Where’s Baby Jesus?

Jody Winston

28-Nov-2004

1 8:30 am Sermon
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”1
I don’t know about you, but when I hear today’s Gospel Reading I think to my-
self that this reading cannot be the correct reading for the First Sunday in Advent.
Perhaps you feel this way too.
I feel like asking, “What should I do?” since it sounds like the end of the
world is coming and we need to get ready. I also want to ask, “Where’s Baby
Jesus?” because I’ve been bombarded with Christmass merchandise since before
All Saint’s Day. Maybe you have had these feelings too.
We all know what the stores want us to do during this season. Buy. Buy.
And buy some more. To get us in to the stores, real or virtual, they send us
advertisements about the products that we need to have.
To give us plenty of time to make these purchases, they have expanded the
time they advertised Christmass presents from a few days before Christmass to a
period starting before November up to, and often including Christmass Day. It’s
simple to see why they do this. This time of the year is their most profitable period,
so they will lengthen the day of giving as long as possible in order to maximize
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

1
the time they have to sell; thus, maximizing their profits. You will not be able to
find Jesus in the merchandise unless you want to purchase him. Any god that you
can pick up in a store and take home will not hear you in your time of need and
cannot save you.
The author of today’s Gospel Reading has a different idea of what we should
be doing and he also has a different god, a God that isn’t for sale. According to
today’s Gospel, the first thing that we are to do is to stop trying to divine the time
when the world will end.2 For when we try to find out when the world will end,
we are sinning just like Adam and Eve who also wanted to know something God
told them was out of their reach.3
The second thing that we are to do is to set our priorities correctly.4 There
is nothing wrong with having a good time, unless that becomes your primary
priority. For when we do this, we have placed our desires ahead of God’s. This
happens when we are more focused on buying stuff rather than doing God’s will.
Likewise, there is nothing wrong with marriage unless the wedding becomes more
important than God. That’s why the Church has traditionally taught that weddings
shouldn’t be held on Sundays, Holy Days, or during Lent since these times are
reserved to worship God and to reflect on the cost of our salvation.
The final thing that we are to do is to be on watch. We are told to be on the
lookout for Jesus at all times, both during the day and during the night.5 This
watch begs the questions of “Who are we looking for?” and “Where will we find
Jesus?”. Some people have been taught that we are looking for the second coming
of Jesus. The problem with the concept of the second coming is that this phrase is
never used in the Bible. The word in Matthew 24:37, translated in today’s reading
as “coming,” does not refer to a second coming of Jesus because the word literally
means being beside. How can Jesus come again if He is already here beside us?
2
Matthew 24:36.
3
Genesis 2:16-17.
4
Matthew 26:37-39.
5
Matthew 24:40-44.

2
Also, the phrase found in verses 40 and 41, translated as “will be taken” would be
better translated as “will go along with.” Jesus want us to walk with Him. So, all
that is happening when one leaves their work or another leaves their home is that
one person sees Jesus and follows Him while the other does not.
Not only does today’s Gospel reading clearly show the falseness of the second
coming, but also this can be shown throughout the Gospel according to Matthew.
Turning to Matthew 1:23, we hear that God promises to be with us. This promise
is repeated once again at the closing of Matthew, in Matthew 28:30, where Jesus
once again promises to be with us. If He is here, He does not need to come again.
But the knowledge that Jesus is here with us still does not tell us what He
looks like. In other words, “How would you know if God was at your door in the
middle of the night?”.6 The author of Matthew answers this question throughout
the Gospel and perhaps presents the clearest answer in the next chapter. In His
final discussion on what Heaven will look like, Jesus tells us that everyone will be
separated into two groups. The group going to Heaven is those who served Jesus
Himself by providing food, drink, and clothes, by welcoming, and by visiting the
sick and those in prison. The other group, who didn’t serve, is condemned to
eternal punishment. The people who found Jesus found Him in service to those in
need.7 The author of Matthew tells us that Jesus looks like someone who we need
to help.
We have heard what Jesus expects us to do but it might be difficult to hear
the Good News in today’s Gospel. The Good News today can be summed up in
one word, Emmanuel. God is with us. He is there when we serve others. He has
promised that He will be here today in the Baptism of Alisha Brit. He will be with
us during His meal. He is with us in this assembly. He is with all of us here. And
unlike others, He will always be with us: in our pain, in our suffering, and in our
loss. He isn’t leaving us.
6
Matthew 24:33.
7
Matthew 25:40, 45.

