Christmastide 2023-2024

The Lord’s Prayer and The Far Country

Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come; thy will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day, our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who have sinned against us.
And lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power,
And the glory, forever. Amen.

Abba, we are thankful that we have a Father who is holy, who sits on the throne of heaven, and who has done the unthinkable to call us from the far country. You sent Your Son – to be an outcast, that we would be drawn in; to be despised, that we would be cherished; to be spat on, that we would be cleansed in the waters of His baptism. We are eternally grateful for this bread of life that You have given us – the body and blood of Your Son. Lord, You have forgiven all our sins, and now we pray that we would be like You, and never withhold grace or mercy from those who have sinned against us. As we turn our faces toward our heavenly home, we pray that You would keep us from temptation and evil so that we can stand with all those who have gone before us, proclaiming that Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Magi – Confessional Prayer

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:8-9.

When I reflect on this story of the wise men, I call to mind the ways I have neglected to come to worship prepared to lay it all down – my sin, my defenses, my pride and my selfishness. So often, I come to Christ with my own needs, my own preoccupations. Do you resonate with that at all? Use this confessional prayer to bring those self-centered distractions or sins or attitudes.

Start by centering your heart in God’s presence… Give thanks to Him that you do not need to hide anything from him. Affirm that He is faithful and good, and his mercy and grace are “new every morning.” The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).

Now let Him begin the process of searching your heart. Are there ways you have not honored Christ this week? Where were your thoughts and desires not centered in Him? How have you failed in obedience to Christ?

Then, simply confess specifically what the Holy Spirit is showing you. Don’t rush through this process. Simply rest in God’s presence as He does this.

Now choose to let this go and receive the truth of this passage: “I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love”. If you have confessed a stronghold of fear or complacency receive Christ’s forgiveness for you. Remember – “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

And finally commit this confession to the Lord. As you rest in his grace and mercy ask Him how to walk this out. Ask for the supernatural power of His Spirit to give you what you need to move forward. Thank Him that you “have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer [you] who live, but Christ lives in [you]” (Gal. 2:20).

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow;
though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18

The Magi – Lectio Divina & Quote

Mat. 2:1-11 – Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ² saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” ³ When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴ and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.⁵ They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: ⁶ “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'” ⁷ Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸ And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

This is a great opportunity to read this as a story (which it is of course!) Put yourself there, imagine being with the Magi on their journey; their meeting with Herod and then their final arrival at the stable. What do you think or feel about Herod’s trickery? (This is not the same Herod who in the time of Christ beheaded John the Baptist and sent Christ to be crucified, but of the same line. The first Herod reigned over all of Judea, but the Herod of Christ’s time only ruled over Galilee).

The Magi quote Micah 5:2 as they describe to Herod why they’ve come to Judea. Yet they were not Jews. They were Gentiles, pagans who had a deep hunger for a Messiah. They traveled far, and the first thing they do in arriving in Bethlehem – was to bow down in worship.

“They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.” Why is that? What did they find of meaning to them? Stay a moment in that joy – give thanks for the Epiphany that opened your eyes to see Christ, your Savior – and let that joy wash over you once again.

Read the rest of the story in Matthew 2. The Magi were warned in a dream not to go back the way they came, and then Joseph was also warned to leave as soon as possible. Are we that attentive to listening to God?

There are so many ways God revealed Himself in this story! a Star, a king, a Scripture, a Babe, even a dream!

Lectio Quote

Stars cross the sky, wise men journey from pagan lands, earth receives its savior in a cave. Let there be no one without a gift to offer, no one without gratitude as we celebrate the salvation of the world, the birthday of the human race, Now it is no longer, “dust you are and to dust you shall return,” but “you are joined to heaven and into heaven shall you be taken up. Basil the Great (AD 330-379)

You can go through the same steps that we use for Lectio Divina for Scripture, or simply take some time and read this quote slowly and seek The Spirit’s help to discern how this passage might bring new understanding to how God reveals Himself to us.

The Journey of the Magi

“A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.”
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying

That this was all folly.
Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

T.S. Eliot

The Far Country

When this time of year comes around and I start reading the early gospel accounts of Christ’s birth and early ministry I am taken aback by the incredible cast of characters there are in all four gospels. Note here, I am not referring to characters as if they were actors in a play because they obviously were real people! But if you were introducing these people to friends unfamiliar with them, don’t you think they would sound and look quirky?

