On the Second day of Christmas

26/12/06, week of Advent Four

Collect:
Collect for the 4th Sunday in Advent:
Purify our conscience, Almight God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

Readings:
AM: Ps 66,67; Isa. 11:1-9
PM: Ps, 116, 117; Rev 20:1-10; Jn5:30-47


Collect for the Feast of St. Stephen:
We give you thanks, O Lord of glory, for the example of the first martyr Stephen, who looked up to heaven and prayed for his persecutors to your Son Jesus Christ, who stands at your right hand; where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings: AM Psalm 28, 30; 2 Chronicles 24:17-22; Acts 6:1-7
PM Psalm 118; Wisdom 4:7-15; Acts 7:59-8:8


From Forward Day By Day:
Matthew 23:34-39.<.b> Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it...

The church turns from a child in the manger to the reality of developing the Christian community years ago or today. Acts provides us with the story of Stephen. The twelve discovered they could not do it all. They asked the community to choose "seven of good standing, full of the Spirit, and of wisdom." Stephen is always named as the first chosen for this ministry. Today the church calls this servant ministry the order of deacons.


St. Stephen was martyred because when asked he told the truth. It is hard to hear the truth from within our community, our family, or our workplace. It is easier to hear the truth from someone unattached.


As a deacon, I look to St. Stephen and all those who have served ahead of me, to be examples of how to minister to those in need. As deacons, we are called to serve the poor, the weak, the sick, and the lonely. But then every Christian is called to follow Jesus Christ in service.


How are you serving Jesus Christ?


Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Lake Malawi - (Central Africa) Awaiting Official Confirmation from the Province


Advent calendar: Ways to help others:
12. My own way to help others is....

Advent Calendar: Open Wide the Doors To Christ by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
(Mal 3:1-4, 4:5-6; Lk 1:57-66) Spread your joy around. How happy Elizabeth’s friends and relatives were when John was born. Their joy culminated in a gathering for his naming on the eighth day. These days before Christmas should be filled with joy and anticipation, but too often we and our frazzled friends get crabby and short-tempered. Be an instrument of good cheer today.



From: Christmas CLARESHARE December 2006
Ty Mam Duw Poor Clare Colettine Community

26th December
St. Stephen's day
Stephen was a deacon. His job was to give out boxes to the poor.
Go and find someone in need and give them something.


From John E. Rotelle, O.S.A., Tradition Day by Day: Readings from Church Writers. Augustinian Press. Villanova, PA, 1994.

The first martyr, Augustine of Hippo

Yesterday we kept the feast of Christmas, the day the King of martyrs was born into the world. Today we celebrate the birthday of Stephen, the day the first of all the martyrs left this world. The immortal one had first to assume our flesh so that mortals might undergo death for his sake. The Lord was born to die for his servant, so that his servant would not fear to die for him. Christ was born on earth so that Stephen might be born in heaven.

Christ prayed for those who crucified him. Stephen also prayed for those who stoned him. The Lord Jesus prayed, nailed to the cross; Stephen prayed on bended knee. He stood to commend his spirit to the Lord; he knelt to pray for the sin of his attackers. He spoke to the Lord as he would to a friend, entreating him for his enemies.

Let us turn to the younger persecutor Saul to see how powerful was the prayer of the holy martyr Stephen. If Stephen had not prayed for his enemies, the Church today would have had no Paul. Let us then commend ourselves to Stephen. If his prayers for those who stoned him were heard, much more will they now be heard for those who venerate him.



On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Day 2, December 26
Two Turtle Doves
The Old and New Testaments, which together bear witness to God's self-revelation in history and the creation of a people to tell the Story of God to the world.

Two Turtle Doves
The Old Testament and The New Testament

God gave His greatest gift to believers, His son Jesus Christ. He also gave us his word, the Christian Holy Bible made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament, communicated by the Holy Spirit, first through the patriarchs and prophets and then through the apostles. The Old Testament was God's covenant with Israel.

Perhaps the simplest statement of the covenant is the sentence, "I will take you for my people, and I will be your God" (Exodus 6:7). The law, a part of the covenant, contains God's rules for behavior and for religious practices. The people witnessed God's goodness, His love, His power, His faithfulness, His righteous anger, yet continued to disobey. Through Old Testament prophecy, the reader catches a glimpse of the New Testament.

