I’m not convinced we’ve ever truly understood Jesus

At least not as deeply or fully as he intended
- not “as deeply,” because we tend to stay on the surface
• we read the words and verses without penetrating their depth
• we grab at interpretations that make immediate sense
◦ and we settle for simplistic "commentary" explanations
- I don’t think Jesus taught in riddles – sometimes, perhaps
• he did not teach in a secret code that required deciphering
• but it's possible that his intent was that the meaning of his message would be revealed to us
◦ and only then will we be able to live it in truth and deed

 I’ll finish reading the verse in a moment, but first we will pause here
- every morning when I open my Bible, I don’t jump into it
• but at the entrance to the Scriptures, I take a moment to slow my breath, and focus my attention
◦ I bring awareness to God’s presence and let myself hear him say,
“at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you to speak to you there" (Ex. 29:42)
• so before I even begin reading, I’m already listening to God
◦ and there is always something in my reading worth writing
◦ (though not necessarily worth sharing with others)
- yesterday morning, when I began, I felt a familiar frustration
• my desperate longing is to actually hear God,
◦ for his voice to be so clearly in my brain, there’s no doubt I'm hearing him
◦ anyway, the first words I read yesterday were, “And the LORD spoke to Moses . . . .”
• normally, my eyes would have glided over that phrase,
◦ especially because what follows is long and repetitious
◦ anyway, reading the opening line, I may have felt a twinge of jealousy
▫ but then, like from a small inner voice I heard, 
“See, I do speak to you. Wasn't this what you were just now thinking? Desiring?” 

Friday morning, near the end of a long walk,I passed by a mother and her toddler son
- he was on a small four-wheel bike, perfectly fitted to him
• he was poised to move from asphalt to a dirt slope
◦ I said, “Looks like you’re about to go off-roading,”
◦ more for his mom’s sake than his
• he looked at me with the most engaging smile
◦ it was the loveliest moment of my morning
- I kept walking, but he didn’t take his eyes off of me
• he turned his head as I passed,
◦ so I had to walk backwards to hold his gaze
◦ his mom was quiet, but enjoying her son’s response
• if cherubs were small, toddler-looking angels,
◦ he could have been a model for the prototype

As we make our way back into Hosea this morning,

Let’s remember the passion running through the entire book
- it isn’t what we’re likely to feel when reading the bare words
• what it sounds like, is the ranting of an enraged deity
◦ but that is not the correct tone of voice
• if God were like one of the pagan deities of mid mid-east or Greece,
◦ he wouldn’t bother to rage at his rebellious people,
◦ he would just annihilate them
- this prophetic book, in fact, is the message of a wounded lover
• a husband who’s been disrespected, betrayed, and discarded
◦ yet for all that, he continues to try to reason with his wife
◦ he is not ready to give up, and he will not let Israel go
• so, we are not hearing the voice of anger, but of heartbreak

Imagine you're walking through an art gallery, and standing nearby is the artist whose work you admiring. So you point to an object in one corner of an especially beautiful painting, and ask the artist, "Why did you put this right here? What does it mean?" The artist--if a true artist answers, "Well, if I could explain it, I would not have had to paint it." You would get a similar answer from a poet, a composer, a sculpture, and most any other artist. "If I could explain it, I would not have had to write it, compose it, sculpt it." Their work does not always begin with an idea, but oftentimes with an inspiration.

Intro: I’m not trying to avoid jumping into Hosea

However, I want to enter Hosea's by way of Matthew's gospel
“When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt. 9:36-37)
- this is a simple observation, the Lord saw something, and it made an impression on him

We are returning to Hosea this morning

The prophet who had to experience in his own life, with his wife, what God had experienced with Israel
– a people who were unfaithful to him, not only by adultery,
• but prostituting themselves with other gods
• you may have guessed that I’m not comfortable with Hosea
◦ I’d rather be with Jesus in the New Testament, loving and rescuing sinners
◦ instead, Hosea delivers a barrage of condemnations
– Israel had a long history of turning their backs on Yahweh
• and he repeatedly called them to return to him
◦ when they didn’t return , he withdrew from them
◦ and there were consequences–enemy invasion and crop failure
• this time, they were reaching a point of no return
◦ I think it’s okay to say God was desperate to stop them, to reach them and motivate them to return
◦ so he used strong language and threats of calamity

