Sermon for December 16th, 2018 - Revision history

Iraneal at 02:14, 15 December 2018

2018-12-15T02:14:39Z

Iraneal at 01:37, 15 December 2018

2018-12-15T01:37:46Z

Iraneal at 00:35, 15 December 2018

2018-12-15T00:35:53Z

Iraneal at 00:21, 15 December 2018

2018-12-15T00:21:50Z

Iraneal at 23:52, 14 December 2018

2018-12-14T23:52:42Z

Iraneal at 22:55, 14 December 2018

2018-12-14T22:55:04Z

Iraneal at 22:34, 14 December 2018

2018-12-14T22:34:48Z

Iraneal at 21:34, 30 November 2018

2018-11-30T21:34:11Z

Iraneal: Created page with "==Isaiah 7:10-17== ==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel=="

2018-11-30T21:23:11Z

Created page with "==Isaiah 7:10-17== ==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel=="

New page

==Isaiah 7:10-17==

==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel==

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 On the chosen day the pope and rabbi sat opposite each other. The pope raised three fingers. The rabbi looked back and raised one finger. Next, the pope waved his finger around his head. The rabbi pointed to the ground where he sat. The pope brought out a communion wafer and a chalice of wine. The rabbi pulled out an apple.With that the pope stood and declared that he was beaten. The rabbi was too clever. The Jews could stay.
-Later the cardinals met with the pope and asked him what had happened.  The pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me there is still only one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger around my head to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and water, to show that God absolves us of all our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of the original sin. He had beaten me at every move and I could not continue."
+Later the cardinals met with the pope and asked him what had happened.  The pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me there is still only one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger around my head to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and wafer, to show that God absolves us of all our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of the original sin. He had beaten me at every move and I could not continue."
 Meanwhile, the Jewish community gathered to ask the rabbi how he had won.  "I haven't a clue," said the rabbi. "First, he said to me that we had three days to get out of Italy, so I gave him the finger. Then he tells me that the whole country would be cleared of Jews and I said to him that we were staying right here."

@@ Line 63: / Line 63: @@
 So when the author of the gospel known as Matthew reads Isaiah, in Greek, the most astounding "sign" that stands out to him is the idea that a parthenos--a virgin--could actually give birth to a child (presumably while still remaining a virgin).  This would be nothing short of a miracle, and is exactly the kind of sign Matthew is looking for to add to his list, his story about the miraculous man named Jesus whom Matthew had come to believe was the Messiah Israel had been waiting for.
-The man named Jesus.  Not, of course, the man named Immanuel, because that wasn't Jesus' name.  Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which actually means God saves us.
+The man named Jesus.  Not, of course, the man named Immanuel, because that wasn't Jesus' name.  Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which actually means (appropriately) God saves us.  By the time Jesus was old enough to know right from wrong (which was presumably at a pretty young age) his people were certainly not living it up, eating curds and honey and enjoying peace and prosperity.
 To Isaiah and King Ahaz, Immanuel (God with us) was probably just a symbolic name implying that God is with US, as opposed to with THEM (our enemies in Israel and Damascus).
-But to the early Christians, largely because of Matthew's interpretation of Isaiah, Immanuel becomes not so much a name, as a title, a role, a description of who Jesus was.  And the emphasis shifts from God is with US, to God is WITH us, right here, right now, on earth.  And, in the decades after Jesus' death, they begin to develop the idea (again, pointing to this verse in Isaiah) that not only was Jesus the long-awaited Messiah, he was also God made flesh, walking among us, God-WITH-us.
+But to the early Christians, largely because of Matthew's interpretation of Isaiah, Immanuel becomes not so much a name, as a title, a role, a description of who Jesus was.  The emphasis shifts from God is with US, to God is WITH us, right here, right now, on earth.  And, in the decades after Jesus' death, his followers begin to develop the idea (again, pointing to this verse in Isaiah) that not only was Jesus the long-awaited Messiah, he was also none other than God made flesh, walking among us, God-WITH-us.  That's how they interpreted the sign of Immanuel in a new millennium, in a new way.