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them. You have given them great joy, Lord; you have made them happy. They rejoice in what you have done, as people rejoice when they harvest grain or when they divide captured wealth. For you have broken the yoke that burdened them and the rod that beat their shoulders." (Isaiah 9:2-4a [TEV])

The high point of Jeremiah's prophecies contains the only Old Testament reference to the "new covenant":

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, `Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34 [NIV])

Through the prophet Isaiah the people were told of the coming of the Lord:

"Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:1-5 [NIV])

So, what is this New Testament, this new covenant? In the biblical books God gave us His word. Through prophecy God revealed His Word, his Son. John reveals the mystery of the Word to us:

"In the beginning was the one who is called the Word. The Word was with God and was truly God. From the very beginning the Word was with God. And with this Word, God created all things. Nothing was made without the Word. Everything that was created received its life from him, and his life gave light to everyone. The light keeps shining in the dark, and darkness has never put it out

The true light that shines on everyone was coming into the world. The Word was in the world, but no one knew him, though God had made the world with his Word. He came into his own world, but his nation did not welcome him. Yet some people accepted him and put their faith in him. So he gave them the right to be the children of God. They were not God's children by nature or because of any human desires. God himself was the one who made them his children.

The Word became a human being and lived here with us. We saw his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father. From him all the kindness and all the truth of God have come down to us." (John 1: 1-5, 9-14 [CEV]).

So Jesus came, He taught, He performed miracles, and He showed the way that God would have us go in His new covenant with us. And through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, through the grace of God, we are freely given salvation and eternal life. His promises remain constant and with us today. Jesus himself reveals God’s great Plan:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."

Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. "All this I have spoken while still with you.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. "You heard me say, `I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. "Come now; let us leave." (John 14 [NIV])

Yes, Jesus is God's greatest gift to us. The "two turtle doves", the Old Testament and the New Testament, testify to His goodness and mercy and love. In the end He leaves us with Peace and hope, the knowledge that He will return for us, the promise of eternal life with Him.

Today, the dove, a small white delicate bird, has become identified with Peace. From the first Peace, when the dove returned to Noah’s ark carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf, a sign that Peace between God and man had returned to the earth, to the new Peace, our redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Thank You Lord.

~ Gord Evans
Pefferlaw, Ontario, Canada

God of Revelation,

You have revealed Yourself to us in so many ways. Your creation abounds with the stamp of a Creator who is powerful, resourceful and plentiful. Your Son has given us the means by which we can approach Your Holy Throne in the power of his blood. And yet, You have also given us Your written word in which we find You, and your plan for our reconciliation to You. We are instructed to study, to keep, to learn, to live it. Thank You for yet another way to know You.

Amen





Christmas 2006

Surprise!

Reading: Luke 2:16-20

The shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and they saw the baby
lying on a bed of hay.
When the shepherds saw Jesus, they told his parents what the messenger had
said about him.

Everyone listened and was surprised. But Mary kept thinking about all this
and wondering what it meant.
As the shepherds returned to their sheep, they were praising God and saying
wonderful things about him. Everything they had seen and heard was just as
the angel had said.



*We know it all so well, don’t we? Very little surprises us when it comes to
the Christmas story.

Like the shepherds in the story, we return to our everyday tasks at the end
of the day.

How often do we find ourselves ‘praising God and saying wonderful things
about him’?

Perhaps, we should surprise ourselves and others with a little more praise
and conversation about God!


*William Loader writes: Luke moves on to the shepherds, a common image for
rulers in the ancient world, an echo also of David, the shepherd king, in
his town of Bethlehem. One simple way to portray divine transcendence was to
speak of angels [messengers]. God is saying something in this story. There
is a peace! It is a peace only possible where God as the God of compassion
is acknowledged, for God’s pleasure is not that of the tyrant but that of
the generous giver. This is to be celebrated in song, in dance, in liturgy,
in living! In verse 12 the angel repeats the all important detail of verse
7. This ‘saviour .. Christ/Messiah, Lord’ is down with the least. The same
detail comes again in verse 16. A counter saviour is born, a counter ‘son of
God’, bringing a counter ‘peace’ – for a counter people.
If Luke means us to guess what Mary might have ‘pondered in her heart’
(2:19), he has given us already a wealth of information in Mary’s song
(1:46-55). God has lifted up the lowly, has remembered the poor. In moments
of our own deeper truth we can also find ourselves facing our raw humanity,
facing our own poverty, stripped of our shining garments and clad in just
the basics. Then the angels are there for us. They are always there for us.
And we know ourselves in solidarity with the saviour of the world as our
saviour. And we know ourselves in solidarity with all who have no peace in
the world’s order of peace. And we know that in this new peace there is a
place for all.
The eucharist is a strange kind of eating trough. But the end is as the
beginning and the beginning as the end.

[http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/] (Bill Loader is a very interesting
writer, you can read his thoughts on the Christmas stories on his web
pages.)