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read 1 and 2 Timothy

Still, it was only a few years ago that two words snagged me
- here in this passage, Paul refers to the Hebrew Scriptures as “the sacred writings”
• I had always believed this regarding the Bible, but never in those precise words
• the effect they had was to motivate me to meditate on them
◦ eventually, I spent nine weeks sharing with you what I learned
- I’ve decided to tell you what these have done worked in my life since then
• what I hope, is to inspire your reading of the sacred writings
◦ and enhance your experience with God’s word in the new year

 The Advent theme for today is LOVE

I’ve never heard anyone argue whether that theme is appropriate
- the words of the previous themes–hope, peace, and joy–are all found in the biblical text
• but love doesn’t appear in the details of the Christmas story
◦ it feels right that love should be another theme, but is it right?
• does love add a sentimental tone that wasn’t there?
◦ our culture is certainly attached to an “ideal” Christmas
◦ a “Hallmark special” with smooth edges and a soft glow
- the initial reaction to the early announcements of Christ’s birth,
• given to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, shepherds, generated confusion and fear
◦ but love isn’t right there on the surface of the page
• love only comes in after much theological reflection
◦ the gospels tell the story, theology identifies its meaning--which is:
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (Jn. 3:167-17)

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Luke 2:10

Intro: So here we are again, with the angels and the shepherds

I chose to read only these three verses, because the story is so well known
- but when we circle back to it every year at this time,
• we run the risk of treating it as if it only exists for this season
◦ like the tree, and the lights, and the nativity scene with its little figures
◦ the heavenly choir shows up every year for their Christmas cantata
• they announce the arrival of Jesus, and with him, joy and peace
◦ the theme for the third Sunday of Advent is joy
- who am I to talk about returning to this theme only one day a year?
• how often do my Sunday morning talks return to joy?
◦ we weren’t hearing much joy in Hosea!
• if anyone needs to be reminded of joy all year round, I’m that guy

For my own sake, I decided to explore JOY

The Liturgical Calendar is a sequence of seasons, that organizes the year around the life of Jesus.
Liturgical seasons Invite us to take our place in the great drama of the Gospel
 To take the time to experience God’s love and redemption through Spiritual rhythms and traditions
 shared across generations and cultures and faith communities.
Practicing the liturgical calendar allows a lot of room for variety of expression, 
 and differences between church traditions,
 but its beauty is to help Christians of diverse backgrounds participate--collectively and individually 
 in observances, prayers and Scriptures that focus on the life and message of Jesus Christ.
Advent is the first of the seasons; it is the beginning of Church Calendar year.
It’s interesting to me that the beginning of the liturgical year comes as the end of our calendar year, 
 and that its traditions and vibe are so different than the Western New Year. 
The beginning of January looks forward and is filled with resolutions, plans, goals and energy. 
 It’s new exercise routines and new diets, at least for a few weeks. 
It screams - Don’t look back, yesterday is done, stay future focused for success.

I think you most likely know that I love the Scriptures

The more I read them, the more I get from them,
- and the deeper I go, the richer my experience
• however, the journey is not always pleasant, and
◦ some parts of the Bible are not as easy to digest as others
◦ Hosea is not one of my favorite books
• still, there are verses in it that are among my favorites
◦ other than those few, working my way through Hosea,
is like crawling through a long, dark tunnel
◦ but the Bible doesn’t have to please me; I only need to let it speak to me
- in chapter 4, Hosea continues to hammer theme of spiritual adultery
• it’s like he can’t let go of it–perhaps God won’t allow him to let it go
◦ or maybe his own painful experience haunts him
• so far, it’s been the central metaphor of his prophecies
◦ he will move on to other more pleasant analogies, but not yet