Advent
December 15, 2018
Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
There is an assumption in the phrase let your gentleness be known to everyone in this scripture that all possess some amount of gentleness. Someone posted a picture of one of my adult grand-nephews recently on Facebook. He is a good-sized guy, was a football lineman in high school, and now has a full beard. The picture is of him asleep lying back in a recliner with a tiny kitten also asleep on his shoulder her head resting on his beard. The picture is the epidemy of a gentle giant and assures anyone around that nobody is going to mess with that kitten. One of the images of God is the gentle Savior who is present with all the Lord’s children and other creatures too.
The Greek word translated gentle in the above scripture is epieikḗs* and it means justice beyond ordinary justice. It represents true equity that appropriately fulfills the spirit not just the letter of the law. Sounds like a good helping of justice served with a touch of God’s grace. Isn’t that what God wants, what we want for everyone as we gently serve as God’s hands and feet active in the world today?
Gentle Savior, lead me on
Let Your Spirit light the way
Gentle Savior, lead me on
Hold me close and keep me safe
Lead me on, gentle Savior**
Prayer: O God, Lead us into greater gentleness. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/1933.htm
**Chorus of Gentle Savior lyrics by David Phelps / Kyle Matthews / Greg Bieck © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group. See at https://www.google.com/search?q=gentle+savior&oq=gentle+savi&aqs=chrome.0.0j69i57j0l4.13560j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8