Isaiah 42:1-9

“Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:” vs. 5

The prophets of Israel understood that the Creator God who had brought all things into existence had given the breath of life to all people. This breath, which could also be called “spirit,” is what animates humans and is God’s special connection with every person on the planet. And out of all those people, Isaiah believed, Israel had a special calling. He describes that calling in this way “I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations…” They hadn’t been delivered from slavery into the freedom of the Promised Land so that they could dominate and exploit like every other nation. They had a mission and a purpose, and while Israel never managed to pull it off, it was that mission that came to identify the ministry of Jesus. And now it has been passed on to those who are called by his name–it has become the special calling of the Body of Christ. We who are the inheritors of the gospel of grace are called to bring recovery of sight to the blind and proclaim release to captives. We’ve not been set aside so that we can go to heaven when we die, we are sent to work for justice and peace in all the earth.

Thought for the Day: How’s our mission going?

The Name of Jesus

Luke 2:17-21

“and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” vss. 18-19

In Luke’s story, Mary treasured the report of the shepherds when they came to see the baby in Bethlehem. Obviously it was good news for her–but it was more than she could comprehend. She needed time for reflection as she pondered their words in her heart. Some of us are doing that sort of thing as we celebrate New Year’s Day. By tradition it’s a time for resolutions, a moment to take stock of our lives in light of what has happened and to then vow to make some changes. Obviously this isn’t a day of repentance! We still haven’t reordered our lives; we’re only resolving to take a crack at it! But we have been through a pretty intense year, one filled with political turmoil, natural disasters, and global crises. And some of us have had some pretty stressful personal tensions too. And now we’ve heard the good news of Christmas yet again. We know that Jesus Christ is loose in the world and may be wondering if that should be making a difference in how we live. We might even be considering repentance! And the truth is, today is a good day to get started–or maybe we’ll start tomorrow, after one more day of football and pickled herring! But we can make the resolutions today! And then pray for the self-control we will need to actually follow through!

Thought for the Day: What resolutions have made my list?

Luke 2:15-16

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’” vs. 15

Luke’s amazing story doesn’t end with the message of the angels to the shepherds, because it’s really never enough just to get an announcement of good news. There just has to be a response! In this instance the shepherds immediately decided to go to Bethlehem so that they could see for themselves what the angel had told them. We’re wired to do the same sort of thing when we hear good news, and that’s especially true when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s how the Body of Christ has operated through the centuries.  Messengers announce that God has acted in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and those who hear are moved by the Spirit to “check it out.” In a sense they decide to go to “Bethlehem” and see the Incarnate Word. And one by one, family by family, they are moved to give thanks and praise to God for this most wonderful gift. Of course this beautiful process can get short-circuited. Sometimes messengers forget they are angels, offer law in the place of good news, and hearers are unimpressed. How beautiful it is when the good news sparks joy and the way to “Bethlehem” is crowded with seekers! And some years that’s still what happens at Christmas.

Thought for the Day: How did the Christmas message move me this year?

Galatians 4:6-7

“And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” vs. 6

It’s possible to live without any sense of being in relationship with God. In fact, it’s likely that millions of folks could be put into that category. Some of these have deliberately chosen that way of life; they don’t even pretend to believe in God. Others never give the matter a second thought. They focus entirely on their own needs and desires and do what others do: they go to school, get jobs, mate, have children, travel, and set up retirement funds. They have a ton of things that can spark their interests, but God just isn’t a part of their world. But still others, many others, understand themselves to be children of God, not because they’re smarter than others or more religious, but because God’s Spirit lives in their hearts. This God-spark, actually present in all persons, infuses their consciousness and becomes known to them and seen by others. This isn’t because of their own will or desire, it’s just something that happens, and such persons live unabashedly as the off-spring of God, even crying out in their prayers to their “Abba” or “Papa,” a term used by Paul to describe our intimate familial connection to God. Within the context of our limited vocabulary it’s a way to describe the spontaneous bursts of prayer that fill the believer’s day. We are one with God, and our spirits know it!

Thought for the Day: What intimate term do I use for God?

Galatians 4:6-7

“And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” vs. 6

It’s possible to live without any sense of being in relationship with God. In fact, it’s likely that millions of folks could be put into that category. Some of these have deliberately chosen that way of life; they don’t even pretend to believe in God. Others never give the matter a second thought. They focus entirely on their own needs and desires and do what others do: they go to school, get jobs, mate, have children, travel, and set up retirement funds. They have a ton of things that can spark their interests, but God just isn’t a part of their world. But still others, many others, understand themselves to be children of God, not because they’re smarter than others or more religious, but because God’s Spirit lives in their hearts. This God-spark, actually present in all persons, infuses their consciousness and becomes known to them and seen by others. This isn’t because of their own will or desire, it’s just something that happens, and such persons live unabashedly as the off-spring of God, even crying out in their prayers to their “Abba” or “Papa,” a term used by Paul to describe our intimate familial connection to God. Within the context of our limited vocabulary it’s a way to describe the spontaneous bursts of prayer that fill the believer’s day. We are one with God, and our spirits know it!

Thought for the Day: What intimate term do I use for God?

