Those of you who grew up with brothers and sisters know the conversations that sometimes take place within such families. Siblings will reminisce about what it was like growing up together. Invariably they will have the “who-was-mom-and-dad’s-favorite” argument. “You were always mom’s favorite!” “Dad thought you were perfect and could do no wrong!”
Do you like a good mystery? Many people do. They like to read “mystery novels.” Or they like to watch “mystery” movies. To us, the concept of mystery suggests something unknown. This comes out in the way we say we don’t know the answer to something. We sometimes say, “It’s a mystery to me.” The story of Christmas is a good mystery. Let me explain.
It would come as no surprise to you if I asserted that manifestations of God in the Bible are generally quite impressive. For example, after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, they camped at the base of Mt. Sinai. There the Lord God appeared on the mountain, and we are told, There was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast…Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder…The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:16-20, excerpts) There! At Sinai! Behold your God!
You have likely all seen this before. People are gathered around opening gifts at Christmas. There is that person frantically tearing paper off a package. They open the box and then there is a pause…and a gasp! And then they say, “For me?!” The answer is, “Of course it’s for you! The little tag on the present had your name on it!”
This past week I heard about something I had never heard of before. I learned what a “blue Christmas” is. I am not referring to the famous Elvis Presley song. I have heard that before! I am referring to what some churches call a “blue Christmas service.” This is a special Christmas worship service for people who are especially struggling with sadness at this time of year, maybe the sadness of loss of a loved one, or sickness, or loneliness. The service is often held on December 21, the longest night of the year.
St. Luke is an excellent historian. He even begins the gospel that bears his name by writing: Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4) He was a meticulous researcher, wanting to be sure he got everything right.
I will confess at the outset, this feels a bit strange to me. Preaching on this text today. Did it strike you as odd? This reading is historically read on Palm Sunday. This is the account of Jesus entering Jerusalem for the final time. This is a Holy Week text! And yet, here we are. It is the appointed reading for today, the first Sunday of Advent. We are beginning a new church year today! We have decorated for Christmas! We are thinking about Jesus’ birth and his coming into this world to be our Savior!
As we celebrate Thanksgiving once again this year, how grateful are you? If I asked you to rank your level of thankfulness on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, what number would you pick? Are you on the lower end? A 3 or 4? You’re grateful, but you’ve had a rough year financially or physically or personally? Are you on the upper end? A 7 or an 8? The investments did better than expected and your cholesterol is down?
A close look at many beloved children’s stories reveals something quite interesting. Certain common elements seem to occur and reoccur. Very often the stories will involve a kingdom; a villain who rises and brings suffering and oppression; a hero, many times a king’s son, a prince; the defeat of the villain; a wedding at the end; and the final refrain so often is, “…and they lived happily ever after.”
In order for us to understand our text this morning, we have to spend a moment reviewing something that was a huge part of the religious life of God’s Old Testament saints. And that thing is Yom Kippur, also known as The Day of Atonement. In particular, we need to review what the High Priest did on that day. Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was the one day of the year when the high priest, and ONLY the high priest, entered into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple.
