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Day 9
An angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were
terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be
afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David
a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying
in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly
host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor
rests." When the angels had left them and gone into
heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to
Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which
the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and
found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been
told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them.
(Luke 2:10-20)
See the
shepherds! By God’s grace they experienced the same
miracle as Mary: In faith they trusted the incredible. .
. even before they saw it with their own eyes!
“Let’s go to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
Then,
arriving at the stable, those shepherds’ eyes saw something quite humble: a
tiny baby. Still, faith looked beyond the humble sight
and beheld God’s incredible, transcendent plan! They saw
their God come into the flesh to be their Savior! And,
no matter how lowly the sight, they knelt before this child, their God and
Savior!
Next,
embracing their Savior who humbly came to save them, they responded in kind.
They humbly accepted His purpose for their lives:
“They
spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
Christ
still comes to us in humble ways: a book, water, bread and wine.
Yet, in faith we accept Him as He comes . . . for He comes to save!
And, like the shepherds we too humbly accept Jesus’ purpose for our
lives, chiefly spreading the word concerning what has been told us about our
Savior.
Questions to Consider
1) How is our ministry facility expansion
really something quite humble before the world?
2) How are our project and the Gospel Ministry
at St. Mark’s an embracing of God’s humble purpose for our lives?
Prayer
Savior Jesus, You continue to come to me in
gentleness through Your Word and Sacraments, speaking to me tenderly with
forgiveness and not treating me as my sins deserve. In
response to Your love, may I humbly dedicate myself to You and Your purposes
for my life. Amen. |
