Christmastide

January 1, 2021

Scripture Reading:
Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance towards redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

God’s followers do not own God. We, like the writer of Ephesians, are essentially called to be Ambassadors for God. If anything, God, as creator, could claim dominion over all people. The Lord chose to grant us free will to decide if we wished to have a relationship with God or not. I get a little nervous when I hear people proclaiming God exclusively related to them or their group or their nation or their way of being.

A young man with his company’s name clearly apparent on his jacket just left my house after completing the semi-annual check of my heat and air system. With rain pouring outside, he carefully wiped his feet on a mat before entering my house, greeted me graciously, and exchanged appropriate small talk while assessing the thermostat and air filters’ locations. He checked out the heat and air unit outside and returned shortly to tell me all was well and got my signature verifying his work. He is an excellent ambassador for his company.

After He left, I looked around my house and was somewhat embarrassed at the stacks of things needing to be stored from Christmas scattered around my living and dining rooms, dishes still in my sink, the trash that needed to be taken out. I do not know if he noticed any of that or even cared. He had barely had time to call his office and report he was moving to the next customer when I got a text from the company asking me to evaluate his service.

I wonder how we would be rated if the Lord sent a text every time we had an opportunity to serve as God’s Ambassador asking the people we encounter how well we represented God. Would we come off as holier than though, like the priest avoiding getting near the Samaritan lying injured on the side of the road (Luke 10:25-37)? Perhaps we would be like Saul approving Stephen’s stoning because he did not understand scripture in the same way Saul did (Acts 7:54-60). Or maybe we would be like Jesus, who, having been raised in his country’s customs, did not discriminate against the foreign women from Canaan but healed her daughter as the mother requested. (Matthew 15:21-28)

Prayer: Lord, help us always remember when we openly proclaim to work in your services; others associate you with our behavior. Help us be beacons of hope 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 America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.