RWJ/Pottersville UMC 12/16/12 Sermon - “What will the Savior look like?”

Sunday 12/16/12 RWJ/Pottersville UMC

Sermon: “What will the Savior look like?”                                                                                   

Scripture Lesson: Isaiah 12:2-6

                                             

Gospel Lesson: Luke 3:7-18

          Good morning brothers and sisters! It’s good to be here with you worshipping this morning, and I hope that you all have had a blessed week.

          This morning, on this Third Sunday of Advent we move yet a little closer to the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but I cannot believe that it is almost Christmas! That is it is almost the day that we remember the birth of our Lord and Savior. The day of the birth that was foretold by the prophets of old. The day of the birth of the one in whom it was written that would save us and restore hope to this world. The one would redeem us all, and save us from ourselves and our sins.

When considering the recent shopping mall shooting in Oregon, and the tragic shooting in Connecticut that occurred two days ago, we realize ever more our need for Jesus Christ. We realize that we need a savior. We need Jesus to come and save us all, as we are broken and cannot do this thing called life on our own. Further, maybe we should try to be just a little more holy and loving to each other, and be more of which Christ has called us to be. For the people of the Old Testament times were awaiting a Savior. In the era that Jesus was born, the people of Israel were living under the oppression of the rule of the Roman Empire. Bad things were happening to good people, and sometimes good people were thrown off their land, and sometimes people were even killed by the Romans for no reason. In recent days, I think all of us have been thinking, “When will Jesus come back to set this whole messy world right?” Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. Yet, Jesus comes to us as a baby. The savior of the world, will enter into life on this earth, then cry that first cry, and be vulnerable. The Christ child will need to be feed, and nurtured by his mother and father. The savior of the world will subject himself to this sort of vulnerability. Jesus will then grow up and teach us all how to love. Teach us how having faith in him is our salvation, but in addition to this, teach us a better way of being and existing.

When I learned of the recent shootings that happened this week, I have to say that I was heartbroken to hear such awful news. I thought, “What if that shooter in Connecticut was in a loving church?” “What if that shooter knew the life changing power that is found in Jesus Christ?” “What if that shooter knew Jesus, and was changed by him?” Jesus, my brothers and sisters, did not come just to save us, but to teach us how to really love and to care for each other, and how to live this love out. He taught us a better way to build communities, to love all people, to come together as a family, and as a people. With all this said though, I do wonder sometimes, “What did Jesus look like?” I mean we await even today the second coming of the Savior of the world, but what does he look like? In fact, when Jesus was soon to be born, I wonder if the people who were gathering to see him discussed or thought, “What will the Savior look like?” Once the three wise men or the three magi, the shepherds, and all of the others who knew of the birth of Jesus headed to see him, do you think they thought “what will the savior look like?” Imagine the three wise men traveling many days and nights to see the Messiah, the Savior, the King of Kings. I wonder if the wise men as they were traveling ever said, “I wonder what he will look like when we see him?” As the song goes these were “Three men from Orient.” These three wise men were from the East. I have seen some nativity sets that show the wise men as being one wise man being Asian, one being African, and one being Middle Eastern. Perhaps the Asian wise man thought, “Surely he will be Chinese.” Yet the African wise man said, “No, no, surely he will be African.” Yet the Middle Eastern wise man might have said, “surely he will look Middle Eastern.”

          In my seminary learning, I have seen pictures of churches in Asia, which have pictures of an Asian Jesus. I have seen pictures of African churches of black worshippers who have pictures of a black Jesus. I have seen many European and American churches that have pictures, as we do, of a white Jesus. Some of our depictions of Jesus even show him as a more of an olive skinned Middle Eastern and Israeli looking person. Some might have even though that Jesus would even look a different way from all of these. Some might have and still do imagine him as tall, as short, as chubby, or as my dad says “stout,” and some might imagine him as being too skinny. I am sure all Christians at some point have looked at the stained glass in their church, or the pictures of Jesus in there church, and said, “I wonder what he really looked like?” Many of us are and haven been focused on what Jesus looked like.

          In the scripture reading from Isaiah this morning, it said, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid, for the Lord God is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation.” When I hear scripture like this it emboldens my faith, but it does also make me visualize what Jesus really looked like. I mean after all, if I really want to know him, in my mind shouldn’t I then visualize him? The scripture goes on to say, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that: Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known his deeds among the nations; proclaim that his name is exalted.” Jesus is coming, he will be born soon, and he will come again. The scripture goes on to say, “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. Our savior is great and mighty, but what will he look like?

