not a hallmark christmas, part 2
So God showed up in a manger. The larger question was why? Why were his kids longing for salvation so desperately? Walk down any city street in America and you do not typically meet someone who is living in a posture of longing for salvation. Most are on their cell phone to fill the space between appointments, plugged into their iPod so they can stay away from their own thoughts, or chatting it up with a friend. Longing for salvation – not like the three people whose prayers shape the beginning of Luke’s narrative.
These people were desperate for something, anything to save them. They needed rescue from oppression. If you were to walk down their streets you would have seen it – everywhere. There were Roman Soldiers stationed in Judea, armed head to toe with weapons of warfare to keep the “peace.” There were hungry people, the one who were promised by God the land that He swore on an oath to their father Abraham. They had lost their land.
There was enslavement. They were captives in their land. Brutal aggression toward anyone deemed to be against Rome. The rich were getting richer through their own greed at the expense of the poor. People longed for salvation.
They cried out to God.
This was not the first time this had happened. God’s people were born out of slavery. The writer of Exodus tells us that the Kings of Egypt enslaved the people of God. They worked them ruthlessly to build their Empire. In this, the people of God cried out. They cried and God heard them. God always hears the cry, and when he hears it he always acts.
So he did. He delivered his people, Israel, from the hand of their oppressor. He brought them out of Egypt on the wings of eagles. He tells them as a people to remember this over and over again throughout Torah (the first five books of the Bible). He says, “Remember the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” This constant reminder told the people, “Remember what kind of God I am. I hear the cried of the oppressed.”
Israel goes from being slaves to being a nation. They eventually go to the land that God had promised to their ancestors. It is a good land. It is fruitful and abundant. It is a land that produces wealth. This land however, belongs to God. It is his, and he is allowing Israel to use it to honor him. He tells them that they should never forget when they are wealthy, that he has given them the ability to produce the wealth.
But they did. Years later a king named Solomon became the wealthiest man in the world. Part of his empire was forcing people into slavery to build Imperial Buildings and Religious Temples. The people who were slaves cried out. God heard them and rescued them. They became a nation and were given a land. Over time this nation who possessed a land that was not theirs became an empire oppressing people - who cried out because the formerly oppressed had now become an oppressor.
God acts decisively. He responds to the cry of the oppressed and allows his own people, the new oppressors, to be conquered. They are exiled and become slaves again. It is one large circular story. From slaves to slaves in a few hundred years. This is the way the Hebrew Scriptures end. God’s people are once again oppressed.
And what do oppressed people do? They cry out. Who hears the cry of the oppressed? God always does and he always acts. For over four hundred years God’s people Israel were crying out. They were longing for salvation. They were waiting for God to show up. Some historians even say that in the time around Jesus’ birth this longing for deliverance and salvation had reached an all time high. The people had a new oppressor – Rome. The wealthiest, mightiest, and most brutal of all empires. The people of God cried out. They needed God to show up.
In this time a little baby was born. When babies are born they cry. From the moment Jesus came into this world he identified with the very people he came to rescue. He cried. His cry was an echo of the cry of God’s people who were oppressed. Yet in his cry there was hope. In his cry there was peace for all people. For on that day a savior had been born.
In that cry there was a pronouncement from the angels that things were going to change. Magi from the East showed up and asked about a new King. The government was truly “upon his shoulders” from the moment he first drew a breath and cried. God heard the cry of his people, because he always does, and he showed up to rescue them again, because he always has.
At Denver Community Church, we spent time this Advent Season exploring these prayers. If you would like to listen to this teaching you can click on this link: DCC Teaching or subscribe to our podcast by clicking here: DCC Podcast.
These people were desperate for something, anything to save them. They needed rescue from oppression. If you were to walk down their streets you would have seen it – everywhere. There were Roman Soldiers stationed in Judea, armed head to toe with weapons of warfare to keep the “peace.” There were hungry people, the one who were promised by God the land that He swore on an oath to their father Abraham. They had lost their land.
There was enslavement. They were captives in their land. Brutal aggression toward anyone deemed to be against Rome. The rich were getting richer through their own greed at the expense of the poor. People longed for salvation.
They cried out to God.
This was not the first time this had happened. God’s people were born out of slavery. The writer of Exodus tells us that the Kings of Egypt enslaved the people of God. They worked them ruthlessly to build their Empire. In this, the people of God cried out. They cried and God heard them. God always hears the cry, and when he hears it he always acts.
So he did. He delivered his people, Israel, from the hand of their oppressor. He brought them out of Egypt on the wings of eagles. He tells them as a people to remember this over and over again throughout Torah (the first five books of the Bible). He says, “Remember the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” This constant reminder told the people, “Remember what kind of God I am. I hear the cried of the oppressed.”
Israel goes from being slaves to being a nation. They eventually go to the land that God had promised to their ancestors. It is a good land. It is fruitful and abundant. It is a land that produces wealth. This land however, belongs to God. It is his, and he is allowing Israel to use it to honor him. He tells them that they should never forget when they are wealthy, that he has given them the ability to produce the wealth.
But they did. Years later a king named Solomon became the wealthiest man in the world. Part of his empire was forcing people into slavery to build Imperial Buildings and Religious Temples. The people who were slaves cried out. God heard them and rescued them. They became a nation and were given a land. Over time this nation who possessed a land that was not theirs became an empire oppressing people - who cried out because the formerly oppressed had now become an oppressor.
God acts decisively. He responds to the cry of the oppressed and allows his own people, the new oppressors, to be conquered. They are exiled and become slaves again. It is one large circular story. From slaves to slaves in a few hundred years. This is the way the Hebrew Scriptures end. God’s people are once again oppressed.
And what do oppressed people do? They cry out. Who hears the cry of the oppressed? God always does and he always acts. For over four hundred years God’s people Israel were crying out. They were longing for salvation. They were waiting for God to show up. Some historians even say that in the time around Jesus’ birth this longing for deliverance and salvation had reached an all time high. The people had a new oppressor – Rome. The wealthiest, mightiest, and most brutal of all empires. The people of God cried out. They needed God to show up.
In this time a little baby was born. When babies are born they cry. From the moment Jesus came into this world he identified with the very people he came to rescue. He cried. His cry was an echo of the cry of God’s people who were oppressed. Yet in his cry there was hope. In his cry there was peace for all people. For on that day a savior had been born.
In that cry there was a pronouncement from the angels that things were going to change. Magi from the East showed up and asked about a new King. The government was truly “upon his shoulders” from the moment he first drew a breath and cried. God heard the cry of his people, because he always does, and he showed up to rescue them again, because he always has.
At Denver Community Church, we spent time this Advent Season exploring these prayers. If you would like to listen to this teaching you can click on this link: DCC Teaching or subscribe to our podcast by clicking here: DCC Podcast.