FIRST READING Exodus 13:1-3a–11-15
1 The LORD said to Moses: 2 Consecrate to me all the firstborn; whatever is the first to open the womb among the Israelites, of human beings and animals, is mine. 3 Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, because the LORD brought you out from there by strength of hand; 11 When the LORD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and your ancestors, and has given it to you, 12 you shall set apart to the LORD all that first opens the womb. All the firstborn of your livestock that are males shall be the LORD’s. 13 But every firstborn donkey you shall redeem with a sheep; if you do not redeem it, you must break its neck. Every firstborn male among your children you shall redeem. 14 When in the future your child asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ you shall answer, ‘By strength of hand the LORD brought us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. 15When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human firstborn to the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the LORD every male that first opens the womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
PSALM Psalm 111
1 The king will drink from the brook beside the way; therefore he will lift high his head. 2 Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart ,in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation. 3 Great are your works, O Lord, pondered by all who de- light in them. 4 Majesty and splendor mark your deeds, and your righteousness endures forever. 5 You cause your wonders to be remembered; you are gracious and full of compassion. 6 You give food to those who fear you, remembering forever your covenant. 7 You have shown your people the power of your works in giving them the lands of the nations. 8 The works of your hands are faithful- ness and justice; all of your precepts are sure. 9 They stand fast forever and ever, because they are done in truth and equity.
10 You sent redemption to your people and commanded your covenant forever; holy and awesome is your name.
SECOND READING Colossians 3:12-17
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
GOSPEL Luke 2:22-40
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed — and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” 36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
WEARING THE KING’S CLOTHES
By now the frenzy of Christmas morning is over, the wrapping paper is all cleaned up and Christmas dinner now consists of left overs sitting in the fridge. We’ve all had time to play with the gadgets we received, assembled the toys that were purchased and pulled the labels off all the new clothing we were given. In many ways a change has taken place. It’s as if the old has been set aside and something new has taken control. The joy of the season has given us something new and we can’t wait to share the excitement with others.
Oftentimes the packages under the Christmas tree included much wanted or needed clothing and as the kids are getting ready to go back to school, they will, most likely, be excited to show the new outfits off. But I think the feeling is more wide-spread. I think we all feel better about ourselves when we put on something new. For the kids and those in the working world, it can provide a boost in our confidence. It can even enhance the energy level enabling us to tackle and complete our assignments. A new outfit can make one feel more comfortable and better received among our peers. Maybe the saying, “Clothes make the person” is true.
In our epistle text for today, Paul encourages the Colossians to change their wardrobe, if you will. In effect, Paul tells them that since they now belong to Christ, that they ought to look the part. Paul is, of course, not literally telling them to go out and buy a new wardrobe. What he’s suggesting is that the Colossians begin living lives that reflect the grace of God. He calls on them to take advantage of their new estate and make the changes in their lives that will allow them to fully reflect the love of God that they experienced in Jesus. It was a change to the old way of thinking.
As a matter of fact, this was a radical concept for the people back then. In the Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Wiersbe reminds us that the pagan religions of Paul’s day taught little or nothing about personal morality: A worshiper could bow before an idol, put his offering on the altar, and then go back to the same old life of sin. What a person believed had no direct relationship with how they behaved. And when we look at the world around us, it appears that things haven’t changed much have they?
No doubt there were many who heard the gospel and felt good about it. However, that’s where it ended. Jesus addressed this problem in the parable of the sower. Jesus talked about the people who gladly receive the good news, but as soon as the allures of the world come knocking, the excitement fades and they return to their old habits. Luke gives us several actual examples of these types of people in his gospel.
Luke tells of three occasions where several people came to Jesus and declared that they would follow Him, only to make one excuse after another. One man says “I will follow you wherever you go.” He’s easily put off when Jesus says that He will have no place to lay His head. A second man says he will follow “right after I bury my father,” and Jesus sees right through him. A third says, “Let me first say farewell to those at my home,” and Jesus sends him away. The same problem continues today. We have people sitting in our churches who love Jesus on Sunday, but there’s no change in their lives, so they go right back out and do whatever they please on Monday. But Paul is telling the people of Colossus, and us, that things need to change.
Paul says to love Christ is to be a new creation and to be crucified and resurrected with Him. Therefore, we need a new set of clothes, a new look, a new appearance, a new attitude when we dedicate our lives to Him. There should be a difference between us, as Christians, and the rest of the people in the culture in which we live. We shouldn’t simply be a reflection of the world around us, we need to have a new focus, a new response to the world and a new set of priorities. People should be able to see a difference between us as Christians and those in the world around us.
Ask kids today who their heroes are and you might get some surprising answers. Some may point to a political leader or some sports superstar. Some may point to a popular music performer or movie star. Next look at their wardrobe and you can probably see who influences them the most. Or you can look at the way they wear their hair and again you’ll see who they want to be like. In reality, we become that which we worship. Paul encourages us to “set your hearts on things above.” He wants us to keep our eyes on Jesus so that we can emulate Him in our lives. To do this, we need to do a couple of things.
The first step in setting our hearts on things from above, is to get rid of our old ways. Someone said there’s nothing as comfortable as an old pair of shoes. And there is some truth in that statement. Many of us enjoy wearing an old pair of jeans or our favorite T-shirt. As a matter of fact, we’ve all seen those folks who will go so far as to buy a new pair of jeans with holes already in them. I’m told it’s the style.
