DEVOTIONAL:
Our text for this Christmas Day transports us from the story of Jesus’ birth to one of our only accounts from Jesus’ childhood. As I read over this passage, I wondered what parenting Jesus was like. God bursts into Mary and Joseph’s lives with extraordinary power and mystery. What a strange task – raising the Son of God! But surely it was easy for Jesus’ parents to forget and treat Jesus like any other child. Here, they get caught up in their anxiety over Jesus’ disappearance. And yet, Jesus reminds them that he is not ‘just’ their child; that he is here for a larger purpose.

On this day, God radically bursts into our world, and like Mary and Joseph, we’ve gotten used to this arrival. We too get caught up in the anxieties of our lives and forget to join Jesus as he sits in the house of God. I recently heard an author discussing a new book where he follows four families through the Christmas season. He reflected on the fact that the shortest chapter in the book was the one covering Christmas Day. On this day, “not much happens,” in contrast to the flurry of shopping before and after, and Christmas continues to be the quietest day in America.

I have experienced this to be true. I love walking across the empty, snow-covered streets to my grandma’s house Christmas morning. No cars or sounds, just my steps crunching across the snow. I pray that we might take this day as an opportunity to step back from our anxieties, that we might see how God has burst into our world in wonderful ways, and that we might allow the Spirit to break out into our lives.

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FROM THE EDITORS:
Thank you to every one of you for joining us this Advent season as we waited once more for the coming of the Christ child. It is our prayer that you will continue to see the many ways God is bursting in and breaking out in your life, in your congregation and in the world.

Join us again for the season of Lent in 2010 (unless you unsubscribe, they will automatically be sent to you) when the devotions by Goshen College students, faculty and staff will start on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Blessings and peace to you in the coming year!

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SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:41-52 (NRSV)

Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Assuming that he was in the group of travellers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ He said to them, ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour.

The post Dec. 25: The quietest day appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
Advent is a season of wonder, stillness, waiting and watching. Growing up with a pastor for a mother, I experienced richly the period of waiting and watching that is the Advent season. Every night we gathered in our living room. My brother and I ran around the house turning off the lights, and then we all gathered in front of the tree. My parents resolved whatever disputes there were about who got to light the Advent candles, then we sang. After we sang a few songs, it was time for my favorite part. My mother would get out a book of Christmas readings, poems or devotions, and she would read to us. In the darkness, the soft melody of her voice was comforting, and all seemed to be at peace.

On Christmas Eve, my family always shared a meal with some close family friends, then we all bundled up and headed to our church for a service of singing, readings and candle-lighting. At our church, the service ended the same way every year. The lights were turned off, and we passed a small flame from candle to candle, singing “Silent Night” as the circle of light grew. In that moment, it always seemed to me that we were on the verge of something incredible. The heavens were about to be ripped open, light was about to shatter the darkness, hope was about to come rushing in with gale force, but the moment of quiet anticipation was holy. I savored the peaceful darkness, always wishing we wouldn’t have to turn on the lights and go eat cookies.

Christmas Day can be busy and chaotic: the flash of cameras; shining, whirring toys; wrapping paper strewn about the floor; loud family dinners; laughter and music. This year, I’m going to let God burst into my Christmas celebration. May the holy peace of a world waiting for Jesus break out as you celebrate, too. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

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SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:12-17 (NRSV)

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The post Dec. 24: Light bursts into the darkness appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
During Advent, we typically focus closely on the coming of God’s gift, his son Jesus. We praise him for that and show our gratitude in different ways. God has given us more than his Son, but he has blessed us with such a beautiful earth to live on. God burst in and created the heavens and the earth, and we give him our ultimate praise.

The language of this passage is beautiful because it begins with the exclaiming praises of the heavens, and continues on, describing the different parts of God’s creation that are showing praise. The skies and waters, the mountains and trees, the animals that cover the earth, princes and kings, people of all kinds, even the stormy weather and sea monsters of the great deep. God is above all creation, and deserves to be honored and praised. Whenever I step outside, I cannot help but be amazed at God’s incredibly beautiful world. Even in the pouring rain, God’s creation is exclaiming his name. I feel God’s presence and hear creation’s praise through the roaring of the wind, the beauty of the white snow and the chirping of the birds. God shows his light on the earth both physically and spiritually. He sent his son to be a light to us, and as we anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth, we can praise God for all of his wonderful gifts to us.

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SCRIPTURE: Psalm 148 (NRSV)

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens;
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he commanded and they were created.
He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.

Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea monsters and all deeps,
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!

Mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars!
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!

Kings of the earth and all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!

Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

The post Dec. 23: Light on the earth appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
In today’s Scripture we find Hannah, Samuel’s mother, bringing him a robe as she and her husband Elkanah made their way to the temple to make the annual sacrifice. When we meet Hannah in the story she is visiting her son whom she gave to the Lord for His work because it was God who had given Hannah her son. In the chapter that proceeded today’s reading we find that Hannah was barren, unable to have children. Added to the pain and heartache of being barren we learn that Hannah is one of Elkanah’s two wives. Peninnah the other wife, who is not barren, provokes and irritates Hannah because she’s unable to have children.

One year while Hannah and Elkanah are at Shiloh making their annual sacrifice, Hannah cried out to God. Eli, the priest, saw this and listened to her concern. He told her to go in peace and that the God of Israel would grant her what she had asked for. The Lord answered Hannah’s prayer and opened her womb. Hannah gave birth to a son and she named him Samuel. Hannah in her distress cried out to the Lord and he heard her prayer. God broke through into Hannah’s life in a very real way through the birth of Samuel, but God didn’t stop there, he continued to bless Hannah and she bore five more children. As we enter into this Advent season, how is it that you need God to break through into your life?

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SCRIPTURE: 1 Samuel 2:18-20, 26 (NRSV)

Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year, when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, ‘May the Lord repay you with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord’; and then they would return to their home.

Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favour with the Lord and with the people.

The post Dec. 22: When God breaks in appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
Shortly after nightfall, as if someone had flipped a switch, the rain suddenly turned to sleet and the roadways to ice. I was driving to my parents’ house in New York state, a bad time to be riding on old tires. To make matters worse, I had to head deeper into the woods for the last few miles, winding alongside a creek.

The car met its match on an uphill curve. The car tires started spinning, and the car slid down to the edge of the creek. I tried to clear the crest of the hill several more times, but never made it. I managed to back down and park the car on a narrow shoulder of the road, and then set off on foot.

The road was as dark as it was icy. No one seemed to be at home in the few houses that I passed, and I had no flashlight. After 20 minutes or so of walking, I saw the faintest of lights up ahead. The light grew brighter, like a silent train approaching. Before long, I heard my name called out. It was my father: a search party of one with a flashlight. I was grateful (and still am, 25 years later).

Few biblical metaphors are as powerful as that of light, and never is that light more welcome – and needed – than at Advent. A light is dawning. A light comes to those who sit in darkness. Put on the armor of light. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

In our homes and in our churches, the lighting of the Advent candles is a reassuring symbol of the power of the one true Light; each week the light grows stronger. Just as we gratefully receive the light, we are directed to extend Christ’s light in the world. On Sunday, we sang: “Christ be our light! Shine in our hearts. Shine through the darkness. Christ be our light! Shine in your church gathered today.”

May we take the Light to all places in darkness – even when the roads turn icy.

The post Dec. 21: Arise, shine; for your light has come appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
I hear music of Christmas everywhere. In the stores, in businesses and on the radio, the sounds of Christmas ring loud and clear. Music can be transformative and transcend barriers.

One my favorite songs is titled, “Perfect and True.” The lyrics are based on Psalms 8:4 and beautifully proclaim: “What is man that thou art mindful of him? Could an awesome God find common ground within? Just to know that you delight to be with me fills my heart, with joy.” I am prompted to sing when I think about the favor of God and his blessed plan for our lives.

God had a plan for Mary, the mother of Jesus who was there for Jesus’ first miracle, there at the foot of the cross and then she was even present on the day of Pentecost. Mary had been called blessed and highly favored. When you are blessed, you feel obliged to bless others.

This poem by theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman reminds us to share the music in the heart and our blessings. “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among brothers, to make music in the heart.”

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SCRIPTURE: Luke 1:39-45 (NRSV)

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’

The post Dec. 18: Music in the heart appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
Words have different interpretations depending on who is saying them and who is listening. Some go out of fashion, yet remain remnants of the past in our ears: twain, verily or prithee. As I read Hebrews, I am struck by the images that sacrifice conjures. I talk about making sacrifices of time or money, but here I see a more visceral image of sacrifice.

A market bustles as people barter over which animals they can afford to buy. Bleating and writhing, the animals embody the sins of each person. The worshipper is heavy with a sense of guilt. The animal is prepared and laid on the altar. A swift cut. A sung prayer. Blood drips for sins, and rightness with God is achieved.

A modern, Western interpretation of sacrifice doesn’t often look like this. Yet it is tempting to become a perfectionist in faith. Christ’s words release me from this burden: “sacrifices and offerings you have not desired.” The responsible voice inside me says that I must figure out how to right all my wrongs. If I pray harder, memorize more Scripture or volunteer more hours at the soup kitchen can I earn God’s delight?

I asked my spiritual director: Is it possible to let God down? I often fail in my relationships to others, and subsequently, to God. With what I saw were eyes of the loving Divine, she told me, “nothing you do can separate you from God’s love.” God doesn’t desire perfection, but obedience. Christ abolished the need for the Old Testament sacrifices and through his obedience, suffering for our sins. This fills me with awe – that I don’t have to live in constant guilt, but am loved by God.

