It is my firm conviction, which may or may not be valid, that the theology espoused by the apostle Paul in his various letters that are part of the New Testament has led to a major and very unfortunate detour in Christian theology. That is especially true for what is called Christology, meaning the study of Jesus as the Christ. Nevertheless, despite my personal skepticism regarding Paul, Pauline theology became the normative and orthodox theology of the Christian Church by the end of the first century of the Common Era, and it has remained so to the present day.

Matthew and Luke believed Jesus to be the Son of God. There were many factors in the life of Jesus which led them to believe that, but the circumstances of his birth were the first of those many factors. Matthew and Luke were convinced Jesus was born of a virgin. If anyone was born of a virgin, God would have to be the paternal parent in that obstetrical miracle, or how else could it occur at all?

During Advent I am preaching a series of sermons called a Reverse Retrospective on the Life of Jesus. We started with the crucifixion two Sundays ago, last Sunday we looked at Jesus’ frequent theological battles with the scribes and Pharisees, and next Sunday, the Sunday before Christmas, we will of course consider the birth of Jesus. For today we shall be thinking about one of the earliest events in the public ministry of Jesus, namely, the choice of his twelve disciples.

Text – “Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.” – Matthew 23:31

Psalm 133 is a three-verse Song of Ascents which begins with a memorable and admirable proclamation: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!” But what is meant by the word “brothers”? And what is meant by “unity”?

Text – Out of the depths I cry unto thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice! Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! – Psalm 130:1-2 (RSV)

Jerusalem, the Holy City, Zion, the City of God, the City of Peace. The very word Jerusalem means “City of Peace,” but it has known little peace for the past 3200 years No city in the world has caused more political or religious discord than Jerusalem. At around 500,000+ residents in 2013, it has the largest population now it has ever had, but it isn’t size which makes Jerusalem so important, nor location.

God is the 24/7 God, the God who never slumbers nor sleeps. He is continuously “on the job,” and eternally at His self-appointed divine post. None of us is like that. None of us can be like that. We run out of steam and experience fatigue and require sleep to recover for the next day, but there are no days or nights to God, nor is there any need for physical refreshment. God is not a physical being; He is purely a spiritual being, whatever that might mean (and no physical being can fully comprehend that).

Text – Nevertheless, God regarded their distress, when he hard their cry. He remembered for their sake his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love. – Psalm 106:44-45 (RSV)

God constantly showers us with goodness. In the words of Psalm 103, God “forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” (vs. 3&4).

Being properly religious doesn’t mean going to the temple to sacrifice animals in order to have your sins forgiven, nor does it mean going to church every Sunday in order to curry favor with God. Instead it mainly means doing things in the world, not in the religious community! It means to do justice (an active verb yoked with a divine requirement for the world), to love kindness (another active verb yoked with one of the greatest of biblical virtues), and to walk humbly with your God (an active verb closely connected to a biblically-based adverb), and we are to do that on behalf of God.

Text – When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God repented of the evil he said he would do to them, and he did not do it. – Jonah 3:10 (RSV)

Through the years I have read articles of serious people trying to argue seriously that Jonah could actually have been swallowed by a whale, and that he could have survived for three days and three nights in the great mammal’s (not fish’s) innards. To this I say: Oh, for heaven’s sake! The story line of the prophecy of Jonah was never meant to be taken literally!

Text – But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord. – Jonah 1:3 (RSV)

Text – Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” – Genesis 2:18

Text – But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war, and God has commanded me to make haste. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” – II Chronicles 35:21 (RSV)

Text – And he called out with mighty voice, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! It has become a dwelling place of demons, a haunt of every foul spirit, a haunt of every foul and hateful bird.” – Revelation 18:2 (RSV)

...Tthere is a strong tendency for powerful or self-satisfied people individually to delude themselves into thinking that they don’t sin. Little people sin – poor people, underemployed people, wage earners, the perennially ill, the psychologically warped – but powerful people, winners, the truly successful, don’t sin. Sin is for losers. Righteousness, and perhaps even rightness, and an honorable reputation, are for winners.

Text – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.” – John 14:6 (RSV)

Text – But Paul went down and bent over him, and embracing him said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” – Acts 20:10