Christian Reflection and Prayer

To put this in a religious context: overcoming the
divisions of race has been central to the church
since its beginning, and the dynamic diversity of
the body of Christ is one of the most powerful
forces in the global church. Our Christian faith
stands fundamentally opposed to racism in all its
forms, which contradict the good news of the
gospel. The ultimate answer to the question of
race is our identity as children of God, which we
so easily forget applies to all of us. And the political
and economic problems of race are ultimately
rooted in a theological problem. The churches have
too often “baptized” us into our racial divisions,
instead of understanding how our authentic baptism
unites us above and beyond our racial identities.

Do we believe what we say about the unity of
“the body of Christ” or not? The New Testament
speaks of the church as one body with many members.

    For just as the body is one and has many members,
and all the members of the body, though many, are one
body, so it is with Christ. . . . For the body does not
consist of one member but of many. . . . As it is, there
are many parts, yet one body . . . that there may be no
discord in the body, but that the members may have the
same care for one another. If one member suffers, all
suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice
together. (1 Cor. 12:12, 14, 20, 25–26 RSV)

ARE WE ONE BODY OR NOT!!!!!!!!

( excerpt from Jim Wallis's book America’s Original Sin  - See more at: https://sojo.net/articles/racism-faith-issue#sthash.nKK4mf0H.dpuf

The Epiphany of Our Lord:


Read Matthew 2:11-12. TEXT: And going into the house
they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell
down and worshiped Him. ... (Matthew 2:11a).

The long journey of the wise men is complete. They enter
the house and see the young Child with His mother. They
fall down before Him in joyous humility and present Him
with their costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Undoubtedly, Joseph will use these gifts to fund their
unexpected escape to Egypt when Herod sends his
soldiers to kill Jesus.

Our Advent journey is now complete, but our life journey
is not. Today in the Christian church the Christmas
season gives way to the Epiphany season. This new
season stretches until Ash Wednesday and the season
of Lent, when we turn our attention to the reason our
Savior was born, the reason He walked among us, the
reason He bore the name "Jesus." We will watch Him
take our sin, guilt and punishment upon Himself and
suffer and die in our place on the cross.

But today we anticipate the day our life's journey will
come to its end. Then with exceeding joy and gladness
we, like the wise men and the shepherds, will enter into
the presence of our Lord, our Savior, our Creator, and our
Brother. We will bow in sweet adoration, and rejoice in
His glorious presence forever. We will hear the angels'
adoration and rejoice with Jesus Christ, the Son of God
and Son of Mary.

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus, thank You for journeying through this life for
us, and for journeying with us through our lives. Guide
us safely home and keep us in joyful anticipation of
entering Your presence forever. We pray in Your Holy
Name. Amen.

( Wayne Palmer Lutheran Hour Ministries)

Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalms 98:1-6; Hebrews 1:1-6;
John 1:1-18

"The word was made flesh, He lived among us"
(John 1:14).

You may have heard that the giant, online retailer Amazon
is experimenting with the idea of delivering packages in
certain areas using drones -- you know those strange,
remote controlled aircraft that are deployed these days for
everything from aerial travel photography, to police work,
even pizza delivery! Addressing this lofty topic, a recent
New Yorker Cartoon depicts a mother encouraging her
reluctant little boy who is waiting in line to have his
Christmas picture taken. Instead of the jolly old department
store Santa, we see a strange looking contraption seated
on Santa's throne, beckoning the little boy to come forward.
The caption reads, "Don't you want to sit on the Amazon
drone's lap?" Who knows, maybe next year we'll have
drones helping the real Santa!

The popularity of Santa Claus is astonishing. In one form
or another he is almost universally loved around the world,
even in places where the Christian religion is completely
without followers. In Japan, for example, only one percent
of the people identify themselves as Christian. But the spirit
of Santa Claus and gift-giving has made Christmas a time
for Japanese children to look forward to. Everywhere, the
spirit of Santa Claus seems to play a larger role than the
Incarnation -- in the sense of the excitement, and the joy
surrounding Christmas. Like clockwork, every year around
Christmas, Santa Claus receives some hard criticism from
persons who feel strongly that the season has become
under-spiritualized, and over-commercialized. Like
clockwork, every year at this time, the slogan "Put Christ
back in Christmas,"  reappears. Of course, the true meaning
of Christmas has been taken out of context in this sense.

For Christians, the main emphasis in our celebration is that
we have received something beautiful from God. This God,
who is the Sovereign Creator, Sustainer and Lord of Life
has taken the initiative to reveal His love for us. He has done
this not in some abstract, general way, but in a very concrete,
specific human way. He has revealed the fullness of His love
through Jesus the Christ. We celebrate this event because
God's love for us in Jesus Christ is the source of our hope,
our joy and our peace.

MERRY CHRISTMAS
GOD BLESS US EVERYONE