by Maria Rudolph
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Read James 3:1–12
I grew up in Germany, with today being St Nicholas Day. Now, it is my children’s turn to clean their shoes on the eve of 6 December and place them neatly outside their bedroom door. When they awake, they will find small goodies in their shoes - lollies, nuts and gifts. St Nicholas Day is a joyful event of giving and receiving.
Nicholas was the 4th-century bishop of Myra, located in modern-day Türkiye (Turkey). The stories surrounding his generous giving and godly conduct have somehow taken on a life of their own and curiously culminated in the modern-day creation of Santa Claus. While this is a far cry from the original person of Bishop Nicholas, it serves as yet another reminder of God, the giver of all things. St Nicholas is credited with this quote - ‘The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic God’s giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.’
How blessed we are with godly quotes from him and many other faithful Christians throughout the ages. How blessed we are with Scripture verses full of wisdom said and recorded by the people of old. Yet an observation and warning from St James in his epistle is true for all of them and us - ‘Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be’ (James 3:10). Even well-quoted people do not always use their tongues appropriately.
We already focus on giving gifts and sharing kind actions during this Advent season. But let us also focus on our tongues. Martin Luther instructs us in his Small Catechism on the eighth commandment:
Do not give false testimony. What does this mean? We should honour and love God and so we should not tell lies about other people, give their secrets away, talk about them behind their back, or damage their reputation in any way. Instead, we should speak up for them, say only good things about them, and explain their actions in the kindest way.
It takes effort to use our tongues appropriately, but with a focus on the giver of every good and perfect gift, we are on the right track. Let us all challenge ourselves to take note of our tongue and pray daily that we may use it solely for blessing.
Holy Spirit, living water, we need your help and guidance. We do not want to be a spring from which fresh and saltwater flow simultaneously. But we trip up and fail. Fill us with your living water so our cup overflows into our lives and the people around us from the spring of life inside us. Store the fruit of your Spirit in our hearts abundantly, so our mouth speaks of what our hearts are full of. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Maria is overjoyed to be a candidate for ordination as a pastor of the LCANZ while serving the St Johns Perth congregation and supporting the ministry of her pastor husband, Michael, at Concordia Duncraig congregation in Western Australia. They are parents to three children who are busy with primary and secondary schooling. Maria also serves the church as a member of the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations.
by Pastor Jim Strelan
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That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the word of life (1 John 1:1).
Read 1 John 1:1–10
As I was growing up, I fought against an idea of God that had him as very removed from me and my life, someone to fear, respect and keep at a distance. Then, there was a movement to bring God closer and be my friend, and this came through Jesus. Some called it the Jesus Revolution. While I would much rather have an idea of God that says he is approachable and nearer than distant, sometimes I think we need to pause for a moment and just consider who he is.
When we think of God in the human form of Jesus, flesh and blood, living our life, understanding our fears, crying our tears, stop for a moment and recognise just who this Jesus is. Especially now at Christmas: the bawling, red, wrinkly baby Jesus in the shed out the back in the feed box is the one who was from the beginning. You might know the song ‘Mary, Did You Know?’. It has the words, ‘Mary, did you know this sleeping baby you’re holding is the Great I Am?’
The writer of 1 John calls on us to pause for a moment and reflect: the one who was heard, seen, touched and with his followers is the one who was from the beginning, one with the Father. That’s mind-boggling. But not so mind-boggling if you have a view of God who is distant from us, who is removed from us. But if he is close to us, with us, even in us, that gives a different perspective. What is proclaimed is an eternal mystery, not just a fanciful, wishful-thinking thing. As wondrous as it is, it is something seen and heard (verse 3).
This eternal Jesus, who is one with the God of the universe, is with you. Little old you, little old me. We are connected, and we are in fellowship (verse 3). Be humbled and be glad.
Jesus, I acknowledge who you are, and I am in awe. I am overawed when I think about how you took on the form of a baby, entering my world, for me and for all. Thank you. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor who lives with his wife, Ruth, on the north side of Brisbane. He is a proud and not very humble Brisbane Lions supporter. Jim likes to read, listen to music and play golf. He and Ruth love being with their young grandchildren and watching them grow. For Jim, grace is everything, and he will share that however and whenever possible.