A couple well advanced in age having children, the virgin who finds herself pregnant too, not to mention her betrothed who hasn’t a clue what’s going on until an angel comes to him in a dream. That’s a conversation for a cocktail party is it not? Then, there’s another old couple standing guard in their temple – praying and looking for the “Consolation” and “Redemption” of their people, and let’s not forget the wild looking prophet who ate bugs and wore camel hair. Then the angel appears to the least likely people (but really aren’t they all?) – shepherds who were outliers to their neighbors; and then we come to the story I want to explore this week: The Magi, the wise men, the men from the East.

It seems odd that Matthew of all people would have included a story about pagan travelers. Matthew’s gospel is the most Jewish of the gospels, written primarily to a Jewish audience. This is unlike Mark’s gospel which was primarily written to Gentiles most probably in Rome; or Luke’s gospel which was written to Theophilus, or again John’s gospel also most probably written for a Gentile audience.

Matthew’s birth narrative is pretty brief, and it follows a genealogy which was designed to show the full lineage of Christ – all the way back to David and Abraham. This is more thorough than what you might find through ancestry.com!

And now the story begins! (Mat. 2:1-12). I have to admit, my appreciation for this story in part comes from a poem T. S. Eliot wrote – the first poem published after his conversion to Christ. It’s called The Journey of the Magi, and I am including it in this post.

In the story that we read in Matthew there is no mention of how many of these wise men were who traveled to Judea. We know only that they went expecting to find royalty. So they went to the present king, Herod, and asked him for directions to the birthplace of the newborn King of the Jews. (Now mind you, they had been following a star, but nevertheless they went to Herod as soon as they entered Jerusalem!) This obviously freaked Herod out and as a result, the whole city of Jerusalem was also in uproar. Herod questioned them about their source, and they quoted to him from his own scriptures, Micah 5:2 – “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” Herod then summons them, pretending he wants the child’s location so that he too might go and worship him. They leave him, and continue on their journey, arriving by the light of the star to the place where Jesus lay – and I love this –

They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy!
Matthew 2:10

Can’t get much more joy there.

All good stories have a purpose and a meaning that crosses lines – generational, cultural, and time. And the story of these pagan philosophers reveals just how far the kingdom of God will reach. Matthew, our devout Jewish storyteller, tells the world that the Messiah will open his arms not only to his people, but to the rest of the world as well. I’m reminded of the compline prayer, known as the Nunc Dimittis, which is the prayer of Simeon after his blessing of Jesus. “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people, to be a light to enlighten the Gentiles (nations) and to be the glory of your people, Israel.”

In Eliot’s poem the first lines are so compelling to me, – “a cold coming we had of it, just the worst time of the year for a journey, and such a long journey.” They’ve left the far country – albeit it their home – but they’ve set out to find the One, the only One who can truly reign as God meant for rulers to reign. As the journey continues, they find themselves in a temperate place, warm, smelling of vegetation. And they pass “three trees on the low sky.” The far country from which they came, cold and bitter, has been left behind, and has become a path of new life and fertile growth.

We know someone else who left the far country. Remember the son in the story about riches and waste, family, and pigs? He left home, to find a home (where he fit in, where he was free!) but found himself cold, hungry, and lonely. He, like our pagans, left that far country and started his journey home. In Eliot’s poem, at the end, he writes that the wise men returned to their kingdoms, but now without peace or ease – only wishing for death – but what kind of death? Eliot hints that the death they now seek is a death to their extravagances, their impoverished riches. And who was the prodigal in the son’s story? Who was reckless and immeasurably generous? It was of course, the Father, as it was the Christ in our story from Matthew. God is always the extravagant lover. He is always the one seeking, leaving the safety of his heavenly kingdom to bring to us “great tidings of comfort and joy.

The words of the writer of Hebrews comes to mind here – chapter 11 – the hall of fame for those of faith. All the writer speaks about here are those who left the safety of “home” but who did not receive their full inheritance. But that didn’t matter – for

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:13-16

So, in our own travels from the far country – the place of exile, or dis-location, what have we left behind? and what do we bring to the One who welcomes us with lavish goodness? I find that so many times I cling to that far country because it’s familiar, it’s known. But is it? I know that as I press forward turning homeward, the anxieties, or fears, or bitterness or scorn have no hold on me. And how could I not, how could we not – leave that far country and turn our faces toward the only real home we will ever hold onto?

