“BLESSINGS DELAYED BUT NEVER DENIED”

MATTHEW 2:13-23

13  Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

14  Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt,

15  and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."

16  When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.

17  Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18  "A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more."

19  When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said,

20  "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."

21  Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel.

22  But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee.

23  There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."

Jeanne Calment made Francois Raffray do something that most of us hate to do.  She made him wait.  She made him wait and wait and then wait some more.  It all started in 1965 when he agreed to buy her Paris condominium.  The agreement involved a reverse mortgage.  Each month Francois Raffray wrote Jean Calment a check with the understanding that when she died the condominium would be his.  It seemed like a good deal for both of them especially since Jeanne Calment 90 years old at the time and had no family.  So Francois Raffray started writing those checks and he was still writing those checked when  Jeanne Calment turned 95, and when she turned 100 and was still riding her bicycle, and when she turned 105 and 110.  Jeanne Calment went on to become the oldest living person in the world.  She actually lived to be 122 years old and to add insult to injury she outlived Francois Raffray by two years.   One of the things that made it possible for Jeanne Calment to live so long was her vivacious spirit.  She once told a reporter, “I have only one wrinkle and I’m sitting on it.”

Poor Francois Raffray.  He spent all those years waiting and he never got what he wanted.   I don’t know about you but that’s one of my pet peeves.  I hate it when I have to wait. If you’re like most people you also hate it when you have to wait.  Of course there are a few exceptions here and there.  Take the inmate on death row for example who was asked what he wanted for his last meal.  The inmate thought about it for a minute, then said, “I’d like a nice filet mignon with a glass of wine and a bowl of fresh strawberries for dessert.”  The warden shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said, “but strawberries were just planted.  They won’t be ready to pick for another six months.”  “That’s okay,” the inmate said. “I’ll wait.”

If you don’t mind waiting then you’ll be happy to know that you and God are going to get along just fine.  If you don’t like it when you have to wait then you and God aren’t always going to see eye to eye.  That’s because there are going to be times when God is going to make you wait whether you like it or not.  Just look at Mary.  I wonder what went threw her mind when she and Joseph had to bundle up their new born baby and run for their lives.  I wonder if Mary thought back to that day when she went to visit Elizabeth before Jesus was born.  As soon as the baby in Elizabeth’s womb heard Mary’s voice it began to kick and leap for joy.  It was a sign that the baby in Mary’s womb was going to be God’s only begotten Son.  So, Elizabeth rejoiced and said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”  Mary then did a little rejoicing herself.  She burst into a song of praise that we now call the Magnificat. 

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Now just six months later Mary found herself trudging through a miserable desert under a merciless sun.  It wouldn’t surprise me if at some point Mary bowed her head and had a little heart-to-heart conversation with God.  It wouldn’t surprise me if she bowed her head and said something like this, “So LORD, what’s the deal here?  I thought you said I was going to be blessed?  I thought future generations were going to call me blessed? You call this being blessed?”

It might also interest you to know that after Jesus is born Mary appears four times in the gospels and each time we see her she doesn’t look like a blessed woman.  Do you remember where we see Mary?  The first time is when Jesus is 12 years old and he gets left behind in Jerusalem.  Mary and Joseph search diligently for him and when they finally find him in the Temple Mary quickly lets him know how worried they were.  Instead of apologizing Jesus totally ignores her feelings and says, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  You call that being blessed? I don’t know about you, but if I said something like that to my mother when I was growing up I would have been in big trouble with my father.

The next time we see Mary is at the wedding in Cana where Jesus performs his first miracle.  When the hosts run out of wine Mary asks Jesus to do something.  Instead of immediately agreeing to help though Jesus gives his mother an earful.  “Oh woman,” he says,” what concern is that to you and me.  My hour has not yet come.”

Ouch!  You call that being blessed?  Then there’s the time Mary and Jesus’ brothers come looking for him because they’re worried about him.  They find him teaching in a crowded house.  When someone says that his mother and brothers are waiting for him outside Jesus replies, “Who are my mother and my brothers?  Here are my mother and my brothers.”  Ouch again!  Imagine how Mary must have felt when they told her what Jesus said.

The next time you see Mary in the gospels is when she’s standing there at the foot of the Cross watching her son writhing in pain.  Blessed are you among women?  I don’t think so.

Mary probably didn’t really feel blessed until she went to the tomb three days later and found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Mary probably didn’t really feel blessed until she went to the tomb three days later and saw that God had raised Jesus to everlasting life and glory.  Only then did Mary realize that she was blessed and that future generations would call her blessed.  

Mary was indeed blessed but she had to patiently wait for God’s grace to work itself out in her life.  She had to wait 33 years for God’s grace to work itself out in her life.  That might be something to think about the next time you’re sitting in traffic or standing in line or dealing with someone who just doesn’t get or wrestling with a problem that just won’t go away.  You do have a choice. You can loose your temper and react the way a businessman did one day.   He and his wife were standing in line when he suddenly began to complain.  “For crying out loud,” he mumbled.  “What’s taking so long up there.  Don’t they know who I am?”  His wife just shook her head. “Yeah,” she said. “I know who you are.  You’re a plumber’s son who got lucky.”

You can loose your temper or you can do what Mary did.  You can be patient and wait.  Try it and you might find yourself undergoing a marvelous and miraculous change.

That’s because when you’re patient and you wait it teaches you to be humble.

You begin to realize that what you want isn’t the most important thing in the world.

When you’re patient and you wait it teaches you to be thankful.

You begin to see the little things that you used to take for granted.

When you’re patient and you wait it teaches you to be compassionate.

You begin to see the pain and suffering of those who are less fortunate.

When you’re patient and you wait it also brings you closer to God.

You begin to see and understand that God really knows what’s best.

God really knows what you need and when you need it.  

Terry Boisot learned about patience and waiting for God’s grace to work itself out in your life.  She learned that lesson after her son was born.  Shortly after Ben was born Terry and her husband were told that he was blind and legally deaf and would never walk.  In the years that followed Terry found herself meeting with all kinds of specialists.  Ben had a regular teacher, a teacher for the visually impaired, a teacher for the hearing impaired, an  inclusion specialist, an occupational therapist, a physical therapist, a speech and language pathologist, a neurologist, an audiologist and pediatric ophthalmologist to name just a few.  When Ben was four years old he still couldn’t speak although it was obvious that he wanted to join the family’s dinner conversations.  He could make vowel sounds but that was about it.  Terry even tried tape recording their conversations and playing them back to Ben.  She though that it would help him in his efforts to speak.  Nothing happened until one day while the tape recorder was running and Terry was feeding Ben she noticed a strange look on his face.  There was a look of concentration on his face when he suddenly said, “I love you.”  That was it.  Those words were captured on the tape recorder, but Terry Boisot who today is an advocate for children with developmental disabilities  says, “I don’t paly the tape that often; I don’t need to.  I will always recognize the look in his eyes – even though they are blind – as he reaches for my face to give me a kiss.  That’s all I need.”   (Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul pp. 112-114)

They say that good things come to those who wait.  Mary will tell you that that’s especially true when you’re patient and wait for God’s grace to come to you.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

December 30, 2007