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 A virgin.
-So when the author of the gospel known as Matthew reads Isaiah, in Greek, the most astounding "sign" that stands out to him is the idea that a parthenos--a virgin--could actually give birth to a child (presumably while remaining a virgin).  This would be nothing short of a miracle, and is exactly the kind of sign Matthew is looking for to add to his list, his story about the miraculous man named Jesus whom Matthew had come to believe was the Messiah Israel had been waiting for.
+So when the author of the gospel known as Matthew reads Isaiah, in Greek, the most astounding "sign" that stands out to him is the idea that a parthenos--a virgin--could actually give birth to a child (presumably while still remaining a virgin).  This would be nothing short of a miracle, and is exactly the kind of sign Matthew is looking for to add to his list, his story about the miraculous man named Jesus whom Matthew had come to believe was the Messiah Israel had been waiting for.
 The man named Jesus.  Not, of course, the man named Immanuel, because that wasn't Jesus' name.  Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which actually means God saves us.
-Immanuel (God with us) to Isaiah and King Ahaz was probably just a symbolic name implying that God is with US, as opposed to with THEM (our enemies in Israel and Damascus)
+To Isaiah and King Ahaz, Immanuel (God with us) was probably just a symbolic name implying that God is with US, as opposed to with THEM (our enemies in Israel and Damascus).

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 "For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days (good days!) as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”
-Wait a minute!  Who is the king of Assyria?  I said that to the North and North East of Judah were the two more powerful countries of Israel and Damascus.  But to the North East of THOSE countries is the great Assyrian Empire...which is about to wipe Israel and Damascus off the face of the map, ushering in a golden age of peace and prosperity for the kingdom of Judah, for Ahaz and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  (Of course, then Assyria gets wiped out by Babylon, which wipes out Judah, and then finally Persia (remember Xerxes?) wipes out all of them.  There is always a bigger fish in the sea, about to eat the big fish that's about to eat you.
+Wait a minute!  Who is the king of Assyria?  I said that to the North and North East of Judah were the two more powerful countries of Israel and Damascus.  But to the North East of THOSE countries is the great Assyrian Empire...which is about to wipe Israel and Damascus off the face of the map, ushering in a golden age of peace and prosperity for the kingdom of Judah, for Ahaz and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  Of course, then Assyria gets wiped out by Babylon, which wipes out Judah, and then finally Persia (remember Xerxes?) wipes out all of them.  There is always a bigger fish in the sea, about to eat the big fish that's about to eat you.
-But for now, God, through Isaiah, is telling King Ahaz "don't worry."
+But for now though, God, through Isaiah, is telling King Ahaz "don't worry. Your enemies have bigger fish to fry."

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 Clearly that is not a true story, although it makes a good point.  But the next story is true:
-In 480 BC, Xerxes, the king of Persia invaded Greece with the largest army ever to be assembled at that time.  Xerxes defeated Sparta, the most powerful city in Greece, and then began marching toward the city of Athens.  The Athenians, terrified, did something entirely normal and understandable:  They turned to their god for help.  Specifically, the Greek God Apollo, and his earthly spokesperson.  The Athenians sent messengers to the famous Oracle of Apollo at Delphi to ask what they might do to avoid being slaughtered by the Persians.
+In the year 480 BC, Xerxes, the king of Persia invaded Greece with the largest army ever to be assembled.  Xerxes defeated Sparta, the most powerful city in Greece, and then began marching toward the city of Athens.  The Athenians, terrified, debated what they should do for several days in their assembly, but (as is often the case in democracies) could not come to an agreement.  So then they did something entirely normal and understandable:  They turned to their god for help.  Specifically, the Greek God Apollo, and his earthly spokesperson.  The Athenians sent messengers to the famous Oracle of Apollo at Delphi to ask what they might do to avoid being slaughtered by the Persians.
-The Oracle gave them this cryptic reply:  Only a wooden wall shall not fail.  Okay, that seems obvious enough, right?  Build a wooden wall around the city.  But they knew instinctively that this wasn't going to hold back the greatest Army in the land, at least not for long, and so in their councils, the Athenians debated the meaning of the Oracle's words for several days.  Eventually, someone suggested that the "wooden wall" might refer to the Athenian navy -- the line of wooden ships they had been building for several years.
+The Oracle (as Oracles always do) gave them a cryptic reply:  "Only a wooden wall shall not fail."  Okay, that seems obvious enough, right?  Build a wooden wall around the city.  But the Athenians knew instinctively that this wasn't going to hold back the greatest Army in the land, at least not for long, and so they continued to debate the meaning of the Oracle's words.  Eventually, someone suggested that the "wooden wall" might actually refer to the Athenian navy -- the wooden ships they had been building for several years.
 The Athenians abandoned their city for the ships, lured the Persian navy into the narrow straights of Salamis, where they were able to form a wooden wall of ships, and ultimately defeat the Persians and protect their city.

