1 00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:07,160 This morning I want to continue our series on Waiting and Hope. 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:10,800 Over the course of the last couple of weeks, we've been 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,880 journeying through different portions of the Christmas Story, 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:20,440 looking at this question of what do we do in the liminal space? 5 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:24,640 What do we do when we're hoping for something, longing for 6 00:00:24,640 --> 00:00:28,120 something, dreaming for something, and it hasn't yet 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:31,240 arrived? This, of course, is is core to 8 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:34,120 what Advent is all about, that the seizing in which we're 9 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:38,040 anticipating the arrival of Jesus. 10 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,840 And this morning I am excited to continue that story. 11 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:46,000 We're going to look at a specific story, that of the 12 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,960 Magi, these kings who traveled from the East and look at the 13 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:56,400 question while we wait, are we paying attention to what God is 14 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:58,560 doing? Because I want to suggest to you 15 00:00:58,560 --> 00:01:03,440 this morning that it is possible to be in the right place, to be 16 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,960 there at the right time and still to miss what God's doing 17 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:10,480 today. We're going to sit with this 18 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:15,320 story and I, I hope that it will speak to you about what it means 19 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:18,000 to pay attention. One of my friends like to say, 20 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,200 likes to say that that we quote, UN quote, pay attention because 21 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,560 to pay attention costs us something. 22 00:01:26,480 --> 00:01:28,480 There's a there's a, a cost to attention. 23 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:33,160 Attention is a finite resource. We only have so much of it to go 24 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,920 around. You can't pay attention to 25 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,880 everything. So what will you pay attention 26 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:41,400 to? I don't know about you, but for 27 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,400 me, my attention is pretty stretched this time of year. 28 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:47,320 I feel like there is a lot going on. 29 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:52,200 There are gifts to buy and cards to write, holiday parties to 30 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,240 attend, travel plans, family dynamics. 31 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,320 There's so much going on and honestly, sometimes I just lose 32 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,000 track of things. A few weeks ago, some of my 33 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,480 friends were having a get together for some dads in the 34 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,639 neighborhood and of course I was part of this friend group. 35 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,840 They invited me and it it looked pretty cool. 36 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,840 And at the same time I did what often maybe some of you have 37 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,280 found yourself doing. I was like, I'm interested, but 38 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,920 let me see what else materializes and how my time 39 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:26,480 looks and I'll get back to you at the last minute. 40 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:28,720 I wasn't quite sure about my schedule. 41 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,720 I had some questions that were still lingering and so I just 42 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,240 kind of put it off. Well, here we go. 43 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:38,160 The day approaches and of course all of my friends on this thread 44 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,840 are texting each other and interacting. 45 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:42,720 Pumped to see you tonight. I'm going to bring this. 46 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:46,680 What's the plans? Locking in details and I wasn't 47 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:51,360 on the thread because I, I never RSVP DI never let anyone know 48 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:55,920 that I was available. The day of the party came and 49 00:02:55,920 --> 00:02:58,160 went and I didn't even realize it. 50 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:01,680 The next day, of course, I open up my phone and there's all 51 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:04,480 these texts, there's these pictures, there's laughter, 52 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:06,360 there's joy, there's the connection, there's people we 53 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,760 haven't seen in a while. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, I 54 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,680 can't believe I totally spaced that this was last night. 55 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,600 I hadn't been paying attention. Somehow in the moment, I, I, I 56 00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:22,160 had assumed, you know, like these are my guys, right? 57 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,560 Like I'm part of this group. If something is happening, I can 58 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,120 kind of, I can kind of just do my thing and, and I'll still get 59 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,440 the information. I'll still show up, I'll still 60 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,680 be able to participate at the last minute. 61 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:37,680 But it didn't work out that way. I wasn't pay attention and I 62 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:40,960 missed it. This admittedly is a low stakes 63 00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:45,360 example, but it occurred to me as I was preparing to talk to us 64 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,520 this morning about this story because I think it raises an 65 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:53,880 important question. It is possible to be surrounded 66 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:58,560 by the things of God, Christian friends, worship, sermons, 67 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:03,240 church, and still miss what God is doing right in front of us. 68 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:09,000 Are we attentive to what is necessary so that we can quote 69 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,840 UN quote, be in the room when it happens, especially in a season 70 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,160 like December when the whole Make Christmas Magical thing is 71 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,360 in full swing? There's so much going on. 72 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:23,720 What are we paying attention to? We are people who wait, but 73 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,000 we're not always people who notice. 