One more thought – and it’s a quote from a novel written by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Goudge. – “The love of God is with man…That Nicolas knew suddenly, is the news of the far country, the mystery like a nugget of gold that men travel so far to seek, the fact that is stated but not explained by all the pictures that have been painted and by all the music and poetry that has been written since the dawn of the world. It was as easy as that and as difficult.” In this quote, the far country for Nicolas was the journey home to God.

While our story stops here – Herod’s story does not. Read Mat. 2:16-18 to see what Herod’s terror leads him to do. Grapple with this account. Pray about it, take it in. It’s a far cry from, “the poor baby wakes, no crying he makes.” This is the kind of crucible that can shape our Christian formation.

Lead Kindly Light

Audrey Assad – a great song for Epiphany!

The Lord’s Prayer in Epiphany: The Baptism of Christ

Our Father in heaven, we hallow Your name. On this day we celebrate that Christ, Your son, began that identification with us that would take him to the Cross. We pray for the completion of Your kingdom, that all that needs to happen here for Your will to be done would be accomplished in your time. Each day, Lord, give us spiritual nourishment to strengthen us for the days to come. Forgive us for all the ways we have sinned against You and others and give us immeasurable grace to forgive others. Keep us, Father from all that would draw us away from our baptism, all evil and temptation, that we may, with all the company of saints, worship You and give You all the glory and honor due Your name.

Epiphany Two – Confessional Prayer

Repentance is thus the return of our love, of our life, to God, and this return is possible in Christ because He reveals to us true Life and makes us aware of our exile and condemnation. To believe in Christ is to repent – to change radically the very “mind” of our life, to see it as sin and death. And to believe in Him, is to accept the joyful reconciliation that in Him forgiveness and reconciliation have been given. In baptism both repentance and forgiveness find their fulfillment. In baptism man wants to die as a sinful man and be given that death and in baptism man wants the newness of life as forgiveness, and he is given it. A. Schmemann

As we contemplate the power of Christ’s identification with us in His baptism, may the Spirit show us any way that we have not honored His baptism; any way that our reluctance to let go of sin has had a hold on us.

Start by centering your heart in God’s presence… Give thanks to Him that He through His baptism began the process of fully identifying with us so that He could offer his life for ours. Affirm that He is faithful and good, and his mercy and grace are “new every morning.” The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).

Then, simply confess specifically what the Holy Spirit is showing you. Don’t rush through this process. Simply rest in God’s presence as He does this.

Then I finally admitted to you all my sins, refusing to hide them any longer. I said, “My life-giving God, I will openly acknowledge my evil actions. And you forgave me! All at once the guilt of my sin washed away and all my pain disappeared!”

Psalm 32 – The Passion Translation

Epiphany- Baptism of Christ – Lectio

Mat 3:13-17 – ¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Step One – Read the passage slowly, attentively. Allow yourself to be taken in by the words – pay attention to any word or phrase that strikes you in the passage. (If you haven’t studied this passage, you may find this first reading will stir observation questions in you – such as who, what when, where, and how).

Step Two – Read it again. Meditate and reflect on the passage. What is it in your life that needs to hear that word or phrase? Sit in silence for a time, attending to the thoughts, images and impressions that begin to come to you. Turn that into prayer.

Step Three – What is God saying to you? What do you begin to feel called to?

Step Four – How does God want you to live this passage out? What are you resolved to do?

Lectio Quote

In his baptism in the Jordan and in His subsequent ministry, the Son of God descended into the human condition to the very depths so that He might fill all things with Himself. And after his descent, He ascended into the heavens, taking us with Him into the presence of God and giving us gifts for the sake of service.
Thomas Hopko, Winter Pascha

You can go through the same steps that we use for Lectio Divina for Scripture, or simply take some time and read this quote slowly and seek the Spirit’s help to discern how this passage might bring new revelation to your own baptism.

Epiphany: The Baptism of Christ

John 1:29-34 ²⁹ The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ³⁰ This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ³¹I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” ³²And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

There are accounts of Jesus’ baptism in all four gospels – and they all carry the individual author’s unique perspective. I love the gospel of Mark’s version where he just skips over the birth narrative and jumps right into the deep stuff! Matthew’s account is descriptive, and he and Luke are the ones who say that Jesus will come to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire! Matthew’s rendering shows the reason for His baptism: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Mat 3:15). John’s gospel begins with the most profound statement in these accounts. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” In fact, John says it twice, once right before he baptized Jesus and the other a day later.