          In the gospel of Luke reading this morning, it discussed how God “is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” God came to earth in the name of Jesus to save us all. If we believe in his name and follow him, then we will not taste death. The gospel reading then went on discussing the message of Jesus, as told by John the Baptist. John said, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and the asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.” John the Baptist in this case, was telling people how to live, and how Jesus would teach us these new ways of being. But what will the Savior look like? As the gospel reading went on this morning, the on lookers looked at John the Baptist, and wonder if he was the Messiah. John said as he was baptizing people, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” John went on in this gospel reading to continue proclaiming the greatness, the power, and salvation of the Lord. Yet will all this, we might still wonder, “what will the Savior look like?”

What if I told you here this morning though, that maybe what Jesus looked like at birth and in adulthood doesn’t matter? For if God came to earth to save us, could God have not taken on any fleshy body? Given this, what he looks like might have value for some, but more than this, what has real value, is that Jesus came! Perhaps the wise men were shocked when they saw the baby Jesus, and realized that he wasn’t what they thought he would be. Perhaps they were shocked that he was in a poor manger. Maybe they thought though, “He is so much better than anything that we thought!”  Maybe they thought, “Does it really matter what he looks like?” We will never know in fact, what Jesus looks like until we see him in glory. Will we be let down when we enter glory by the appearance of Jesus? I think he will defy all of our wonders, our hopes, and our expectations.

          For in this season of Advent, we await the birth of our savior. We might not exactly know what he will look like, but he is our savior. God in his infinite wisdom and providence is coming to us, and we will all be satisfied by this life saving arrival. Yet for many of us, we might still wonder “what will the Savior look like?”

I would like close this morning a story. The author of this story is unknown, and is about a young boy named Mark. Here is how the story goes: Mark was an 11 year old orphan who lived with his aunt, a bitter middle aged woman greatly annoyed with the burden of caring for her dead sister's son. She never failed to remind young Mark, if it hadn't been for her generosity, he would be a vagrant, homeless waif. Still, with all the scolding and chilliness at home, he was a sweet and gentle child. I had not noticed Mark particularly until he began staying after class each day (at the risk of arousing his aunt's anger, I later found) to help me straighten up the classroom. We did this quietly and comfortably, not speaking much, but enjoying the solitude of that hour of the day. When we did talk, Mark spoke mostly of his mother. Though he was quite small when she died, he remembered a kind, gentle, loving woman, who always spent much time with him. As Christmas drew near however, Mark failed to stay after school each day. I looked forward to his coming, and when the days passed and he continued to scamper hurriedly from the room after class, I stopped him one afternoon and asked why he no longer helped me in the room. I told him how I had missed him, and his large gray eyes lit up eagerly as he replied, "Did you really miss me?" I explained how he had been my best helper. "I was making you a surprise," he whispered confidentially. "It's for Christmas." With that, he became embarrassed and dashed from the room. He didn't stay after school any more after that. Finally came the last school day before Christmas. Mark crept slowly into the classroom late that afternoon with his hands concealing something behind his back. "I have your present," he said timidly when I looked up. "I hope you like it." He held out his hands, and there lying in his small palms was a tiny wooden box. "Its beautiful, Mark. Is there something in it?" I asked opening the top to look inside. " "Oh you can't see what's in it," He replied, "and you can't touch it, or taste it or feel it, but mother always said it makes you feel good all the time, warm on cold nights, and safe when you're all alone." I gazed into the empty box. "What is it Mark," I asked gently, "that will make me feel so good?" "It's love," he whispered softly, "and mother always said it's best when you give it away." And he turned and quietly left the room. So now I keep a small box crudely made of scraps of wood on the piano in my living room and only smile as inquiring friends raise quizzical eyebrows when I explain to them that there is love in it. Yes, Christmas is for gaiety, mirth and song, for good and wondrous gifts. But mostly, Christmas is for love.

Brothers and sisters, in light of the events of this week, the shootings in Oregon and Connecticut, maybe we need to love each other just a little more this Christmas. Maybe we need to give a little more love to each other every day in fact. As this season of Advent continues, and we wonder, “what will the savior look like?” Let us remember that he came, and that he is coming again. Amen and hallelujah!