74 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:31,360 Matthew gives us this account here in Matthew Chapter 2, the 75 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,760 story of the Magi, which is familiar to many of us. 76 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,080 If you've been around CVS and seen a Christmas card aisle, you 77 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,600 know, if you've got the camels traveling around with the blue 78 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:43,600 background and stars and the sand dunes, right? 79 00:04:43,840 --> 00:04:46,640 It's part of like, the nostalgia and the imagination and the 80 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,840 assumptions about like what the Christmas story is. 81 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,600 But in that familiarity, I think there's something that we miss. 82 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:02,560 Like we miss how weird this story is, how not fitting it is, 83 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,000 how controversial and shocking and and honestly even 84 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000 inflammatory this story would have been to its original 85 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,560 audience. Matthew here in the Christmas 86 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,480 story is saying the same thing that Jesus later tells the 87 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:21,440 religious authorities to their face in Matthew chapter 21 and 88 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:27,000 30 and chapter 21 and verse 31. He says the criminals and sex 89 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,320 workers are coming into the Kingdom of heaven before you. 90 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:34,280 Essentially this is what's going on in this story. 91 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,040 It is a shocking about face. It poses us with a paradox of 92 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:43,240 who gets invited to the baby shower of Jesus? 93 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:46,640 Who is in the room when it happens. 94 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:53,280 Imagine you are a 1st century Jewish person on the street in 95 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:57,520 Bethlehem and somebody sticks a microphone in your face. 96 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,520 You know, one of these social media interviews and they ask, 97 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,800 hey, when the when the Messiah comes, how do you think he will 98 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,040 be received? Like what's your expectations? 99 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,600 What's your anticipation of how this is going to go down? 100 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,480 Well, you might say something like when the Messiah comes, 101 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,040 it's going to be the biggest celebration that our people have 102 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:22,440 ever seen, like the wisest scribes and the Pharisees will 103 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:25,720 of course, the, the people who who dig deeply in the scripture, 104 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:27,400 they'll be the first to discern this. 105 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,360 They're going to understand it because on the prophecies, 106 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,480 they'll put things together like a puzzle. 107 00:06:33,240 --> 00:06:36,120 And then, and then once they announce that the Messiah is 108 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,040 here, the news will spread like a wildfire. 109 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,600 It'll, it'll go out into the countryside. 110 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,960 I'm sure the chief priests will gather a delegation of all of 111 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,360 the most honorable political officials, all of the most 112 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:50,360 celebrated religious authorities. 113 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,320 They'll have a band, they'll have soldiers and, and they will 114 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,320 March to receive the king wherever he is at. 115 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:01,280 They'll bring him back here to the temple at Jerusalem. 116 00:07:01,280 --> 00:07:05,000 And, and as the word goes out, the people will stream in. 117 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:06,400 They're going to come in with gifts. 118 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:08,200 They're going to come in with music. 119 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,160 It's going to be a gigantic celebration as we welcome the 120 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,280 Holy 1, the Messiah who is finally here to save us. 121 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,960 Some of you know the story. That's not how it went, right? 122 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:23,240 Like this is not how it plays out. 123 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,000 But like if you were there, that's what we would have 124 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:28,840 assumed. Like this is what was supposed 125 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:32,040 to happen. This is how it was go supposed 126 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:37,040 to go down. And yet Matthew tells us when 127 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:42,720 King Herod heard the news from the Magi, he was disturbed and 128 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:47,560 all Jerusalem with him. See, the religious leaders, the 129 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,760 authorities, the people who were supposed to get it right, their 130 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,280 first reaction to the news of the Messiah's birth was not 131 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,000 celebration, it wasn't enthusiasm, it wasn't 132 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,040 expectancy. They were disturbed. 133 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:06,160 See, Herod's power was propped up by Roman legions. 