And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. A baby - Jesus came as a baby to a first time mother - the creator of the world as a tiny baby. Jesus, fully human and fully God, Savior of the world. Sit in awe and wonder. Merry Christmas.
Prayer Lord Jesus We bow and worship you this day as the shepherds did when you were born. Amen
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But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” This Christmas season I have been drawn to the carol “I Wonder as I Wander” over and over again. Every time I hear it I am reminded of an experience from our trip to the Badlands. The night was clear and the moon was new, a perfect night for seeing the Milky Way. So we went to the Notch trail where there is a boardwalk and even a bench to sit and watch night come. My feelings of wonder grew as I sat there. The dictionary definition captures a little of my experience that night:
Wonder: (noun) “a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.” It was truly a night of wonder for me, one of those special times when you feel God’s presence. There are many times and places that you can see a sky full of stars and even the Milky Way but this time was different. An interesting thing about the word ‘wonder’ is that is also can be used as a verb. Wonder: (verb) “desire or be curious to know something.” I think of Mary’s response to the angel’s announcement. She wondered at the wonder of the announcement. She didn’t understand, she wondered, yet she trusted. I am sure that there were many more times during her life that she must have wondered again, but yet we know she was there when Jesus died on the cross. Familiar things, like a starry night, can often loose their wonder. And so it can be with the story of Mary and the birth of Jesus; it can become so familiar that we loose its wonder. Read, or better yet, listen to the story again as you wonder and wander. What do you wonder? Prayer Lord Jesus, Fill us with wonder again at your love for us. Amen Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” While I was deciding on places to visit on our road trip through the Coteau des Prairies of South Dakota I discovered the Fort Sisseton Historic State Park. When we go on our road trips we try to stay off interstates so I search for state parks. I found this one and we put it on our itinerary. After the tour of the buildings and what remained of the fort I was drawn to all the big beautiful trees. I didn’t expect to find trees like this in the prairie but they there were - outlasting the military fort built to conquer. I found this beautiful large tree that stood out from the others. I stood in front of it and walked around it several times to try to decided on the best vantage point to capture its beauty.
Adam and Eve had this important tree in the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As they stood in front of it one day they were forced with a decision - whose view was best, theirs or God’s. They made the wrong decision and chose their own way. Each day we stand in front of our own tree. We must decide if we are going to follow our way or God’s way. There are times when we make the right decision and times when we make the wrong one. The story for Adam and Eve didn’t end with their wrong decision. You see, God still came looking for them. There were consequences for their wrong decision (read the rest of the story) but he never left them and through Jesus he made a way back to him. Even when we choose to follow our selfish desires and walk away from God, he doesn’t walk away from us. What will you choose when you stand in front of your tree today? Prayer Loving Father Remind us of your love for us as we stand in front of our own tree and decide how we will live this day. Thank you for always coming for us when we choose to leave you. Thank you for Jesus who made a way back to you. Amen He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: The Appalachian Mountains are my home. I love seeing mountain peaks in the distance, walking on mountain trails, watching water flow over rocks in mountain streams, finding wildflowers in the spring, and seeing the beautiful colors of autumn. The mountains represent a sense of security for me. So traveling to the prairies of North and South Dakota was a very different experience. The land was flat and I could see for miles. I was surprised at how much color I could see. The sky seemed so big and there was almost a constant wind, strong enough at times to blow you down.
As the mountains represent a sense of security and home for me, the wide open spaces of the prairies came to represent a time to open wide my heart. It was hard sometimes to walk against the wind and to feel small underneath a big sky filled with clouds. The prairie reminded me of the words and mission of John the Baptist. He was preparing the way for Jesus by asking people to open wide their hearts, to repent. As we prepare for Advent we need to open wide our hearts. It isn’t easy but this is the way to see God’s salvation. How can you open wide your heart today? Prayer Messiah Jesus Blow in our hearts this day and open them wide. Forgive us the sin we see in our lives and fill our wide open hearts with your love. Amen But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; It was a cold day in November when I took my long lens to the birding park. I didn’t take any images of birds that day but I did take images of thistles. Even though I usually think of thistles as weeds for their prickly buds and thorns, I still took the images mostly to practice using the long lens. Oh, but when I opened the image on my computer I could hardly believe what I saw, beautiful, intricate details, a beauty I had never seen before. It is easy to see the beauty of flowers blooming in a garden but to see that beauty in weeds that day was a special experience.
It is easier to read the parables of Jesus and his words of comfort than it is to read the story of Jesus’s physical pain and hear his anguished cries of abandonment on the cross. Like seeing the prickly thistle magnified on my computer, it is only when we really look at Jesus on the cross that we see the enormity his love. When we let Jesus’s love for us pierce our hearts, as his body was pierced for our sin, we experience the beauty of God’s love. When have you taken time to look at Jesus on the cross and let his love pierce your heart? Prayer Jesus Pierce our hearts with your love and bring beauty out of our lives today. Amen |
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Soli Deo Gloria,
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan
1 Corinthians 10:31
© 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 Karen Milligan