Christmas devotion: Two Great Gifts - Galatians 1:3

Today’s readings are Judges 2:7-15 and Galatians 1:1-10

Galatians 1:3  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

If I could give two precious gifts to the world this Christmas, they would be grace and peace.

Grace would be given, so that folks could forgive one another and allow their past mistakes to remain in the past. Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters could set aside their differences and begin again. Fractured feelings, persistent pride, and baneful bitterness could be gone forever, replaced by love, kindness, and compassion. What a gift to give our broken world!

Peace would be given so that different groups could learn to dialogue with one another; nations could recommit themselves to the betterment of humanity; religions could turn their theological barbs and spears into plowshares for effectively working against poverty, oppression, and injustice. Races across the globe could respect the wonderful variety of God’s image in all people and work together to eliminate bigotry and prejudice, humiliation and rivalry.

The bad news is that I don’t have the ability or power to give those gifts to the world; but the good news is this: Christ has already given those two great blessings through His sacrifice on Calvary and obedience to God. The gifts of grace and peace are already ours; we only have to find and apply them in each of our lives to begin the worldwide celebration of God’s love to the world.

Questions for personal reflection

Where have I experienced God’s grace and peace in my life? To whom can I share these great gifts during Advent?

Prayer:            Lord Jesus, You are both the greatest gift and the greatest gift-bringer in the history of the world. You came among us to grant all people everywhere the opportunity of being restored to God’s favor and love, as well as His grace and peace. Help us to share these blessings with the other people in our lives. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message or ask a question, please send John an email to traqair@aol.com.

Today’s image is one of John’s latest Christmas drawings called “Tree Window.” It’s a stained glass design of a Christmas tree. If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7389/11164226093_863c950b18_b.jpg

Short devotions: Calling All Sinners! - Matthew 9:13

Today’s Bible readings are: Isaiah 22:17-25 and Matthew 9:9-13

Matthew 9:13              Jesus said, “But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

One of the issues that the Church faces today is what’s called the ‘Fully Inclusive Table’. It’s an expression that’s used in a variety of ways. For some people, it’s about allowing children to participate in Communion before they’ve completed the process of Confirmation. For others, it’s an ecumenical hope for all the Christian churches and denominations to sit together and share the Lord’s Table. For others, the table will only be fully inclusive when all people, no matter what their color, creed, race, or sexual orientation, gather together in love, peace, and unity to celebrate life, humanity, and God.

Whatever the hopes, all of these inclusive ideas take their theological basis from this event in Christ’s Life (Matthew 9:9-13). He sat with sinners and outcasts, the unclean and immoral, and ate with them, going against the rigid religious rules of His people. Jesus radically challenged the beliefs of where the presence of God could be found. According to Christ, God’s Spirit was everywhere and not just in the holy sacred Temple at the center of Jerusalem.

People nowadays interpret this Gospel passage to mean that anyone and everyone can come and sit with Christ. No sin is unacceptable and no sinner is cast out from Christ’s company. This supposedly means that everyone is totally acceptable to Christ. That’s true, but it’s only half of the story.

You see Jesus accepted sinners into His company in order to do several important things: to bring them closer to God; to make them aware of their shortcomings; to challenge their ways and to change their lives, so that all may be restored to God. He expected their lives to be altered, for salvation to enter into their hearts, for repentance to take place and redemption to be guaranteed. He showed mercy to sinners by dining with them, but He could only grant them the grace of complete forgiveness when they sought His pardon, and not just His company.

The Table of the Lord is an open invitation to everyone to come and receive Christ’s holiness, goodness, and mercy. But if we take it for granted or feel entitled to it, then we’ve disrespected Jesus and totally missed the point. Communion is that moment in our lives when we as sinners share Christ’s love by seeking His forgiveness first; secondly, by feasting upon His goodness; and thirdly, by changing our lives to please Him. Yes, Jesus ate and drank with sinners, but at the end of the meal, His teaching would have been ‘Go and sin no more.’

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we are all sinners in need of salvation because we all fall short of what God expects of us. You invite us to Your Table, not because we deserve it, but because You graciously allow us to participate in Your holiness, presence, and power. You also expect us to change our ways as a means of showing our gratitude to You and glorifying God. Keep us from taking You for granted and help us to live better Christian lives. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is one of John’s Communion drawings called “New Day.” If you would like to view a larger version, please click on the following link: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/5622811365_440f59a85b_b.jpg