134 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,880 He, he was an authoritarian who who made his money and his 135 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,720 status off of an oppressive government. 136 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:18,440 So for Herod, the news that there was a king of the Jews 137 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,720 that was born, this is not good news. 138 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:25,080 This is a threat to his power. This is a threat to his reign. 139 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:29,720 Herod is on the lookout. He is attentive, but not for 140 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:32,400 what God is doing. Herod is just paying attention 141 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:37,120 to threats, like he's vigilant for anything that could threaten 142 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:43,400 his status, his security, his safety, and maybe even worse. 143 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,120 We see in the following verses that he calls in the experts, 144 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:49,520 right? The chief priests that describes 145 00:08:49,520 --> 00:08:53,240 the teachers of the law and these guys like these are like 146 00:08:53,240 --> 00:08:55,160 our people, right? We're here in church. 147 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:58,960 They're the Bible scholars. They know the book, right? 148 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:02,120 There are experts in the law and and Herod asks a question. 149 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,080 He says, where is Messiah to be born? 150 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,120 And they don't hesitate. They don't stutter. 151 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:12,880 They know the answer right away. They they, they say in 152 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:16,800 Bethlehem, they even give chapter and verse. 153 00:09:16,800 --> 00:09:19,160 They're like here the prophet Micah and this connects with 154 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,680 Isaiah and they had it unlocked. They knew exactly what was about 155 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:28,840 to go down. They get the answer right and 156 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:35,240 then they do nothing. That's it. 157 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,120 Nobody says like, maybe we should go check this out. 158 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:40,800 Like it's a Six Mile hike down the road. 159 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,040 Let's go see. Like, is anything happening down 160 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,080 the road in Bethlehem? Like there's no early warning 161 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,360 station that has been constructed there to, to find 162 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:52,720 out like, you know, when Messiah is born. 163 00:09:53,680 --> 00:09:57,120 They, they just had the answer. And so they stopped there. 164 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,240 Their heads are full, but their feet don't move. 165 00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,880 Their theology is sharp, but their hearts are numb. 166 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:11,520 Friends, the people who we would have expected to be at the 167 00:10:11,520 --> 00:10:14,560 nativity, the people who are supposed to be there. 168 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:22,480 The insiders missed out, and it was instead the foreigners who 169 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,320 were there. I think this is a sobering 170 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:28,240 picture for us. And when I say us, I mean those 171 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:34,280 of us who are like the Christian insiders, those of us who go to 172 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,640 church every Sunday, those of us who who volunteer, who, who 173 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,280 contribute, who, you know, grew up in a Christian home. 174 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,360 Those of us who were baptized and read our Bibles and kind of 175 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,880 assume that like, if God's doing something, like we're going to 176 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,680 be the first to know about it. Like that's kind of our thing. 177 00:10:55,760 --> 00:10:58,840 For us friends, I think the Christmas story, we don't read 178 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,120 it this way, right? But the Christmas story is a bit 179 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,000 of a warning. It's a warning that that says 180 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:08,680 that you can grow up in a Christian family, you can read 181 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:11,880 your Bible, sing the song, serve on a team, know the right 182 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:16,600 answer, and never actually walk the six miles to Bethlehem. 183 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:23,240 Christmas is a warning that we can be so familiar with the 184 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,560 story that we stop being surprised by the Savior when he 185 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:31,280 actually comes. But Matthew doesn't just give us 186 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:33,840 a warning, of course. He also gives us a surprise. 187 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,000 You're right. Magi came from the East to 188 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,600 Jerusalem asking where is the one who has been born king of 189 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:44,880 the Jews? Who are these guys? 190 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:48,880 Well, to a 1st century Jewish leader, as I've already 191 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,800 suggested, these are the last people who would have gotten an 192 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,400 invite to the baby shower. They're not supposed to be 193 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,280 there. The word Magi points to a group 194 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:04,880 of astrologer priests. OK, the, the we don't know 195 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:06,560 exactly where they were from. We just know East. 196 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:11,760 But most likely they were from Persia or Babylon, right? 197 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,840 These are the places where we know there were lots of kind of 198 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:16,480 Magi astrologer priests in that day. 199 00:12:16,480 --> 00:12:20,440 They would have been scholars of the stars and spiritual advisors 200 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,880 in the Royal Courts. And generally, these are folks 201 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:29,040 who are not looked at with like positive vibes in Scripture. 