Several years ago now, I remember my friend Charlie Landreth sharing a message on the story about the Wisemen following the star to find the Christ child. And I remember he noted first and foremost that Matthew tells us, in words that almost leap off the page: When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy…”

That’s a powerful statement. They were overwhelmed with joy!

Barbara Brown Taylor describes the experience of joy as “almost irreverent.” She writes, “Joy has never had very much to do with what is going on in the world at the time. This is what makes it different from happiness, or pleasure, or fun. All those depend on positive conditions… The only condition for joy is the presence of God… which means that it can erupt in a depressed economy, in the middle of a war, or in an intensive care waiting room… it is a gift…”

In addition to joy; however, there is another emotion prevalent in this text: and that is fear. If we were to back up, when the Magi reached Jerusalem and began asking around, Matthew tells us that Herod got very nervous. This news of Jesus’s birth struck him with fear. And not only him. Matthew says, “Herod was terrified, and all Jerusalem with him.”

Fear is a pretty powerful emotion as well.

So what a huge contrast: the wise men following the star which leads to joy and Herod and all of Jerusalem – never looking up – filled with fear.

I remember Charlie asking: where do you find your place in this story? Where to stand as you face this New Year? In what mood do you live your life? Joy or Fear? Or a mixture of both? Most of us live our lives within that tension….

I wonder how often fear gets in the way of our following the light – or even noticing the light. I wonder how often fear gets in the way of our experiencing joy or grace or God….

As we head into this new year – wherever you are on the journey of life: I pray that you would not allow fear to dominate your life or your decisions. I pray that you would keep your head up, your eyes open and your heart tender… I pray that in doing so, you might notice the in-breaking of the light of Christ into your life at unexpected times and in unexpected ways. May that light not only bring you deep and abiding joy – but lead you to respond with all your heart…

Let us pray: God of Grace, as we sit on the edge of this new year, we ask that the light of Christ would bring joy and hope to our hearts and lives. It is in his name we pray. Amen.

In Psalm 119 we read, “Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light unto my path.”

If you read the entire Psalm, all 176 verses, you would find over and over and over again it’s praising God for the gift of scripture. Throughout this psalm, there are also sections of prayer asking God for ongoing guidance and change of heart. The prayers are repetitive:

Teach me.
Give me understanding.
Lead me in your paths.
Give me life in your ways.

The psalmist believes that our faith offers us a path, a way of life that is lived in harmony, or in tune with the Creator of the Universe. And, our scriptures teach us how to live that path.

Years ago, a retired pastor was helping part-time in our church. I remember he would come into the office some days so excited about something he’d read that morning in the Bible – some new insight he had gleaned. Inevitably, he’d want to share it with all of us. I thought it was beautiful that God still spoke to him in new ways through the Bible – even after 50 years of preaching and teaching and studying it. What a treasure.

I pray that in your own life, it would be a gift as well – more than just a book that sits on your shelf or in a church pew. I pray that you would open it, read it, soak it in, and be comfortable in it. And may you find that as you do, God will lead you, equip you, change you, and speak to you through it.

Let us pray: O Ancient of Days, God of this very moment. We have set this time set aside for you. We’ve put our lives on pause because we know that you created us to be in communion with you. We ask your Spirit to rest on us. Grant us open our hearts and a desire to meet you in your ancient – yet living word. Amen.

In an old Family Circus comic, the little girl explains to her even younger brother, “They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything.”

Words are important too, aren’t they? However, there is something powerful about the human touch. When we read the healing stories in the gospels, we find that Jesus almost always touches the very people he seeks to heal, even those who would have been ritually unclean. Touch seems to play a prominent role in the healing process.

In fact, scientific studies have shown that people need empathetic contact not only to recover from illness and injury but also, in the case of the elderly and very young it is essential to life. During our months of social distancing, many of us suffered tremendously for this very thing – lack of touch.

