Christian Reflection and Prayer

"We saw His star as it rose and have come
to do Him homage" (Matthew 2:2).

During World War II, a young bride from New
Jersey followed her soldier-husband to an
army camp on the edge of the California
desert. Her husband had advised her against
going because he knew that living conditions
would be primitive, at best. But she wanted
very much to be with him and he was unable
to change her mind. When the couple arrived
at the desert camp, the only housing they
could find was a run-down shack near an Indian
village. The heat was unbearable: up to 115
degrees in the shade. The wind blew constantly,
spreading sand all over everything. And, for the
young bride, the days were long and boring.
Her only neighbors were the Native Americans,
none of whom spoke English. When her husband
was ordered farther into the desert for maneuvers,
the loneliness and wretched living conditions got
the best of her. She wrote to her mother, "I can't
take any more of this. I want to come home!"
Several days later, she received a reply. In it, the
mother reminded her of the old family placard on
which these two lines were written:

Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw
mud, the other saw stars.

The daughter read these lines over and over again.
She began to feel ashamed of her response to the
situation she was in. She really didn't want to leave
her husband, and so she said to herself, "All right,
I'll look for the stars." In the days that followed she
began to make friends with her Native American
neighbors. She began to take lessons in weaving
and pottery from them. She became fascinated with
their culture and history -- everything about them.
Moreover, she began to study the desert. In the
process, she saw it wonderfully transformed from a
desolate, forbidding place to a marvelous expanse
of beauty. She studied the various forms of cacti,
the yuccas and the Joshua trees. She collected
sea shells that had been deposited there millions
of years before when the sands had been an ocean
floor. Later, she became such an expert on the area
that she wrote a book about it. A remarkable
transformation had taken place. But what had
changed, really, to make that possible? Not the
weather. Not the desert. Not the Native People.
What had changed was the woman's attitude.
Simply by changing her own attitude ("All right,
I'll look for the stars," she said), she had
transformed a miserable life situation into a highly
rewarding experience.

The Epiphany story invites each of us, now, to
follow that same star all the way down to the
center of our being. There, like the Magi, we
will know the true wisdom of the Christ Spirit.
There we will discover that without the Love of
Christ there is neither wisdom nor life. There we
will open our treasures and present to the
Redeemer our very lives, dedicated to His
ministry of loving service. We know our
Redeemer lives, because He lives in our soul!

( excerpts from Sunday Sermons Online)

A man dies and goes to Heaven. Of course, St. Peter
meets him at the Pearly Gates.

St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 100
points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good
things you've done, and I give you a certain number of
points for each item, depending on how good it was.
When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same
woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in
my heart."

"That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "That's worth three
points!"

"Three points?" he says, slightly concerned. "Well, I
attended church all my life and supported its ministry
with my tithe and service."

"Terrific!" says St. Peter. "That's certainly worth a point."

"One point!?!" he moans, now really getting worried.
"I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a
shelter for homeless veterans."

"Fantastic, that's good for two more points," he says.

"Two points!" the man cries. "At this rate the only way I
get into Heaven is by the grace of God!"

St. Peter nods and says, "Bingo, 100 points! Come on in
my son!"

By Rev. Wayne Palmer

Read Luke 2:21.

TEXT: And at the end of eight days ... He was
circumcised (see Luke 2:21).

New Year's Day was always an exciting new
beginning. If the old year had brought us pain
and misery, we could rejoice that it was over,
gone, behind us. And in the dawning of a new
day, there was the hope the New Year would
be so much better.

This day was also a new beginning for the baby
Jesus. Jesus is eight days old, and it is now
time to circumcise Him, according to the Law
of the Lord. This ceremony made Jesus a
member of God's people Israel. It also bound
Him under the Law, obligating Him to keep that
Law perfectly. As our Substitute, Jesus perfectly
obeyed God's Law, so His perfection, holiness
and righteousness might be ours, covering our
failings, our flaws and our sins.

But His circumcision carries with it the reminder
that Jesus will not simply cover our sin, He will
remove it from us-forever. On this eighth day of
His young life, Jesus first sheds His blood for us,
but it will certainly not be the last time He does this.
On a dark day 30-some years into the future, Jesus
will shed His blood and die on the cross to satisfy
God's wrath against our sins.

The symbolism of His circumcision and our
baptism both remind us of God's work, cutting off
our sinful nature or drowning it. In baptism God
makes us new creatures, so we can stand before
Him spotless and pure through Jesus Christ. What
a way to start a New Year!

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, in Your circumcision Your blood was
first shed as our Substitute. Cut the sin from our
hearts, that we may enter this New Year in Your
holiness and purity. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)