899 It carries joy because God is still present and 00:12:57.899 --> 00:13:02.179 active even when kings are faithless. And it 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:04.639 shows us that love does not always feel kind 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:07.940 or popular in the moment, but it is faithful 00:13:07.940 --> 00:13:13.860 to what leads to life. But Isaiah's sign does 00:13:13.860 --> 00:13:17.559 not end with Ahaz though. It stretches forward 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:21.659 across the centuries. The virgin shall conceive 00:13:21.659 --> 00:13:25.519 and bear a son and shall call his name, Emmanuel. 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:34.019 Emmanuel. The word could be translated either 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.440 the young woman or the virgin. But you see in 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.179 Matthew, that ancient promise takes on flesh 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:44.850 and breath in the most impossible way. Love does 00:13:44.850 --> 00:13:47.409 not remain there, an idea that we think about 00:13:47.409 --> 00:13:50.809 for a few minutes during Charlie Brown. Love 00:13:50.809 --> 00:13:53.590 does not stay at a safe distance to keep from 00:13:53.590 --> 00:13:57.269 offending or causing discomfort. Love enters 00:13:57.269 --> 00:14:00.629 into the world and makes itself felt and known. 00:14:01.909 --> 00:14:04.370 Scripture says something bolder than love actually 00:14:04.370 --> 00:14:08.889 ever could. Not just that love shows up in unexpected 00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:13.690 places, but that God shows up. in the middle 00:14:13.690 --> 00:14:18.669 of ordinary, complicated lives, not polished 00:14:18.669 --> 00:14:22.809 ones. A carpenter with a reputation to protect, 00:14:23.590 --> 00:14:27.350 a young woman with a dangerous secret, a child 00:14:27.350 --> 00:14:31.370 born into political tension and family vulnerability. 00:14:32.769 --> 00:14:36.789 But God does not fix the world from afar. He 00:14:36.789 --> 00:14:40.789 moves into it. And once you see that, You start 00:14:40.789 --> 00:14:44.529 seeing echoes of it in the lives of his people. 00:14:45.809 --> 00:14:48.389 Love that keeps showing up to care for a parent 00:14:48.389 --> 00:14:52.110 whose memory is fading. Love that forgives when 00:14:52.110 --> 00:14:54.509 the ball is dropped or the apology is not really 00:14:54.509 --> 00:14:59.070 there. Love that stays in a calling after losing 00:14:59.070 --> 00:15:04.029 close friends and safe spaces. Love that speaks 00:15:04.029 --> 00:15:06.470 truth and still stays at the table to pick up 00:15:06.470 --> 00:15:10.070 the pieces. Love that tells you that the job 00:15:10.070 --> 00:15:12.730 you thought you would get is not only not yours, 00:15:13.529 --> 00:15:15.490 but also that you're not sure where you will 00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:21.029 be in the next few months. God's love does not 00:15:21.029 --> 00:15:24.350 echo with Hollywood sentimentality. These are 00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:27.690 not dramatic movie moments. They do not come 00:15:27.690 --> 00:15:30.850 with soundtracks. They do not get cardboard signs. 00:15:31.970 --> 00:15:36.629 But they are holy. Hope that God has not abandoned 00:15:36.629 --> 00:15:39.909 us, peace that God is present not absent, joy 00:15:39.909 --> 00:15:42.049 that God delights in dwelling with his people, 00:15:42.470 --> 00:15:45.070 love that does not wait for perfection before 00:15:45.070 --> 00:15:50.190 arriving, continuing to bless and love others 00:15:50.190 --> 00:15:54.809 even when you feel like you have nothing. God's 00:15:54.809 --> 00:15:59.389 love is not cinematic, but it is real. As real 00:15:59.389 --> 00:16:02.809 as stopping your disciples from defending you, 00:16:02.929 --> 00:16:05.730 knowing how many would end up dying for you if 00:16:05.730 --> 00:16:09.570 you let them do so. Knowing the accusations against 00:16:09.570 --> 00:16:12.870 you are only half truths that miss out on showing 00:16:12.870 --> 00:16:16.230 who you really are and what you're really doing. 00:16:17.110 --> 00:16:19.690 Letting the punishment take you not just to the 00:16:19.690 --> 00:16:24.230 brink, but to the end. And while you know resurrection 00:16:24.230 --> 00:16:27.809 is coming, it does not stop the pain, and the 00:16:27.809 --> 00:16:31.629 nothingness of death beforehand. Love does not 00:16:31.629 --> 00:16:36.129 fix everything immediately. It enters everything 00:16:36.129 --> 00:16:40.029 faithfully. This kind of love, it carries hope 00:16:40.029 --> 00:16:43.669 because God refuses to abandon a broken world. 00:16:44.669 --> 00:16:47.450 It carries peace because God is present even 00:16:47.450 --> 00:16:51.250 when outcomes are uncertain. It carries joy because 00:16:51.250 --> 00:16:53.889 salvation begins quietly, not with spectacle. 00:16:54.570 --> 00:16:58.909 and that defines love as presence, faithfulness, 00:16:59.409 --> 00:17:04.150 self -giving. Even when everything is taken away 00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:08.269 and still being willing to bless and love our 00:17:08.269 --> 00:17:14.029 neighbor. Advent is almost over. Christmas Eve 00:17:14.029 --> 00:17:16.089 is close enough to see it on the calendar for 00:17:16.089 --> 00:17:20.809 the week. Soon we will gather again, hear familiar 00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:24.440 words and sing songs that we know by heart. or 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:26.559 at least thought we did before we started hearing 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:30.539 our neighbors sing the actual lyrics. But before 00:17:30.539 --> 00:17:35.779 we do, Advent asks us to notice something. Love 00:17:35.779 --> 00:17:39.500 does not always look the way we expect. It stays 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:43.279 when leaving is easy or even logical. It speaks 00:17:43.279 --> 00:17:47.039 when silence feels safer or kinder. It shows 00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:49.960 up in ordinary places with extraordinary faithfulness. 00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:53.160 Soon we will hear again that the light shines 00:17:53.160 --> 00:17:56.000 in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:00.039 it. That's not just poetry. It's a description 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:03.400 of love. Not love as the world markets it, not 00:18:03.400 --> 00:18:07.359 love as a feeling that fades, not love in all 00:18:07.359 --> 00:18:12.059 those ways, but love actually as God gives it. 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.799 And that's the love that comes to us, that stays 00:18:15.799 --> 00:18:19.140 with us, and that calls us to live by the faith. 00:18:19.529 --> 00:18:24.890 that we have received. Amen. Thanks be to God.