Devotional 12-5-16

Psalm 146:5-10 Common English Bible (CEB)

5 The person whose help is the God of Jacob—
    the person whose hope rests on the Lord their God—
    is truly happy!
6 God: the maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
God: who is faithful forever,
7   who gives justice to people who are oppressed,
    who gives bread to people who are starving!
The Lord: who frees prisoners.
8  The Lord: who makes the blind see.
    The Lord: who straightens up those who are bent low.
    The Lord: who loves the righteous.
9  The Lord: who protects immigrants,
        who helps orphans and widows,
        but who makes the way of the wicked twist and turn!
10 The Lord will rule forever!
    Zion, your God will rule from one generation to the next!
Praise the Lord!

I am the only member of my family that didn’t go to seminary. Both of my parents are currently serving churches. My brother is a minister in a church in Pittsburgh. My sister in awaiting a call (Presbyterian ordination process) in Chicago, after graduating in May. My aunt is a minister, my grandfather, my great uncles… and on back…all minister. Then I married a minister, who’s father was a minister, and who’s grandfather was a minister. There is never a lack of theological discussion at my house. I think that is a lot of the reason why I love Advent and Christmas.

For just about 1/10th of the year (the four weeks leading up to Christmas, then the 12 days of Christmas) we surround ourselves with reminders of what has happened and what is to come. We put up trees and tell stories about the ornaments on that tree… my favorite is the crystal star that Benjamin and I were given by a church member on our first Christmas. It was an ornament she and her husband, who had recently died, received on their first Christmas, about sixty year prior.  We make batches of Chex mix, put hot punch on the stove, sit in cozy couches, and read by the light of the many Christmas trees we have in the house. During Advent we do everything we can to prepare the house to be a place you want to spend time. We set the stage and then the discussion follows.

When I read all of the assigned passages for today (Isaiah 35:1-10, Psalm 146:5-10, James 5:7-10, Matthew 11:2-11, Luke 1:46b-55) I see a pattern. (Except James, but now you’ll just have to read them all to see that it doesn’t fit) I see a lot of different people remembering. They are not just praising God they are acknowledging the things God has done.  The psalmist tells us about the creative God, that continues to protect those in need. Mary talks about a good God, who cares about all people. John asks Jesus about the things he is doing, which was referencing more memories and more scripture. These aren’t just praises. They aren’t just someone else’s scripture.  They are memories. They have become real to John and real to Mary. They are like that crystal star on the tree.  It may have been someone else’s ornament at one time, but now it is ours, and hopefully one day it will be in someone else’s Advent devotional.  We do the preparations and it becomes real. We can have our own theological discussions about the second coming of Christ, giving exegesis on the Christmas stories, or discussing the fact that there isn’t an innkeeper and there aren’t three kings. All of these things are wrapped up in the Christmas story.  Making it real again… to a new time… to a new people.  As you surround yourself with Christmas this Advent season, be thankful like the psalmist and Mary for what God has done, and that your own memories can be added to the memories from these stories of God.

Tobyn Domske Wells

Devotional 12-25-15

There is something renewing about waking up Christmas Morning.  It is as if there is a magic in the world, a new beginning or a new creation.  For my family it means waking up in a wonderland of blankets and sheets.  Each year on Christmas Eve we throw air mattresses on the floor and hang bed sheets from the walls, ceiling, doors, and tables. We add Christmas lights and an old TV hooked to the DVD player for hours of Christmas shows.  Then my siblings and their spouses or nieces and nephews (depending on which family we are visiting) spend one final night of preparation.  Then comes the morning…

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God…”

I love to refer to this passage from John as the third creation story.  Even though the book of John is in an apocalyptic style, I feel there is a great deal of Jewish tradition in this description of Jesus existing from the very beginning.  It seems to take the whole Old Testament and wrap it up… like a gift to receive… if you are just willing to explore it.  We start the story of Jesus by going back to creation and seeing that Christ, this Anointed One, was there when it started.  When is says in Genesis, “Let us create mankind in our own image, in our likeness…” it is not just the Queen of England talking about herself, but a Triune God at creation.  Holy Creator, Holy Messiah, Holy Spirit.  For me this is the beginning.  This is the passage that makes me want to tear into the Bible to see what cause the Anointed to come to earth, to see where Christianity comes from, so that I can become a child of God, and so that I can understand the grace and truth of the Word.

This is the gift we celebrate at Christmas. This is why we put up forts to sleep in, wreaths on the door, trees in the windows; to remind us that the Word became flesh and there is a gift for you… waiting… in the scriptures… with your families… in your church.

You are a child of God.

Tobyn Wells