Tag Archives: God Incarnate

God Incarnate, Jesus Christ

Advent

November 28, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10

A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
   and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
   the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
   the spirit of counsel and might,
   the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
   or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt around his loins. –Isaiah 11:1-5

Jesse was King David’s father. He was the son of Ohed who was the son of Boaz and Ruth. Matthew 1 tells us that Jesus comes from that line. When I have the time, I dive into my genealogy. I can see traces of both my mother and father in my siblings and me. Our dad gave us a love of music. I often describe my mother as the world’s greatest egalitarian.  She did believe that all people are created equal and should be treated that way.

I have wondered if God incarnate came to us in human form so that God could better understand we humans whom God created. From that experience, we receive redemption and the grace that enables us to become the people we were created to be as we move and have our being, choosing to build a world ruled by love based on learning from our past successes and failures.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for creating humans who can grow in faith and pass it on to the next generation.  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.

Prophesy Realized

Kingdom Building

November 20, 2019

Scripture Reading: Luke 1:68-79
‘Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
   for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us
   in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
   that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.
Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
   and has remembered his holy covenant,
the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham,
   to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies,
might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
   before him all our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
   for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to his people
   by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
   the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
   to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

And so, Jeremiah’s words were realized; God’s Word was made flesh and dwelt among us*. Luke is a wonderful storyteller. We owe him much for scripting the incarnation of God in words and acts of everyday people doing extraordinary work. A young girl is called to be the mother of the Chosen One. A women barren for years conceives and bears a son, known as John the Baptist, who introduces this Chosen One to the world. John’s father, the Priest Zachariah, attempts to put into writing the amazing facts of this story in the above poem.

The one who is coming is the Redeemer, Savior described by the ancient prophets. He is the one gifted to us by the tender mercy of God to give light to those who sit in darkness and to guide our feet to peace.

I write this after seeing on the morning news citizens of Hong Kong in turmoil over human rights, hearings being conducted regarding malfeasance in our government, and random acts of violence in various parts of the USA where people are being murdered apparently as solutions to domestic problems.

It is good that we have a designated time each year to remember that we have a Redeemer, a Savior that came into the world as an innocent infant to model for us a better way. It is even more important that we renew our efforts to share this Good News to the ends of the earth.

Prayer: Lord guide our feet to higher ground so we might see the places we need to work to fulfill our call to be your conduit of love. Amen.

*See John 1:14 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.

Darkness to Light

Christmas
January 5, 2019

Scripture Reading: John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. –John 1:1-5

We really do not know when Jesus was born, although some have tried to calculate it based on hints in the gospels. Some think the date December 25 was chosen to re-target the winter solstice events to the celebration of Jesus’ birth. I do not guess it really matters. What matters is that God incarnate came to be with us in the birth of the child Jesus.

I, however, love the song In the Bleak Mid-Winter because it deals with the coldness and darkness of a world without Jesus and that sings well in the winter in many parts of the world. Not so much in Bethlehem where I understand it does snow occasionally but not often. Bethlehem at the turn of the first century was well acquainted with the coldness of despotic rule where babies were killed to calm the nerves of an unstable ruler and the darkness of poverty and oppression weighed heavy on the Jews who longed for the promised Messiah.

The light that came into the world with the birth of Jesus was described as a star, a sign in the sky and we have been blessed with his presence ever since and the sure an certain faith that is coming is ushering in a spreading of the light of love throughout the world and we are privileged and humbled to be a conduit of that light.

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago. 

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

 What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart*.

Prayer: Lord, let your light shine throughout the world as we work to love like you. Amen.

First, second, and last verse of In the Bleak Midwinter by Christiana Rosetti see at https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53216/in-the-bleak-midwinter

Perspective

PerspectiveChristmas
January 3, 2015

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. — John 1:10-13

Thus the saga begins with a retrospective. The book of John, believed to have been written in the last decade of the first century, gives us the insight of time and experience. It is not breathless like Mark, the first in time of the four gospels. It does not seem to have the targeted purposes reflected in Matthew, directed toward Jewish issues, and Luke, aliening with the oppressed. No, John has the feel of one standing back and viewing the whole picture of God Incarnate.

My collection of pictures is in one of those large round popcorn cans waiting for someone to at least label them. The last time I looked there were already pictures of people I could not remember. My mother on the other hand carefully arranged pictures by subject in albums with hand written notes about whom they were and perhaps some narrative on their lives. As I thumb through those albums now, I wonder why she included what she did and why she arranged them in the order they are in. The gospel of John is like my mother’s albums. It includes stories that only one who was present would have known like the young man running away from the Garden of Gethsemane losing his garment. Yet, it begins with the creation of the world. The gospel of John provides a most important perspective.

As the holiday season comes to an end and that down time (for me at least) between Christmas and New Year’s draws to an end, I am gearing up to get really busy again. It is important for me to live into the book of John holding onto that broad sweep of God at the beginning, God now, and God throughout eternity so that I do not get swept away by the intricacies of daily work. It might be important for you also.

Prayer: Lord, during this new year hold me close to you as I strive to hold you close to me both in the details of my life and in the panoramic view of how my life fits into your vision. 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.