Immanuel's Surprise

REFLECTION QUOTES

“How any of us reacts to [Jesus] is a question not only of historical investigation but also of existential decision…. What is beyond dispute is that Jesus of Nazareth is one of those perennial questions in history with which mankind is never quite done. In a ministry of two or three years He attracted and infuriated His contemporaries, mesmerized and alienated the ancient world, unleashed a movement that has done the same ever since, and so changed the course of history forever.”

~J.P. Meier, American biblical scholar in The New York Times

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”

~Jim Carrey (1962-present), Canadian-American actor

“My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being mediocre. And that’s always pushing me, pushing me. Because even though I’ve become Somebody, I still have to prove that I’m Somebody. My struggle has never ended and it probably never will.”

~Madonna, American entertainer, considered the “Queen of Pop”

“I think what I and most other sociologists of religion wrote in the 1960s about secularization was a mistake. Our underlying argument was that secularization and modernity go hand in hand…”

“Some people seem to gravitate from one fundamentalism to another, from some kind of secular fundamentalism into a religious fundamentalism or the other way around….”

~Peter L. Berger (1929-2017), Austrian-born sociologist at Boston University

“The dignity of human nature, fashioned in the divine image, is such that God can take it for himself—and keep it.”

~Dr. Nigel Cameron, bioethicist and writer

SERMON PASSAGE

Matthew 1:18-25 (ESV)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothedto Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.