Christian Reflection and Prayer

(Day 2 of Advent)

Scripture:

In the beginning was the Word
(see John 1:1)

Reflection:

Before we jump into the hustle and bustle of preparing for
Christmas of 2013, it is important to journey back in time
to that first Christmas. John does just that in his Gospel.
But he doesn't stop at the manger in Bethlehem. He
goes back beyond the moment Joseph discovers his
betrothed wife Mary is pregnant. He doesn't even stop
when the angel first appears to the Virgin Mary. John
keeps going backward in time, carrying us back all the
way to the start of the Old Testament.

John starts his account of the first Christmas with
"In the beginning"-the precise moment God creates
the heavens and the earth. The earth lies before us
formless and void, covered with seas and wrapped
in darkness. John writes "In the beginning was the Word "
 
Notice John did not write, "In the beginning is the Word.
" At the beginning of the creation of the heaven and
earth, the Word already was. Mary's Son, the Word that
would become flesh that first Christmas morn, existed
long before. He existed before the world was created.

Before we dive into all our Christmas preparations,
before we start wondering if it's worth all the time and
work, let's remember we are not merely celebrating
the birth of one more famous human baby. We are
preparing to celebrate the human birth of the timeless
and eternal Word of God, who was there at His Father's
side before God created the heavens and the earth.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Scripture:

Advent cover 2013The Word became flesh and dwelt
among us (see John 1:14)

Reflection:

As this Thanksgiving weekend draws to a close you
might want to start thinking about Christmas,
especially if you haven't given it a thought before!
This year Thanksgiving is as late as it gets. That
leaves us only three and a half weeks to buy those
presents, put up the decorations, send out the
invitations, mail out the greeting cards, bake all the
cookies, and do all the other Christmas preparations
you have to this year. Where should you start?

I would suggest we take a moment to remember
what all the fuss is about. Before we jump into all the
holiday preparations, let's stop, turn around, and take
a look behind us-way back to the very first Christmas.
Three books of the Bible do that for us: Matthew,
Luke and John. Each describes Jesus' birth from a
slightly different perspective.

Matthew shows us Christmas from the viewpoint of
Joseph the carpenter-Mary's husband and Jesus'
foster father. He discovers his betrothed wife is
pregnant, considers divorcing her, then takes her as
his wife after receiving an angelic message in his
dreams. Luke shows us Christmas from Mary's point
of view. She is visited by the angel Gabriel who
announces God has chosen her to be the mother of
His Son. Then she travels with her husband to
Bethlehem where she gives birth to her firstborn Son.

This Christmas season we will study John's account
of the first Christmas. John will not look at Christmas
through the eyes of Joseph or Mary. Instead, he will
have us look directly into the eyes of the Baby Jesus,
so we can clearly see the reason for this season-and
all the preparations we make.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)