Christmas
January 5, 2017

Scripture Reading: Acts 10:34-43

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.
–Acts 10:34-36

This statement was revolutionary when spoken. Grasping its magnitude for that generation and ours is hard. We still wrestle with the roles of being God’s people and recognizing God as sovereign for everyone. It echoes in the creation story and is present in Abraham’s message from God calling him and his people to be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 22:18). Human nature at times hears the call to be set apart as meaning to be better than the other. At such times, as groups, we tend to migrate from inclusive to exclusive gatherings.

A new revolution awaits our participation. God calls us to inclusiveness, which demands our investment in crossing lines of communion and communication we have long feared. The reasons for our fears are many. We inherited some from a different time. Some reflect our struggles for wholeness. Others cross a line separating us from God where fear becomes a tool for power-fulfillment, corruption, and greed. We must address all the causes.

The promise of God with us assures that dealing with our fears, while difficult, is not hopeless. God with us means we never step out into the vast darkness of fear without the strongest support system every known. God with us can convert our fears into an energy force for love.

Prayer: Immanuel, God with us, we thank you for coming among us and remaining among us. We praise you for your loving example. We submit our whole beings to you to mold us into vessels for your light and love. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.