Friday, December 25, 2020

12-25-2020

  Good Morning All, 

     Luke 2:16; “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger

      Merry Christmas!!!

    I do not know about you, but when I read, I visualize the events as I read them.  I can imagine that there are these six to eight men, smelling like sheep, wandering around this little sleepy village of Bethlehem in the middle of the night.  They poke their heads in all the stables as they find them.  They maybe even know of a couple of hidden ones to search.  They probably were not very quiet, they were just told some amazing news, from an angel no less!  They are desperate to find the baby, so much depends on finding the baby.  I wonder if they looked a long time or if they found him right away.  I wonder if they split up and then one shouts excitedly, “over here, I found him!!”  I do not know exactly how these shepherds went about it, but I do know; they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in swaddling cloths in a manger!

    Can you find Jesus?  Most definitely, especially when someone tells you exactly where to look!  That is the work of the Holy Spirit, who calls to you through and by the Gospel.  He says to you, “look over here” and guides you to his Word, the Word made flesh, and to his holy Sacraments where he resides for you to touch and to hold.  You can find the Baby because God invites you to look and to find.  It is no secret once you have heard the Good News.  It is no secret as God invites you into his beloved and holy family.

    When you find Jesus, right where he said he would be, you also find his comfort, his forgiveness, his comfort, and his peace.  When you find Jesus, you find eternal life and a light to guide you and to comfort you in the darkest of times because not even death can extinguish the light of hope that we have in Jesus.

    For many, this has been a tough year, tougher than any in recent memory.  Yet even now, God shines his light that we may have hope.  Many things were changed this year but the coming of Jesus and the wonderment of love and peace and joy that he brings is still the same.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and no great upheavals in our life will change that truth.  This is where we find our anchor.  The ways of our world may be twisting but in Jesus we have peace.

    So, in the darkness of these times, see the light of Jesus, find where he lay, go where he says he will be, and you will find peace in His name.

Lord Jesus, as we celebrate your coming as a baby let us look to you as our King, our Savior, our hope, and our God!  Let us see your light and follow it to everlasting peace.  Be with those who are suffering greatly and give them your Spirit of courage that they may withstand all that the devil and the world throws at them.  Keep them safe in your loving arms.  In your precious name we pray, amen!!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

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