On The Run

Message;”On The Run”

Scriptures: Jeremiah 29:10-14 and Matthew 2:13-23

Jeremiah 29:10-14

(10) This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. (11) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (12) Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. (13) You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (14) I will be found by you,” declares the Lord , “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord , “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

Matthew 2:13-23

The Escape to Egypt

(13) When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

(14) So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, (15) where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

(16) When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. (17) Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

(18) “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”

(19) After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt (20) and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

(21) So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. (22) But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, (23) and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

This is the word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God.

Happy New Year!!

Is there no better way to start out the New Year than to be in God’s house. I pray, that all will go to their place of worship to start this New Year.

Let me start my message today by looking at the first statement we read in Matthew 2:13. “When they had gone,”. It was referring to the Magi who were “On The Run”, returning to their country without reporting back to King Herod.

We often envision them as riding on camels as they left. Modes of transportation were quite different in those days than they are today. Thinking about that, it brought to mind this story.

A primary Sunday school class invited their pastor to view their Christmas art work. On the bulletin board were posted pictures of the Holy Family at the manger, angels singing to shepherds in the field, and wise men bringing their gifts to the Christ child. One drawing, however, puzzled the pastor. It was a picture of the Holy Family boarding a jet plane with the pilot already in the cockpit. “Tell me about this picture,” said the pastor. The little boy who drew it spoke up and said, “That is Mary and Joseph and the baby making their flight to Egypt.” “Oh,” replied the pastor, “and who is that flying the plane?” “Why, that is Pontius the Pilot,” said the kid assertively.

Well, in our Gospel reading today, we catch up with the Holy Family “On The Run”. Not on an airplane but most certainly using the best transportation they could find. It was night. And they had to get out of Bethlehem in a hurry. For an angel of the Lord had appeared to Joseph in a dream saying “Get up! Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.” King Herod is on a rampage.

So, Christ our Redeemer quickly becomes Christ the refugee, “On The Run”. At the age of two or younger, even though Jesus was God, did He know what they were running from and to where and why? I’m not sure. But it gives us a great teaching lesson and something we all need to consider, as we start this New Year.

These days it seems as if we’re all on the run. So busy with day-to-day activities, always on the run to this or to that. We’re so busy being on the run that that we often don’t realize or recognize, that we are on the run from God, when we should be running to God.

My hope and prayer is that you are, “On The Run” to the cross.

In our gospel reading today the Holy Family were “On The Run” to the cross, whether they realized it or not. History tells us that King Herod had the Sanhedrin executed, then proceeded to murder his wife, his mother-in-law, and three of his own sons. Now Herod is threatened by the presence of a child, “the one who has been born king of the Jews”.(Matt.2:2)

Being “outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and in its vicinity who were two years old and under” (Matt. 2:16). He was the personification of evil! Carrying out the devil’s work.

To often we miss the fact that Matthew in his conclusion of the Christmas story in chapter 2, brings us back to reality. The Christmas story is not just about love, hope and peace. It’s also about hate and greed. The evil that is in this world. And our best defense against evil, the Devil, is to be “On The Run”.

Did you ever hear the story about a woman who bought an extremely expensive dress? When she showed it to her husband that night, he immediately exclaimed, “Why did you do that?” “The devil made me do it,” explained the wife. “Why didn’t you say, ‘Get thee behind me Satan?”‘ insisted the husband. “I did,” contended the wife. “When Satan said it looked good from the back too, I gave in and bought it.”

If the devil were a joke, we could laugh our way into a New Year. But evil is not a laughing matter. We all need to run from evil, in our busy day-to-day lives. Run from evil like the New Yorkers ran from the Twin Towers. Or get away from disaster like residents of the Gulf coast ran from hurricane Katrina. Remember the old Hee Haw line where a patient complains to Doc Campbell that he broke his arm in two places? Doc replies, “Then you ought to stay out of them places.”

We all know that being “On The Run” from evil, helps us to be, “On The Run” to the Cross. And many times as we are on the run to the cross we often run into detours.

In verse 14, of our Gospel reading today it tells us: “So they left for Egypt and stayed there until the death of Herod!” They ran from evil, on their run to the cross.

For Mary and Joseph, because of their jewish up bringing and heritage, Egypt was probably known as a land of slavery, a place to make bricks with no straw, to endure whippings for no reason. I’m sure they must have been more than a little hesitant to go to Egypt.

I’ve never been to Egypt, but I read of a pastor who took a trip to Egypt.

He wrote, ”I was there for three days once; it was two days too long. I paid to get on a camel then had to pay even more to get off. The dirt and poverty were painful to see. All I could think of was those words of the prophet Hosea. “Out of Egypt, I called my Son.” (Hosea 11:1) Being a child of God I obeyed His call!

We don’t know what kind of life they had while in Egypt the scriptures don’t say. But I’m sure that when, “an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” (Matt.2:19,20) I’m certain they were more than happy to head back to Israel, back to their home in Bethlehem.

But in their journey home, God had other plans for them. Matthew 2:22-23 records for us: ”But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Mary and Joseph I’m sure were over joyed to head home. But in their journey they ran into a detour. Instead of resuming life in Bethlehem of Judea they had to take up residence in Nazareth.

Wayne Oates, an American psychologist and religious educator who coined the word ‘workaholic’ offered these 5 laws for handling detours:

The Law of Realism—Life gives us facts. Denial may get us through the shock, but fantasies will not suffice forever. Example; A traveler in a hurry drove right past the sign that said, “BRIDGE OUT, 3 MILES AHEAD!” Three miles down the road there was a huge barrier blocking the road with a sign which read, “THE BRIDGE IS OUT, ISN’T IT?”

The Law of Compensation—When one part of the body is removed, kidney, lung, eye, a companion part tends to strengthen and take over that function. Example; My daughter-in- law’s father is blind. But he can hear everything. When his daughters were whispering about him over Christmas, he interrupted them and said, “You know I can hear every word you say.”

The Law of Perspective—No trouble enjoys everlasting life. This too shall pass. You can live by those principles.

The Law of Resurrection—The old life must die for a new life to be born. A grain of wheat dies and then sprouts. We have to let go of the past in order to embrace the future.

The Law of Fellowship—We need not face our detours alone. God is with us. The communion of the saints surrounds us. God knows the way through; all we have to do is follow.

I believe these 5 laws for handling detours, give us an accurate guide to becoming faithful on our run to the cross.

So,”On the Run” to the Cross while we may encounter detours we need to be running according to the will of God. To have a faith, like the Holy Family on the run to Egypt. They encountered a detour by going to Egypt and I’m sure they didn’t look forward to that. Then they ran into a detour as they headed for home. But they had the faith to follow the will of God. Remembering the words of the prophet Jeremiah. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11)

Have you that kind of faith as you face a New Year? Are you “On The Run” to the cross?

In all our running, we need the assurance that we are running with God. Remembering that He is present in every trouble. He will guide you through every detour. All the way to our eternal home.

What are you running from, and to, and why? Are you running from evil, to the cross and the salvation it brings, despite the detours? Do you have the faith it takes to do God’s will?

And most of all, do you know why you should be “On The Run” to the cross? Jesus suffered and died for you and me on the cross, then rose again to life so that we may be forgiven of our sins and can have eternal life in Him, only if we have faith enough to believe in Him.

Take hold of the words from Jeremiah: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord , “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord,”.

Are you, “On The Run” to God?

In His Service,

Pastor Joe