The First Sunday of Christmas
January 5, 2020
Matthew
2:22-23
But when [Joseph] heard that Archelaus was
reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there,
and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. [23] And he
went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets
might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene." This is our text.
Notice
how they had a lot of dreams back then? Vivid dreams. Very specific and
memorable dreams. This Joseph’s namesake was the Old Testament Joseph, whose
brothers had teased him and called him the dreamer. He had special dreams too,
insightful dreams. God allowed him revealed information in his dreams, such
that he was able to predict for the Pharaoh in Egypt that there would be a
great, world-wide famine. Thanks to Joseph, Pharaoh had the Egyptians prepare
for it and many lives were saved.
But
this fist Joseph, lived centuries before the second Joseph and both lived many
centuries before us today. When you read these Bible passages, you may get to
thinking that such dreams are so common as to be expected. It may seem like you
and I should be having better dreams. But across the great span of time, such
dreams from God are very rare. We shouldn’t expect them. We shouldn’t feel
disappointed if we don’t have special dreams.
Now in recent years there have been stories of
men and women in Muslim countries who are seeing Jesus in their dreams. This
has led some of them to stop thinking of Jesus a stranger, but to call him
their friend and even their Savior. Such accounts are at the very least
intriguing.
And
there are these weird dreams that some people have talked about when they have
had what’s called “Near Death Experience”. They report seeing God and feeling
welcomed into heaven. Many people have
bought books written by people who have had such visions; there’ve been some successful
movies. But the discerning Christian will be skeptical of these of stories.
They may be entertaining and heartwarming, but the biggest problem is they are
uncertain. You and I cannot be sure about what others say they dreamed or what
visions they had. And uncertainty is dangerous to faith. Uncertainty produces
doubts.
Our Lord would not have us remain in doubts. Over
and over again He comforts us with His sure and certain word. He says things
like this: “Truly! truly, I say to you.
. .” It’s as though He says to you, “Just listen to me. Hear my word. I know
you are curious and preoccupied with so many ideas and questions. Much of what
your imagination wants to wonder about is not important now. It will be better
for you to wait. When the time is right, you will understand. For now, hear
what I have to tell you. Listen to my word. Believe my word”
And He says this, not just because He is God
Almighty; we should do as He says. But also because He is our compassionate
Good Shepherd, Who leads us into salvation and leads us out of trouble and sin
and unbelief. He gently and lovingly warns us that there are other voices,
appealing voices, interesting voices, but they will lead you astray. They are
as wolves in sheep’s clothing. We can’t let pride say, “Ach! We’d never fall
for false ideas. We’d never be led astray.”
There are those who feel it’s their mission in
life to spread their imagination, their vision, their idea. Some may be
motivated by a beneficial intention, wanting to improve others. Some are
downright liars, like King Herod lied to the wise men. And often, we have to
admit, our own human nature would rather listen to what it feels is more
interesting, more sensational, more pleasurable, than what we get from the Lord
and His word.
So, the mystery of dreams and visions is more art
than science. Such visions will more likely than not arise from the human
imagination and the difficult to understand connection between the physical,
the mental and the spiritual. It is all so unclear, unpredictable and
uncertain.
But, oh, so much better are the clear and
reliable words and promises of God. Hear Him. Believe Him. Knock down any
barriers that get in your way of believing and listening to him. Pray for the
Holy Spirit’s help to hear and understand the Word of God and to keep it in
your hearts.
So if we should not expect God to speak to us
through dreams and visions, what’s the deal with the dreams that Joseph and the
others in Bible times?
In today’s gospel reading from Matthew 2, it’s
shown very nicely how Joseph’s dreams and the wise men’s dreams were confirmed
by fact and reality, and more importantly, they were showing how the promises
of God’s Holy Word were being fulfilled. Three times in this short reading
Matthew comments that these events fulfilled what God had said.
1. Jesus had to hide in Egypt for a little while
and when it was safe He could return. This fulfilled the promise of God in the
book of Hosea, “Out of Egypt I called my Son.”
2. The death of the innocent babies in Bethlehem
fulfilled what God said had in Jeremiah’s prophecy about Rachel, one of the
ancient matriarchs of the town, she’s weeping for her children and refused to
be comforted because they are no more.
3. And Joseph’s dreams that safely led him to
settle his young family in Nazareth fulfilled the prophecies of God’s Word that
Jesus would live in Nazareth as a Nazarene.
When Matthew inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells
us the story of the life of Jesus, it is important to him that we hear all
these promises that were fulfilled.
These promises kept by God, show us how God
works. He is the faithful Creator. He keeps His promises. He comforts sinners in
their sorrows and strife with promises. He leads sinners to believe promises and
trust that their fulfillment will be their salvation.
These promises kept by God, train us to listen to
God’s Word. Listen for His promises when you hear God’s word. Trust God to keep
them all.
When you have the Lord’s Supper, hear the promise:
for the forgiveness of sins. Then depart in peace with the reliable, certain conviction
that you are saved, forgiven and holy in the sight of God, fit for a life of service
to him and to those around you.
When you remember your baptism, hear the promises
God has for the baptized and these promises come back to something that Joseph heard
in a dream. The angel of the Lord said to Him that He should name Mary’s baby Jesus,
as the word Jesus means, He will save His people from their sins. By baptism into
Jesus, you have the kept promises of Jesus, you are saved from your sins.
As we move through this year ahead, listen to God,
listen for His promises. We will move to Lent and Good Friday and hear how our Lord
died for us, uttering these beautiful words to the believer, “today you will be
with me in paradise.”
As we celebrate Easter after a few months, Hear the
promise of your Lord, “because I live, you will live also.”
Hear that promise.
Trust that promise.
Live as a child and heir of that promise.
Amen.