Today, even if you have to go outside to do so, I pray that you would make an effort to find a hand that needs holding, a back that needs patting, or a person who could use a hug. Remind them that they are important and that they are loved without even saying a word.

Let us pray: God of Grace, when you stepped into this world in the person of Jesus you confirmed the goodness of your physical creation. You reminded us that we are not only spirit but flesh and blood. Grant us the grace we need to take care of ourselves and others – body, mind, and soul. Grant us the wisdom and the courage to reach out, to touch and to show love to those who need it most. In giving may we also receive. We ask in the name of the Word made Flesh. Amen

A few years ago, my friend Andy traveled to the Holy Land. He said that while visiting the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square in Bethlehem, he was caught off guard. He was expecting to see the spot where Jesus was first laid and took his first breath, but what he was not expecting to see was that right next to the manger itself, separated only by a wall built much later, sits the tomb of the innocents. It is a memorial to the firstborns killed in Herod’s attempt to end Jesus’s life before it ever got started.

He said, standing there in between the manger and the tomb was jarring. It was a stark reminder of humanity’s capacity for inhumanity… and then in contrast: God’s tremendous love for us – a love that cannot be snuffed out.

When reflecting on her own visit to the manger, author and pastor Danielle Shroyer writes about being there, “You can imagine Jesus sleeping… with Mary and Joseph nearby, all of them unaware that soon enough the kingdoms of this world will start coming for him, starting first with Herod and ending with the full power of the Roman Empire itself. In between, he will bring discomfort to every kind of power this world has to offer: political and economic power, religious power, powers of class and gender and ethnicity, powers of nation and state. He will even disrupt natural powers: disease, storms, a simple loaf of bread. This child is King, and there is no place on which his authority does not rest. He will ultimately replace all those misplaced attempts at power with the only force that can undo them: the unconditional, unwavering, unfaltering love of God.”

In his Gospel, John describes Christmas like this: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son… And the Word became flesh and lived among us… What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it.

My prayer for you this Christmas, that you would glimpse again the unconditional, unwavering, unfaltering love of God – love that is more powerful than the darkness, more powerful than illness, more powerful than the powers that seek to divide us in this nation, more powerful than hate or greed or brokenness. It is a love that is calling out the better side of humanity – healing, redeeming, forgiving, and calling us to follow…

Let us pray: On this Holy Day, the celebration of the birth of your son, Lord God, we worship you, we adore you, we praise you. We remember today that Christmas is about a birth. It is a beginning, a new start. Give us eyes to see the places where the light is overtaking the darkness, and hearts to follow the light. Fill each of us with the beauty of this day until we overflow in joy and praise. We ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

I once heard about a grandmother who was trying to finish some last-minute Christmas shopping with her grandchildren. Just when they got in the car, the five-year-old boy said, “Grandma, Sarah has something in her pocket.” Sure enough, Sarah reached into her pocket and pulled out a brand new red barrette.

Even though she was exhausted from the day, the grandmother knew they had to go back to the store and have Sarah return the item. After they did so, they continued to the grocery store. It was then at the grocery store checkout that the clerk asked, “Have you kids been good so Santa will come?” “I’ve been very good,” the little boy responded, “but my little sister just robbed a store.”

The story is funny. And no doubt, children are impressionable. They watch closely what we adults say and do. And they imitate us very well!

But it may not only be children who are looking up to us as role models. There may be others at your work or in your life who need guidance or acceptance or a friendly sounding board. We have all kinds of opportunities in life to model our faith.

You may have heard the expression, you are the only Bible some people will ever read. It is true.

My prayer for you is that as you go through life, you would live out your faith in such a way that others see the gospel in you.

Let us pray: Loving God, may we live lives of integrity, and by doing so, be ambassadors for your grace, mercy, love. I pray especially today for those who may need guidance, acceptance, or a friend. I entrust them to your care and the care of your people. In Jesus’s name. Amen.