Readings:
I Chronicles 20
Acts 12:1-17
Focus:
Acts 12:10b:"They came out and had walked the length of one street when suddenly the angel left him."
Peter has been in jail because Herod, the king, has begun persecuting members of the new church. The populace doesn't object, so the authorities feel bold enough to make this move. But God helps Peter escape through miraculous means.
Yet Peter's angel guide does not stay with him all the time after the escape. In fact, the angel only goes a little way, and then abruptly disappears, leaving Peter on his own to figure out what to do next.
God didn't suddenly give up on Peter. Rather, God gave him the help he needed, and then left him to deal with the situation with the gifts that he was already prepared with: his intelligence, his knowledge, and his experience, among other things.
This is the way that God may help us, too. Perhaps he will nudge us towards some sort of solution, but he won't do it all for us. He will leave a lot of the "working it out" to us. It makes life an interesting mystery to see how God helps us and what he expects us to do!
Showing posts with label angel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label angel. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
Not Kings, But Shepherds; Not a Magnificent Figure, But a Baby
Reading:
Luke 2:1-20
Focus:
Luke 2:8-9:"Now in this same district there were shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch through the night over their flock. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them."
Luke 2:16:"They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger."
Luke 2:1-20 is the text that my husband Jim preached from this morning, and it's probably the most familiar Christmas text from the Bible. What Jim talked about is also what strikes me in this text. If we were planning an appearance on earth by the God of the universe, we would probably make it grand and glorious, with lightning blasts across the sky, hordes of angels lining a pathway, and the Son of God stepping grandly down. He would greet the world leaders and lead them to a new world order.
But that's not how God actually did it. Instead of world leaders, a few shepherds in the middle of the night were the only ones who were notified. The choir of angels didn't sing for the kings and emperors; they sang for field workers tending animals.
And then the Son of God didn't appear in majesty. The shepherds ran to the stable, and what they found was not a magnificent figure, but instead, a little newborn baby. That was how God chose to enter our world as a human.
As it says in the Christmas carol:
"How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in."
Luke 2:1-20
Focus:
Luke 2:8-9:"Now in this same district there were shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch through the night over their flock. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them."
Luke 2:16:"They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger."
Luke 2:1-20 is the text that my husband Jim preached from this morning, and it's probably the most familiar Christmas text from the Bible. What Jim talked about is also what strikes me in this text. If we were planning an appearance on earth by the God of the universe, we would probably make it grand and glorious, with lightning blasts across the sky, hordes of angels lining a pathway, and the Son of God stepping grandly down. He would greet the world leaders and lead them to a new world order.
But that's not how God actually did it. Instead of world leaders, a few shepherds in the middle of the night were the only ones who were notified. The choir of angels didn't sing for the kings and emperors; they sang for field workers tending animals.
And then the Son of God didn't appear in majesty. The shepherds ran to the stable, and what they found was not a magnificent figure, but instead, a little newborn baby. That was how God chose to enter our world as a human.
As it says in the Christmas carol:
"How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given;
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
