Rejoice!

Isaiah 52:7-10

John 1:1-14

Today we are going to talk about feet. Take a moment and look down at yours. Then glance at your neighbor’s feet. They come in all sizes and we never notice them much except when they are cold or hurting. More often than not like the rest of our body, we don’t notice how much our feet do for us.

The Prophet Isaiah begins his message of good news by speaking of the messenger’s feet. He calls them beautiful as they traverse mountains trying to get to the people to proclaim good tidings of peace and joy for all who would hear the message. The messenger’s feet had gone a long distance to share this news. They had walked and run, jogged and hiked over hills and valleys. Gotten wet through rivers, then immediately were immersed in sand which rubbed them raw as the messenger kept moving.

This news couldn’t wait for the messenger’s feet to heal. This message was so important that no matter how exhausted the messenger became, the messenger had to continue on. Finally, cresting the last mountain, the messenger proclaimed to all the people, “Your God reigns! You will know salvation!”

What a message! It brought shouts of joy and tears of relief. This is what the messenger’s feet did – they brought a message so powerful that a whole nation burst into songs of praise and happiness. Now again, look at your feet. You have the same power as that long ago messenger. You too, can bring joy to another’s life. You too can traverse the mountains and valleys of the world as you share the good tidings that Jesus Christ is come! That our Lord and Savior bring eternal life in the form of a newborn baby that is here to die for humanity. It’s something to think about, how our feet can bring light into the world if we are only willing to use them.

When Mary was heavily pregnant with Jesus, I can imagine how tired she was and how scared she must have been. She was barely more than a kid and she was about to become the mother to God’s Son. Her feet must have been swollen and aching, her back painfully throbbing. Then she had to get on that donkey and ride to Bethlehem as her husband Joseph walked beside her. His feet carried him straight to the place that God had commanded them to be through the Caesar.

How tired he must have been after that long journey. His nerves must have been frazzled from reassuring Mary, making sure she was okay and trying not to worry himself. He was going to be a father. Not to just any baby, but he was going to help raise God’s Son. Where would this journey lead them too? What path were they about to journey down? He walked on, putting one foot in front of the other out of pure faith in God because I know he probably had very little faith in himself at that point.

How do you raise such a special child? Do you treat that child like a prince or do you treat him like a regular child? Do you punish the child when he misbehaves or do you dare not in case God becomes angry? What if the child doesn’t live past the age of one like so many children did not? What if he comes from Mary’s womb with a limp or blind or has some other infirmity? Would God blame Joseph and Mary for these things?

He walked on toward his fate, Mary riding beside him, with nothing but faith to keep him moving. Sometimes it is all we have that sustains us. Sometimes it is the only thing that gets us through the day. We must believe in the message we receive on Christmas Day. That a baby, a little and fragile baby boy would grow up and save us all from ourselves. That this boy would have so much faith in God that he willingly dies so the rest of the world may live.

The world is a dark place. It’s full of pits and potholes that would try to make us trip and stumble as we journey forward. There are big rocks of temptations in our path that would try to make us stop where we are at and no longer journey on. But like the messenger in Isaiah and Mary and Joseph, we must have faith in God. Our faith keeps us moving and will help us overcome every obstacle our feet encounter. Every step we take toward God is a step toward the light of God’s pure love for us. It’s a step out of the darkness the world dwells in and brings us one more step closer to eternal life lived with and through Jesus Christ. That beautiful baby who’s little feet will one day have nails pounded through them as he hangs on a cross for you and for me.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Jesus Christ and Holy Ghost.

Amen.