Worship Sundays at 9 am
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…from worship at Good Sam Dec 15, 2013
Luke 1:5—2:40 Matthew 1:18—2:23
It is a worth while activity to reflect on the Christmas Story from a devotional point of view. Repeated again and again in this drama is the theme of God’s working through the lives of specific people. The story suggests that when God comes to work in our lives, somewhere in the process we become prepared to welcome and receive that activity. The Angel Gabriel comes to Mary (Lk 1:26-38) to prepare her, but already we can see her heart is ready for this activity of God. She goes to visit her Cousin Elizabeth and they together share a vision for God’s working among them. An Angel appears to Joseph (Mt 1:20) encouraging him to not fear to take Mary as his wife. The Shepherds have news shared with them and lo and behold, they indeed discover the sign that would confirm for them the truth of what they had heard: They found “Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger.” Even the sign (the baby in a manger) itself seems to suggest that in Jesus, God is already working in a new and different kind of way. Somehow this nearness of God in just right for us, but also requires our welcoming of it too.
Perhaps this Christmas God is also working in our lives to prepare us for special work that is just right for us each of us to do. Learning to see God’s activity is the work of faithful people of every time and place. Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds and the Magi might be great examples for us as we too ponder in our hearts what God is up to today.
(Sorry, there is no audio recording for this Christmas Pageant.)