Monday, January 1, 2024
Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God
The Eighth Day of Christmas
New Year’s Day 2024
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Different kind of hero
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and, give you peace.
Our pastor leans into military and first responder models. Sometimes he recalls violent stories from the Bible which have no obvious redeeming quality, and he did that again on New Year’s Eve. Last thoughts for 2023, he called it. Look at 1 Samuel 4, 5 and 6.
This story must be important, he reasoned, because in the most edited book in history it takes up three chapters, a great deal of print space. It’s a three act play. The first act/chapter 4 might be titled “Could it get any worse?” The Israelites treated the Ark of the Covenant like a genie in a lamp, which protected them when they rubbed the lamp. But by the end the army lost thousands, Eli and his sons were dead, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines.
In the second act/chapter 5, “To the victor goes the spoils,” the Philistines took their turn with the Ark. In the Ark’s presence their god Dagon was beheaded and de-handed, and then wherever they moved the ark their people were cursed with hemorrhoids, tumors and hordes of rats. Get that Ark out of here!
Finally in the third act/chapter 6 the Philistines return the ark, along with gifts of gold, to Israel.
What’s the lesson?
- There are no heroes. God doesn’t need us to accomplish his will. The end is written
- If that’s true, what is our role? Matt remembered Patton, who wanted to be remembered as a hard worker, not as someone only seeking comfort and safety. He remembered Indiana Jones, who did all he could to protect the Lost Ark. Both were heroes, in the context of a Story that transcended their actions.
- God wants to spend time with us. Matt found photos of his kids as 3-year-olds, helping him mow and his wife Melinda make cookies. Help? Maybe not. But the family got some time together. God has a right to rule. His plan will happen. He wants to spend time with us while we participate. He doesn’t need us, but he loves us.
To close we sang a song full of metaphors about God. Miles was sitting next to me. I asked him to listen to the words and imagine stories behind those words. Maybe he did, but I know I heard the song more clearly than ever before.
Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from …
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life …
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves …
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh, He is my song
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
The shepherds found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger. They made known the message the angels told them about this child. Mary kept all these things and pondered them in their heart. And the shepherds returned to their pastures, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.
 (Numbers 6, Psalm 67, Galatians 4, Hebrews 1, Luke 2)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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