Christmas 1
Devotional
Streams of Living Water
Lectionary Devotional for Cycle B
Object:
Isaiah 61:10--62:3
... as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
-- Isaiah 61:11
It is an ironic but true fact of human nature that the Sunday immediately following the high moment of the birth of our Savior is usually a low Sunday in both mood and attendance at worship rivaled only by the equally low attendance on the Sunday following Easter. From a human standpoint, the excitement climaxes on Christmas, and the following week seems so ordinary. Yet from a spiritual standpoint, the birth is the beginning of a great event. Isaiah uses the analogy of the natural event of growth from a seed planted in a garden to illustrate the natural process by which that which God has planted will grow. The seed that God has planted is righteousness and praise. If God has again planted the seed of righteousness and praise within your congregation this Christmas in the celebration of the birth of Christ, then what new thing should be anticipated in your life and the lives of those near to you? With the growth of this seed, something entirely new can spring up. Isaiah speaks of God giving a new name by which the people shall be called. Within the Hebrew culture, a name contains a person's inner character. What is the inner character of the Christian community of which you are a part that needs to be cultivated so that it will grow and "shine out like the dawn"? A seed planted in a garden can easily have its life snuffed out by weeds or a failure to receive proper water and nourishment of the soil. What might you be able to do that could help cultivate the new thing that God wants to do in your community of faith?
Psalm 148
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
-- Psalm 148:5
Psalm 148 is a psalm of praise that incorporates every facet of existence. It is a psalm that belongs at the end of the hymn of creation when God "saw everything he had made and behold it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Then, on that sabbath rest when God stands back to rejoice in this new creation, the peals of praise echo forth from God's creation. Praise comes from the heavens, the angels, and the hosts (vv. 1-2). It springs forth from the sun, moon, and stars (v. 3) and from the waters that were left above the firmament on the second day of creation (v. 4). This watery chaos, whose bounds were fixed by God, gives testimony to the sovereignty of God over all the forces of chaos (vv. 5-6). That same praise echoes from the mystery of the forces within the created world: sea monsters, deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, and stormy winds all obey God's commands (vv. 7-8). From mountains to hills, from fruit trees to cedars, and all forms of animal life, all reflect God's praise (vv. 9-10). All classes, sexes, and ages of people from kings to children should join in such praise (vv. 11-12). Praise is at the center of all creation because every facet of the jewel reflects God's continuing glory (v. 13). It is this same God who has chosen to raise the sign for a chosen people as a sign of God's love for all people. The ultimate symbol of God's glory is God's capacity to love a particular people (v. 14). Thus the creator of all can personally care for the few.
As you reflect in this post Christmas glow, look around you and notice all the facets of life that exist and give glory to God. Rest in that praise for a time and know again God's evaluation: "And indeed, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31b).
Galatians 4:4-7
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son ... so that we might receive adoption as children.
-- Galatians 4:4-5
From Paul we hear how the cosmic event of the incarnation has a very personal impact on us as individuals and on all those who are our neighbors. It is easy to lose sight of our own dignity in the eyes of God and consider our lives as an unimportant collection of atoms in a vast and unfeeling universe. If Jesus is affirmed as God's Son, then by adoption we are made the brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God. By that act, our lives are given a value and a dignity that challenges all that would suggest that we are unimportant. We are invited into the family council by which God discusses how we should best live, and we receive the benefits of being a member of God's family. The daunting challenge, of course, is that how we live reflects on God because we come from God's family.
Families often have quarrels and bicker among themselves, but, in the best of families, they also know how to stick together when an outside force threatens any member of the family. Consider the vast Christian community that is spread across this world and the impact that it could have if as a family it realized that the true threat to all of us comes not from doctrinal disputes within but from the secular pressure that challenges the very truth of God from without. Sometimes important families try to use their power to obtain special favors, but our most famous brother declared that the character of God's family is to be one who serves others. The cosmic challenge of the incarnation of Christ is to accept the dignity of one who calls God "Abba" and to live in a way that reflects the love of God for the whole world.
Luke 2:22-40
She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.
-- Luke 2:36b-37a
This passage features two elderly people in the temple, Simeon and Anna, who witness the dedication of Jesus to the Lord by his parents. As we near the celebration of the New Year with its secular symbol of an old man (representing the year past) welcoming the new baby (representing the year to come), it may be appropriate to recognize the witness of these two elderly people. As is common for Luke, he balances the witness of males and females as a testimony to the truth that the enmity between male and female that was the result of sin (Genesis 3:15) has been overcome in Christ. By bringing together the witness of the elderly, the obedience of the much younger parents, and the presence of the baby Jesus, Luke also reconciles the division among the ages. In an era when the aged are often dismissed as irrelevant to the future, this passage is an important reminder of the value of their testimony. It was out of their years of faithfulness that they were able to recognize the presence of God in their midst and offer hope to the future generations.
As you conclude your celebration of the birth of Christ, ask yourself who the elderly are that you need to listen to so that you might draw from the wisdom of their faith and thus see signs of God's presence near you? How might your church community make room to listen to these important witnesses who have lived faithfully for these years and have an important message to all those who "are looking for the redemption of Jerusalem"?
