Reflections from another Christmas season...sermon posts...Luke 1:39-80

 

This is a twofer sermon post with a short devotional from Christmas Eve and the sermon from Sunday, Dec. 26th.  I am walking slowly through Luke 1 & 2 to glean as much from the first Advent account.  The picture above shows an example of what old priest Zechariah might have wrote upon during his nine months of silence.

Elizabeth and Zechariah in the face of popular opinion that didn't give up after the first "no" stuck with "His name is John."  "His name is John" is synonymous for me as "I hear what you are saying but God has said...."  At times popular opinion might look logical; it may have been voted on; and we may look like the unloving position to stand opposite of it but what God has said we need to continue to live by with ever increasing love and grace.

The god of popular opinion many times wants to change the story line.  We see that with the major religious days of the church calendar.  We have changed or added to the first Advent event with a focus on what we might get rather than Who was given from on high.  We dress up Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday to be "kinder" to the younger audience but these adaptions have taken on a life of their own.

As society drifts farther from the actual events, we, the church, need to speak of them all the more.  We center around them to explain the great mercy, love and grace of our God to provide His own Son to fulfill His words of the New Covenant.  We tie together the Baby laid in the manger to the Man laid upon a cross and later laid in a tomb to a risen Man three days later who ascended unto heaven to be by God's side until sent by Him to come again and bring home His bride, the church.  We focus on the redemptive plan of God as given to us through His Scriptures.

So far we have Elizabeth, Mary and Zechariah calling the Baby still in the womb of Mary, "my Lord" or "my Savior."  They all accompany this declaration with worship and it focuses on the redemption of "who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her (Mary) by the Lord" (Luke 1:45, LSB).  What our culture has created as great times for the family to gather can be opportune times for Christian families to speak of God's words so our children hear more of what God has said and done than what the world says.

I fear God's words and actions are getting less and less air time even in our Christian homes.  Maybe this is a good nudge going into a new year.  

Adam