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:55, 14 December 2018
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	"And then what?" asked a woman. "Who knows?" said the Rabbi. "He took out his lunch, so I took out mine."		"And then what?" asked a woman. "Who knows?" said the Rabbi. "He took out his lunch, so I took out mine."
		+
		+	Clearly that is not a true story, although it makes a good point. But the next story is true:
		+
		+	In 480 BC, Xerxes, the king of Persia invaded Greece with the largest army ever to be assembled at that time. Xerxes defeated Sparta, the most powerful city in Greece, and then began marching toward the city of Athens. The Athenians, terrified, did something entirely normal and understandable: They turned to their god for help. Specifically, the Greek God Apollo, and his earthly spokesperson. The Athenians sent messengers to the famous Oracle of Apollo at Delphi to ask what they might do to avoid being slaughtered by the Persians.
		+
		+	The Oracle gave them this cryptic reply: Only a wooden wall shall not fail. Okay, that seems obvious enough, right? Build a wooden wall around the city. But they knew instinctively that this wasn't going to hold back the greatest Army in the land, at least not for long, and so in their councils, the Athenians debated the meaning of the Oracle's words for several days. Eventually, someone suggested that the "wooden wall" might refer to the Athenian navy -- the line of wooden ships they had been building for several years.
		+
		+	The Athenians abandoned their city for the ships, lured the Persian navy into the narrow straights of Salamis, where they were able to form a wooden wall of ships, and ultimately defeat the Persians and protect their city.

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:34, 14 December 2018
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	==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel==		==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel==
		+	Today's sermon is about prophecy in the Book of Isaiah, and particularly the "Sign of Immanuel" that is commonly read during the Advent/Christmas season, and is often interpreted by Christians as a prophecy about the coming birth of Jesus Christ.
		+
		+	Of course, the problem with signs is that they are always subject to interpretation.
		+
		+	Centuries ago, the pope decreed that Jews in Italy had to convert or leave. There was an outcry from the Jewish community, so the pope offered a deal: He would have a religious debate with the leader of the Jewish community. If the Jews won, they could stay in Italy. If the pope won, they would have to convert or leave.
		+
		+	The Jewish people picked an aged, wise rabbi to represent them in the debate. However, as the rabbi spoke no Italian, and the pope did not speak Hebrew, they agreed that it would be a 'silent' debate.
		+
		+	On the chosen day the pope and rabbi sat opposite each other. The pope raised three fingers. The rabbi looked back and raised one finger. Next, the pope waved his finger around his head. The rabbi pointed to the ground where he sat. The pope brought out a communion wafer and a chalice of wine. The rabbi pulled out an apple.With that the pope stood and declared that he was beaten. The rabbi was too clever. The Jews could stay.
		+
		+	Later the cardinals met with the pope and asked him what had happened. The pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the Trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me there is still only one God common to both our beliefs. Then, I waved my finger around my head to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground to show that God was also right here with us. I pulled out the wine and water, to show that God absolves us of all our sins. He pulled out an apple to remind me of the original sin. He had beaten me at every move and I could not continue."
		+
		+	Meanwhile, the Jewish community gathered to ask the rabbi how he had won. "I haven't a clue," said the rabbi. "First, he said to me that we had three days to get out of Italy, so I gave him the finger. Then he tells me that the whole country would be cleared of Jews and I said to him that we were staying right here."
		+
		+	"And then what?" asked a woman. "Who knows?" said the Rabbi. "He took out his lunch, so I took out mine."

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:34, 30 November 2018
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	==Isaiah 7:10-17==		==Isaiah 7:10-17==
		+	10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 13 Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”

	==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel==		==Messiah: The Sign of Immanuel==