Matthew 2:1-12
Three men,
Old in wisdom,
Wise in years,
Stood together.
They studied the stars,
The arrangement of the planets,
Comets that shot across the sky.
None were married.
None had families.
"Knowledge was their love.
They gathered together each day,
In a room full of manuscripts and scrolls.
It had a musty, old smell
That hung in their clothes,
Trapped in the folds of the silk in their robes.
They were hungry,
To know more
To understand more
To fill themselves to completeness,
With all that they could discover.
The men saw a star in the East.
It was unprecedented,
And their souls longed to understand it.
They dug through the prophecy,
Hunting with unquenchable thirst,
For the answers to their questions.
They had to KNOW.
A king was to be born.
A great king of the Jews,
And this was a sign of it.
A star, shining brighter than any before.
It would lead them to what they desperately needed.
Together, they traveled, across desert,
Riding camels,
Carrying gifts.
They followed the star,
Past an angry king
Full of deception.
Finally they arrived,
And found the baby.
Each man fell to his knees,
Presented a gift.
Each one realized that what he sought,
And what he needed,
Were not the same at all.
This tiny child,
Who cried when he was cold,
Who found trusting comfort in the arms of his mother,
And who was vulnerable in every way,
Was a king, like no other.
Unprecedented.
The wise men could not comprehend it,
They abandoned their quest
To be made whole
Through what they could know.
Instead, they found
That they were made whole
Through what they could not understand.
Life changes
When Jesus is met
Face to face.
(Notes: The last three lines, "Life changes when Jesus is met face to face" is from a devotion written by Floyd Taylor. The first time I read the devotion, that line in particular struck me. I was lying in bed one morning, several years ago, thinking about this poem, it was connecting it to that line in particular that got me out of bed at 5:30 am to write it.)
Kim Matthews
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Tuesday, January 01, 2013
Devotional 1-1-13
"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." –Mark2:21-22
Happy New Year!
And you know what comes with the new year–resolutions. I confess, I have had the same resolution the last few years and keep falling far short. (Not the weight thing–that goes without saying). My resolution will again be to pay more attention to my friends. I get so caught up in my own little life, that reaching out to friends gets pushed to the bottom of my priority list.
Let me tell you a story about how doing a kindness for a friend can have far-reaching consequences.
My father’s memorial service was held a year ago on Jan. 3. There was a visitation time preceding the service and two women came in who I didn’t recognize. They greeted my Mother who was across the room from me and she was making gestures that said, “Look who’s here.” I asked several people near me if they knew who the mystery women were and no one had a clue. As they approached me one said, “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I had to admit the truth. She said. “I’m Sally, and this is my sister Susan.”*
Oh my goodness! I was instantly transported back 45 years to my maternal grandmother’s funeral in 1966. As I left that service Sally and I hugged each other. My grandmother had befriended her family, which had a pretty hard time. I don’t remember the circumstances, I think it was a simple case of lots of children and not enough money. My grandmother took them food, hired some of the children to work in her business and do odd jobs, and was someone the kids could talk to. And now, all these years later, Sally and Susan were two of the first people to come through the doors to comfort us and share in our grief. It just blew me away!
So, today I resolve, once again, to pay more attention to my friends.
Here are some words from Mahatma Gahdhi (1869-1948):
I will be truthful.
I will suffer no injustice.
I will be free from fear.
I will not use force.
I will be of good will to all men.
Happy New Year!
* Not their real names
Anita Gardner Farrell
Happy New Year!
And you know what comes with the new year–resolutions. I confess, I have had the same resolution the last few years and keep falling far short. (Not the weight thing–that goes without saying). My resolution will again be to pay more attention to my friends. I get so caught up in my own little life, that reaching out to friends gets pushed to the bottom of my priority list.
Let me tell you a story about how doing a kindness for a friend can have far-reaching consequences.
My father’s memorial service was held a year ago on Jan. 3. There was a visitation time preceding the service and two women came in who I didn’t recognize. They greeted my Mother who was across the room from me and she was making gestures that said, “Look who’s here.” I asked several people near me if they knew who the mystery women were and no one had a clue. As they approached me one said, “You don’t know who I am, do you?” I had to admit the truth. She said. “I’m Sally, and this is my sister Susan.”*
Oh my goodness! I was instantly transported back 45 years to my maternal grandmother’s funeral in 1966. As I left that service Sally and I hugged each other. My grandmother had befriended her family, which had a pretty hard time. I don’t remember the circumstances, I think it was a simple case of lots of children and not enough money. My grandmother took them food, hired some of the children to work in her business and do odd jobs, and was someone the kids could talk to. And now, all these years later, Sally and Susan were two of the first people to come through the doors to comfort us and share in our grief. It just blew me away!