202 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,320 In the story of Daniel, if you go back to the the prophet 203 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:36,600 Daniel, we read that the magicians, the sorcerer's 204 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,080 astrologers, all are at play. They're there in the King's 205 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:42,560 court, and they can't interpret the King's dream. 206 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:45,000 Like they don't actually know what's going on. 207 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,440 They're really kind of charlatans who are peddling 208 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,680 these kind of ambiguous prophecies. 209 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,800 And when the king like buckles down, it's only Daniel who has 210 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:56,800 authentic, supernatural, God-given wisdom who has the 211 00:12:56,800 --> 00:12:59,160 ability to predict what will happen. 212 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:03,560 They're exposed as frauds. And the Torah elsewhere 213 00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:07,440 explicitly prohibits divination and astrology. 214 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,720 Isaiah mocks those who quote, divide the heavens and and read 215 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,640 their fates in the stars. I'm sorry if you are really into 216 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:16,880 horoscopes. The Bible does not tend to like 217 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:21,920 this or take it very seriously. OK, but this was these guys, 218 00:13:22,840 --> 00:13:23,640 right? They were. 219 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,200 They were from a foreign place. They had the wrong zip code. 220 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,720 They had the wrong faith system, they had the wrong background, 221 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,360 they were looking for signs of God's movement in the completely 222 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:39,320 wrong place. It should never have happened. 223 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:45,480 And yet here they are at the heart of the Christmas story. 224 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:51,000 They say we saw his star when it rose and it come to worship him. 225 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:54,560 Man I love what this tells us about God. 226 00:13:55,920 --> 00:14:00,440 Like, God is so cool, guys. Like I, I, I love this because 227 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:06,480 for this one unrepeatable moment in history, the God who rules 228 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:09,960 the heavens chooses to meet these pagans right where they're 229 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:13,760 looking. They are looking in the 230 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,320 completely wrong place for evidence of God's movement. 231 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:21,440 But God's like, I got you. I'm going to put a star up there 232 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:24,880 for you. What does this tell us about 233 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:30,520 God? Like God is someone who even 234 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:35,000 like, if you have the wrong theology, if you have the wrong 235 00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:39,880 backgrounds, if you're not like the right kind of person or or 236 00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:44,200 didn't grow up with that kind of pedigree, but you're earnest, 237 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:51,520 you're seeking God's like man. I, I delight to make myself 238 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:55,320 known. I love how rich the Lotus puts 239 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,720 it. He says we are not always 240 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,840 faithful in our waiting, but God is faithful in his coming. 241 00:15:03,560 --> 00:15:08,120 It's not because we're like such good discerners or readers or 242 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,440 interpreters. And sometimes we get so hung up 243 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:11,880 trying to just get it right, don't we? 244 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,240 So focused and fixated on like, if I pray the prayer just that 245 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:19,800 way, if I make it sound like somebody else who like has the, 246 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,680 you know, the right vibe, they seem like they're really holy. 247 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:24,760 So like, let me try to be like them. 248 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,400 Thinking of a buddy who started praying in Australian for a 249 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,160 while because he was like watch too many Hillsong videos. 250 00:15:30,160 --> 00:15:36,120 Like sometimes we do like we imitate, we imitate other people 251 00:15:36,120 --> 00:15:38,600 were like, I got like, maybe if I get the formula just right, 252 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,000 then God will heal this person. Maybe God will answer my prayer. 253 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,320 Maybe it, you know, if I go to this place where there's some 254 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,120 magic, like maybe God will manifest and I'll have some kind 255 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,920 of experience. I don't think God cares about 256 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,920 the formula guys, but he cares a lot about your heart. 257 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:58,200 And this is good news for us, friends. 258 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,080 It's good news because I think it means that there is there is 259 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,520 hope for the excluded. There are hope for those who 260 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,040 maybe don't see themselves in the picture. 261 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:13,880 A little more than two decades ago, I was part of this church 262 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,560 that was really attempting kind of clums elite to reach their 263 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:17,880 neighbors. It was a small group, even 264 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,520 smaller than this one and you know, didn't have a lot of 265 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:23,640 traction in the community, but really cared and was trying to 266 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:26,560 get the word out. And one day somebody on staff 267 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,360 got a, a kind of a crazy idea. We were just throwing stuff at 268 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:31,760 the wall. They said, you know what, we're 269 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:33,480 going to make this flyer and we're going to send it out to 270 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,640 like every house, like within a mile radius. 