Brooks: Christmas everywhere

Saturday, December 24, 2022
    Christmas Eve
Meditation:
    [The Angel:] “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”
    —Luke 2:11 (NIV)
Quotation:
For the Christ-child who comes is the Master of all;
No palace too great, no cottage too small.
The angels who welcome Him sing from the height,
“In the city of David a King in His might.”
    Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night!

Then let every heart keep its Christmas within,
Christ’s pity for sorrow, Christ’s hatred of sin,
Christ’s care for the weakest, Christ’s courage for right,
Christ’s dread of the darkness, Christ’s love of the light.
    Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas to-night!
    ... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893), Christmas Songs and Easter Carols, New York: E.P. Dutton, 1904, p. 17-18 (see the book)
    See also Luke 2:9-14; Isa. 9:6; Matt. 1:21; Luke 1:69; 2 Tim. 1:8-10; 1 John 4:14
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your people rejoice at Your coming.

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Bonhoeffer: indifferent to the message

Friday, December 23, 2022
Meditation:
    An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
    —Luke 2:9 (NIV)
Quotation:
    We have become so accustomed to the idea of divine love and of God’s coming at Christmas that we no longer feel the shiver of fear that God’s coming should arouse in us. We are indifferent to the message, taking only the pleasant and agreeable out of it and forgetting the serious aspect, that the God of the world draws near to the people of our little earth and lays claim to us. The coming of God is truly not only glad tidings, but first of all frightening news for every one who has a conscience.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), A Testament to Freedom: the essential writings of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Geffrey B. Kelly, F. Burton Nelson, eds., HarperCollins, 1995, p. 185 (see the book)
    See also Luke 2:9; 1:19,30,35; 8:1; Rev. 3:20
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I am ashamed for my sins. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Housman: Father eternal, Ruler of creation

Thursday, December 22, 2022
Meditation:
    The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
    —John 1:14 (NIV)
Quotation:
Father eternal, Ruler of creation,
Spirit of life, which moved ere form was made,
Through the thick darkness covering every nation,
Light to man’s blindness, O be Thou our aid.

Races and peoples, lo, we stand divided,
And, sharing not our griefs, no joy can share;
By wars and tumults Love is mocked, derided;
His conquering cross no nation wills to bear.

Envious of heart, blind-eyed, with tongues confounded,
Nation by nation still goes unforgiven,
In wrath and fear, by jealousies surrounded,
Building proud towers which shall not reach to heaven.

Lust of possession worketh desolations;
There is no meekness in the powers of earth;
Led by no star, the rulers of the nations
Still fail to bring us to the blissful birth.

How shall we love Thee, holy hidden Being,
If we love not the world which Thou hast made?
O give us brother-love for better seeing
Thy Word made flesh and in a manger laid.
    ... Laurence Housman (1865-1959), [1919] Songs of Praise, enl. ed., Ralph Vaughan Williams, et al., ed., Oxford University Press, 1931, p. 98 (see the book)
    See also John 1:14; Gen. 11:9; Luke 2:6-12; 14:27; John 10:10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may we love You better.

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MacDonald: Loving looks the large-eyed cow

Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Meditation:
    While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
    —Luke 2:6-7 (NIV)
Quotation:
Loving looks the large-eyed cow,
Loving stares the long-eared ass
At Heaven’s glory in the grass!
    Child, with added human birth
Come to bring the child of earth
Glad repentance, tearful mirth,
And a seat beside the hearth
At the Father’s knee—
Make us peaceful as thy cow;
Make us patient as thine ass;
Make us quiet as thou art now;
Make us strong as thou wilt be.
Make us always know and see
We are his as well as thou.
    ... George MacDonald (1824-1905), The Poetical Works of George MacDonald, v. 2, London: Chatto & Windus, 1893, p. 191 (see the book)
    See also Luke 2:6-12,16; 21:19; Eph. 4:1-2; Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 2:9; 1 John 4:2-3
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, I belong to You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Hauerwas: peace in time of rebellion

Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “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.”
    —John 14:27 (NIV)
Quotation:
    As Christians, we must maintain day in and day out that peace is not something to be achieved by our power. Rather peace is a gift of God that comes only by our being a community formed around a crucified savior—a savior who teaches us how to be peaceful in a world in rebellion against its true Lord.
    ... Stanley Hauerwas (b. 1940), The Peaceable Kingdom, University of Notre Dame Press, 1983, p. 12 (see the book)
    See also John 14:27; Luke 2:14; Rom. 8:6; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 2:13-17; Phil. 4:6-7; Col. 1:19-20; 3:15; 2 Thess. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have ordained peace in Your church. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Havergal: Our Saviour Christ was born

Monday, December 19, 2022
Meditation:
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
    and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly,
    and rejoice even with joy and singing:
the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it,
    the excellency of Carmel and Sharon,
they shall see the glory of the LORD,
    and the excellency of our God.
    —Isaiah 35:1-2 (KJV)
Quotation:
    Our Saviour Christ was born
That we might have the rose without the thorn;
    All through His desert life
He felt the thorns of human sin and strife.
His blessed feet were bare
To every hurting brier; He did not spare
One bleeding footstep on the way
He came to trace for us, until the day
The cruel crown was pressed upon the Brow,
That smiles upon us from His glory now.

    And so He won for us
Sweet, thornless, everlasting flowers thus!
    He bids our desert way
Rejoice and blossom as the rose to-day.
    There is no hidden thorn
In His good gifts of grace; He would adorn
The lives that now are His alone,
With brightness and with beauty all His own.
Then praise the Lord who came on Christmas Day
To give the rose and take the thorn away.
    ... Frances Ridley Havergal (1836-1879), The Poetical Works of Frances Ridley Havergal, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1888, p. 165-166 (see the book)
    See also Isa. 35:1-2; Matt. 27:28-29; Mark 15:17-18; John 19:1-5; Heb. 6:7-8
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have redeemed all the suffering of Your people.

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Luccock: the order of Christmas

Sunday, December 18, 2022
    Advent IV
Meditation:
    [Jesus:] “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”
    —Matthew 19:30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Christmas turns things tail end foremost. The day and the spirit of Christmas rearrange the world parade. As the world arranges it, usually there come first in importance—leading the parade with a big blare of a band—the Big Shots. Frequently they are also the Stuffed Shirts. That’s the first of the parade. Then at the tail end, as of little importance, trudge the weary, the poor, the lame, the halt, and the blind. But in the Christmas spirit, the procession is turned around. Those at the tail end are put first in the arrangement of the Child of Christmas.
    ... Halford E. Luccock (1885-1960), “Whoops! It’s Christmas”, in the Halford Luccock Treasury, New York: Abingdon, 1963, p. 381-382 (see the book)
    See also Matt. 19:30; 20:16; Mark 9:35-37; 10:31; Luke 13:30
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, establish the order of Heaven among us. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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