So, today I resolve, once again, to pay more attention to my friends.
Here are some words from Mahatma Gahdhi (1869-1948):
I will be truthful.
I will suffer no injustice.
I will be free from fear.
I will not use force.
I will be of good will to all men.
Happy New Year!
* Not their real names
Anita Gardner Farrell
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Devotional 12-30-12
Are you a fan or a follower of Jesus Christ?
I have asked myself this same question many times. I desire and strive to be a follower. I do not want to be just a lukewarm Christian. I want to pattern my life after Jesus. Lord, Jesus, come interfere in my life. If I open my mind and pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede and advise me how to live my life.
I find the words in Luke 13:24-27 somewhat disturbing. We all have many talents. If we are willing to search our hearts and pray – our answers will become very clear.
I personally look for ways to serve Jesus. I am not content just to be a fan – I want to be a follower!
Paul S. Riggs
I have asked myself this same question many times. I desire and strive to be a follower. I do not want to be just a lukewarm Christian. I want to pattern my life after Jesus. Lord, Jesus, come interfere in my life. If I open my mind and pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede and advise me how to live my life.
I find the words in Luke 13:24-27 somewhat disturbing. We all have many talents. If we are willing to search our hearts and pray – our answers will become very clear.
I personally look for ways to serve Jesus. I am not content just to be a fan – I want to be a follower!
Paul S. Riggs
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Devotional 12-25-12
Luke 2:1-20
I’m pondering the message of the angel to the shepherds in Luke 2:11,12…
“To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger“
This sign for the shepherds, was it meant to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, Savior, and Lord? How does being wrapped in rags and lying in an animal’s feeding trough prove that Jesus is any of these things? I don’t think it does. The circumstances of Jesus first days did not prove that he was Savior, Lord, and Messiah; all of the angelic singing and radiance was proof enough of that. The circumstances of Jesus’ first days proved he was the Savior, Messiah, and Lord given to the shepherds. Suppose this child had been born in the city of kings, Jerusalem with all of its grand and well-guarded splendor, rather than in the city of David, Bethlehem. Suppose he rested in a regal palace instead of in a stable. No common shepherd could have hoped to approach his quarters, let alone gain entrance or audience with the royal family. So instead his quarters were open to all. Any and every person from every walk of life had access to this infant king. Any and every person could approach his infant throne so long as they didn’t mind the smell of animals and the utter lack of finery. His were the most common and lowly of quarters with no guards or gates, no ramparts or walls. In the city of a lowly shepherd boy was God the son born as the son of man; so that all people might behold him, know him, and go out upon the mountains to tell of his birth.
It is no small matter that even a shepherd could look at the face of God in Jesus of Nazareth, behold his humble poor beginning and say “this is a savior for me! After that, they told all whom they could. Eventually they went back to their work, but from then on their eyes saw their days and tasks differently, for God had deemed their common, ordinary moments so worthy as to visit them with the good news of Jesus Christ. Thus every common moment thereafter was heavy with the possibility of a visitation from the sacred.
“To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
My prayer for you today is that you will take that “you “ personally. Jesus the Christ has been given to you in all of his loving, redeeming, living power. He is Lord forever, giving himself to you and calling you to give yourself to him. Live in the joy and assurance of this unfading eternal gift.
Rev. Joe Hill
I’m pondering the message of the angel to the shepherds in Luke 2:11,12…
“To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
“This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger“
This sign for the shepherds, was it meant to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, Savior, and Lord? How does being wrapped in rags and lying in an animal’s feeding trough prove that Jesus is any of these things? I don’t think it does. The circumstances of Jesus first days did not prove that he was Savior, Lord, and Messiah; all of the angelic singing and radiance was proof enough of that. The circumstances of Jesus’ first days proved he was the Savior, Messiah, and Lord given to the shepherds. Suppose this child had been born in the city of kings, Jerusalem with all of its grand and well-guarded splendor, rather than in the city of David, Bethlehem. Suppose he rested in a regal palace instead of in a stable. No common shepherd could have hoped to approach his quarters, let alone gain entrance or audience with the royal family. So instead his quarters were open to all. Any and every person from every walk of life had access to this infant king. Any and every person could approach his infant throne so long as they didn’t mind the smell of animals and the utter lack of finery. His were the most common and lowly of quarters with no guards or gates, no ramparts or walls. In the city of a lowly shepherd boy was God the son born as the son of man; so that all people might behold him, know him, and go out upon the mountains to tell of his birth.
It is no small matter that even a shepherd could look at the face of God in Jesus of Nazareth, behold his humble poor beginning and say “this is a savior for me! After that, they told all whom they could. Eventually they went back to their work, but from then on their eyes saw their days and tasks differently, for God had deemed their common, ordinary moments so worthy as to visit them with the good news of Jesus Christ. Thus every common moment thereafter was heavy with the possibility of a visitation from the sacred.
