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| Image by Jill Catley |
A GREETING
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
(Psalm 32:11)
A READING
He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us.
(John 1:10,12-14)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that God had made, and indeed, it was very good.
(Genesis 1:30-31)
A REFLECTION
Those of us who are Christians can also remember the example of Someone who lived with a sense of meaning and purpose in the most chaotic and oppressive time. We have only to recall that Jesus lived with God as the point of his being. Again and again, he told his disciples that he had come from God and was going to God. He knew who he was, that his deepest identity lay in the mystery that he was born of God. And he knew that he was for God, that he had come to announce the great dream of God, the dream of the reign of God and the great economy of grace. This was the meaning and purpose of his life. It was his passion. His affirmation of the point of his life was profoundly based on his gratitude for being born of God.
- from Radical Gratitude by Mary Jo Leddy
VERSE OF THE DAY
He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being,
and he sustains all things by his powerful word.
(Hebrews 1:3a)
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| "Sun and Earth" by Lawren Harris (1945) |
Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus who took on human form to come among us. This quiet and humble and extraordinary event is a cornerstone of our faith, a turning point that sends us forward on our path of discipleship with renewed hope. On this day so long ago, the infant Jesus rests in his mother’s arms, surrounded by animals, according to tradition. Those creatures mentioned in Genesis 1, are his hosts. As his life unfolds, there is never a place that becomes specifically what Jesus calls home. It does not seem to be Nazareth where his parents have lived, nor the villages by the sea of Galilee where he spends so much time with the disciples, nor Is it Bethany where his friends live, nor is it Capernaum where he teaches. Where did Jesus go between teaching missions or even just for rest? Scripture does not really tell us. Each of us has a place that we think of as ‘home’, whether it be where we live, or where we come from or where we long to be. Perhaps you are celebrating Christmas in that place right now, joyfully joined with loved ones. Perhaps the pandemic has meant that you are frustratingly unable to travel to be where you call home. Perhaps illness or loss prevent you from being able to fully celebrate at all. The gap between the challenges of our lives and what we most long for is captured in today’s music, adapted from a poem by Juhan Liiv, a 19th-century Estonian poet. Liiv struggled with poverty and used poetry as a way of expressing his deeper spiritual longings. “Somewhere the original harmony must exist,” are the lyrics in English, “hidden somewhere in the vast wilds. In Earth’s mighty firmament, in the far reaches of swirling galaxies, in sunshine, in a little flower, in the song of a forest, in the music of a mother’s voice…” The poem, as adapted by composer Arvo Pärt, tries to capture that imagined moment where the world is restored to how it was at the dawn of Creation. Jesus comes to remind us that in the midst of struggle and brokenness, God breaks through, always looking for ways to help us find that place of restoration. In her reflection, Mary Jo Leddy encourages us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and his dream of the “great economy of grace”. Wherever this day finds you: He is here. He is among us. He has become human. And he has found his home in you. How will the hope that comes with the newborn Jesus be born anew in you this day?
Merry Christmas! The next devotional day is Monday, December 27th.
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| Image by Paul Woods |
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LC† Love, the Guest is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help to support extended offerings throughout the year. Thank you and peace be with you!