12/18/2011 CHANGING COURSE: A BEAUTIFUL THING
CHANGING COURSE: A BEAUTIFUL THING
I’m getting ahead of myself by reading our gospel lesson. The story of the wise men doesn’t come until after Christmas, long after the shep-herds left the manger. If you’re confused, I understand. Although, our Christmas crèches mislead us into believing the holy family, shepherds, & magi were all together, in reality, the visitation of the kings happens much later. We mark that event by celebrating the magis’ visit on Epiphany, January 6th, 12 days after the Nativity. (Sing, “On the 1st day of Christmas….”)
The reason I selected this passage today is because it has two instances of persons changing course -- the wise men, as well as the holy family. In both cases, a dream serves as God’s messenger. The wise men are told to take another route home, not returning to evil King Herod, as earlier agreed. Joseph, too, is instructed by an angel in a dream to help his family escape Herod’s plot to kill children under age 2. Joseph, Mary, & Jesus safely reroute to
These are not the only examples of Christmas story characters changing course. Joseph made a course change earlier, too. His plan to marry Mary became a plan “to divorce her quietly,” & was amended again when he was appointed the newborn’s adoptive father (Mt. 1:20).
Mary, after realizing she was pregnant, also left her hometown of
Let’s not forget the shepherds, which alter their work routine. They were well into the same old schedule of tending their sheep. Instead, amazing news motivates them to move the herd to
Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the magi, all change course at least once. Why the changes? Why the inconvenience? Why? Because God, himself, changed course (Jn. 1:14). It’s God’s fault. If God had remained on track, as had been the case for eons, it would have been no matter. God, however, changed course, a decision that precipitated not only an alteration for the characters in our story, but an epic course correction in the entire world, one that endures 2000 years later.
God establishes the model (& metaphor) that His people -- people of faith -- in order to be His heirs, will change. (We’re all God’s children, but are we his heirs?) Call it conversion, being born again, being born from above, getting right with God, or repentance. It’s all meaningful, momentous life change. God does something new. So must we.
And many have! We began this year with a sermon series entitled, “Doing Hard Things.” As witnessed by the responses which filled our bulletin board, there was a collection of things in our lives which required God’s help to change. Family concerns, health needs, control issues, un/employment problems – matters creating worry & fear & discourage-ment in our lives (all) got addressed. We were burdened by these matters for a long time, but it was during the opening weeks of 2011 that persons here committed to working on them in a new way. You took a risk. You deepened your relationship with Christ. You changed course.
During those weeks, for the first time, some of us found church to be more than hymns, sermons, & covered dish dinners. Amen! You found relationships here that were more than a smile & handshake on Sunday morning. Amen! Some persons gave up the habit of denying & running away from problems & instead, began the hard work of tackling them head on, right here, among both long-time & new friends. Some individ-uals quit blaming & scapegoating others for their shortcomings & disap-pointments. Instead, they charted the new & difficult course of looking deep within at their own failings & hurts that handicapped them. Consequently, friendships & family relationships dramatically improved, demonstrating that it wasn’t others, it was the individual who needed to repent. These are all hard lessons to learn, but valuable ones, transformative ones, ones that happened because you changed course.
We witnessed a course change right here with the choir last Sunday night. Their final anthem during the Christmas Collage was a change for them, something new, something that they really don’t do, & was not easy for them to do. They swayed when they sang the “African Alleluia.” It started with the sopranos & gradually spread through the rest of the choir. As more choristers rhythmically swayed, the singing got better. Then the smiles came & the singing improved even more. We, in the congregation, joined in the smiling & our smiles, appreciated by the choir, just propelled their God-praising voices further. What a feedback loop! Some folks in the choir were having way too much fun in church! Amen! The Chancel Choir of Christ Church was swaying & smiling & doing African music & loving it … & so were we. The congregation was into it, too. If we had been allowed to applaud last Sunday night, the ovation would have brought down our new roof. It could have been an encore.
Our choir became a symbol for changing course, for transformation. When one’s life is transformed in the love of Jesus Christ, others around change, too. It starts with individuals, then moves to others. That’s what the gospel is supposed to do. We really are all in it together. We do im-pact others positively. A good, healthy course correction causes a positive impact, sometimes immediately, many times over time. When we do the hard things that our Creator desires for us, when we rely on the redemptive help that the Holy Spirit alone provides, Christ truly shines through us. It’s a beautiful thing!
In the Name…. Copyright 2011 by G.D.Knerr at