Colossians 2:8-12; Luke 2:20-21, 40-52           The great mystery of the Son of God becoming a human being shines brightly today as we celebrate the feast of the Circumcision of Jesus Christ.  Like any other Jewish male, He endured the procedure that was the mark of becoming an heir to the promises to Abraham.  He is not, of course, simply another child of Hebrew heritage, but the eternal…

Galatians 4:4-7; Matthew 2:1-12        Christ is Born!  Glorify Him! We gather today to celebrate the Nativity in the Flesh of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ for the salvation of the world.  He is born to fulfill the vocation of every human person to become like God in holiness as “partakers of the divine nature” by grace.  Because He has truly become one of us, every dimension of our…

Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40; Matthew 1:1-25 As we enter into our last days of preparation for celebrating our Lord’s Nativity this week, we need to disregard our usual distractions in order to welcome the long-awaited Savior.  In order to do that, we must allow our hopes for whatever we want in this life to be called into question by the God-Man, Who was not born to acquire or give earthly power or success…

Colossians 3:4-11; Luke 14:16-24               Many of us are in the habit of overlooking one of the most important abilities that is common to us all.  Though focusing our attention is a bit harder for some than for others, we can all learn to keep our priorities in order.  We can put first things first and direct our time and energy to what is most important.  We can give less attention…

Galatians 3:23-4:5; Luke 13:10-17             When Jesus Christ was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath, He saw a woman who was bent over and could not straighten up.  She had been that way for eighteen years.  Imagine how frustrating that chronic illness had to be, especially in a time before modern medicine and physical therapy.  The Lord said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” When He laid hands…