Devotional 1-6-13

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

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