Galatians 4:4-5

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children.” vss. 4-5

Early Christians had a lot of figuring out to do when it became apparent that the Jesus who had been crucified had been the long-anticipated messiah. Paul had had a personal encounter with the resurrected Christ that had convinced him but it still took some years to get things straight in his head. He uses the phrase “the fullness of time” to offer an explanation to the folks in Galatia. In essence he’s saying that Jesus had been born at a propitious moment in history, the very best time for the gospel of grace to be planted and flourish. We might say that it was the perfect storm. All the pieces were in place for the message of death and resurrection to spread like wildfire all through the world. The Mediterranean was like a Roman lake. Commercial shipping made traveling by sea relatively safe, a system of roads had been built from England to India, and there was a common Greek language that everyone understood. And Roman armies were keeping the peace. In that moment, Paul says, Jesus was born as a human to bring redemption and adoption to all believers. Jesus didn’t come as a god, he came as a human, a mother’s son, so that all people might become his brothers and sisters. And in him God acted for our salvation.

Thought for the Day: Who are my brothers and sisters in Christ?

Psalm 8:5-9

“Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet…” vss. 5-6

As the psalmist meditated on the wonders of the universe and considered what place humans had in the whole scheme of things, he concluded that we are almost like gods on our planet. Crowned with glory and honor humans have been given dominion over all things; all things have been put under our feet. We can easily understand how the psalmist might have felt this way, and through history most people have agreed. For the last 70,000 years or so we’ve acted as though we are in charge and that the bounty of the earth is ours to use as we please. For some thousands of years that attitude seemed to work–at least we weren’t able to do much damage. But in recent centuries things haven’t been going very well. Advancements in science, medicine, and technology, coupled with the greed rooted at the core of our souls, have meant that the planet has suffered enormously from our exploitation of the environment. While animal extinctions have occurred for millennia, they have accelerated in recent years. Wildlife experts estimate that 70% of all mammals, birds, insects and fish have been wiped out since 1970. If we’ve been supposed to be taking care of things, we haven’t been doing very well. And sadly, many doubt that we even have the will to change our ways!

Thought for the Day: What can stem the tide of destruction?

Psalm 8;1-4

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” vvs. 3-4

Unlike us the psalmist lived in a time of dark skies; there was nothing of what we call light pollution to spoil his nighttime view of the heavens. And what he saw was astounding. Every clear night the skies would have been filled with stars and planets, some flickering and some moving about. Some sages of his time spent their lifetimes studying the constellations and trying to make sense of what was out there. Imagine what they would have thought of the images received from the Hubble or James Webb space telescopes. The universe is so vast and beautiful: it challenges our puny minds. And that’s what the psalmist was feeling. He knew that this was all the work of God, but it was hard for him to comprehend how humans fit into this picture. And we wonder too! The universe was many billions of years old before we even showed up. And we live on a totally insignificant planet far from anywhere. Was all this an accident or is there a purpose for our existence? Astronomers and physicists argue about these questions at length and to this point they aren’t even close to having satisfying answers or conclusions. The psalmist implies that the question must go unanswered and that’s okay. We’re here now–and the place where we have our existence is awesome!

Thought for the Day: Why does the universe need humans in it?

Numbers 6:22-27

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” vss. 24-26

In most of our congregations the pastor’s last words to the gathered people are some form of the Aaronic Benediction. And while for some this is a welcome signal that the end is in sight, most worshippers are touched by this familiar blessing. And pastors love to pronounce it! For some it’s the highlight of the week. There is power in blessings and most of us don’t give or receive enough of them. In this instance it’s not a personal blessing from the pastor but a reminder that the Lord wants nothing but good for us. No matter how the rest of the service has gone, no matter how challenging the sermon, no matter how messed up our lives have gotten, the last word from the Lord in worship is a word of grace and commendation. It is God’s desire that every one of us feel as though God is smiling upon us and keeping us safe in every circumstance of life. And what God wants for us more than anything else is that we would have peace. And that’s what we want too! We don’t want anxiety and worries dogging our steps along the way, we want serenity, a sense of calm and an assurance that we have not been abandoned. And if we’re paying attention that’s what we receive in the benediction.

Thought for the Day: What effect do blessings have on us?

John 1:1-14

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” vs. 14

Christmas is the day chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and the name was chosen quite deliberately. It would not have been adequate to call it Jesusmas. Not only would that name have been clumsy to say, it wouldn’t have come close to expressing the full meaning of the celebration. But as it is, Christmas connects Jesus to the Word present at creation in a most exquisite way. The word “Christmas” in itself is a bold theological statement and affirms the conviction of early believers that Jesus was not only the Messiah promised in scripture, but the Word through whom all things have come into existence. And more than that, at Christmas we’re not only recalling an historical event but we’re celebrating the active presence of the Christ in the world today. In the moment of Christ’s birth and life the eternal presence of the Word connected with the person of Jesus as a demonstration and proclamation of God’s sacrificial love. From that point on we haven’t had to wonder what God is like or whether we have salvation or not. The whole gospel of grace exploded into the world through Jesus the Christ, and as we continue to celebrate Christmas, we get a fresh reminder every single year. Joy to the world, the Christ has come!

Thought for the Day: What has been my best Christmas gift?