271 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,800 And so they did. And the, and the flyer, it was a 272 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,600 cartoon. It was super goofy hand like 273 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:45,120 almost hand drawn, like something Andrew would do. 274 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:50,040 And this cartoon had this dude with like crazy hair and like 275 00:16:50,040 --> 00:16:52,400 wild eyes looked a little bit like an orc or something. 276 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:54,600 I don't know. But you know, he's like all 277 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:57,280 harried and stressed out. And it said at the top, the 278 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:01,040 caption was, does your life need to be remodeled? 279 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,520 Of course, when you opened this little, this little brochure, 280 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:10,079 this little trap on the inside, it basically said, hey, there's 281 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:14,720 this Carpenter, his name is Jesus and he's specials in life 282 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,280 transformation. Like here's some information 283 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:18,800 about him. And if you want to hook up with 284 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,079 a bunch of people who are trying to like follow him, here's our 285 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:24,119 information about our church. It was it was cute. 286 00:17:24,119 --> 00:17:27,200 It was like a kind of a cheeky ad that looked like it was for a 287 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:29,280 general contractor, but was really trying to get people to 288 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:31,560 come to church. It mostly didn't work. 289 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,280 I'm not sure why, but, you know, mostly people didn't come. 290 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,960 But I remember a a few weeks after the church sent out this, 291 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,200 you know, this, this brochure to people one Sunday, a worship 292 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:47,960 service in an auditorium, a lot like this. 293 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:50,880 Things were getting going. The first set was happening and 294 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,560 and then somebody kind of walked in through, through the side 295 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:55,560 door in the back, kind of sat down in the back. 296 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:59,560 And, you know, he didn't look good, right? 297 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,960 Looked like he had a rough day or week or few months. 298 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:06,920 His clothes were pretty worn and tattered, Smelled like he could 299 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:09,200 use a shower. My eye looked back and I 300 00:18:09,200 --> 00:18:11,240 thought, I think this guy's probably unhoused. 301 00:18:11,480 --> 00:18:12,840 But you know, we're happy to see him. 302 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,360 Glad he was there. And after the gathering ended, 303 00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:19,120 the hospitality team does what hospitality teams do. 304 00:18:19,120 --> 00:18:21,440 They're like going up and like, we're happy you're here. 305 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,160 You know, how did you find out about our church? 306 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:29,360 And as soon as they asked that question, tears started to well 307 00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:34,440 up in his eyes. He said, I'm not, I'm not OK. 308 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:39,680 I'm not doing well. A few months ago, I lost 309 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,640 everything. And I've just been drinking like 310 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:49,040 crazy ever since. And honestly, I, I don't know 311 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:51,520 what there is to live for or, or, or whether there's any hope. 312 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,360 So a couple nights ago, I just decided I'm going to end it. 313 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,400 And there's this, there's this apartment building right near 314 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,480 where I live. It's, it's 16 stories tall. 315 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:07,360 And so I just waited until somebody opened the door and I 316 00:19:07,360 --> 00:19:11,520 was able to get in. It's late at night and I, I 317 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,080 climb all the way up the elevator wasn't working. 318 00:19:14,080 --> 00:19:18,120 Climb all the way up on the stairs and get to the top and 319 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:23,440 start to open the window. I'm feeling all the feelings, 320 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:29,280 but I'm, I'm ready to jump. And as I, as I take a step up to 321 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,240 the ledge, I noticed that there's something stuck on the 322 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:35,600 bottom of my shoe and I kind of kicked the ground, try to get 323 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:37,000 rid of it, but it wouldn't come off. 324 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:43,040 And so, and so I reached down and, and there was this flyer 325 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:44,800 that asked if my life needed to be remodeled. 326 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,520 And I read it and I came here because it does. 327 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,840 I think you guys saved my life. And, and I want to know about 328 00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:03,840 Jesus, friends. Sometimes when people are 329 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:10,240 opening, God shows up. In the craziest places, not the 330 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,200 places that you would expect, not the places that you would 331 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:17,840 have planned, but the places where people are looking. 332 00:20:17,840 --> 00:20:20,160 This is the opposite of that street light story. 333 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,680 You know, where the person is like looking for their change 334 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,960 under the street light. Maybe you've heard it and 335 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,320 somebody asks, you know, why, Why are you looking for whatever 336 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:30,080 you lost your ring or your change or whatever. 