Christmas
December 31, 2017
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:22-40
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’ –Luke 2:25-40
One of the challenges of our society is bringing the various generations together for not only the Common Good of various nations but also for the successful work of the Body of Christ. Differing influences in our lifetimes prepared us in a variety of ways to address issues. What one age group may see as normal another may identify as sin. If 20 years equals a generation, we now have five generations of adults vying for supremacy in our culture. Religious organizations are some of few that have a natural field for working out these differences. It is not easy.
Care of the earth is one of my congregation’s goals strongly supported particularly by millennials. When we switched from using Styrofoam cups to ceramic cups that had to be washed for our after-church coffee, one of our octogenarian was very upset. She informed me that getting away from washing dishes was important and she thought the Styrofoam kept the coffee hotter anyway. From that Sunday forward she brings her own Styrofoam cup each week. What was viewed as progress 50 years ago is now part of a new problem. This event happened a few years ago. We moved to biodegradable cups and now have gone full circle using a trash pickup company that recycles among many other things Styrofoam.
How do we communicate with one another sharing our fears and our goals? How do we bridge the gap between generations to mine wisdom while dispelling past realities that no longer exist? Simeon sets a great example for the mature generations. He was a future thinker wanting to leave the world a better place as he rejoiced in the birth of a long-expected Savior.
Prayer: Lord, enable us to glean wisdom from others as we work o dispel fears. Amen.