Christmas morning

CHRISTMAS DAY                                                Luke 2:40

Jesus,

whose birth we celebrated last night,

did not stay a child forever.

He grew up,

found favor with God,

touched the lives of others.

He touched so many --

the lame,

the blind,

the outcasts,

those whom no one else would love,

those who could not love themselves.

He reached out

and touched them all . . .

healing,

caring,

loving,

accepting.

The baby Jesus grew up;

walked through the sands of Israel,

walked through the times of history,

walks right into our hearts.

The wonder of Christmas morning is that

the Life we celebrate

lives on -- here and now --

                     and will lead us safely into God’s eternity.

Great and wonderful God:

We thank you for the Gift you have given us in Jesus Christ our Lord.  We thank you that your Gift to us will never get broken, or lost, or have to be returned.  Help us live every day as if it were filled with the wonder of Christmas morning, for Christ is truly with us.  AMEN!

Christmas Eve

CHRISTMAS EVE                                       Habakkuk 2:20

Christmas Eve . . .

holy quietness.

Even the animals are hushed,

watching in awe

the divine story unfold

before their eyes.

Quietness,

but not restfulness.

Labor is happening here:

struggle,

pain,

blood and sweat.

The world is stilled,

holding its breath

until the Divine Son breathes.

At last!

The cry is heard!

Relief,

joy,

tears,

laughter,

thanksgiving!

Joy of joys!

Wonder of wonders!

What creation has long awaited

is there in the Manger,

              is here in our hearts!

God:

Thank you for this most holy of all nights of the year, for this time in which hope and joy and promises seem close at hand.  Thank you for your love which is born anew within us this night; in the name of Jesus, the Christ Child, we pray.  Amen.

4th Monday of Advent

4th week in Advent -- Monday                     Matthew 2:10-12

                                    The Wise Men

Astrologers, of all people!  Astrologers were the first foreigners to visit Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.  Whatever was God thinking?  Didn’t God remember that we are told not to dabble in such things?

And yet the Wise Men -- those holy men from the East -- have been remembered for the lavish gifts they gave to the Holy Family, gifts which most likely subsidized the Trio when they fled to Egypt for protection from Herod’s madness.  Why are the Wise Men so remembered in our Advent/Christmas stories?

The Wise Men were signs of two things.  First, God’s ways can be made plainly visible even to the “pagans” in our world.  Indeed, the whole of creation reflects God’s glory.  Second, the coming of the Messiah would not just affect Jews, the chosen people.  Even us Gentiles would be welcomed in God’s holiest act of redemption.

So, the Wise Men were there, to represent us, to give their most precious gifts to Christ.  What gifts do we bring to the Manger in our hearts?

O God:

Like the little drummer boy, we sometimes feel as if we don’t have a gift good enough to bring to the Christ Child.  Help us to find within us the gifts you have given us, and then help us to return them to you with joy, gratitude, and gladness; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.  Amen.

3rd Saturday of Advent

3rd week in Advent -- Saturday                        Matthew 2:1-9

                                         The Star

It was a star,

just like any other.

Countless thousands fill the night sky.

And yet . . .

this star was different.

It glowed.

It shone brighter.

It beckoned, this beacon of

divine light.

It called,

invited,

demanded attention.

But where did it lead?

Or to Whom?

To this child,

crying in the cool night.

This child, focus of the shining beam

that split the night’s darkness

and breathed hope into humanity

once again!

O Lord:

You constantly put signs of your love in the dark recesses of our world.  For those signs around us and within us we offer our thanks; in Christ’s name.  Amen.

3rd Friday of Advent

3rd week in Advent -- Friday                                 Luke 2:1-7

                                    The Innkeeper

Alas, the poor Innkeeper.  This hardworking businessman always seems to get the short end in the re-telling of The Story, doesn=t he?

AAh, the Innkeeper,@ people say with a sneer, with a tone of barely concealed contempt.  ASo busy, so taken with his paying customers that he hardly gives second thought to the woman in labor and the husband concerned for his wife and soon-to-be child!@  If this were a silent movie, we would hear the Avillain music@ as the Innkeeper enters the scene.

What were his motives?  What was going on in his head that Star-filled night?  Was he a cruel man, hardened by years of being ripped off by con artists Ain need?@  Was he just too busy, or too greedy to care?  Was he a kind and benevolent man who was really troubled by his ANo Vacancy@ sign?  Whatever the situation, whatever his insides said, at least credit the man for figuring out some way to help.  He may have helped out of compassion, or perhaps only begrudgingly.  But the point is clear . . . he helped!