You can imagine the reaction of the crowd as they heard this proclamation from John. It might be foreign to our ears, but it certainly was not to theirs. They would have known this was a reference to the Passover lamb. This was the sacrifice made for the remission of sin. Passover is the feast instituted after the Lord saved the Jews in Egypt. Part of this commemoration was that they were told to put the blood of slaughtered lambs over their doors.

So, from the very beginning, at the pivotal point in his moving from obscurity into ministry and death this phrase describes his future. But John in pointing out the difference between his baptism and Jesus’ makes a noticeably clear point – this was “not only an event that happened to Jesus, but one that happens to us. It defines our spirituality and gives impetus to the kind of people we were to become.” (Robert Webber).

John’s baptism gave the commandment to repent, but it was powerless to absolve sins. Wherefore did John did also say: “I baptize you with water…that One however will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Mat. 3:11).
St. John of Chrysostom

“In his baptism in the Jordan and in His subsequent ministry, the Son of God descended into the human condition to the very depths so that He might fill all things with Himself. And after his descent, He ascended into the heavens, taking us with Him into the presence of God and giving us gifts for the sake of service”. Thomas Hopko

So, let us go to the text (John 1:29-34) at the beginning of this post and enter into it as if we were there. and receive what the Holy Spirit has for us as we do this.

If I were standing with John and saw Jesus coming towards me, what would I notice? Would there be a certain aura about how he walked or profundity in what he said? What would be my reaction when John says this – “Behold this is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” I stand at the water of the river of Jordan and listen as John says “No – I am unworthy to do this.” But Jesus steps into the water. As he comes out of the water two incredible things happen – this whole experience is what theologians call a theophany – a revelation of God – but what did John see and hear? He saw a dove hover over and rest on Jesus – and John knew it as the Holy Spirit – and it remained on him. Then, “And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mar 1:11 ESV) Would I have heard it too? Did the others standing around the water hear? Would we have heard the Father’s voice? – Perhaps, or maybe not. But if we had heard the Father, or seen the Spirit – we would have had the first glimpse in the New Testament of the Trinity.

We know that Christ was not baptized for his sin – there was no repentance needed here. But He demonstrated here that his baptism would be a baptism into death and from that into resurrection life! He revealed long before Calvary that he was going to die for the sins of the world. His baptism was a baptism of identification. And it was a baptism unto death – and thus is his baptism and the cross forever linked. And so is ours. Like our Savior who did this for us, we take to the waters of baptism, and we die to Satan and to our own sins. We take our place in His death. And as we come up out of the waters – we take our place in his resurrection – forever now marked by this identification with Christ. Alleluia!

There is no other baptism for us. And this is a taste of the fire that John describes in Matthew 3. This theophany of Christ has now become our “Epiphany.”

There is another baptism which Jesus speaks to in Mark 10. In responding to the disciples who wanted to be at Christ’s side in glory he says to them: “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized… (Mar 10:38-39 ESV) And this time their baptism will end in death. But the shattering thing about this is that because of their own baptisms in Christ, this baptism into literal death they will do with joy. They are now indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, and death has now no hold on them, as it had no hold on their Savior (Acts 2:24).

So how are we to enter into the baptism of Jesus?

Leave the desert, that is to say, sin. Cross the Jordan. Hasten toward life according to Christ, toward the earth which bears the fruit of joy, where run, according to the promise, streams of milk and honey. Overthrow Jericho, the old dwelling place, do not leave it fortified.
St Gregory of Nyssa

“Can we not be washed in any river and be clean? God’s answer is No. Only in the Jordan in the baptism of Christ are we cleansed from all our sins. Only through the Jordan do we enter the land of the living, the promised land of God’s kingdom. Only by the sanctified waters of the Jordan does God sanctify us forever”. (Robert Webber and Thomas Hopko) (Thank you for enduring my slip into metaphor!)

I pray, friends, in this season and the seasons to follow, that we will reflect on the meaning of Christ’s baptism and that God the Holy Spirit will grant us revelation after revelation of this amazing reality. May our hearts cry, alongside John’s “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”