First Presbyterian Church
Keeping Jesus
Sermon for January 7, 2007
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Chapter 60 in Isaiah is the first of several poems about the glory of Jerusalem restored. Jerusalem had been destroyed by Babylon, its temple knocked down, its citizens deported. About 50 years later, King Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon, and the Hebrew exiles had the chance to rebuild Jerusalem. Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Isaiah 60:1-6.

1 Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

2 For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.

3 Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

This ends our reading in Isaiah. The abundance of the sea means the trade goods from other lands; ships full of treasure; prosperity is part of the hope for Israel. The regions of Midian, Ephah, and Sheba 1 are the names of the sons or grandsons of Abraham, as are the rest of the names in chapter 60. The book of Genesis tells us that Abraham sent these sons east, because he had already given everything he had to Isaac.

Isaiah uses these same names to demonstrate that when Jerusalem is restored, these children of Abraham will return. There is plenty of room for them.

The psalmist imagines the day when the king of Israel is full of justice, righteousness, deliverance, pity, and redemption. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Psalm 72:1-14.

1 Of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.

2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.

3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.

4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.

7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

8 May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust.

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts.

11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.

12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.

13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.

This ends our reading from the psalm. These are all such good things, such great hopes. The gospel of Jesus Christ is full of great fulfillments and continued great hope. Let's listen to the choir prepare us for the reading of the gospel.

Anthem

Epiphany is from the Greek word meaning arrival. In the western church, epiphany has historically been associated with the arrival of the magi to the child Jesus, and celebrated twelve days after Christmas, January 6. Epiphany was yesterday. It is one of the oldest Christian celebrations, along with Easter and Pentecost. The magi came from the east, where Abraham sent his sons and grandsons. We'll be reading from my translation. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Matthew 2:1-12.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the rising and have come to worship him.”

When Herod the king heard this, he trembled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ is born.

They told him,

“In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet; and you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the princes of Judah; for from you shall come out a leader, who will shepherd my people Israel.'”

Then Herod summoned the Magi secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying,

“Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”

When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the rising led them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, and going into the house they saw the child with Mary, his mother and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

 

This ends our reading from God's word.

My unabridged dictionary has 55 definitions for the word ‘keep.' For some of us, the word ‘keep' means not to share, like “keep your germs to yourself” or “she kept all the good chocolate for herself.”

Here's how I mean ‘keep' today, when I suggest we all keep Jesus. To associate with; he keeps good company. To have care of: she keeps my dog when I travel. To observe: to keep a promise. To remain in: please keep your seats. To be accurate; the watch keeps good time. To stay on course; keep to the path. To last; the food will keep in the refrigerator. To persist: keep at it.

When the magi found the child Jesus, they got down on their knees and worshipped him. Sometimes worship means to honor or pay homage. The magi recognized who Jesus was, and were glad. They shared their treasure with him, like the tribute mentioned in Psalm 72, and the gifts mentioned in Isaiah. The gifts weren't a bribe or a kickback, just gifts presented out of joy.

Magi were astronomers and astrologers, but they were also royal advisors. They knew politics and the ways of the world. Herod wanted them to side with him, but the magi did not. They did not want to be Herod's allies.

In politics, government leaders are careful whose side they're on; who are the enemies, who are the allies? The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I'll vote for your bill if you vote for mine; never mind if I think it's a good bill or not. It doesn't matter what your candidate's stand is; I'll vote for your candidate if you give me what I want. I know part of it is the conventional give and take of politics, but all the cooperating and compromising can turn into coercion and corruption. Some people feel so threatened they protect themselves at any cost.

Some of you probably read the Dilbert cartoon last month where Dilbert says “I found a way to save a million dollars by spending only $10,000.” The pointy haired boss says “The $10,000 would come out of my budget but the savings would go into someone else's budget. It's not feasible.” Dilbert responds, “Our stockholders might disagree.” The pointy-haired boss says “That's why they aren't invited to meetings.” 2

The boss never sees the big picture, just his own little budget.

Some of us don't see the big picture either. And so we have psalm 72 to remind us what the big picture is. Here's what a king is supposed to do, this is how people in power should behave.

They should work on justice and prosperity, defending the poor, delivering the needy, and crushing the oppressor. Sometimes leaders find it more convenient to confuse the poor with the oppressor, and deliver the oppressor and crush the poor instead. Sometimes people are too focused on prosperity to see that justice happens. Sometimes people's handouts to the poor don't deliver them, they make them dependent.

But during this leader's time, righteousness should flourish and peace abound. This leader's reign will be vast, and traditional enemies will recognize the leader's power, all because the needy are delivered, their lives are saved, and oppression and violence are ended, because to this leader, their lives are important. When we do what is right, we are powerful with God's power. That is not something to brag about, or claim for ourselves, but it is something to hope and strive for, as in psalm 72.

The psalm is attributed to Solomon, but Solomon did not fulfill these hopes, and neither did his sons or grandsons. The other kings, herods, Caesars, and emperors didn't do this. These hopes are still waiting to be fulfilled.

So many places in the world need peace, and so many people need justice, we are still working on all those things. It all seems complicated and overwhelming. That's why it's tempting to welcome simpler answers.

I found one last week, at a church website that said “Most of the ills that afflict our modern society can be attributed to one thing. Do you know what that is? Evolution is at the root of many of America's most harmful and spiritual problems. Dr. Kennedy believes we must cut off the root of evolution with the biblical truth of creation.”

I couldn't imagine why he would say that, but I kept reading. “That is why he is launching Creation Studies Institute, a unique national ministry designed to bring people to Christ and equip Christians through the transforming facts of creation. Dr. Kennedy needs your help to launch this vital ministry. To thank you for your gift of $35 or more, Dr. Kennedy will send you the award winning, table top book, The Wonder Of It All. Inside, stunning images accompany the Lord's own telling, in the book of Job, of His creation.” 3

Oh, that's why he would say that. To sell books.

I read a little more about his marvelous ministry and all the amazing works he is able to do because of people who support him.

I would like to think that my gift of $35 could solve America's most harmful and spiritual problems and give me an award winning tabletop book. But I know it's just not that easy.

I read of increasing violence and hear of more servicemen and women possibly being deployed. It's hard for me to imagine any of Isaiah 60 or Psalm 72 coming true. But Jesus came in those traditions. Our light has come. Jesus redeems us from oppression and violence.

We keep the big picture in mind when we keep Jesus. We don't keep him in a manger or a cradle. We associate with Jesus, we care for Jesus, we remain in Jesus, we stay on Jesus' path, we last with Jesus, and we persist with Jesus, even when we don't always keep him perfectly.

May we all keep by Jesus, we keep with Jesus, we keep in Jesus, we keep for Jesus, we keep Jesus.

Amen.

1 Genesis 25

2 “Dilbert” Oregonian, 12-25-06.

3 www.coralridgehour.org, product code 101999. James Kennedy is a Presbyterian Church in America pastor. The PCA split from other Presbyterians over issues like the ordination of women and because they felt the others denied the deity of Jesus Christ and the authority of scripture.