3
 The amazing part is not that people will disappear to follow Jesus nor is it that
Jesus does not know when the world will end, but it is that God has given everyone
of us the times and the opportunities to serve Him by serving others. It will not
be easy since the world is full of thorns, but we know that no matter where we go
God is there bringing life into a world full of mysery and pain.
Go in peace and serve the L ORD.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”

2 11:00 am Sermon
Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.8
I don’t know about you, but when I heard today’s Gospel Reading I thought
of REM’s song “It’s The End of The World As We Know It.” And you might feel,
along with me, that this reading cannot be the correct reading for the First Sunday
in Advent.
I feel like asking, “What should I do?” because the end of the world is coming
and we need to get ready. I also want to ask, “Where’s Baby Jesus?” because
I’ve been bombarded with Christmass merchandise since before All Saint’s Day.
Maybe you have had these feelings too.
To give us plenty of time to make these purchases, they have expanded the
time they advertised Christmass presents from a few days before Christmass to a
period starting before November up to, and often including Christmass Day. It’s
simple to see why they do this. This time of the year is their most profitable period,
so they will lengthen the day of giving as long as possible in order to maximize
the time they have to sell; thus, maximizing their profits. You will not be able to
find Jesus in the merchandise unless you want to purchase him. Any god that you
8
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

4
can pick up in a store and take home will not hear you in your time of need and
cannot save you.
The author of today’s Gospel Reading has a different idea of what we should
be doing and he also has a different god, a God that isn’t for sale. According to
today’s Gospel, the first thing that we are to do is to stop trying to divine the time
when the world will end.9 For when we try to find out when the world will end,
we are sinning just like Adam and Eve who also wanted to know something God
told them was out of their reach.10
The second thing that we are to do is to set our priorities correctly.11 There
is nothing wrong with having a good time, unless that becomes your primary
priority. For when we do this, we have placed our desires ahead of God’s. This
happens when we are more focused on buying stuff rather than doing God’s will.
Likewise, there is nothing wrong with marriage unless the wedding becomes more
important than God. That’s why the Church has traditionally taught that weddings
shouldn’t be held on Sundays, Holy Days, or during Lent since these times are
reserved to worship God and to reflect on the cost of our salvation.
The final thing that we are to do is to be on watch. We are told to be on the
lookout for Jesus at all times, both during the day and during the night.12 This
watch begs the questions of “Who are we looking for?” and “Where will we find
Jesus?”. Some people have been taught that we are looking for the second coming
of Jesus. The problem with the concept of the second coming is that this phrase is
never used in the Bible. The word in Matthew 24:37, translated in today’s reading
as “coming,” does not refer to a second coming of Jesus because the word literally
means being beside. How can Jesus come again if He is already here beside us?
Also, the phrase found in verses 40 and 41, translated as “will be taken” would be
better translated as “will go along with.” Jesus want us to walk with Him. So, all
9
Matthew 24:36.
10
Genesis 2:16-17.
11
Matthew 26:37-39.
12
Matthew 24:40-44.

5
that is happening when one leaves their work or another leaves their home is that
one person sees Jesus and follows Him while the other does not.
Not only does today’s Gospel reading clearly show the falseness of the second
coming, but also this can be shown throughout the Gospel according to Matthew.
Turning to Matthew 1:23, we hear that God promises to be with us. This promise
is repeated once again at the closing of Matthew, in Matthew 28:30, where Jesus
once again promises to be with us. If He is here, He does not need to come again.
But the knowledge that Jesus is here with us still does not tell us what He
looks like. In other words, “How would you know if God was at your door in the
middle of the night?”.13 The author of Matthew answers this question throughout
the Gospel and perhaps presents the clearest answer in the next chapter. In His
final discussion on what Heaven will look like, Jesus tells us that everyone will be
separated into two groups. The group going to Heaven is those who served Jesus
Himself by providing food, drink, and clothes, by welcoming, and by visiting the
sick and those in prison. The other group, who didn’t serve, is condemned to
eternal punishment. The people who found Jesus found Him in service to those
in need.14 The author of Matthew tells us that Jesus looks like someone who we
need to help.
We have heard what Jesus expects us to do but it might be difficult to hear the
Good News in today’s Gospel. The Good News today can be summed up in one
word, Emmanuel. God is with us. He is there when we serve others. He was here
today in the Baptism of Alisha Brit at the early service. He will be with us during
His meal. He is with us in this assembly. He is with all of us here. And unlike
others, He will always be with us: in our pain, in our suffering, and in our loss.
He isn’t leaving us.
The amazing part is not that people will disappear to follow Jesus nor is it that
Jesus does not know when the world will end, but it is that God has given everyone
13
Matthew 24:33.
14
Matthew 25:40, 45.

6
of us the times and the opportunities to serve Him by serving others. It will not
be easy since the world is full of thorns, but we know that no matter where we go
God is there bringing life into a world full of mysery and pain.
Go in peace and serve the L ORD.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”
Go in peace and serve the L ORD.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”

References