337 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:31,280 And he's like, well, it's light here. 338 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,840 And so I dropped it over there, but I'm looking here because I 339 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:39,240 can see here. It's a funny joke, but but the 340 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,200 reality of God is, it's almost like that God is like, if you're 341 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,320 looking over here, if you're genuinely looking, I'm going to 342 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,640 put a spotlight on it. I'm going to shine a light on it 343 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,680 because God wants to be seen. He wants to be known. 344 00:20:53,280 --> 00:21:01,320 He wants to be received. Friends, where are we in the 345 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,080 story? Do we have eyes to see? 346 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:09,640 This is a question or a dynamic that Jesus talked a lot about in 347 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:13,080 his ministry, right? He said blessed are those who 348 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,960 have eyes to see and ears to hear. 349 00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:21,840 He wasn't talking about like the visual or auditory faculties. 350 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:24,320 Jesus was talking about spiritual discernment. 351 00:21:24,320 --> 00:21:27,720 He was talking about this dynamic that it is possible to 352 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,520 be in the right place at the right time, to have the truth 353 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:36,000 right in front of you and yet to miss it, look right by it 354 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,000 because we're not paying attention for that, which is 355 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,600 important. We went to the zoo yesterday 356 00:21:43,360 --> 00:21:48,360 with my daughter and they're looking at these habitats and 357 00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:52,120 there's this snake habitat. Man, I don't know, it's probably 358 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:54,880 me. Like, have you ever, you ever 359 00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,120 been in these situations where it's like there's a box, it's 360 00:21:57,120 --> 00:22:00,240 this big and you're like, where is this thing? 361 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:04,680 I swear it's in here somewhere. I like, but you're looking and 362 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:06,240 you're looking and you're looking and you're looking and 363 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:08,520 like, I cannot see it. And then like somebody who's on 364 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:09,800 staff, there's like, oh, it's right there. 365 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:14,480 See, I, I, I think sometimes this is the dynamic. 366 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:16,440 Like we, we don't have eyes to see. 367 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,640 We haven't, we haven't trained ourselves through paying 368 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,320 attention. And so even when God moves right 369 00:22:22,360 --> 00:22:28,080 in front of us, like right here, we, we look past it, we miss it. 370 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,120 I honestly think if Jesus came back today, there'd be a lot of 371 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:36,920 very religious people, a lot of Christians, a lot of people who 372 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,600 know their Bible pretty well, a lot of people who are faithful 373 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,880 in church who would look more like the scribes or, or even 374 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:50,400 Herod honestly, than the magi. And this is what the story 375 00:22:50,440 --> 00:22:55,520 challenges us to consider. Do not sit on your laurels. 376 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,160 Don't, don't, don't coast on previous spiritual experience 377 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,440 because of something that happened before. 378 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,440 God is with you. He's still moving today. 379 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,160 He wants to be known if we have eyes to see. 380 00:23:10,080 --> 00:23:14,480 Simone Weil once wrote prayer consists of paying attention. 381 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,760 Prayer consists of paying attention, John Mark Comer says 382 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,720 in the end of your life in the end, your life is no more than 383 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,440 the sum of what you gave your attention to in the end, your 384 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:28,800 life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to. 385 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:36,360 Friends, what is attention to what God is doing looks like for 386 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:43,200 us in this season. I mean, are we operating when we 387 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:48,440 actually inventory our life at Christmas in a hectic time from 388 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,960 a place when, when God brings a new thing into our life, where 389 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,440 honestly, we resist it because it's like we're anxious and it's 390 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:00,280 changing something and it's messing with my plans, so we 391 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:04,320 just push it aside? Are we so familiar with 392 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,800 Scripture because we've read it before that that when we pick up 393 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,280 the book, we're just like, ah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 394 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,720 I know this. I read this before my brain 395 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,600 checks the box. I've already digested this 396 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,680 information, so I can just move on. 397 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,840 Are we coasting on past spiritual highs? 