As much as we like to put on new clothes, some of us have a hard time getting rid of the old ones. Paul addresses that in the previous part of the text. He lists out several habits that we should abandon. Back in verse 8 Paul says that we’re to put aside our anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy and the filthy language that comes from our mouths. Not only that, but the lying has to stop. It’s quite a list, and as we look at it, it becomes obvious that this may be easier said than done in some cases. Some of these sins have established strongholds in our lives. We may have even justified some of them and found ways to make them look acceptable, but Paul reminds us that they’re to be dealt with by the wrath of God.
You see, we can make all kinds of excuses for what we do. We lie to each other and pretend that God doesn’t care. We hold grudges, cheat others, hold on to our anger telling ourselves that’s just who we are. We gossip, covet our neighbor’s property and despise the neighbor up the street. It’s as if God’s commands are suspended in some cases. But Paul tells us otherwise. We’re to put away all these things, the Old Adam, because God does care.
I heard a story about a man who went with some friends to an amusement park one hot summer day. They decided to go on a white water rafting ride so they could cool off. As you would expect, they got soaked. As they got off the ride, they looked at each other and began debating whether or not to go back to the car and change clothes. No one wanted to admit just how uncomfortable they were, so they decided they would continue on. They spent the next two hours feeling sloppy and washed out. Whenever one of them would ask another if they wanted to go back to the car, the reply was always the same. “I’m okay. Did you want to go back to the car?” “No. I’m okay.” Back and forth it went.
That night as they were driving home, the man said to his friends, “I can’t wait to get home and get changed. I’ve been miserable all afternoon.” One by one, they all confessed the same thing. What we’re wearing can make us miserable. The same is true about sin.
Annie Dillard, in her book Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, writes: At the end of the island I noticed a small green frog. He was exactly half in and half out of the water. He was a very small frog with wide, dull eyes. And just as I looked at him, he slowly crumpled and began to sag. The spirit vanished from his eyes as if snuffed out. His skin emptied and drooped; his very skull seemed to collapse and settle like a kicked tent. An oval shadow hung in the water behind the drained frog: then the shadow glided away. The frog skin bag started to sink. I had read about the water bug, but never seen one.
“Giant water bug” is really the name of the creature, which is an enormous, heavy-bodied, brown beetle. It eats insects, tadpoles, fish, and frogs. Its grasping forelegs are mighty and hooked inward. It seizes a victim with these legs, hugs it tight, and paralyzes it with enzymes injected during a vicious bite. Through the puncture holes it shoots a poison that dissolves the victim’s muscles, bones, and organs — all but the skin — and through it the giant water bug sucks out all the victim’s body, reducing it to liquid. That’s what sin can do to a person.
Sin can suck the life out of you. You cannot walk with Christ and at the same time do things you know are contrary to what the Bible teaches. Your spiritual life will be sucked out of you. Your walk will be filled with disappointment, guilt, and discouragement. That’s why you must confront it. One of the basic principles in a twelve-step program is admitting that you have a problem. Recovery cannot take place until you’re honest with yourself and confront your failings. Once you do, then you can begin dealing with it and reclaim your life. At that point, with God’s help, we can put on the new wardrobe that God provides through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus shows us the way to live a life that is both meaningful and joyful, as well as, pleasing to God. When Paul says, “Put on Christ,” he’s saying that we should live life as though Christ were living through us. Again, it all goes back to asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” It’s not only a moral imperative, it’s also a way to find joy and happiness in life. Jesus shows us the way to live a completely satisfying life. He offers us everything we need to find our fulfillment without having to revert back to our old lifestyles. Your life will never be the same when you yield your life to Christ and decide to walk with Him.
I came across a story on the internet about a man named Don Calhoun. Back in 1993 he worked for five dollars an hour at an office supply store in Bloomington, Illinois. Tickets to a professional basketball game were so expensive that although he lived close enough to the arena, he had only attended two Chicago Bulls’ basketball games in his life. It was a pretty special moment when he arrived for his third game ever. A woman who worked for the Bulls’ organization walked up to him and told him they were selecting him to take part in a promotional event during the game called the “Million-Dollar Shot.”
The shot came after a time-out in the third quarter. If Calhoun could shoot a basket standing 79 feet away — meaning, he had to stand behind the free-throw line on the opposite end of the court and throw the ball three-quarters of the length of the court — he would win a million dollars.
Calhoun played basketball at the Bloomington YMCA, but he had never tried a shot like this before. He took the basketball in his hands and looked over at Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bulls. He could see they were pulling for him. Calhoun stepped to the line and let it fly.
As soon as the basketball left his hand, coach Phil Jackson said, “It’s good.” Indeed, the ball went through the basket with a swish. The stadium crowd went wild. Calhoun rushed into the arms of Michael Jordan and the rest of the Bulls’ players crowded around slapping him on the back. When Don Calhoun went home that night, he had only two dollars in his wallet, but he would receive $50,000 a year for the next twenty years of his life. His life had been changed in an instant. Can you imagine having that kind of life-changing experience?
That’s exactly what happens when we quit living for ourselves and start living our lives for God. O we may look the same, but in Christ we’re a new creation. We’re living the baptismal promise. In Christ we are joint heirs with Him and therefore we can proudly begin to live the life and take on a wardrobe that befits a child of the King.
Amen.