Adopted as Christ's Own: A Sermon for II Christmas

Today marks a unique situation because we are about to graft two new members into the Body of Christ, but we are doing so on an atypical Sunday. Normally, we would be celebrating the sacrament of Holy Baptism next Sunday, on the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ. But one standing principle I have always held to is that I will always make an exception to the baptismal feast day when military deployment is the reason. Margo Neely’s father, Gus, is in the Army, and will be deployed to Afghanistan this week. So needless to say, baptizing Margo when her father can be here is simply the right thing to do.

With that being said, one of the challenges we are faced with today is that instead of hearing the heart-warming Gospel lesson where Jesus is baptized by his cousin John, we instead hear the disturbing story of an infuriated King Herod ordering the killing of all boys in and around Bethlehem who were aged two and under. Herod’s intention was to make sure that this new “King of the Jews” that the Magi had come to pay homage to would be destroyed, and Herod’s kingship would be preserved. An interesting thing to note is that our lectionary actually cuts out this horrible interlude – found in verses 16-18 of Matthew’s gospel. But since we are already “breaking rules” today, I felt like it was important to not try to protect you from the whole story form Matthew’s gospel lesson. We need to be reminded why the angel told Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt. And we need to know the horrific circumstances that Jesus and his parents avoided by fleeing to a foreign country. 

We don’t get any follow-up from this story, but I have to imagine that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived with this trauma for the rest of their lives. Had Jesus returned to live in Bethlehem, he would have been the only boy in his age group. Perhaps that is another reason – besides Archelaus being in control - that the Holy Family chose not to return to Bethlehem when they returned from Egypt. Imagine the stares from the parents of boys who had been slaughtered when Jesus arrived at the Temple, the neighborhood, or the marketplace.

But rather than editing, censoring, or altogether skipping perhaps one of the most unsettling stories in all of Holy Scripture for fear of raining on our baptism parade, I think that this story has a lot of wisdom for us to consider. 

I think first and foremost, this is a story about power. When the Magi showed up at King Herod’s palace in Jerusalem announcing that they were there to pay homage to the new king who had been born, Herod was immediately threatened. These exotic gentiles from the East travelled incredibly far – led by a star in the sky no less- to pay homage to a Jewish child. This turn of events was terribly unsettling for Herod - the paranoid, imbalanced proxy-king of the Jews. But in spite of his unstable mental state, Herod knew enough to suspect that there was something to the Magi’s shocking claim that a dramatic shift in power was on the horizon. Given this encounter, Herod did what he only knew how to do – he responded with violence.

And when Joseph was once again visited by an angel in a dream – this time telling him to flee to Egypt with Mary and Jesus – Joseph was doing what any parent would do. He acted in the best interest of his family, and particularly his child. Even if doing so was unsettling and inconvenient.

Thanks be to God that in our context here today, acting in the best interest of our children doesn’t involve fleeing the country to protect our children from a maniacal, violent king. But by choosing to have Margo and Aiden baptized today, Gus, Jodi, Guillermo, and Carla are indeed acting in the best interest of their children. They are loving them, and yes, even protecting them from the forces of evil that are still prevalent in the world today. Like Mary and Joseph did when they fled to Egypt, the Neely’s and the Taxes have made an incredibly important decision as parents today. And like Mary and Joseph, the Neely’s and Taxes will be faced with many more decisions as Margo and Aiden continue to grow. But from this point forward, the decisions that they make will be framed within the Body of Christ, through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. They are boldly professing that they need God’s help and our help in raising Margo and Aiden. They need us, their church family, to stand alongside them when times are good and when they are not-so-good. Jodi will need us to support her, Caroline, and Margo while Gus is deployed in Afghanistan. Gus will need to know that his three girls are being well-cared for while he is away. 

Carla and Aiden came by the church a couple of months ago to meet me and to learn more about the Episcopal Church in general, and Christ the King in particular. She mentioned to me that she and Guillermo wanted to have Aiden baptized and raised in church family that will love him and teach him about the love of God. It was one of the most joyful visits I’ve had recently. Carla and Guillermo are already making important decisions as parents. And as I said before, there will be many more.

As Margo and Aiden grow up, they will begin having to make decisions on their own. Being baptized was a decision that was made for them by their parents. But at some point, their walk with Christ will need to be something they claim and nurture for themselves. And I am a firm believer that a large part of their decision will be based on how they experienced church when they were growing up. Did they feel loved, supported, nurtured, and included at Christ the King? Was it clear to them that our leadership was as committed to their thriving as children and youth as we are to other programs and demographics in the church? Were they given the opportunity to know and love Jesus and learn how to apply that relationship to their daily lives? In a few moments, when Margo and Aiden are presented to the congregation for baptism, I will ask all of you to stand, and I will ask if you who are witnessing these vows will do all in your power to support these children in their life in Christ. And your response is “we will.” Gus, Jodi, Guillermo, and Carla aren’t the only ones who are making an important decision today. So are we. And we will stand before God and these families when we do so.

What I think is critically important for all of us to remember today is that raising children in a life of Christ is a full-time job, for the parents and for us, their church family. We all have important decisions to make long after today, when we decide to support these children in their life with Christ. The Neelys and the Taxes will have to decide for themselves how important it is to attend church every week as a family. They will have to make the decision as to whether or not it is important to attend Sunday School, which will mean arriving one hour early for church. They will have to decide whether or not they will commit to having their children participate in youth group at Christ the King. In this incredibly busy world with many, many organizations and extra-curricular activities competing for their time and commitment, the Neelys and Taxes will have incredibly important decisions to make for their children and family. What is most important to them? Who do they want their children to be around? Where do they want their children to be? And we as church leaders will also need to make decisions regarding how friendly of a place this is for children and youth. In other words, it goes both ways. If Christ the King doesn’t commit to nurturing young families, they might not flee to Egypt, but they will flee, and I wouldn’t blame them one bit. They, like Mary and Joseph,  would simply be doing what is best for their families.

On a personal note, I can’t think of a better way to love, nurture, and protect your children than to decide to make church your number one priority as a family. Christ the King and the Tree House Episcopal Montessori School have been a remarkable place for my own children. And I am deeply grateful for that. And I truly believe that no other place will equip us better to navigate this chaotic world in which we live with a spirit of love, wisdom, grace, and spiritual maturity than the church. But our church will have to continue to make young families a priority, and young families will need to make church a priority. I truly believe that making church a priority for your family is a matter of life and death. Not a King Herod-like death, but a spiritual death nonetheless.

In our lesson from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians today, Paul reminds us that [God] destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. That, my friends, is holy baptism in a nutshell – being adopted as children through Jesus Christ. Paul goes on to say, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.” That also, my friends, is baptism in a nutshell. Thank you Gus, Jodi, Guillermo, and Carla for having the wisdom, courage, and spiritual discipline to make a public commitment to raising Margo and Aiden as children of Christ here at Christ the King. And may God bless us all as we journey forward as a family in Christ, loving and nurturing one another as we grow in our faith as disciples of Christ.