The Nativity Of Our Lord/Christmas Eve/Christmas Day (Proper 1)
Devotional
Pause Before The Pulpit
Personal Reflections For Pastors On The Lectionary Readings
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)
What a marvelous story our Gospel Lesson is! Every time I read it, all sorts of images and memories flood my mind: images and memories of nativity scenes, Christmas plays and services, Christmas goodies, music, and fellowship. The joy of Christmas!
Yet there is a down side to all this for pastors and that is staying fresh and original, especially in our preaching, when year after year we proclaim the same Christmas story. How many different ways can we tell it and present it? And is there not the pressure at times to somehow present it in bigger and better ways than last year? As a result, we are tempted to stretch the story, delve into speculation, and take people into places of the imagination that run the risk of distracting them from the central truths of the story.
In addition to this, after telling something over and over again, it can lose its newness and excitement for us. We get tired at this time of year and feel the pressure, at home and in the church, to be happy and make everyone else happy. All the while, a subtle cynicism begins to sneak up on us and we find ourselves thinking (if not saying aloud): "I can't wait until this season is over!"
If I have in any way come close to describing you, I urge you to revisit this text with me. Let's look closely at two scenes which can help us keep our perspective during this season.
First is the statement made by the angels: Do not be afraid -- for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
May we never forget that the Christmas story is always good news! In a world where the media constantly bombard us with bad news, we have the privilege and opportunity to bring to our people good news. And it is good news of great joy! We minister to people who, for the most part, are unhappy. They are continually told by the world around them that happiness is found in relationships with the right people, or in having the right things, or in looking good and staying young. But we have good news that does more than make people happy; it brings people joy -- deep-down, genuine, heartfelt joy! And this good news is for all people -- for all who will receive it by faith. May we never tire of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, even if we share it the same way year after year.
Secondly, I want us to notice the behavior of the shepherds after they had been to the stable to see the newborn Christ Child.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
If we want to effectively lead our parishioners in glorifying and praising God this Christmas, we need to first of all have a very real and personal encounter with him ourselves. The shepherds did not go out, talking about what the angels had told them, without first having had an encounter with the child and his parents. Only after they experienced for themselves that everything was just as the angels had told them, did they testify about it to others.
How important it is for us, each and every year, to be alone with the Lord and this text before we preach it. No matter how many times we have read it and shared it with others, God desires that we marvel again and again at what it says, at what it means, at what took place, and at its significance for us and others. As a result, I believe you will find that many people who listen to you this Christmas season will be amazed at what you tell them, no matter how many times they have heard this story; for you have been impacted by it, and amazed at it, before you told it to them.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the "Old, Old Story"! May I not simply go through the motions of preaching this text, but rather speak about it with joy and passion as your Spirit touches me once again with its glorious truths and significance. May I go into our Christmas worship glorifying and praising you for all that I have "seen" through the eyes of faith and "heard" from your precious word. Amen.
Titus 2:11-14
In our devotional on the Gospel Lesson, I urged us to recapture that same wonder and marvel in the birth of Christ that the shepherds had. This is so important, not only for us spiritually, but also for the benefit of our listeners during this wonderful season of the year!
Here in our Epistle Lesson, the Apostle Paul reminds us of the grace of God that appeared to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. The goal of God's grace is that he might have a family of believers who are zealous for serving him.
I think it would be safe to say that the shepherds in the nativity exhibited a fair amount of zeal! Would it not make sense that God's children also have a fair amount of zeal? How about you? How zealous are you for serving God? If you've lost your zeal (or never had any in the first place), there's probably a reason, and I think our text can identify it for you.
Paul wrote, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. He here points out three things about the grace of God that has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ.
First, this grace brought salvation to all. Obviously, when understood in the whole context of scripture, that does not mean that everyone is automatically saved, but rather that salvation has been made available and possible for all who will receive it by faith. In order to be zealous about Christ and passionate in preaching the significance of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, it is essential that we believe, and receive, his salvation for us personally. It is hard to imagine that anyone would go into Christian ministry who has not received Christ's salvation, but it happens. If they have any zeal for what they do, it is probably either an effort to work their way to heaven, exercise control over people, or provide an "easy" way to make a living!
Secondly, Paul wrote that the grace of God appeared for the purpose of training us to renounce certain things. He specifically identified impiety (which is to be irreverent or profane) and worldly passions (which are passions for things of the flesh rather than for things of the Spirit). If we in the ministry are not willing to renounce sin in our own lives, or to tactfully and prayerfully renounce it in the lives of others, we will, either due to hardness of heart or cynicism toward others, lose our zeal.
This training to renounce our sin is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit. If God's Spirit didn't convict us of our own sin, or give us, through the word, insight, and boldness to renounce it in the lives of others, how would sin ever be addressed? We would go on living painful lives like the unbelieving world around us, never knowing why the things we are thinking, saying, and doing are causing us, and others, pain.
Thirdly, Paul pointed out that another reason for the grace of God appearing in the person of Jesus Christ is to enable us to live godly lives. His grace saves us, then it trains us to renounce sin, and last of all it enables us to live a lifestyle that we could not possibly live on our own. He characterized it as a life that is self-controlled, upright, and godly. If we ignore this enabling work of the Holy Spirit to live a godly life, we may, again, lose our zeal.
One of the things I have agonized over, as a pastor, is that I am as human and sinful, and in need of God's grace, as my parishioners. However, the beauty of God's grace is that, through Jesus, he redeemed us from all iniquity and purified for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good works.
May that be the spiritual condition of each and every one of us, as we proclaim the wonderful good news of Jesus this Christmas and in the year to come.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I confess to you that I desperately need your grace as much as the "worst" sinner that I might minister to. Lord, please give me that zeal which comes from being in a right, saved, and obedient relationship with you. Thank you! Amen.
