Reuben's Sermon for The First Sunday of Christmas:
Reuben's Theme: "...to be the Saviour of ALL people!"
(Christmas 1) - MORNING MASS
0800hrs. and 0930hrs at Saint George's Parish Church - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 29th. December 2002 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Isaiah: 61.10-62.3 Ps: 148 Galatians: 4.4-7 Luke: 2.15-21

December 29, 2002 Cycle B Christmas 1.

COLLECT
Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us through your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share in our humanity, so we may share the life of his divinity; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

FIRST READING Isaiah: 61.10-62.3

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.
The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

PSALM Psalm: 148

R R Praise, O praise the name of the Lord.
Alleluia! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights. Praise him, all you angels of his; praise him, all his host. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. RR
Praise him, heaven of heavens, and you waters above the heavens. Let them praise the name of the Lord; for he commanded and they were created. He made them stand fast for ever and ever; he gave them a law which shall not pass away. RR
Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea-monsters and all deeps; Fire and hail, snow and fog, tempestuous wind, doing his will; Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars; RR
Wild beasts and all cattle, creeping things and winged birds; Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the world; Young men and maidens, old and young together. RR
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name only is exalted, his splendour is over earth and heaven. He has raised up strength for his people and praise for all his loyal servants, the children of Israel, a people who are near him. Alleluia! RR

SECOND READING Galatians: 4.4-7.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians.
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.
And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'
So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

GOSPEL Luke 2. 15-21

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.'
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

POST COMMUNION PRAYER
Heavenly Father, whose blessèd Son shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home: help your Church to live as one family, united in love and obedience, and bring us all at last to our home in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reuben's Theme: "...to be the Saviour of ALL people!"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

So, what are today's readings all about?
and when we put them together, what is God telling us?

In our first reading today we hear a 'Song of Praise' from Isaiah.
Praise of God who has blessed us with salvation and righteousness.
"...for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and righteousness..."
Praise of God who cares about us.
God who cares about ALL of us!
"...the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations."

In our second reading today Paul writes about God sending his Son.
Born a Jew, obedient to Jewish law but born for the salvation of everyone.
You see, Paul knew that Jesus was born not only for the salvation of the Jews but the salvation of all nations.
Not converting Jews to Christianity, because Paul knew that the fulfilment of the prophesy of the coming of the Messiah was part of the evolution of the Jewish faith.
So, not converting Jews to Christianity (remember the label 'Christian' had not been invented then).
Not turning Jews away from their faith but teaching that we are ALL children of God.
That a good, law abiding Jew can be a follower of Christ.
That the Jewish faith... Jewish law... had taken a natural step forward when God became a human being... when God became a Jewish baby.
That ALL people can be adopted to the Jewish faith as taught by Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour..
To Paul, we are all Jews who believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Saviour, the Messiah, the Son of God.
"...no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God."
So where does all this take us?
Isaiah making the prophesy that Jesus, born a Jew is to be the saviour of all people.
and
Paul saying that Jesus, born a Jew is to be the Saviour of all people.
Is this getting too easy?
We better have a look at today's Gospel.
Ah yes...
The Shepherds!
We must remember who and what the shepherds were.
To be a shepherd, in Palestine, was one of the lowest and menial jobs.
A job done by illegal immigrants, down and outs, and what were considered to be the dregs of society. No Jew would want to be a shepherd and almost all shepherds would have been Palestinian Arabs - downtrodden, underpaid and rejected by society.
The shepherds...
Having gained their composure, having been frightened out of their skins by Gabriel and his gang, turn to one another...
'Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.'
Gabriel had made some impression. Already, they have turned to God. A Jewish God. So perhaps instead of saying 'Already they have turned to God', I should say "They have turned to God, already".
And off they go... To Bethlehem.... leaving everything that is important to them unattended... which shows how convincing Gabriel was.
They found Mary, Joseph and Jesus and they explained to Mary what they had been told about Jesus.
I love the fact that Good News of who and what Jesus is was confirmed to Mary and Joseph firstly by a bunch of society's rejects - a bunch of Palestinian Arabs - the shepherds.
"So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart."
Today's Gospel reading ends, with Jesus eight days old.
According to Jewish law he was circumcised and named. The name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Obedient to Jewish law, Jesus' life on earth begins.
Jesus born a Jew to be the Saviour of ALL people.

I want to tell you about a follower of Christ.
I first communicated with her over the internet, but I only met her once.
A Jewish widow, who I have corresponded with since 1998.
At first we would constantly joke about the fact that her name actually is Mary Davidson and her late husband was really called Joseph... but they never had a son... or daughter.
Joseph was killed by a car-bomb, in Jerusalem two days before his twenty-fifth birthday.
Mary, who should now be almost thirty, has been working with Palestinians in desperate need ever since.
She forgave the suicide bomber who killed her husband.
She has never hidden the fact that she is a Christian (or Messianic Jew as she likes to call herself).
I met up her once, about two years ago.
I got a telephone call from her, telling me she was in Newcastle Airport for about two hours and I went to see her while she was waiting for her flight.
I later discovered she was smuggling medical supplies in a very roundabout route, heading for Israel. That was a couple of years ago.
She's almost five foot tall and very Jewish.

As I said, we have been in contact by e-mail for about four years, exchanging messages about once every two weeks.
Almost nine months ago, last March in fact, Mary received a message to say that her mother was very ill indeed.
Mary sent me an e-mail telling me that she was going to visit her mother.
I haven't heard from Mary since that message, nine months ago.
I pray for Mary every day, but now I think I may never hear from her again.
Mary was, and is, a great inspiration to me.
A young woman, who believed that Jesus is the Messiah and came to save ALL people.
Mary, half joking yet earnestly serious, always used to say that Jesus was a good Jewish boy who just happened to be God.
Jesus born a Jew to be the Saviour of ALL people.

As Christians it is our duty to carry that message to everyone and do our very best to follow that teaching.
Not by trying to convert people, but by example and remembering that ALL people are children of God and must be treated as such.
This is the only way that people will turn to Christ... by our example.
As the new year dawns and the world threatens to become a much more dangerous place
Pray for the souls of those who would wage war.
Pray for the souls of those who practice revenge and retaliation.
Pray for the innocent and helpless who suffer during all conflicts.
And pray for the souls of ALL who do not truly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ - our Lord and Saviour.

Jesus... born a Jew to be the Saviour of ALL people.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

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