On a Mission

A meditation on Epiphany
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Matthew 2:1-12 

[The definition of epiphany is “the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi”. During the first century, the church debated what Gentiles needed to do in order to find a place in the church. Paul affirmed their place in his letter to the Colossians.]

“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”               Colossians 1:27 NLT

  

For Christmas, we made plans to arrive at our daughter’s house about 9:30 am. By the time we packed the presents plus the food, our car was very full. Although it’s only about a twelve-minute drive to their house, we were running a little bit late. Not much, just a little.

 

However, apparently at 9:32 our grandson turned to his parents and said, “They’re late”! It’s not that he was worried about us, but he was on a mission to open ALL of his presents as SOON as possible! In the same way, the magi were on a mission.

 

According to my ESV study Bible, the magi were likely Persian priests who used astrology to understand and predict future events. Also, if they came from Babylon, it would have taken them at least six weeks to get to Jerusalem. But they were on a mission to find the baby who was born king of the Jews.

 

Upon their arrival in Jerusalem, King Herod soon learned about their mission. He was “deeply disturbed” by this news, and consulted the Jewish priests and teachers of the law. You see, Herod was on a mission too, but his was quite different. Instead of worshiping the king of the Jews, he wanted to eliminate him.

 

When the religious leaders told Herod where the Messiah was to be born, he in turn, told the magi. He instructed them to go find the child, and when they did, to come back and let him know so that, “I too may go and worship him”.

 

^9-11 The wise men listened to the king and then went on their way to Bethlehem. And now the star, which they had seen in the east, went in front of them as they travelled until at last it shone immediately above the place where the little child lay. The sight of the star filled them with indescribable joy. So they went into the house and saw the little child with his mother Mary. And they fell on their knees and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts—gold, incense and myrrh.                        NLT

 

The magi were on a mission to find the king of the Jews. They were willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish their mission. They invested their time, talent and treasure. They risked their lives by disobeying Herod’s direct instructions.

 

Are you willing to do whatever it takes to find the Messiah? To worship him? To bring him your gifts of time, talent and treasure? Are you on a mission this Christmas? This year of 2023?

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

The Adventures of Letterman

A Series on Advent
The Christ candle – Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 1:1-18 

[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]

  

In the 70’s, there was a children’s TV show called The Electric Company. During the show, they had a daily vignette called “The Adventures of Letterman”. The plot revolved around some problem with a word that Letterman would fix. But before he could come to the rescue, the narrator would say:

“Faster than a rolling ‘o’. Stronger than silent ‘e’. Able to leap capital ‘T’ in a single bound. It’s a word! It’s a plan!! It’s Letterman!!!”

 

Suddenly Letterman would fly into the story and fix the word making everything right. In one episode, Letterman changed ‘night’ to ‘light’ with a simple switch of a letter. By changing the word, everyone would live in daylight rather than night. Letterman saved the day!

 

John’s opening verses tell a similar story.

¹ In the beginning the Word already existed.

    The Word was with God,
    and the Word was God.
² He existed in the beginning with God.
³ God created everything through him,
    and nothing was created except through him.
⁴ The Word gave life to everything that was created,
    and his life brought light to everyone.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness,
    and the darkness can never extinguish it.                NLT

 

“The Word gave life to everything that was created”… that includes you and me. “And his life brought light to everyone”.  Like Letterman, if you’ll forgive the comparison, the Word brings light where the “darkness can never extinguish it”.

 

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.         NIV

 

Jesus is “the Word who became flesh”. He did this by making his home not just “among us”, but within us. Paul confirmed this in his letter to the church in Colossae.

 

²⁷ For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.              NLT

 

As you light the Christ candle of Advent, may Christ live in you today and throughout the coming year.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

 

 

 

Routine or Upside Down?

A Series on Advent
The candle of peace – the shepherds
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 2:1-20 

[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]

  

Life can feel upside down at times.

 

Since I retired, I’ve developed a pattern in life that has a certain ebb and flow to it. It includes working on this devotional blog, practicing piano, picking up my granddaughter on Tuesdays, meeting with friends for breakfast or lunch and going to choir practice. It’s pretty routine.

 

The shepherds probably had a routine to their life also. Most likely this included feeding the sheep and giving them water. Or if one got lost or caught in a bush or wandered from the herd, a shepherd would search and bring them back to safety. For the most part it was fairly mundane.

 

The only time there would have been any real excitement is when a predator would try to attack one of the sheep. It doesn’t take much imagination to visualize a shepherd jumping to his feet with adrenaline rushing and doing whatever it took to protect his sheep.

 

The night the angel appeared to the shepherds was no doubt just like any other night... routine. However, they were totally unaware of the life-changing drama that had taken place in Bethlehem. They didn’t know anything about the couple who had come into town in the ninth month of her pregnancy, only to give birth in a stable to a son.

