Christmastide

January 2, 2022

Scripture Reading:
John 1:(1-9), 10-18

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John testified to him and cried out, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.”‘) From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:10-18

We are a world, nation, state, city, and home caught on the cusp of being the people God created us to be or not. We are caught in the terrible twos of spiritual maturation. How we respond will carve our future. The terrible twos in the study of human maturation refers to a normal stage in a child’s development in which a toddler can regularly bounce between reliance on adults and a newly burgeoning desire for independence. The symptoms vary between children but can include frequent mood changes and temper tantrums*. In one way or another, we hear adults expressing similar frustration as we strive to transition from one form of being to one with more responsibility.

Our societal maturation follows a similar path. Jesus came to demonstrate in person the better way, the moral way, to transition into a positive world at all levels. He taught love, forgiveness, oneness, and justice, setting an example for all to follow as parents try to help their children develop. I guess his faith’s terrible twos came in the desert when the devil tried to distract him with wealth and power, and he withstood those temptations to usher in the movement toward a world and all that is in it that is ruled by love**.

Prayer: God, forgive us when we give up on growing in Spirit and truth. Grant us the peace of your love to help us through the difficult times caused by the world’s distractions. Amen.

*https://www.verywellfamily.com/terrible-twos-and-your-toddler-2634394#:~:text=The%20%22terrible%20twos%22%20refers%20to,mood%20changes%20and%20temper%20tantrums.

**Luke 4:1-13

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.