Monthly Archives: January 2022

On this 11th day of Christmas I’m celebrating the incredible surprising gift of quiet.

We received 10” of wet heavy snow early Monday morning and lost electricity at about 10am. (I’m writing this Monday night)

Since that time it has been wonderfully quiet. The only sound I hear right now originates from the flames and quiet hissing from this guy…

Not only did our trusty fireplace keep us warm, but was the place for grilling sandwiches (cast iron frying pan!) and heating coffee and boiling water.

So, that was fun, but it’s the quiet that is so beautiful. Very few cars driving by (our neighborhood roads are a mess), no heat pumps running…

It’s just quiet.

And dark…

I imagine this is what it was like in Bethlehem, when all the hubbub was over (you know… angels, shepherds, innkeepers, drummer boys, etc…. the Magi are somewhere in the desert, not even a quarter of the way from Babylon.)

It’s was just Joseph, Mary, and the new baby, now 11 days old.

Ponder if you can, our 11 day old savior, who is simultaneously the Creator and Sustainer of all the universe(s?) and a helpless human baby who basically just eats, sleeps and fills his diaper.

Diapers? They had to use some kind diapers in 4BC, didn’t they?

Why helpless? Because he lowered himself from Heaven (that’s the opposite of exalted BTW) to obey the plan of God.

On those quiet nights (like this one I’m experiencing) in Bethlehem, Mary pondered. Joseph pondered. They had some idea of the plan, thanks to the angels visits. But they could not know what we do.

How incredibly privileged we are to have the Scripture to fill us in with the things that they could not. How wonderful it is to contemplate how vast is the love God has for us.

Find some silence.

Ponder.

Exalt Him who lowered himself to save us.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians‬ ‭1:15-20‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Soli Deo Gloria

When the son of God obeyed the plan of the Father he left glory and came to earth in the form of a humble, helpless baby.

Today, this 10th day of Christmas (like the leaping lord’s perhaps?), I want to rejoice in the immediate effect of His coming for me (and maybe you). To do so I wish to paraphrase the end of Romans seven in the beginning of Romans eight.What follows is, for me, a reminder of my state and how I got here.

*Oh wretched man I am, who can rescue me, will rescue me from myself, from this body of death?

But thanks be to God, for the Lord Jesus Christ, the plan of God Almighty, the Father, who sent the Son, the Incarnate One, to rescue me.

Now, in Christ, I am no longer condemned, I am free to love, free to serve, and free from shame.

Glory to God in the highest!

How vast the Father’s love for us.

_________

* This is a prayer I use in my daily time of confession following my meditation on the 10 Commandments. Credit to M. Luther for the idea.

In some traditions the 12 days of Christmas are called Christmastide. It is called such because it is a time of festival and celebration. To indicate such, we add the suffix -tide.

Today is the 9th day of the festival. On this 9th day of Christmas let’s return to John’s early descriptions of Jesus.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

We could dwell upon this text for a long, long time exploring the many deep theological concepts within, but we won’t. I simply want to dwell on one statement “became flesh”.

See, at Christmastide, we do well to pause and reconsider the Incarnation.

God himself, the Son, left the glory of heaven, left his Father’s house, his place at the right hand of God. Why?

Because he treasures you.

You and I are the reason he came. His love for us, in the context of the great plan of God, was so great that he came to be born just as we are. Because he values us.

For many people Christmas isn’t a festival at all. It is a time of tension, stress and even loss. It is hard to celebrate when that is the reality one lives in. But that’s just why he came. Because he gets it.

We have such a great high priest and advocate sitting at the right hand of the Father. He understands our struggle so that he can perfectly beg the Father for us. Thanks to his Incarnation he gets the struggle.

He made us.

He loves us.

He came to us.

He died for us.

He rose for us.

For us.

Glory to God.

Even when it’s so difficult that you just sit there and sigh.

So take that deep breath and remember that YOU are loved – perfectly.

Sigh…

On the 1st day of the new year, we keep our attention on the celebration of the Incarnation of the Son of God. Luke records the event…

“And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke‬ ‭2:21‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

This is in keeping with the instructions God gave to Moses.

“And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.” (Leviticus‬ ‭12:3‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

Joseph was described as a righteous man, he would have faithfully followed pertinent OT laws. We will see how important that becomes as time goes by.

And Happy New Year… don’t forget the black-eyed peas and the New Year’s concert from Vienna!