“Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty firmament! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his surpassing greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with clanging cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150

Over and over, the Bible invites us to praise G-d, not because G-d needs our praise — but because this is all we can give to G-d: Prayer, Praise and Thanksgiving. The book of the Bible we call the “Psalms” is a book of praise for G-d and provides us many examples of how to praise G-d. During worship, we often sing praises to G-d in song. But praising G-d is not something that necessarily comes naturally to many. I have found that when I put something in G-d’s hands, I am more readily able to praise G-d for whatever the outcome might be. This is the purpose of Psalm 150 — it reminds us to praise the Lord.

The day after Christmas is know as “Boxing Day” in many countries. The Oxford English Dictionary notes the earliest recognition of this day in Britain in the 1830s, defining it as “the first weekday after Christmas day, observed as a holiday on which postmen, errand boys, and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas box” This custom is linked to an older British tradition where the servants of the wealthy were allowed on the day after Christmas to visit their families since they would have to serve their masters on Christmas Day. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food.

On this second day of Christmas, let us praise the Lord for all the gifts we have been given – and pray to find ways to share our abundance of gifts with those in need.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for the opportunity to praise you. Thank you for showing us reasons why and ways to praise you. Thank you for helping us understand that our works can be a way to praise you too. Guide us each day in how best to give you thanks and praise, and to share our blessings with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Pastor Dave

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1 – 14

“The light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” I love the confident note of hope this verse sounds. One the one hand, it is the declaration of a state of fact: light is stronger than darkness. At the same time, it is also a promise: even when it seems otherwise – and even the briefest scan of the headlines can make it seem otherwise – yet the light continues to shine and the darkness has neither overcome nor understood it. There is an active, even tensive quality to this verse that strikes me as accurately capturing the life of faith. We live confident of the promise that light is stronger than darkness, love stronger than hate, and life stronger than death. Yet not only that is not always apparent in the meantime, but even when we believe it most confidently that doesn’t lessen the amount of struggle a faithful life entails. Christmas reminds us of God’s decision to become one of us, to take on our lot and our life that we might have hope, and to share our mortal life that we might enjoy God’s eternal life. This is not merely a season of celebration, it is a promise that requires our active participation every day of the year. Our lives matter to God.” (David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, Christmas Continued, December 30, 2014)

What are the different ways G-d could come to this world? G-d could have come in the manner that Ezekiel left this world – on a flaming chariot suddenly appearing in the heavens, surrounded by clouds and a multitude of other chariots leading, guiding, heralding his coming. Or, he could have appeared on something like a television, a large screen suddenly appearing in the heavens for everyone to see. He could have come in a mighty wind, everyone having to avert their eyes until it calms down, and there stands Jesus in his full glory. None of these would do. G-d determined to come like every other child comes to this earth – through the birth canal. It is not the ordinary way a king announces his reign – but Jesus is not ordinary King.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10 – 12)

He could have come on a fiery chariot, but instead he came to set the world on fire with love, mercy and grace. I know when terrible things happen, we experience what I call “manger moments”, you know, moments where we feel that G-d is telling us that there is no room for us. But what Christmas should always remind us is that G-d is not transcendent – G-d is not “out there somewhere”, out of our reach — nor are we out of G-d’s thoughts. G-d broke through the barrier of distance and space and came to us as a baby, in a manger – and remained with us, growing strong, breathing air, walking this earth, sharing G-d’s love. And when Jesus left this earth, he did not leave us empty-handed. Jesus remains with us, in the Word we share, in the bread and wine of communion, and in the church – Jesus is with all of us tonight whom celebrate the birth of Christ. It is appropriate that the tradition of the Christmas celebration is filled with watching people we love open gifts – because Christmas is itself a gift – G-d gifted G-d’s self to all of humanity – so that in the good times and the bad, in the joy and in the fear, we can experience this gift again and again through the many means of Grace. This is the gift we celebrate today.

Pastor Dave