“To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
My prayer for you today is that you will take that “you “ personally. Jesus the Christ has been given to you in all of his loving, redeeming, living power. He is Lord forever, giving himself to you and calling you to give yourself to him. Live in the joy and assurance of this unfading eternal gift.
Rev. Joe Hill
Monday, December 24, 2012
Devotional 12-24-12
Christmas Eve
Titus 2:11-14: For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men it teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope-the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
For a child, Christmas Eve is the day to point toward. It is the signature date on the calendar when all of the gifts are under the tree; all of the guessing about what Santa will bring and all of the “buzz” of the Holiday Season comes to an end. Children everywhere know when they go to bed that night there will be surprises for them under the tree. No wonder that for some, it is the only day of the year they arise early with no prompting! They are eager for this day to arrive!
For adults, the Christmas season can be filled with anxiety! Questions as to what gifts to purchase for family and friends, will they like what I selected, where are we spending Christmas and what did I forget can all combine to make the Holiday stressful.
Paul’s letter to Titus serves to remind Christians everywhere that God’s grace is for all people. Through Jesus Christ, it is the source of forgiveness and the foundation that we build upon to live a Godly life. Christ makes all things possible!
Tonight, when you lay your head down, do not be anxious about the trials and tribulations that daily living brings. Instead, be eager and look forward to the coming Christmas celebration and be thankful for God’s promise fulfilled through Jesus Christ!
Now that is a present worth waiting for!!!!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the present you sent to each of us. Let us prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth and always to be mindful of the hope he brings. Empower us to do your work in a way that is pleasing to you. Amen
Marv Jones
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Devotional 12-23-12
From the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2:7, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
A few years ago when I was in seminary I embarked on a cross-cultural trip with several other students to the Texas/Mexico border to study immigration and the culture that existed in the “borderlands.” The “borderlands” is the land on the USA side of the United States and Mexico, at least in the Southern part of Texas. It is a very liminal area; that is, it is a land “between the worlds.” The culture was a synthesis of Anglo and Hispanic culture and language. While there our cadre of mostly Methodist students stayed at pilgrimage housing at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de Valle. I thought this was ironic that a group of would-be Protestant pastors were living as pilgrims at a shrine dedicated to the Mother of God.
I learned several things while on that trip to Southern Texas. We were down there for several days and each morning I would walk down to a corner gas station and get an absolutely wonderful breakfast burrito and a newspaper from a man who always stood in the median of the road and sold papers to people in their cars. He always greeted me with a smile. Looking into his eyes I didn’t see oppressive poverty. I saw a man with dignity and pride doing his best in this land between the worlds.
We had the opportunity to meet several local Hispanic families. Our group of seminary students took a group of local kids to Wal-Mart and bought them some clothes, and then their parents cooked for us. The meal was absolutely wonderful. I had the privilege of pressing dough with a press to make tortillas, and we had a sort of taco like meal. There was red and green salsa on the tables. Some from our group thought that if the children were eating the green salsa then that must have been the mild ‘stuff.’ It turned out that the red salsa was very hot, and the green was extremely hot. I love hot food, but many of the seminarians on the trip learned not to judge a salsa by its color.
In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity there is much reverence, honor, and respect shown to Mary, as the Mother of God. In Protestant Christianity the role of Mary is like life in the borderlands; she is often left to the margins. Her mystery is removed; her status as “Mother of God” affirmed by early Church council is brushed under the theological rug. She becomes a footnote within Protestant Christianity; mostly forgotten – except perhaps on Christmas. In Protestant Christianity there really is no room for her “in the Inn.”
In the majority of the United States the liminal community that exists in the borderlands doesn’t exist. The borderland people are people who live “between the worlds,” between two cultures, a syncretism of both. Like the Mother of God in Protestant Christianity there is no room for them “in the Inn.”
We can make room for all marginalized people in our Inn for we affirm the message of the Gospel. To make disciples of all people requires us to love all people. As we find room for marginalized people due to economic and cultural situations we also find room for people “in our Inn” who are marginalized spiritually.
While on the trip I thought of the irony of staying at a shrine dedicated to the Mother of God studying marginalized people and thinking how Protestantism has marginalized Mary from our religious culture. I’m not advocating Marian “devotion,” but perhaps an increase in respect and love that one might have for one’s own mother. Mary is the mother of our Lord, and if he loved her so shall I.
