The Christmas Story

Once again the Christmas Season is upon us.  Today is Christmas Sunday and I thought it would be fitting to share the Christmas story - the birth story of Jesus from Luke 2:

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

God Bless Everyone - Merry Christmas

Nelson Mandela

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” 

 

― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom

Let God be Your Peace

The last couple of months I've pretty neglectful of this blog site. I've let the demands of life take over.  Occasionally I've wandered back on here (when I've thought of it).  Sometimes I've thought about getting on here and second guessed myself thinking, "Does anyone really read the words that I write?"  "Am I making a difference by keeping this site active?"  But today I thought - The holidays are approaching... "remember how difficult the holidays used to be for you, Carol?"  Yep, I remember!  Then, I thought - Even if only one person is reading this blog... even if I (through the grace of God) am only making an impact in one person's life today - than it's worth it.  So, here I am.

The Prayer of St Francis is on my heart today.  I hope you are able to draw strength from it.

Please know, if you are going through difficulties during this time of year - and I know many are struggling - know that you are not alone... Let God be your Peace, Love, Pardon, Faith, Hope, Light, and Joy.

Characteristics of a Child of God

It would be great to be able to get up every morning and live out our perfect intentions.  But unfortunately - life happens and we let down ourselves and God.  In our dream worlds, we would all be able to go through our days being the "Children of God" that Jesus calls us to be.  But until then - we are able to strive to be the best we can possibly be; showing the following characteristics through our actions.

C – concern for others

Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

H – humility

1 Peter 5:5-6

You younger [brothers and sisters], likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that [God] may exalt you at the proper time…

I – inspiration

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

L – loyalty and love

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

D – dedication

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.

O – open mindedness (non-judgment) 

Luke 6:37

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven..."  

F – faith

Romans 1:17b

The righteous will live by faith.   

G – graciousness

2 Timothy 4:22 

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

O – obedience 

Romans 15:1-2

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

D- devotion 

Luke 10:27

He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

  

The Good Samaritan

^{I preached a sermon on Sunday about The Good Samaritan.  This parable comes from} 

^{Luke 10:25-37...}

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

This has always been one of my favorite stories in the Bible, because there are many lessons to be learned in these passages.  Of course, the main message we are taught is that we should have compassion for all humankind.  This means that we can’t reserve this empathy for just a select few – and we sure can’t base it on who we like or don’t like.  Why?  Because by dying on the cross, Jesus had compassion for all of us and this parable instructs us to have that same compassion for others.  

Basically, as I said, the main message of the sermon was that we must have compassion for all - our "neighbors." But before we get to the definition of neighbor we need to determine what it means to “Love our neighbors as ourselves.” 

We are literally hard wired to take care of our own well-being.  What are some of the things that we do for ourselves every day?  (We make sure we have enough food, health care, shelter, clothes, etc.)  How does that translate into loving our neighbors?  Well, we don’t need to have a heartfelt emotion toward another human being in order to meet those same needs for their well-being. As I said, sometimes we may not even like our neighbors.  Actually, we don’t even need to know the people to whom we show empathy.

Donations of time, talent and money are was of helping the showing compassion to people all around us… people that feel defeated or just need a hand. So, who is our neighbor?  

C G Montefiore said, “Who needs me is my neighbor.  Whom at the given time and place I can help with my active love, he is my neighbor and I am his.”  

Ray Scott used the following definition of neighbor in a sermon he gave in 2004 - “Anyone whose need you see, whose need you are in a position to meet” is your neighbor.

When we are asked to love others, we are not required to love them emotionally, but in very definite, practical and realistic ways… Just like we love ourselves.  The Samaritan did that in our parable today. 

But not only have we been given an example of compassion in this story – we were given a very real example of the gift of compassion – of neighborly love and grace – in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Jesus died on the cross for each of us .  He loved us more than he loved himself - for he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life, on the cross, for our salvation. 

At the end of our parable, Jesus asks the lawyer, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The lawyer answers – “The one who had mercy on him.”AND Jesus told him (just like he tells us today), “Go and do likewise.”