(click play to hear the sermon)
CHRISTMAS AND THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN FUTURE
Epiphany Sunday, January 3, 2010
Our Scripture today marks Epiphany Sunday, when we celebrate the appearing, which is what the Greek ‘epiphanero’ means, of the Gospel to the Gentiles, the three Magi from the east. As they returned by a different route they faced an uncertain future. And as Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus fled to Egypt they, too, faced an uncertain future.
Q: What do you think the first Christians talked about when they met together? Obviously Scripture, as well as what God was doing in their lives. While their future was uncertain in this new-found faith, they were experiencing the risen Lord Jesus Christ in their lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. So they told stories about their lives and the Lord.
This morning we will do just that – look at Scripture, talk about what God is doing in our lives as we face the unknown future of this new year, and specifically focus on one life. What are the ‘pictures’ that emerge from her life that we can look at and learn from?
ONE NEW LIFE 
Mary Emma Hope Allred was born in the closing hours of December 31, 2009, with life-threatening conditions. She is currently in the NICU at Seattle Children's Hospital.
Scripture: Ecclesastes 3:1
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven; a time to be born...."
THE BODY OF CHRIST IS EVIDENT
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:24b, 25b
"....God has combined the parts of the body..so that..its parts should have equal concern for each other."
GENERATIONS ARE IMPORTANT
Scripture: 2 Timothy 1:5
"I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in our grandmother....and in your mother...and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also."
Present in the room with Mary Emma were parents, siblings, aunt and uncle, cousins, and grandmother.
Q: What familial, generational relationship is God calling you to commit to you as you face the unknown year?
Scripture: Pslam 139:14a
"I praise you becuase I am fearfully and wonderfully made."
There were extended times of touching and quietly just looking, in awe, at this new little life.
Q: In what ways is God calling each of us to renewed sense of awe about our own creation?
OUR NAME MATTERS TO GOD
Scripture: Isaiah 44:2
"This is what the Lord says, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: 'Do not be afraid.....'"
Our names might not matter to some, but they matter to God:
Scripture: Isaiah 43:1
"Fear not for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine."
Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...."
Q: How does the uncertain future of this new year invite you to focus on what you CAN know – what God says about you from conception to this moment – 3 days thus far, for Mary Emma, and how many years for you?
OUR HELPLESSNESS AND DEPENDENCY ON GOD
Scripture: Psalm 91:1-2
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
If we could see ourselves as God does, we would see a helplessness and dependency on God no different from that of Mary Emma's.
Q: As true for Mary Emma as for us-in what ways do you see a need to renew your awareness of your dependency on God as you enter a new and uncertain future of his new year?
WE ARE OBJECTS OF GOD'S LOVE
Scripture: Luke 2:21-22
"On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name of the angel had given him before he had been conceived. When the time of their purification according to the law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.”
God has placed Mary Emma Hope Allred in our midst, and on New Year's Day she was presented to the Lord in the Sacrament of Baptism, not as a saving act, but as a covenant sign, that she is an object of God's love. Her NICU room became for us the 'temple' where she was presented to the Lord, with 18 people present.
Q: As you look into this new year with its uncertainty, what does your baptism say to you? (Consider spending some time intentionally renewing your own baptism).
GOD'S DESIRE TO BLESS US
Scripture: Luke 2:25-34a
"The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them..."
Q: When was the last time you blessed someone-not prayer for needs or wants, but simply a prayer of blessing? Ask the holy Spirit to show you in the midst of the uncertainties of this new year who needs you to bless them through an intentional prayer of blessing but also through time and tasks.
PARENTS ARE SPECIAL
As I looked at this scene, this verse flooded my mind and heart with truth and hope.
Scripture: Isaiah 49:15-16a
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, have engraved you on the palms of my hands;…..”
Q: As you enter an unknown new year, in what ways do you need to hear God saying this to you?
As I look at these parents it reminds us of God's call to us for them, to pay for them.
Scripture: Ephesians 6:18
“Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests….be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
CONCLUSION
Q: As you face the uncertain future of this new year, so does Mary Emma Hope Allred-What can we say, how can we face it unafraid, what can we know about these days ahead?
NOTE: On Thursday, January 7 2010 Mary Emma Hope Allred went home to be with the Lord Who watched over her existence, her life, from the moment of conception through her life in the womb to her birth and into His eternal presence.