Good King Wenceslas 26th December
Read: Titus 3:4-8, 14 “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.”
1 Peter 2:21 (NIV) On the 26th December (Saint Stephen’s Day), a Bohemian king (modern day Czech Republic) went on a journey through the snowy and harsh winter to provide for (give alms to) poor peasants. With his servant the king struggles against the cold weather, and the servant is about to give up, but the king tells him to place his feet into his footsteps and so together they go step by step through the deep snow.
Wenceslaus l (the original spelling), 907-935, was not a king but rather a much-loved Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century. He was a kind man who had compassion to all, even earning the nickname ‘the father of all the wretched’. Wenceslaus l was eventually sainted by the church after he suffered a martyr’s death. The Holy Roman Emperor Otto l also declared Wenceslaus a king posthumously and made him the patron saint to the Czech Republic. (This is not the same person who actually held the title King Wenceslas l of Bohemia who reigned 3 centuries later.) In Prague there is a statue of Saint Wenceslas on horseback which can be found in Wenceslas Square. John Mason Neale wrote about this story in his lyrics to this beautiful Christmas carol in 1853.
Even though this carol does not tell of the story of Jesus, nevertheless it does share the story of a person who made himself lowly, being a monarch, to help those less fortunate than he. He stepped out into the cold of the world to bring comfort, not just in words but in his actions, giving food, help and money to help those less fortunate. This truly is the essence of Jesus coming to earth as a lowly baby. God sent His Son to earth not as a king to rule, but as a man to help, heal and comfort those in need. As the servant stepped in the King’s footprints so we also step in Christ’s example. This Christmas season remember how blessed we have been and find some time to also bless others in need. Sing or listen to Good King Wenceslas.
PRAYER V5: In his master’s steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted; Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed. Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing, Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing. Amen.
by Pastor Jim Strelan
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So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger (Luke 2:16).
Read Luke 2:(1–7), 8–20
Do you sometimes feel that your life is so ordinary? Nothing special about it, nothing anyone would write about in a magazine or report on TV news. Just a day-to-day struggle, trying to keep our heads above water. When we think about God, especially at Christmastime, we can easily think about majesty, glory, shining light, accompanied by choirs of angels – other-worldly, nothing at all like your life or mine. And God is in all those things. After all, God is God.
But see what we have when God comes to our earth. He comes as a baby, covered in gunk, bawling his eyes out, desperately seeking his mother’s breast. Not in the most prestigious hospital in the land, but in a cow shed, in a feed box for the animals, with no reporters and cameras and bright lights as witnesses, just some shepherds tired from a night out in the fields. A manger baby. Very, very ordinary if you ask me.
But that’s the magic of God. He loves to be in the ordinary, in muck, the inglorious – where we are. It’s interesting that the Christmas story, as we have it in the Gospel of Luke, consists of both the awesome and the ordinary at the same time. A bit like my experience of life with God. I am in awe of him, worship him, lift up his name, and I know that he is with me in all my ordinariness and brokenness. A traditional image of the baby Jesus in the manger is with his hands open and reaching out as best as a baby can. Reaching out to you and me as if to say, ‘This is for you; this is how I want to be involved with you. Come to the manger with me, and we will journey together. I am born for you. I enter your ordinariness and show you God’.
That’s worth doing what the shepherds did: glorifying and praising God (verse 20). May your Christmas celebration of the manger child bring you great joy.
Thank you, God of all, for choosing to enter our world in the ordinary. Be in the ordinariness of my life. Bless me today as I celebrate the birth of the Saviour. Amen.
Jim is a retired pastor who lives with his wife, Ruth, on the north side of Brisbane. He is a proud and not very humble Brisbane Lions supporter. Jim likes to read, listen to music and play golf. He and Ruth love being with their young grandchildren and watching them grow. For Jim, grace is everything, and he will share that however and whenever possible.