Christmastide

December 26, 2020

Scripture Reading: Psalm 97

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
   let the many coastlands be glad!

The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
   and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshippers of images are put to shame,
   those who make their boast in worthless idols;
   all gods bow down before him.
Zion hears and is glad,
   and the towns of Judah rejoice,
   because of your judgements, O God.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
   you are exalted far above all gods. –Psalm 97:1, 6-9

As a society, we are having a rough time addressing the COVID pandemic. Some think rights are being taken from them because they cannot eat at their favorite restaurants or have large gatherings; more and more people suffer from hunger and eviction. Our stock market reaches all-time highs as our unemployment rate grows. We worship the idols of wealth and lust for power at the expense of others. Such a caste system runs counter to the creation story that all people are created in God’s image.

I think it is time that we, who call ourselves Christian, do some solemn soul-searching to determine whether we align with Christ’s vision of being his Body in the world today or are creating an image to meet our desires and claim it is God’s. The coming of a new year is an excellent time for such self-assessment. Studying the Sermon on the Mount and Matthew 25 are good places to start. I will reread The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a follow-up to the Sermon on the Mount study. I might even delve into The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis again. I invite you to join me on this journey.

Prayer: Lord, help us make this time of taking the threats of a pandemic seriously by staying home as a time to review our ways of being and realign them with the path you set before us. 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.