* Wesley White writes: They returned giving glory to God (v. 20). While the
world was in darkness, some shepherds saw God. Why were they called to the
manger? God delights in revealing himself to the poor, and Mary and Joseph
had the joy to share with them a part of their secret.
With the birth of Jesus a new age begins (the final age as the apostles will
say) in which, on one hand, people hope for the salvation of the world, and
on the other they already enjoy this salvation. The shepherds are models for
those dedicated to contemplation. Following them, the Church will never be
totally involved in works of mercy or human development, but instead, with
its truest spirit, will continue to look upon Christ present in its midst,
giving thanks and rejoicing in God.
-Mary treasured all these messages (v. 19), because every event of her life
was for her the way God revealed his plans to her, and all the more so now
that she was living with Jesus. She wondered, marvelled but was not
confused, because her faith was beyond wavering. However, she too had to
discover the ways of salvation slowly and painfully. She pondered on these
things until the time of the Resurrection and Pentecost when all the words
and deeds of Jesus became clear.
-The shepherd break ranks with their position. They leave their job when an
intriguing vision breaks upon them. They, the lowest of the low, get uppity
and, on the basis of their experience, their seeing a next glimpse of the
vision coming to pass, they go around and tell what they know to all those
above them. This would be astonishing, again, to have the poor get their
voice of vision going again. May they and we be open to receiving a vision
of "peace on earth" and going about telling it.
-And Mary pondered. And later she will try to corral Jesus. And later she
will be a witness to his death. And later some will claim her adoption
(assumption) into heaven. Pondering weak and weary or pondering to some
larger picture? What sort of pondering are you doing these days? Is your
pondering leading you to going along or subversion?


*From Bruce Prewer: The shepherds came with haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the baby, lying in a manger.

The birth of Christ was for everyone, especially for those whom respectable
people shun, or make jokes about, or despise. Even today, people still makes
jokes about shepherds; some of these jokes are, to say the least, uncouth.
Yet shepherds are the first recorded visitors to the new born Christ.

I’m not sure if those same shepherds visited us this morning, and sat beside
you in the pew, that you would be at ease. I’m also not certain you would
eagerly invite them to share your Christmas dinner. Our fastidious, well
laundered noses might complain mightily.

Shepherds were not renowned for their personal hygiene.

Let’s face it, by day and night they lived with their sheep and smelt like
their sheep. It was a basic kind of existence. It was a harsh life, week
after week in wind and rain, hot sunshine or winter frost.

On one hand these sheep herders have been romanticised in poetry and folk
stories. Even God was called the good Shepherd, and King David was idealised
as the Shepherd King.

On the other hand they were despised by some legalistic rabbis as no hopers;
their job not only prevented them from attending the worship in the
synagogue, they were on duty 24/7 and thereby broke the holy Sabbath law.

They were just the kind of “the great unwashed” for whom Christ Jesus came.

Luke glories in this inclusive Gospel. He makes sure the story of the
shepherds is not left out of his account of the birth of Jesus. In fact, the
shepherds get pride of place, there at the very front, adoring the infant
Christ.

I’m glad. Delighted in fact. It makes the Gospel wide open to the likes of
you and me. I’m not suggesting that your personal hygiene is at fault, and I
hope you think mine is okay! Perhaps in our case it is not our bodiliness
but our personal godliness that is smelly? Blessedly, that does not put God
off at all! We are embraced. One of the joys that we are celebrating on this
wonderful day is that we too are among the “great unwashed” are welcomed by
the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

We are not here today celebrating because we are cleaner than others, nor
smarter than other, nor holier than others, nor better prayer-ers than
others, nor better at good works than others. We are here because of the
unmerited, free grace of God in Jesus Christ. We celebrate the birth of that
saving initiative in human form.

We come like the shepherds rapt in wonder at this new thing God has done.

Wonder! Joyful, mouth-agape wonder!

If any should have no room left for wonder, then God have mercy on our
benighted souls!



*Let us recall that in Matthew’s Gospel story, the wise men looked for Jesus
at the palace in capital city of Jerusalem.

They needed re-direction to a house in the small town of Bethlehem.
We, too, may be surprised where we will find Jesus if we are willing to
'open our eyes'.
Jesus said that he was to be found among the hungry, the thirsty, the
solitary and the homeless, those without clothes and those in prison. As we
come together in celebration, let us pray that God will 'open our eyes' to
'see' Jesus here, in our midst and to seek him in those in need.

*Lord, come, when and where we least expect you, refresh our spirits and
bring love and joy to others through us. Amen.