Sermon for November 29th, 2015
Luke 2:1-7
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Friendly Beasts: A Donkey's Tale
"I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown, I carried His mother uphill and down, I carried His mother to Bethlehem town; I, said the donkey, shaggy and brown..."
What? Well I *used* to be shaggy and brown! What do you expect? That was 33 years ago. I'm not exactly a young donkey anymore. But I still carry my weight. And today...TODAY! I will carry HIM again today! I don't know how he found me, after 33 years. He couldn't possibly have remembered me...he was just a baby. And when his family left for Egypt, I did not carry him, or his mother then. I stayed here in Bethlehem. I had my own family, my own son--my own foal, the son of a donkey.
I heard that He eventually came back, but not to Bethlehem. To Nazareth, his parents' home. My parents' home, and the place where our journey began.
Our journey began...hmmmphh...you know, I'm telling you my life story here, so I should probably introduce myself first. I am a donkey, or as you might also say in your language, an ass. There are many donkeys in my country, Israel. And there are many names for my kind: פֶּ֫רֶא (pereh); חֲמוֹר (Chamor); עַ֫יִר (ayir); עִירָא (ira).
As I have said already, I am not עַ֫יִר (ayir). That is a young ass. My son, he is still עַ֫יִר (ayir), but I am old now. Neither am I פֶּ֫רֶא (pereh). That is a wild ass. I make my living carrying things, carrying people. I am not פֶּ֫רֶא (pereh). And I am certainly not חֲמוֹר (Chamor)--חֲמוֹר is a dumb ass. If I were חֲמוֹר, would I be here talking to you, in your language? No, I am עִירָא (ira)-- a smart ass. We עִירָא, we see much. We know much. We...say much. Sometimes maybe too much.
I come from a long line of עִירָא. My great, great, great, great grandfather...he was עִירָא not just a smart ass, but a wise ass, too. He belonged to a great man, named Balaam. Balaam was a נָבִיא, a prophet. One day, Balaam was running away from God, and my grandfather was carrying him.
(You think I'm saying too much, that this is not part of the story, but it is!)
My grandfather was carrying Balaam when an agel of YHWH appeared in the path, carrying a sword. Balaam did not see the angel, but my grandfather--he was נָבִיא, he could see things--he stopped and would not go forward. Balaam grew angry, and he beat my grandfather, no doubt thinking grandfather was just חֲמוֹר (Chamor), a dumb ass. A stubborn ass. But my grandfather was נָבִיא (ira), he could say things, and so he turned to Balaam and said with his voice, "What have I ever done to you, that you would strike me this way?" And then the angel appeared to Balaam as well, and told Balaam that if his donkey, my grandfather, had not stopped, the angel surely would have killed him.
Balaam was nicer to my grandfather after that. And Balaam became a great נָבִיא, a mighty prophet who spoke of many things to come. One day, YHWH gave to Balaam a vision of a man would come to save his people. Balaam said:
"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near—a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel."
My grandfather--he was נָבִיא, he could see things, and say things...but he could also listen. He heard the words of Balaam, the words about a מָשִׁיחַ, a messiah, and a star. He spoke these words to his son, who spoke them to his son, who spoke them to his son, who spoke them to his son, who spoke them to me. A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.