 

But then the angel appeared to them and told them this news. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

 

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”         ESV

 

This is the news that the shepherds brought to Joseph and Mary. It was a message about peace. Not outward peace, but inward.

 

⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.              Isaiah 9:6 NIV

 

Christmas is often routine. We sing the same carols; put up a tree with the same ornaments; listen to the same Christmas story. But for the shepherds, it was anything but routine. In fact, their lives were turned upside down.

 

So… where are you in the Christmas spectrum? Are you settling for the routine? Or embracing the Prince of Peace with the risk of turning your world upside down?

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

Z’s Anticipation

A Series on Advent
The candle of joy – Zechariah
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 1:5-25; 1:57-80 

[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]

 

Last Christmas, my wife gave me this beautiful National Park Quarters Collector’s Map. There are fifty-six slots to fill, and after a year of collecting I still need eight!

 

Recently, I received an advertisement in the mail to buy the complete set. It’s tempting, but for me, the whole idea of collecting is that you do the collecting, not somebody else who sells it to you.

 

Plus, the anticipation of completing the set, results in greater satisfaction when it’s all done. There’s something special about faithfully waiting rather than having it handed to you on a platter. Such was the case for Zechariah… or Z as I will call him.

 

Z and his wife Elizabeth, are described as being “righteous in the sight of God, very old and childless”. On one occasion Z, who was a priest, was responsible to burn incense in the temple. While there, he encountered an angel.

 

Terrified, the angel comforted Z and told him to not be afraid. That his prayer had been heard and that his wife was going to have a son and that he should be named John. Even more amazing though, was what else the angel told Z about his son.

 

¹⁷ He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”     NLT

 

The phrase “prepare the people for the coming of the Lord”, was a direct reference to the Messiah! But, Z didn’t believe the angel. As a result, he was struck dumb and couldn’t speak until after the child was born.

 

As the angel had prophesied, Elizabeth became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When it came time to name him, Z confirmed the name of John by writing it down. Only then was he filled with the Holy Spirit and finally able to speak.

 

⁷⁶ “And you, my little son,
    will be called the prophet of the Most High,
    because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
⁷⁷ You will tell his people how to find salvation
    through forgiveness of their sins.        NLT

 

You can feel the pride and joy in his words. His son was going to be an integral part of the coming Messiah on whom the nation of Israel had been waiting for centuries. However, Z was most joyful about the coming Messiah.

 

As you prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ, do so with great anticipation. Not the anticipation of giving or getting gifts or being with family. But with Z’s anticipation, that God sent his son into our world to bring redemption.

 

Jesus… Immanuel… God with us. That is worth waiting for. That is worth lighting the candle of joy.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

A Mother’s Love

A Series on Advent
The candle of love – Mary
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 1:26-38; 2:1-20 

[Advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Tradition includes lighting four candles: hope, love, joy and peace. To celebrate Advent, we will be looking at four people plus one who were intimately involved in the Christmas story, and then relating their part of the story to one of the Advent candles.]

  

A few years before my Mother passed away, I gave her this wall hanging which puts into words a mother’s love. It was so true for my Mom.

 

Her world was her children - raising and loving us. Even as adults, we were still her children. As a young woman, she probably had dreams of what being a wife and a mother would be like. Whether those dreams ever came true, I don’t know.

 

It’s safe to say that Mary’s dreams and expectations of marriage and motherhood, weren’t fulfilled. After all, what woman in Mary’s culture, would dream of getting pregnant out of wedlock? Or dream of traveling sixty-five miles by donkey over rugged terrain while being nine months pregnant? Or dream of giving birth in a stable and laying her baby in a feeding trough?

 

And yet, following the appearance of an angel, Mary seemed to not only accept these adverse circumstances, but to embrace them.

 

The angel said, “^37 “For the word of God will never fail.” ³⁸ Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.          NLT

 

The birth of a baby is a joyous occasion. Friends and family celebrate with you; bring you presents; provide you with meals. But not Mary. Shepherds came to see her baby. They were strangers who tended sheep... just about the worst possible job you could imagine. But they told Mary of an angelic birth announcement.

 

¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”          NLT

 

Based on this announcement, the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus just as the angel had described. In their excitement, they shared what the angel had declared to them. Mary responded with a mother’s love.

 

¹⁸ All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, ¹⁹ but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.     NLT

 

What did Mary “keep in her heart”?

Was she thinking about the angel who predicted that she would have a virgin birth; that the Lord God would give her baby the throne of David; that he would reign over Israel forever; that his Kingdom would never end?

Or was she thinking about the shepherds that told her an unbelievable story of an angel declaring that the Messiah had been born in Bethlehem; that the Messiah was her baby Jesus?

 

As you prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus this Christmas, remember to “keep all these things in your heart and think of them often” just like Mary did.

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams