| p4. January 23-31 Epiphany: Jan 23. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God�And the Word became flesh and lived among us. See John 1:1, 14. We know what it means to give flesh to a word. To many people, the words �gay� and �lesbian� isolate, stereotype, and limit their experience of us. Only when they come to know us do the words take on new meanings, opening their experience beyond sexual acts and social stigma. Followers of Jesus witnessed God�s Word at work in him. Regardless of what one believes to be authentic in the biblical record of his life, there is little doubt that the glory of God must have been present in Jesus to cause such a stir in the conscience of the world. God, in a sense, came out in Jesus of Nazareth, overcoming the way people isolated, stereotyped, and limited their experience of God. To many lesbians and gay men, the words �Christian� or �spiritual� also isolate, stereotype, and limit their experience of us. They may have difficulty disassociating us from the antigay positions of much of the church. Yet we may make the words �Christian� and �spiritual� flesh in a new way that unites rather than divides our community. From your fullness, Christ Jesus, let us receive grace so that we may embody your grace and truth. Amen. Jan 24. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. See Matthew 2:1-12. The possibility of being displaced did not bring Herod great joy. Instead, it brought fear. If this child was truly the Messiah, it would change all that Herod believed to be important. Whenever the message of Christ is taken into the world, there is the possibility that it will be met with rejection. The three magi were men of faith. They came with pure hearts and their purpose was worship and praise. They came not to find gold, but to find God. People who make a difference in the world set their sights on a worthy star, and they follow it with all their hearts. The most magnificent star that we can follow is the same today as it was in the time of the magi. It is the star of Christ. We bow before him in adoration and praise and offer the gift of ourselves. Guide me on my journey of faith with the light of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Jan 25. We are God�s work of art. See Ephesians 2:10. We are a work in progress, but we are beautiful. The gay community shakes our confidence in our own beauty by creating the cult of the body beautiful. The church shakes our self-worth by creating the cult of heterosexuality and the cult of the perfect saint. But as Billy Idol says, �There is nothing pure in this world.� God sees to the heart of the matter and to the heart of our matter. Jan 26. And a voice from heaven said, �This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased. See Matthew 3:13-17. At Jesus� baptism, God announced both deep love and complete approval for Jesus. God loves us and is pleased with us too. Jan 27. But the Lord said to him, �Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel.� See Acts 9:10-19a. How wonderful to be called by God, but how anxious Ananias must have felt. He surely knew of Paul�s misdeeds toward Christians, but Ananias trusted in God and did God�s will to help Paul. Lord, may we trust in you and do your will. Jan 28. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you. See Jeremiah 1:4-10. What a comfort to know that our God knows us so well. Dear God, help me to be a bold Christian and share your word to help people grow in your name. Amen. Jan 29. �Be still, and know that I am God!� See Psalm 46:10. Etty Hillesum, a young Jewish woman facing the Holocaust in Europe wrote to God, �all we can manage these days and also all that really matters is that we safeguard that piece of you, God, in ourselves, and perhaps in others as well.� (An Interrupted Life, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985, p. 187) God is �our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble� Psalm 46:1. Jan 30. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. See Psalm 40:1-11. When you find yourself in a desolate pit, it can take work to get out. But with God�s help, you will make it. Jan 31. Elijah passed by Elisha and threw his mantle over him. See 1 Kings 19:19-21. In Old Testament tradition, when someone gives you a mantle, he or she is anointing or choosing you. Following Elijah meant leaving behind his family and the life he knew. When Jesus asked the disciples to follow him, the disciples had to leave everything behind. There could be no other distractions: no jobs, no families, no hobbies. How can we follow Jesus in that way today? We pray and wait for God to cast the mantle upon us. Then we simply follow in the path that God has made for us. |
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