Christian Reflection and Prayer

"The Widow of Christmas"

 Advent Devotions

Read Luke 3:36-38.
Coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God
and to speak of Him to all who were waiting for the redemption
of Jerusalem. Luke 2:38

We have reached the sixth day of Christmas, and my wise
men are half way there. Today we will take one last look at
Jesus' presentation at the temple. Now that Simeon has
completed his words Anna steps forward. Luke tells us she is
an extremely old woman. She has lived 84 years, but it is
unclear whether Luke means she's 84 years old, or if she's lived
84 years since she became a widow. (If that's the case, she is
well over 100 years old!) Either way, she spends all her time in
the courtyards of the temple, fasting and praying.

At the very hour Simeon is speaking, Anna comes up to Mary,
Joseph, and Jesus, thanks God for His Son, and begins to speak
of Jesus to all those who have been waiting for the Christ. And
undoubtedly she will keep speaking about Him until the Lord
brings her home.

The Lord's choice to include Anna among those who saw the
young child Jesus is fascinating. Here is an elderly woman who
is widowed. Like many elderly widowed men and women of faith,
she could easily have asked, "Why am I still here? What is left for
me to do?" Anna shows us. We are never too old to share the news
about Jesus, never too old to make a lasting impact in our world.

In the later years of our life we can make a difference, even if we are
weak, sick, or confined to a bed in a nursing home. And as is true
all through your life, your attitude and your behavior will make all the
difference. If you are kind and grateful to those who help you, then
your words will carry great weight with those who attend and care for
you. But if you are bitter, short-tempered, impatient, and crabby,
your words -- and your faith -- will mean very little to them.

God has chosen each of us. He has washed away our sins in Jesus'
blood through Baptism, made us part of His family of faith, and
gathered us together to celebrate His great salvation. Each of us
finds ourselves at different points along our journey to our heavenly
home, surrounded with a unique circle of friends and acquaintances.
Like Anna, may God guide us to joyfully share the story of Jesus with
everyone we meet along the way.

THE PRAYER:

 Heavenly Father, thank You for choosing me among the multitudes
who have heard of Your Son and put their faith in Him. Strengthen me
to continue sharing His Name that many more may come to a saving
faith by Your Holy Spirit. I pray this in Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

"Seeing It With My Own Eyes"

Advent Devotions

Read Luke 2:29-32.
My eyes have seen Your salvation. Luke 2:30

Today is the fourth day of Christmas and my wise men are making
solid progress on their way to the manger scene. But today we are
looking at Simeon, who held little Jesus in his arms at the same
time the wise men were traveling toward the land of Israel.

Mary must have been amazed at the things God revealed to her
about Jesus through friends and total strangers. First, her cousin
Elizabeth told her she was pregnant with God's Son before Mary
had the chance to say a word about it (Luke 1:39-45). Then, Joseph
told her about the angel in his dream who said he should not be
afraid to take her as his wife because the child was God's Son
(Matthew 1:18-25). And, of course, there were the shepherdswho
rushed in that first Christmas night to tell of the angel's message.

And here through another total stranger God reveals to Mary the
scope of her Son's work. Simeon said, "My eyes have seen Your
salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a
light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to Your people
Israel" (Luke 2:30-32). Mary knew Jesus would reign over the throne
of His father David and save Israel. But now she learned Jesus
would save not only Israel, He would be the Savior for all nations.

Jesus came as a light for those who live in the darkness of sin,
unbelief, and ignorance. He came for those who do not know that
God the Creator is perfect, and He demands perfection of His
creatures. He came for those who do not know God is merciful. He
came for those-Jew and Gentile alike-because He is love. In fact,
He loved this fallen world so much that He gave His one and only
Son to take all mankind's sins upon Himself and win eternal
salvation for all of us by His suffering, death, and resurrection.

For those of us who do know God's Word, Jesus brings glory to
God through the great salvation He has won. And in our lives He
brings glory by clothing us in His own righteousness and leading
us to do good works that glorify God.

Like Simeon, our eyes have seen God's salvation. That is why
Simeon's song has been sung for centuries in the Church after
receiving Holy Communion. When we receive the bread and wine
we are holding Christ's very body and blood, which was nailed to
the cross and poured out for our forgiveness. We have seen it with
our own eyes and felt it with our hands and on our tongues. No less
than Simeon we can say, "My eyes have seen Your salvation."
Having been saved, we glorify God and depart in peace to share
Christ's salvation throughout the world.

THE PRAYER:

 Lord God, I praise You for revealing Your salvation to me-Your Son
Jesus Christ. As He has brought light to my darkened mind, let me
share His name to all those You bring into my life, that they may see
His light and praise You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

(Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Scripture:

The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and
bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.'
Luke 1:30-31

Voice

To be a Christian is to live dangerously, honestly, freely - to step
in the name of love as if you may land on nothing, yet to keep on
stepping because the something that sustains you no empire
can give you and no empire can take away.
Cornel West

Prayer

God, like Mary, we are afraid. Give us that courage that no empire
can give us and no empire can take away. Amen.