Despite the fickle nature of our feelings, may we help those in need at least as much as did that Innkeeper.

O God:

We sometimes serve you with joy and gladness.  Other times we serve you because we know we Ashould,@ even though we might not feel like it!  Help us to remember that your love for us doesn=t just come to us when we feel we deserve it, but it comes to us always.  In the same way, help us to remember to serve you, even when we don=t feel like it; in Jesus= name we pray.  Amen.

3rd Thursday of Advent

3rd week in Advent -- Thursday                   Matthew 1:18-24

                                          Joseph

Joseph . . . Contrary to the place that Mary has firmly etched in history, Joseph has been relegated to oblivion; forgotten, except as a figure needed to make the Nativity Set look complete.

This rough-hewn carpenter must not have had an easy role to fill.  He married a girl perhaps half or a third his age.  She soon announces that she’s pregnant!  What does he do?  What are his options?  He could publicly humiliate her by breaking their engagement.  He could have dragged her through the streets and had her stoned to death for her presumed infidelity.

But he chose instead to believe her.  Moreover, he chose, despite all human symbols to the contrary, to believe God.  His trust in God’s mysterious ways of working is a patient quality of faith that we all could use in our lives.

O Lord:

We sometimes think that, unless we are “important” in the eyes of those around us, we cannot serve you as we should.  Help us to remember the “Josephs” in our world -- all of the people who serve you, who trust you, who follow you without thought for what anyone else will say or do or remember; in Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.

Another voice on God, prayer, schools, and violence

I don't know that I have any exceptionally perceptive insight on the tragedy in Connecticut and where God is in all of this, but I keep hearing other Christian voices espousing things that make me cringe and that, I believe, are unbiblical, their claims to the contrary notwithstanding.  More and more people in our society seem to have nothing but disdain for the Christian Faith, and maybe it's just because they are only hearing one perspective.  I thought I would add a different voice.

Regarding prayer in schools... There always will be prayer in school!  You cannot take prayer out of school. In addition to the legality in most schools of student-led prayer gatherings, anyone can pray... any time... in any place.  No one can stop that.  In terms of public, teacher-led prayers in classrooms, all I can say, I guess, is that I'm an increasingly-old man, and there were never prayers offered in my classrooms when I was growing up.  So, I'm not sure where such prayers were offered and where they weren't in the 1950's, but they didn't happen where I was, and it seems to me that my faith in Jesus developed fairly well despite no "prayer in school."

And more, regarding prayer in schools... A very close friend and colleague of mine several years ago told me about his pastoral work in a church-related school in Utah.  That community had organized, daily prayers in the public schools.  His sons were in that school system.  His comment to me about that?  "I have a different experience about prayer in schools from having my sons being led in prayer by Mormon teachers.  Don't tell me that students aren't negatively affected by public prayers led by someone of a different faith tradition than your own!  And don't tell me that such prayers are 'voluntary!'  Students are mercilessly shunned if they don't fall in line and pray 'appropriately' during that daily time in the classroom!"

Regarding some people's claims that we've "taken God out of schools"... I don't have words strong enough (or appropriate enough!) adequately to express my feelings about this.  Folks... we can't control God!  We can't "take God out of schools," because we don't have that much power... we don't have any power over God!  Psalm 139 reminds us that there is no place where God is not already there... including schools, even though we no longer can have teacher-led prayers there!

Finally, regarding God and tragedies... As in the paragraph above, I don't have words strong enough to express my reaction to "Christians" who imply that any tragedy is somehow the result of our faithlessness, and of God's subsequent action/judgment on us for that!  Are tragedies sometimes the result of our actions or inactions?  Undeniably so.  Are all tragedies the result of God's judgment?  Absolutely not!  That's not only cruel to suggest, and a slam on God's character and nature, but it's not biblical!  Jesus was asked who sinned that caused a certain man they met to be born blind.  Jesus said that sin had nothing to do with it.  Jesus was asked why God's judgment was meted out when a tower fell in a nearby town, killing many people.  Jesus said that God wasn't behind the fall of that tower and the resultant deaths of those people.  Sin has consequences, and sometimes tragic things result.  But, since we live in a broken and fallen world, sometimes bad stuff just happens, with no discernible cause and effect... other than perhaps shoddy workmanship... or mental illness... or easily-available ammunition that is manufactured with the intent of killing people.  The question about why bad things happen is certainly at least as old as the biblical book of Job... and Job never got any answers to his questions about "why."  So I don't think we will find such answers either.

And whatever answers we develop, they certainly ought not be simplistic... or without compassion... or presumptive... or unbiblical.