What a marvelous story our Gospel Lesson is! Every time I read it, all sorts of images and memories flood my mind: images and memories of nativity scenes, Christmas plays and services, Christmas goodies, music, and fellowship. The joy of Christmas!
Yet there is a down side to all this for pastors and that is staying fresh and original, especially in our preaching, when year after year we proclaim the same Christmas story. How many different ways can we tell it and present it? And is there not the pressure at times to somehow present it in bigger and better ways than last year? As a result, we are tempted to stretch the story, delve into speculation, and take people into places of the imagination that run the risk of distracting them from the central truths of the story.
In addition to this, after telling something over and over again, it can lose its newness and excitement for us. We get tired at this time of year and feel the pressure, at home and in the church, to be happy and make everyone else happy. All the while, a subtle cynicism begins to sneak up on us and we find ourselves thinking (if not saying aloud): "I can't wait until this season is over!"
If I have in any way come close to describing you, I urge you to revisit this text with me. Let's look closely at two scenes which can help us keep our perspective during this season.
First is the statement made by the angels: Do not be afraid -- for see -- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
May we never forget that the Christmas story is always good news! In a world where the media constantly bombard us with bad news, we have the privilege and opportunity to bring to our people good news. And it is good news of great joy! We minister to people who, for the most part, are unhappy. They are continually told by the world around them that happiness is found in relationships with the right people, or in having the right things, or in looking good and staying young. But we have good news that does more than make people happy; it brings people joy -- deep-down, genuine, heartfelt joy! And this good news is for all people -- for all who will receive it by faith. May we never tire of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, even if we share it the same way year after year.
Secondly, I want us to notice the behavior of the shepherds after they had been to the stable to see the newborn Christ Child.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
If we want to effectively lead our parishioners in glorifying and praising God this Christmas, we need to first of all have a very real and personal encounter with him ourselves. The shepherds did not go out, talking about what the angels had told them, without first having had an encounter with the child and his parents. Only after they experienced for themselves that everything was just as the angels had told them, did they testify about it to others.
How important it is for us, each and every year, to be alone with the Lord and this text before we preach it. No matter how many times we have read it and shared it with others, God desires that we marvel again and again at what it says, at what it means, at what took place, and at its significance for us and others. As a result, I believe you will find that many people who listen to you this Christmas season will be amazed at what you tell them, no matter how many times they have heard this story; for you have been impacted by it, and amazed at it, before you told it to them.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the "Old, Old Story"! May I not simply go through the motions of preaching this text, but rather speak about it with joy and passion as your Spirit touches me once again with its glorious truths and significance. May I go into our Christmas worship glorifying and praising you for all that I have "seen" through the eyes of faith and "heard" from your precious word. Amen.
Titus 2:11-14
In our devotional on the Gospel Lesson, I urged us to recapture that same wonder and marvel in the birth of Christ that the shepherds had. This is so important, not only for us spiritually, but also for the benefit of our listeners during this wonderful season of the year!
Here in our Epistle Lesson, the Apostle Paul reminds us of the grace of God that appeared to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. The goal of God's grace is that he might have a family of believers who are zealous for serving him.
I think it would be safe to say that the shepherds in the nativity exhibited a fair amount of zeal! Would it not make sense that God's children also have a fair amount of zeal? How about you? How zealous are you for serving God? If you've lost your zeal (or never had any in the first place), there's probably a reason, and I think our text can identify it for you.
Paul wrote, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. He here points out three things about the grace of God that has appeared in the person of Jesus Christ.
First, this grace brought salvation to all. Obviously, when understood in the whole context of scripture, that does not mean that everyone is automatically saved, but rather that salvation has been made available and possible for all who will receive it by faith. In order to be zealous about Christ and passionate in preaching the significance of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, it is essential that we believe, and receive, his salvation for us personally. It is hard to imagine that anyone would go into Christian ministry who has not received Christ's salvation, but it happens. If they have any zeal for what they do, it is probably either an effort to work their way to heaven, exercise control over people, or provide an "easy" way to make a living!
Secondly, Paul wrote that the grace of God appeared for the purpose of training us to renounce certain things. He specifically identified impiety (which is to be irreverent or profane) and worldly passions (which are passions for things of the flesh rather than for things of the Spirit). If we in the ministry are not willing to renounce sin in our own lives, or to tactfully and prayerfully renounce it in the lives of others, we will, either due to hardness of heart or cynicism toward others, lose our zeal.
This training to renounce our sin is a gracious work of the Holy Spirit. If God's Spirit didn't convict us of our own sin, or give us, through the word, insight, and boldness to renounce it in the lives of others, how would sin ever be addressed? We would go on living painful lives like the unbelieving world around us, never knowing why the things we are thinking, saying, and doing are causing us, and others, pain.
Thirdly, Paul pointed out that another reason for the grace of God appearing in the person of Jesus Christ is to enable us to live godly lives. His grace saves us, then it trains us to renounce sin, and last of all it enables us to live a lifestyle that we could not possibly live on our own. He characterized it as a life that is self-controlled, upright, and godly. If we ignore this enabling work of the Holy Spirit to live a godly life, we may, again, lose our zeal.
One of the things I have agonized over, as a pastor, is that I am as human and sinful, and in need of God's grace, as my parishioners. However, the beauty of God's grace is that, through Jesus, he redeemed us from all iniquity and purified for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good works.
May that be the spiritual condition of each and every one of us, as we proclaim the wonderful good news of Jesus this Christmas and in the year to come.
A Pastor's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I confess to you that I desperately need your grace as much as the "worst" sinner that I might minister to. Lord, please give me that zeal which comes from being in a right, saved, and obedient relationship with you. Thank you! Amen.