Prayer:
Gracious and Loving Father, everyone is welcome at the Inn that is your loving embrace, help us to make room for people within our own inn. Help us to know and embrace the ancient custom of hospitality that renews and ignites our souls. Help us to love, and grant us the peace that only you can provide. In the name of Jesus do we pray. Amen.
David Kling
A few years ago when I was in seminary I embarked on a cross-cultural trip with several other students to the Texas/Mexico border to study immigration and the culture that existed in the “borderlands.” The “borderlands” is the land on the USA side of the United States and Mexico, at least in the Southern part of Texas. It is a very liminal area; that is, it is a land “between the worlds.” The culture was a synthesis of Anglo and Hispanic culture and language. While there our cadre of mostly Methodist students stayed at pilgrimage housing at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de Valle. I thought this was ironic that a group of would-be Protestant pastors were living as pilgrims at a shrine dedicated to the Mother of God.
I learned several things while on that trip to Southern Texas. We were down there for several days and each morning I would walk down to a corner gas station and get an absolutely wonderful breakfast burrito and a newspaper from a man who always stood in the median of the road and sold papers to people in their cars. He always greeted me with a smile. Looking into his eyes I didn’t see oppressive poverty. I saw a man with dignity and pride doing his best in this land between the worlds.
We had the opportunity to meet several local Hispanic families. Our group of seminary students took a group of local kids to Wal-Mart and bought them some clothes, and then their parents cooked for us. The meal was absolutely wonderful. I had the privilege of pressing dough with a press to make tortillas, and we had a sort of taco like meal. There was red and green salsa on the tables. Some from our group thought that if the children were eating the green salsa then that must have been the mild ‘stuff.’ It turned out that the red salsa was very hot, and the green was extremely hot. I love hot food, but many of the seminarians on the trip learned not to judge a salsa by its color.
In Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity there is much reverence, honor, and respect shown to Mary, as the Mother of God. In Protestant Christianity the role of Mary is like life in the borderlands; she is often left to the margins. Her mystery is removed; her status as “Mother of God” affirmed by early Church council is brushed under the theological rug. She becomes a footnote within Protestant Christianity; mostly forgotten – except perhaps on Christmas. In Protestant Christianity there really is no room for her “in the Inn.”
In the majority of the United States the liminal community that exists in the borderlands doesn’t exist. The borderland people are people who live “between the worlds,” between two cultures, a syncretism of both. Like the Mother of God in Protestant Christianity there is no room for them “in the Inn.”
We can make room for all marginalized people in our Inn for we affirm the message of the Gospel. To make disciples of all people requires us to love all people. As we find room for marginalized people due to economic and cultural situations we also find room for people “in our Inn” who are marginalized spiritually.
While on the trip I thought of the irony of staying at a shrine dedicated to the Mother of God studying marginalized people and thinking how Protestantism has marginalized Mary from our religious culture. I’m not advocating Marian “devotion,” but perhaps an increase in respect and love that one might have for one’s own mother. Mary is the mother of our Lord, and if he loved her so shall I.
Prayer:
Gracious and Loving Father, everyone is welcome at the Inn that is your loving embrace, help us to make room for people within our own inn. Help us to know and embrace the ancient custom of hospitality that renews and ignites our souls. Help us to love, and grant us the peace that only you can provide. In the name of Jesus do we pray. Amen.
David Kling
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Devotional 12-22-12
Missing the Main Event
Today is my Aunt and Uncle’s wedding anniversary -- their 51st wedding anniversary. Ask me how I remember the year. I remember because my mother, my aunt’s older sister, was pregnant with me and was not permitted by her doctor to make the trip from Georgia to Huntington for the wedding.
My mom and my aunt were certainly ‘cut from the same cloth’. Caring and giving. Fiercely protective of their children and willing to take self sacrifice to the Nth degree if that’s what was needed to help another. The fact that my mom missed the wedding in no way diluted her love for her sister and did not change the way she felt towards her brother in law. It also did not weaken her love by one little bit that she was not present for the births of her nieces and nephews. We are able to revel in the joy or share in the sorrow of a situation - in absentia – and still have the full power of the event be large in our lives.
Revealed in the beginning of Luke’s birth narrative we find Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. When Mary greets Elizabeth, Elizabeth’s baby moves. Elizabeth calls Mary’s baby LORD. Elizabeth may or may not have know that she would not be present for the birth of Mary’s baby but that in no way diminished her feeling towards the child.
We do not have to have experienced a hurricane force storm to have compassion for those who have lost much. We do not have to have lost an identical relative or friend to grieve with someone who has. And we do not have to have been present 2000 years ago to love a child that would be savior that would die that would redeem.
This Christmas my prayer is that we (I) put ourselves in another’s ‘shoes’ and laugh with joy, cry with sadness and give until it feels like almost enough > and then give some more.
Steve Matthews
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