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SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 10:5-10 (NRSV)

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’
When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt-offerings and sin-offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The post Dec. 17: Is it possible to let God down? appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
Have you ever been waiting for something so long and so hard that you just ache? Maybe you are hungry, and anticipating a wonderful meal later. Maybe you know you will see a loved one soon.

While I was in Nicaragua through Goshen’s Study-Service Term program, I felt that way as the end of my term came near, and each day felt longer and longer. I thought about foods I wanted to eat, people I wanted to see, places I wanted to visit. My body ached to be home.

These feelings each involve waiting. Something great is going to happen, but it’s not here yet. We are looking forward to what is coming in the future.

They also, however, involve certainty. We may not know exactly when we will eat that meal we are so hungry for, and time always seems to stretch when we are waiting for something good – but we have full confidence that good things will come. This is how Psalm 80 feels to me. My Bible tells me that this psalm is a lament for the fall of the Northern Kingdom. The author is begging God to put an end to the suffering and displacement of the people of Israel. This is a plea, but also an expression of trust. The author is confidently relying on God to pull through.

This is how we are during Advent. We relive this season knowing how much we want and need God to come into this world. We ache because we need the nourishment, deliverance and protection that we can only get from God. We do not know how God will be revealed this year. We only ask, and wait in confidence.

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SCRIPTURE: Psalm 80:1-7 (NRSV)

To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock!
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!

Restore us, O God;
let your face shine, that we may be saved.

O Lord God of hosts,
how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
You make us the scorn of our neighbours;
our enemies laugh among themselves.

The post Dec. 16: Let your face shine, that we may be saved appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
Have you ever felt completely alone? Abandoned, even? Small and insignificant? I have. This summer, while participating in the college’s Ministry Inquiry Program, I went through a period of abandonment that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I felt as if God had turned his back on me. I struggled with sin, and then, gave up. I was abandoned. Or so I thought.

This past semester, God has worked in awesome ways to show me that I am loved and cared for. My struggles forced me to seek God in a way that I was unaccustomed to doing, and for the first time in a long time. I felt the promise of Micah 5:5: “And he will be their peace.” My peace, her peace, his peace, YOUR peace. Christ is our peace.

So often, the chaos of life finds us looking up at the foot of the mountain and telling God that the situation is impossible. We are tempted to give up. In fact, some of us do give up. Our struggles are great, and sometimes the light in our lives becomes so diminished that we believe that it cannot become a flame again.

It is for that reason, though, that I find this passage so comforting. God speaks to a small, seemingly insignificant clan of Judah and tells them that one of them will rule. He raises up the small clan who everyone ignores, shows them favor and promises to make them great. He promises that to us as individuals also. God says that although we will feel abandoned for a time, that He will return and shepherd us. Maybe sometimes, we have to go through the abandonment to appreciate being together.

During this Advent season, I exhort you all to look at the times of abandonment in your life, and realize the purpose behind each of those times. I believe that each trial and difficulty in life is used by God to break and mold us into the beautiful people he created us to be, and opportunities for Christ to truly be our peace. Abandonment is for a season, but Christ’s peace, is eternal. So here we are, safe in the arms of the God who loves us enough to return.

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SCRIPTURE: Micah 5:2-5a (NRSV)

But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labour has brought forth;
then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth;
and he shall be the one of peace.

If the Assyrians come into our land
and tread upon our soil,
we will raise against them seven shepherds
and eight installed as rulers.

The post Dec. 15: Abandoned only for a season appeared first on Devotions.

DEVOTIONAL:
I remember the Advent wreath of my early years, centered on the kitchen table. It was made with fresh pine branches, encircling five candles on a red metal plate purchased on a summer trip to Minnesota. Each night our family of four would light the number of candles corresponding to the current week of Advent, and sing “O Come, O Come Immanuel.” My voice joined my mother’s and sister’s sopranos, while my dad did his best to trace the outline of the melody in his off-key baritone.

The lighting of the Advent wreath and the singing of “O Come” are still my most important practices during this penitential season of preparation. The aching melancholy of the 15th century chant that comprises the first half of this hymn embodies the anguish of waiting for a light, for deliverance, for goodness to burst upon the world and make things right. Save us, O God, from ourselves, from others, from the forces that beat upon us. O come, Immanuel, Rod of Jesse, Dayspring from on high.

When it seems as if we can bear the longing of the single line chant no more, the refrain of the hymn suddenly breaks into four-part harmony, an explosive contrast. The lyrics affirm for us that we wait in hope: “Rejoice, rejoice! Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”

During Advent, as we wait to be delivered, we paradoxically realize that God’s saving energy has already entered this world through the form of Jesus Christ. We need look no further than a lighted candle or a burst of musical fullness to be reminded of its presence.

The post Dec. 14: Save appeared first on Devotions.