Do Not Be Afraid: Christmas Daybook 10
Opening prayer: Heavenly Father, make me more like Jesus and more like the true self you’ve created as I savor your loving presence today. Please guide my thoughts and impressions by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Look: In the Wild North, Ivan Shishkin - Source
Listen: Christmas Moon, Brooke Waggoner - Spotify | YouTube | Lyrics
Read: Psalm 68; Psalm 72; 1 Kings 19:9-18; Ephesians 4:17-32; John 6:15-27
Excerpts:
“Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God. But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy.
Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds— his name is the Lord— be exultant before him.
Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land. O God, when you went out before your people when you marched through the wilderness,
Selah
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord,
Selah
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel; and whose power is in the skies. Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!”
*
“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.”
*
“At that place he came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
He said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He answered, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away.”
*
“When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.
When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. But he said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
- Psalm 68:1-8, 32-35 * Psalm 72:18-19 * 1 Kings 19:1-14, * John 6:15-19 (NRSV)
Pray: Prayerfully read Ephesians 4:17-32 as an examen for 2021 and a hope for 2022.
How does the passage stir gratitude in you?
How does the passage draw you toward love?
How does the passage draw you toward confession?
How does the passage stir hopes, needs, or desires in you?
Sit quietly with these questions and listen for the Spirit’s still, small voice to offer you direction, pardon, peace, and hope.
Do: Write thank-you cards or New Year's greetings.
[from my 2013 post: “12 Ways to Savor the 12 Days of Christmas”]
“When I was growing up my mother always sent her annual family newsletter at New Year's. Makes sense, right? Some years I set up a card-writing station on our dining table so that throughout the week we all take turns writing thank you-cards.”
Here’s some excellent encouragement from Rachel Marie Stone, via Englewood Review of Books: Write A Better Year End Letter. If you’d rather just have a good laugh about not sending any cards, read Simcha Fisher’s How To Write An Honest Christmas Letter.
* Listen to my entire playlist on Spotify: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: Christmas 2021
** Sunday Scripture readings are taken from Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary. Daily Scripture readings are taken from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and include both Morning and Evening Psalms (Year 2)