Christian Reflection and Prayer

Isaiah 7:10-14; Psalms 24:1-6; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son and they will call Him Immanuel, a name which means God-is-with-us" (Mt. 1:23). 

A woman named Betty tried to cram all of her Christmas preparations into a single day.  Starting at 9 a.m., she shopped her entire Christmas list, bought a Christmas tree and poinsettias, ordered a turkey, carried home the groceries for Christmas dinner, brought up from the basement the big box of Christmas lights and tree decorations and, finally, at midnight, finished carefully gift-wrapping presents for her husband, Herb, and their three daughters.

Wearily, she began to congratulate herself on a job well-done -- and then, suddenly, she remembered: "The Christmas cards! I forgot to send the Christmas cards."  Tired, but determined, she signed and prepared for mailing all eighty-nine cards on her list.  Then she topped off her day's work by writing a check to a department store.  When the holidays were over, the extent of her exhaustion at the end of that busy day became apparent.  Her check to the department store was returned by the bank with an "Incorrect Signature" notation.  She had signed the check, "Betty, Herb and the girls."

In a Roman Catholic elementary school, a few days before Christmas, the curtain was about to go up on a Nativity play.  The centerpiece of the set was a creche, complete with statues of Mary, Joseph, the three Wise Men, shepherds, sheep and other animals.  Two nuns were busy making last-minute adjustments to the children's costumes.  The school principal was standing by, keeping an eye on the preparations.  Suddenly, in a panic, one of the nuns rushed up to her and said, "Mother Superior, we forgot the Baby Jesus."  With a wry smile, Mother Superior replied,

"THAT'S EXACTLY THE TROUBLE WITH THIS WORLD!"

Christmas is nearly upon us.  And even though you may have forgotten a thing or two in your Christmas preparations, it's "Don't-forget-the-Baby-Jesus" time.  It's time to ponder the meaning of the Incarnation, for your life and for the lives of all others.

In today's Gospel Lesson -- Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus Christ -- we read ...

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son and they will call Him Immanuel, a name which means "God-is-with-us" (Mt. 1:23).

We ponder the Mystery of the Incarnation as we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate on Christmas Day the indescribable Gift of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The Mystery of the Incarnation is at the very heart of our Christian Faith.  God gave us His Son to be our Immanuel: God with us.  And that is at the very essence of the Christmas Message.

Scripture:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit (Isaiah 11:1).


We were so excited when we brought the Christmas tree home, but it never went into the house until the next day. My Dad knew the tree would never last unless it soaked up plenty of sugar water. So he cut a few inches off the bottom and soaked it in sugar water until the next night. I still recall holding in my hands that piece of dead stump he had cut off. It was only an inch or two high, but it was definitely dead.

The Old Testament Lesson speaks about a dead tree stump, "There shall come forth shoot from the stump of Jesse."

Jesse was the father of King David and all his descendants who ruled over Judah-the Southern Kingdom. When those kings turned away from God to lead their people in the worship of false idols, the Lord cut off their kingship and sent His people into exile. The strong family tree was cut off and only a dead stump remained. For centuries not a single king rose from that stump to rule on their throne. All that could be seen was the dead stump of the line of David.

But in the fullness of time a shoot began to grow out of that stump. That shoot was Jesus Christ. He was born a baby and laid to sleep in Bethlehem's manger. He didn't come to claim any earthly kingdom as His own. Instead, he came as our King to battle our enemies: Satan, sin, death, and hell.

Though He Himself was cut down on the cross, and His lifeless body was laid in the tomb, Christ rose again from the grave with power and great glory. Through Baptism He makes us alive to God though we were dead in our sins. Through His Word He makes us wise in the ways of His salvation, and in Holy Communion He gives us His body and blood by which He paid for our sins and won our redemption. Now He lives to guide us on our journey to our heavenly home.

THE PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son as a tender shoot out of a dead tree stump. He has saved us from our sins and opened the Kingdom of heaven to us. Help us tell the whole world of His wonderful salvation. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

by Pastor Ken Klaus

Scripture:

17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought
to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
(James 4: 17)

Reflection:

I'm not sure why, but this short, powerful
verse comes to my mind, especially this
time of year. 
We have just celebrated Thanksgiving and
we are about to celebrate Christmas. There
is meaning to these celebrations and somehow
we loose it.  We get so wrapped up in the
physical trappings of this world, we forget
what these celebrations are all about.
It seems to me the celebrations of
Thanksgiving and Christmas are about
knowing what is good and doing it.  God
knows whats good and He provides for us.
I know that many of us are is some bad
situations, life has not been easy.  I have to
admit that this economy has had a big
affect on my life.  But there has also been
good in my life and I am so thankful for all
the good things.  I'm very thankful for
the good thing God did for us.  He gave us
His son and His Son changed my life. That's
the good I celebrate. 
Can I make a suggestion for this holiday
season just take some time, in all the
confusion that is about to take place,
and do something good for someone else.
Just as God has done something good for us. 
YOU CAN DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR SOMEONE ELSE. 
THESE HOLIDAY SEASON PLEASE TAKE TIME TO CARE,

Prayer:

Oh Lord I think about Your goodness
especially this season.  Thank you God
for all the good You have done for me. Oh
Lord show me the good I can do for others.
In Jesus Name AMEN