“Reality Check”
Text: 1 John 4:7-21
12-26-2021
In the name of Jesus, dear friends in Christ. Did something seem a little odd or out of place this morning? Just yesterday we celebrated Christmas and this morning we sang 2 joyful Christmas hymns. But those Scripture readings, Ugh! They didn’t sound very warm and Christmassy, did they? The first one tells about the killing of the prophet Zechariah. Then, in the reading from Acts it tells of the horrible stoning death of St. Stephen. And in the Gospel, Jesus Himself brings up the murders of the Old Testament prophets which God had sent. What ever happened to the warm Christmas glow of gentle baby Jesus lying in a manger?
Well, I would much rather be preaching on that rather than senseless and horrible killings. But then again, this is the cold, hard reality of our world. Sin, the devil, and evil people don’t take a Christmas vacation. And neither does sickness or death. The Coronavirus keeps reinventing itself with new variants even during the holidays. But even beyond that virus people get sick and disabled. When death strikes, it doesn’t care what day or time of year it is. When these troubles come upon us it’s a reality check. And today’s Scripture lessons are a reminder of the same thing. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, the Bible isn’t filled with a bunch of “happily ever after” fairy tales. Rather, it deals with the hard reality of our sin-infected world.
Just consider the birth of Jesus. It’s a beautiful story that can even touch the hearts of unbelievers. There aren’t too many folks who won’t soften up at the sight of a newborn infant. But keep in mind that as beautiful as the birth of Jesus is, the setting was in the cold, hard realities of our world. Isn’t that the reason why Jesus was born in a dirty, lowly stable? The fact is that nobody in that quaint “Little Town of Bethlehem” had enough compassion to give up their room for a pregnant woman who was about to give birth. Worse yet, these were relatives of both Mary and Joseph. And you thought you it was bad having to put up with your annoying relatives! This was cruel, and yet, that’s the hard reality that Jesus was born into.
But afterwards, everything was just hunky-dory, right? Think again. On the 8th day baby Jesus had to be circumcised. Certainly, that is not one of the warm and cuddly events in the Christmas story that we like to dwell on. 40 days later, reality hit Mary and Joseph like a cold splash in the face when they went to the Jerusalem Temple to present the offerings prescribed by the Law after the birth of a son. The old man Simeon comes up and identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. And then he tells Mary a very haunting prophecy. He said, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also…” Those are not very cheery words to be sharing with the mother of a newborn! But they were true. It was a cruel reality that Mary would see her son killed 33 years later. As a mother, it would indeed feel like someone had stabbed her right in the heart. That painful reality is expressed in the hymn we just sang, “What Child Is This?” Look at the words of verse 2, “Nails, spear, shall pierce Him through, The cross be borne for me, for you.” Tucked away in that lullaby are these words expressing the hard reality of what Jesus was sent into the world to do.
Next, in the Christmas story we hear of the Wise Men coming to worship the Christ Child. Nobody knows for sure how long it took them to get to Bethlehem. It could have taken up to a year. So Mary and Joseph had some time to enjoy the beauty and wonder of this precious gift from God before these guests arrived. Then, once again, reality blew in like a cold winter blast. Warned by God, the Wise Men left without going back and telling King Herod where the newborn king was. He really wanted to know, not so that he could worship Jesus but so that he could kill Him. The reality is that Herod was a ruthless and bloody man. He regularly killed off anyone who posed a threat to his kingship, even his own sons. He saw baby Jesus as a potential challenger to his throne. But God warned Joseph in a dream to get Mary and Jesus out of the area immediately. Herod ordered that all the baby boys in Bethlehem, under 2 years old, to be killed. Just a few days after Christmas, on December 28th, is when we remember those innocent babies who were killed. Another cold, hard reality on the heels of Christmas.
So you see, it really is not out of place for us to recognize the martyrdom of St. Stephen on the day after Christmas. It’s a vivid reminder of the reality of what being a Christian is all about. Keep in mind, Stephen was not a Pastor. He was more like a deacon in the Church. He was selected to help out the disciples so that they could concentrate on preaching the Gospel. So Stephen was a layman and yet look at how God used him. In his everyday discussions with people, he talked about His Savior, Jesus. The Holy Spirit inspired his words so that he could defeat the arguments of anyone who tried to oppose this Gospel message. That sounds so good, and it is! But here’s the hard reality of what goes with that. The good news of Jesus Christ has always been met with resistance by the unbelieving world and it always will be.
Unfortunately, that’s an unpopular truth that some Christians don’t want to hear. They’d rather go and hear a preacher who says things that make them feel warm and cozy. As a result, we have gobs of Christians running around with false ideas about what Christ promised to His followers. He never promised that you’d become rich if you were a Christian. He never promised that you wouldn’t get sick or have crippling disabilities. He never promised that you wouldn’t die suddenly or of an untimely death. He never promised that all your personal problems would go away. And He certainly never promised that people wouldn’t resist when you try to tell them about the Savior. The reality is the opposite. Our world is cruel and filled with evil people. Our world is filled with the painful fallout of sin. That, my friends, is the harsh reality.
Maybe you think that’s depressing news, especially on the day after Christmas. But it doesn’t have to be. There IS another reality to Christmas that warms and softens all the cold, cruel realities of our sin-sick world. This reality is found in every aspect of the Christmas story and throughout the life of Jesus. At every turn, whenever Satan and evil people tried to resist God’s plan of salvation, He worked through them to accomplish His good and gracious will.
Remember that inconvenient census that Caesar ordered? Well, that’s what sent Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem where God had promised the Messiah would be born. There the shepherds and Wise Men were able to see the promise of God fulfilled. Herod’s plot to kill the newborn Savior caused the holy family to flee to Egypt, fulfilling another Old Testament prophecy which identified Jesus as the Christ. Later in the life of Jesus, God allowed evil men to lay hands on Him and kill Him. With their evil intentions they caused the harsh reality of the crucifixion of Jesus. But through this cruel and hard reality, God brought about the sweetest reality the world has ever known. Through the harsh reality of the cross, God brought the sweet reality of forgiveness to all who would believe in Jesus as their Savior.
In John 16:33 Jesus said “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” That’s a reality that St. Stephen understood. Even though he was facing the cruel reality of being stoned to death, he trusted in Jesus to overcome this evil. Stephen could never have faced his death with such peace if he didn’t believe in the reality of Christ’s victory. As you read on in the next chapter of the Book of Acts, you’ll see the sweet reality of what God accomplished through the death of Stephen: The Christian Church was persecuted and scattered. That doesn’t sound very sweet, does it? But it was. As the Christians were scattered throughout the Roman world, they carried with them the good news of Jesus Christ. The evil intentions of sinful people were unknowingly used to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
So you see, we can actually celebrate the martyrdom of Stephen. And we can also rejoice when we face persecution and trouble because of our witness to our faith in Jesus. God is using it to get the good news out. Like Stephen, we can share it even with the people who hate us. We can witness by praying for them and forgiving them. Even in our everyday troubles God can use these hard realities to spread the good news. When unbelievers see the peace that we have when we’re afflicted by pain or disease, it witnesses to the hope we have through Jesus Christ. When we have peace as we face the death of a loved one or even our own death it also witnesses to our hope and joy of knowing Jesus as our Savior. That hope and joy came to us at Christmas and overcomes all the cruel, harsh realities of our fallen world. So rejoice, Christian friends, that you have the reality of Christmas by faith and the salvation that the Christ Child brings to you. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!