... as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
-- Isaiah 61:11
It is an ironic but true fact of human nature that the Sunday immediately following the high moment of the birth of our Savior is usually a low Sunday in both mood and attendance at worship rivaled only by the equally low attendance on the Sunday following Easter. From a human standpoint, the excitement climaxes on Christmas, and the following week seems so ordinary. Yet from a spiritual standpoint, the birth is the beginning of a great event. Isaiah uses the analogy of the natural event of growth from a seed planted in a garden to illustrate the natural process by which that which God has planted will grow. The seed that God has planted is righteousness and praise. If God has again planted the seed of righteousness and praise within your congregation this Christmas in the celebration of the birth of Christ, then what new thing should be anticipated in your life and the lives of those near to you? With the growth of this seed, something entirely new can spring up. Isaiah speaks of God giving a new name by which the people shall be called. Within the Hebrew culture, a name contains a person's inner character. What is the inner character of the Christian community of which you are a part that needs to be cultivated so that it will grow and "shine out like the dawn"? A seed planted in a garden can easily have its life snuffed out by weeds or a failure to receive proper water and nourishment of the soil. What might you be able to do that could help cultivate the new thing that God wants to do in your community of faith?
Psalm 148
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
-- Psalm 148:5
Psalm 148 is a psalm of praise that incorporates every facet of existence. It is a psalm that belongs at the end of the hymn of creation when God "saw everything he had made and behold it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Then, on that sabbath rest when God stands back to rejoice in this new creation, the peals of praise echo forth from God's creation. Praise comes from the heavens, the angels, and the hosts (vv. 1-2). It springs forth from the sun, moon, and stars (v. 3) and from the waters that were left above the firmament on the second day of creation (v. 4). This watery chaos, whose bounds were fixed by God, gives testimony to the sovereignty of God over all the forces of chaos (vv. 5-6). That same praise echoes from the mystery of the forces within the created world: sea monsters, deeps, fire and hail, snow and frost, and stormy winds all obey God's commands (vv. 7-8). From mountains to hills, from fruit trees to cedars, and all forms of animal life, all reflect God's praise (vv. 9-10). All classes, sexes, and ages of people from kings to children should join in such praise (vv. 11-12). Praise is at the center of all creation because every facet of the jewel reflects God's continuing glory (v. 13). It is this same God who has chosen to raise the sign for a chosen people as a sign of God's love for all people. The ultimate symbol of God's glory is God's capacity to love a particular people (v. 14). Thus the creator of all can personally care for the few.
As you reflect in this post Christmas glow, look around you and notice all the facets of life that exist and give glory to God. Rest in that praise for a time and know again God's evaluation: "And indeed, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31b).
Galatians 4:4-7
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son ... so that we might receive adoption as children.
-- Galatians 4:4-5
From Paul we hear how the cosmic event of the incarnation has a very personal impact on us as individuals and on all those who are our neighbors. It is easy to lose sight of our own dignity in the eyes of God and consider our lives as an unimportant collection of atoms in a vast and unfeeling universe. If Jesus is affirmed as God's Son, then by adoption we are made the brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God. By that act, our lives are given a value and a dignity that challenges all that would suggest that we are unimportant. We are invited into the family council by which God discusses how we should best live, and we receive the benefits of being a member of God's family. The daunting challenge, of course, is that how we live reflects on God because we come from God's family.
Families often have quarrels and bicker among themselves, but, in the best of families, they also know how to stick together when an outside force threatens any member of the family. Consider the vast Christian community that is spread across this world and the impact that it could have if as a family it realized that the true threat to all of us comes not from doctrinal disputes within but from the secular pressure that challenges the very truth of God from without. Sometimes important families try to use their power to obtain special favors, but our most famous brother declared that the character of God's family is to be one who serves others. The cosmic challenge of the incarnation of Christ is to accept the dignity of one who calls God "Abba" and to live in a way that reflects the love of God for the whole world.
Luke 2:22-40
She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.
-- Luke 2:36b-37a
This passage features two elderly people in the temple, Simeon and Anna, who witness the dedication of Jesus to the Lord by his parents. As we near the celebration of the New Year with its secular symbol of an old man (representing the year past) welcoming the new baby (representing the year to come), it may be appropriate to recognize the witness of these two elderly people. As is common for Luke, he balances the witness of males and females as a testimony to the truth that the enmity between male and female that was the result of sin (Genesis 3:15) has been overcome in Christ. By bringing together the witness of the elderly, the obedience of the much younger parents, and the presence of the baby Jesus, Luke also reconciles the division among the ages. In an era when the aged are often dismissed as irrelevant to the future, this passage is an important reminder of the value of their testimony. It was out of their years of faithfulness that they were able to recognize the presence of God in their midst and offer hope to the future generations.
As you conclude your celebration of the birth of Christ, ask yourself who the elderly are that you need to listen to so that you might draw from the wisdom of their faith and thus see signs of God's presence near you? How might your church community make room to listen to these important witnesses who have lived faithfully for these years and have an important message to all those who "are looking for the redemption of Jerusalem"?