398 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,520 Are we there longing expectantly, looking for what 399 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:30,400 God might do? Friends, Jesus is still moving 400 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:36,800 if we are paying attention. I think it's ironic that even at 401 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:41,800 Christmas we can miss. Jesus, like every business in 402 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,000 the entire world, has found a way to turn this holiday, this 403 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:51,640 this holy day on which we celebrate the arrival of God to 404 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:57,080 a a backward peasant girl in, in a faraway kind of hillbilly 405 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:06,640 place in in an outside stable. Into this juggernaut of red and 406 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:13,480 green striped spectacle in which we need to shop and consume and 407 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,920 somehow make it magical through all of the all of the spending 408 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:22,040 and all of the activities and all of the costuming, the the 409 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,040 shopping, the spending, the scurrying, the Santa is so 410 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:29,160 amputated from the origin story that even atheists are jumping 411 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:30,640 in. Right. 412 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:34,280 And my complaint here is not with that, honestly, or, or even 413 00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:37,520 with capitalism, although that's another complaint for another 414 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:39,200 day. There's criticism to be had. 415 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:47,840 My point is really that at this time of year that that that 416 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:52,160 celebrates and centers the one who we Orient our entire lives 417 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:59,000 around, how tragic it is for us to miss his presence because we 418 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,280 already know the story and, and there's a lot going on. 419 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:09,320 And so friends, as we enter this Christmas season with all of the 420 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,360 goodness and the joy and, and sometimes the heartache, the 421 00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:19,240 sorrow, the tragedy, the longing which remains unfulfilled, I 422 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:23,440 want to invite us into an attentiveness, into a presence. 423 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:29,840 What if we were a people who in all the comparative gift buying 424 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,360 and the weird family dynamics and the social obligations and 425 00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,920 you know, the budget crunches and all of that, the acts and 426 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:40,920 activities. What if we were people who are 427 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:47,480 characterized by a presence and attentiveness, a willingness to 428 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:51,560 just be in tune with what God was doing around us and what was 429 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:53,800 happening in the people in front of us? 430 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,160 What would it take for you to get there? 431 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:00,800 I imagine some of us would need to slow down. 432 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:05,080 We'd need to pause. We need to move a a a little bit 433 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:11,520 more cautiously to to even make space in our schedules to be 434 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:16,400 willing to be interrupted. But friends, if we did this, if 435 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,600 we didn't just notice the star, if we if we followed it this 436 00:27:19,600 --> 00:27:23,680 Christmas, what magic might we uncover? 437 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:29,320 An experience, not just an old story that happened long ago, 438 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:34,200 but a vibrant fresh experience of the in breaking Kingdom, of 439 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:41,080 God, of the God who is with us, who is present here and now in 440 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:43,800 our lives and our families, in our neighborhoods, in, in the 441 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:48,240 school, in the city. What if we had eyes to see? 442 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,640 I want to invite you to this end, to a really simple practice 443 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,440 this morning. Some of you are familiar with a 444 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,800 breath prayer. A breath prayer is just a prayer 445 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:00,600 that you do while breathing. Pretty simple. 446 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,880 It tends to be very simple because you need to do it while 447 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:07,560 breathing something you can repeat. 448 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,320 So even right now in this moment, I'm going to invite us 449 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:13,960 into into this just super quick spiritual practice. 450 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:17,480 And I also by way of Christmas gifts, I want to give it to you 451 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:21,960 as a gift to take with you this Christmas to continue to 452 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:27,800 practice in those moments when like the anxiety is there or the 453 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:31,240 frustration or the the comparison, like, is my gift as 454 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,520 good as my my brothers is my, you know, like, did I bring the 455 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:37,840 right casserole to the thing? Like what if I say no to that, 456 00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:43,520 that invitation that I got? As you wrestle with the dynamics 457 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,160 and the busyness of the season, I want to invite you into the 458 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,560 simple prayer. It goes like this. 459 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,840 As we inhale, we just remember, Christ, you are with me. 460 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:57,400 Breathe in and say it under your breath. 461 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:02,840 Christ, you are with me, and as we exhale we say together, give 462 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:07,240 me eyes to see. Let's do that a few more times. 463 00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,760 Christ, you are with me, exhale, give me eyes to see. 464 00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,200 Inhale. Christ, you are with me. 465 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:24,840 Exhale, give me eyes to see.