Sermon Title: "Who Is Jesus For You?"
Date: December 6, 2009
Minister: Rev. Charles Ensley

Lesson:  Isaiah 9:2-7

Back in the 1980s, when my daughters were younger, they used to keep track of how early Dad would play a Christmas cassette in my car.  “But, Dad,” they’d exclaim, “it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet!”

You have to understand that we who plan worship do work ahead.  I mentioned last Sunday that we began working on this Christmas last September.  Of course, some people work even farther ahead.  I have an e-mail from Julie dated November 4, in which she says while all this year’s Christmas music is purchased, she thought I might like to consider a particular arrangement of The First Noel for Christmas Eve…2010!  She sent me the link; I listened to it, and it is so lush and lovely that I predict it will be the signature anthem for the Chancel Choir on Christmas Eve…2010!

Since the ‘80s, I’ve switched from cassette tapes to CDs, and currently I have seven CDs of Christmas organ music in my car, which is where all the women in my family prefer I keep my organ CDs! 

Last Monday evening while I was driving home from a homeless initiatives meeting at Temple Israel, I listened to a lovely arrangement of Away in a Manger.  It was so sweet I was even singing along.  And in that moment I got the inspiration for this sermon.  We all love to celebrate the birth of the infant Jesus at Christmas.  What is more peaceful, more fulfilling than to sing those quiet carols Away in a Manger or Silent Night on Christmas Eve?

But it isn’t an infant Jesus that we worship here.  If he remained a baby, none of this would be here.  Christendom would not exist.  It is only because he grew to manhood, was baptized by John, recognized as God’s Chosen One, ministered to people for three years, was crucified and resurrected that the Christian Church exists to this day.

It is not an infant Jesus we cry out to when we need help, or guidance, or solace.  It is not an infant Jesus whose resurrection we celebrate on Easter.  It was not the infant Jesus who promised all who believe in him would have Eternal Life.

Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, in the context of a different political time, the prophet Isaiah tells his people that “a child has been born for us, a son given to us;… and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Some scholars see this passage as a hymn upon the birth of God’s king or upon his ascension to the throne.  But there is more to it for Christians who find Isaiah to be a rich source of preparation for God’s people to receive the greater Deliverer, the messianic “Son of David”.  The Hebrew word for God’s anointed one is mashiah, from which we get “Messiah,” which in the Greek translates to “Christ.”

The great challenge of Christmas is to establish a strong connection with the baby born at Bethlehem.  This begins by hearing a message from Isaiah that invites us to accept the child as a powerful and loving king.  So out of all the names Isaiah uses for this coming King, this Savior, this Deliverer, who is Jesus for you?

Is he Wonderful Counselor?  At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus passes through Samaria and meets a woman at a well.  He speaks with her—despite the fact that she’s a woman and a Samaritan—and tells her everything she has ever done.  He reveals to her that he is the Messiah, and that the day is coming when the barriers between people will fall and “the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23)  The woman is filled with such joy that she goes to her city and spreads the word about Jesus.  Many people come to see that he is the Savior of the world.

Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor—the one who knows us most fully and loves us most deeply.  He tells us the truth about ourselves and invites us to follow him in a life of worshiping God in spirit and in truth.

The best test of a good counselor is whether his or her clients are helped.  And Jesus might be considered the most effective counselor who ever lived.  Jesus changes lives.  Consider these examples:

•  St. Augustine was a womanizing man who ran with the wild crowd before becoming one of the church’s greatest leaders.

•  John Newton was a drunken slave trader before he wrote Amazing Grace.

•  Johnny Cash was a hard-living country singer before coming to Christ.

•  Chuck Colson was a convicted Watergate conspirator before he met Christ.  The Lord led him to begin Prison Fellowship, and Colson has become one of the prophetic voices of our time.

•  George W. Bush was known for his drinking and partying before he met Christ, and later was elected Governor of Texas and then President of the United States.

Is Jesus Mighty God?  Just a month ago on All Saints’ Sunday, I retold the story of Jesus’ friend Lazarus becoming ill and dying.  Jesus travels to the man’s home in Bethany.  One of Lazarus’ sisters meets Jesus on the road and says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:21)

Jesus answers her:  “I am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.” (v. 25)  For Jesus to make such an audacious statement, he has to be either delusional … or a Mighty God.  He can be only one or the other:  insane or almighty.

You’ll remember Jesus goes to the tomb and cries, “Lazarus, come out.” Then the dead man emerges with his hands and feet still bound with the grave cloths.  Lazarus is given new life, and so are we—if we believe that Jesus is our Mighty God.

It’s no coincidence that many of our favorite Christmas stories contain a message of new life, even if they fail to give credit to Jesus.  Think of “A Christmas Carol,” which includes the transformation of the miser named Ebenezer Scrooge; “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with its dramatic discovery of what really matters; “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” with the growth of the Grinch’s heart, which had once been “two sizes too small.”  Christmas is all about moving from death to life, through the power of our Mighty God.

Is Jesus Everlasting Father?  When Jesus is having dinner with his disciples, he says, “If you know me, you will know my Father also.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.”  His disciple Philip says to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”  Jesus says to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:7-9)

The Word of God comes to us most clearly through Jesus, the one who is the flesh-and-blood appearance of God in human life.  “In the beginning was the Word,” says the first chapter of John, “and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word became flesh and lived among us.” (1:1, 14)  The Word is eternal, the Word is God, the Word lives among us.  This appearance of the Word of God in human form shows us that Jesus and our Everlasting Father are one and the same.

Is Jesus Prince of Peace?  When Jesus is born in Bethlehem, most people are looking for a military messiah to drive the Romans out of Jerusalem and return the land to Jewish control.  But to the disappointment of some—most notably Judas—Jesus comes not to be a military messiah but a Prince of Peace.  His endless peace is based on truth, justice and righteousness, not on the defeat of an oppressive empire.  “My kingdom is not from this world,” says Jesus when he stands in front of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.  “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.  Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:36-37)

This is peace described by the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero as “the generous, tranquil contribution of all to the good of all.  Peace is dynamism.  Peace is generosity.  It is right, and it is duty.”

This is the way Jesus wants us to live—making generous, tranquil contributions to the good of all.  He challenges us to be dynamic, not passive, in our peacemaking.  Generous, not stingy.  And dutiful—not reserving our efforts just for holidays and other special times.  The work of peace and reconciliation should be an everyday effort for all of us who follow Christ.  After all, says the apostle Paul, God “reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18)

As those who walk around calling ourselves Christians, our mission is to make peace with others, following the example of the One who came to Earth to reconcile us to God.  We are to befriend others, just as Jesus came to make us friends with God.

Who is Jesus for you?  Jesus can be a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Let’s not be put off by these powerful names chosen by Isaiah to describe the One who would deliver us.  They’re extremely large for the baby Jesus in a manger to wear.  Instead, let’s receive him, accept him as the Savior he is meant to be, and strengthen our connection to him far beyond this Advent and Christmas season.

 

(Preaching themes suggested by a sermon, "Friending Jesus,"

Homiletics, November-December 2009, pp. 64-65.)