Focus

Turn off your cell phone, TV, or radio. Listen to the silence that is around you. Listen for God to speak to you.

 

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Read

Hebrews 1:1-12 (NRSV)

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you”?

Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?

And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”
Of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”

But of the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,
and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

And,
“In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like clothing;
like a cloak you will roll them up,
and like clothing they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will never end.”

 

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Reflect

There is a very popular TV game show that always asks its contestants, “Is that your final answer?” For God and Christians that answer would be Jesus. God has always communicated with humankind from the very beginning of creation as demonstrated in the Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, humankind has not always listened. God continued to communicate in various ways; all of these ways in which God spoke were like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle each revealing more and more of the nature of God. God did not give the complete picture all at once because humankind was not ready. We read in verse 2 that the final piece of the puzzle, the final revelation of God, would come in the person of God’s son. Everything we need or want to know about the Father has been revealed in Jesus for in Jesus we see the very reflection of God. Just as an image is stamped or imprinted on a coin or other object, that exact duplicate of God’s character is imprinted in Jesus in the same way. Today we celebrate God’s reaching to humankind in the most tender and loving fashion: a tiny baby, God’s final revelation, the final answer, the hope for all the world. “O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.”

 

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Pray

Lord God of heaven, creator and redeemer of all things, on this Christmas day we give thanks for your gift to the world, your final revelation. Your gift is Jesus Christ who is greater than the angels and greater than the prophets. For while they spoke your word, Jesus IS the Word. Thank you for not giving up on us but continuing to communicate and establish a personal and intimate relationship with us. May we join with the voices of the angels in singing, “glory to God in the highest.” Amen.

 

Go with God!