11-8-2014

Good Morning All,

          Philippians 4:11b; “for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

      “Now is the winter of our discontent” is the opening line to Shakespeare’s “Richard III” spoken by Richard.  Many people think he is complaining but actually he is gloating for the line continues is “Made glorious summer by this son of York.”  The fortunes of his House of York has been improved by the fact that his brother Edward IV is now king so things are looking up.  Yet, for a while, things were pretty rough for Richard and his family as they were on the “outs” and so suffered somewhat.  So he called it the winter of our discontent.

     We are entering the holiday season with Thanksgiving in less than three weeks and then Christmas a month after that.  It is a time when we should be celebrating by giving thanks to God for the blessings that he has showered upon us especially the blessing of the birth of Jesus to be our Savior.  It should be a time of joy yet for many it is the winter of their discontent.  They feel no joy only fatigue, sadness and inadequate.  This can have many root causes but some would appear to be the over emphasis on opulent consumerism.

    We watched our grandson for a couple of days while his sister made her appearance in the world.  As we watched the television shows that he liked, I noticed almost as much advertisement time as entertainment time.  As the two and a half year old watched the commercials, they were accompanied by “I want one of them” with an occasional, “Grandpa, I want one of them.”  It seems that the world teaches us to live in the winter of our discontent at an early age.

   Yet the Apostle Paul tells us the secret to being content in whatever situation that you are in.  This is accomplished by focusing on Jesus and our salvation.  This is best accomplished by remembering that God has promised to provide us with what we need; so in all events, we know that God will make provision for us.  We can be content because what is here on this earth is temporary, much like the toys my grandson saw on the ads.  We know that what the world views as important soon falls by the wayside but God’s grace continues forever.  God’s blessing of peace, hope and eternal life never fade away.  We have these eternal blessings and we can never lose them so we can be content.

   Now being content does not mean we cannot strive for success.  If you run a race you can try to win it.  Yet winning the race should not consume you or your passions.  The race or the promotion or the next piece of land, are all temporary and will someday fade away but God’s promise of eternal life will always be there.  So our contentment is found, not in possessions but in God’s grace and favor.  It is found in our faithful relationship to God and his Word.

Father of all wonders that are, in you we have peace, in you we have hope, in you we are content.  Give us the wisdom to seek your mercy and to know your loving and restful arms.  Heal those who are discontent.  Lead them from the cold and harsh weather that is caused by envy or greed.  Lead them to the cool still waters of your mercy, basking in the warmth of your eternal mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus, our Risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret