Jesus Is Named
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
SUNDAY, December 31
Luke 2:21-35
It’s New Year’s Eve in the year of our Lord one. (Work with me here.) If Jesus was born on December 25, today, the eighth day, is when Mary and Joseph are huddled in a small house in Bethlehem getting ready for a New Year’s Day outing to their newborn son’s naming ceremony. This will be Mary and the baby’s first appearance in public. Will they be treated as any mother and newborn with the requisite oohs and aahs?
What’s on your mind this New Year’s Eve? Are you worried about what awaits you in the new year? Will you ring in the new year with friends, or are you, like Mary and Jesus, perhaps in isolation? Maybe you are just tired of 2023 and going to bed early to get it over with? Whatever your circumstance, you are not alone. Two thousand twenty-three years ago, Jesus was named and he will accompany you into the new year.
Dear heavenly Father, we can’t thank you enough for the gift of your Son. May your kingdom come and your will be done in 2024 as it is in heaven. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: LIVING A PRAYER—FILLED LIFE
Jesus Is Revealed
MONDAY, January 1
Luke 2:36-40
Luke goes out of his way to mention a man and a woman who recognize Jesus at the temple. The Holy Spirit reveals and prophecy is confirmed. Fast-forward 2023 years. When did you know Jesus was your savior? How was he revealed to you?
The text then says, “They returned to…Nazareth” (v. 39, NRSV) and, “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him” (v. 40). Matthew 2, however, tells us that before that, the family made a sudden escape to Egypt.
Do you have an Egypt? Do you feel as if you are in exile? What would it take to get you to come home? Are you waiting for your camel train? Jesus calls all of us home regardless of our reason for being away.
Dear Jesus, may this be the year we are called out of exile. May we too grow, become strong, and filled with wisdom. May your favor be upon us. AMEN.
Jesus Is Emancipation
TUESDAY, January 2
Galatians 4:4-7
Joseph adopted Jesus as his heir and, as the oldest son, Jesus likely inherited a carpentry shop. My grandfather, Rev. Nathaniel Franklin, was the first secretary of Sunday schools for the Covenant. In 1972, he wrote a book, Jesus at Home, in which he envisioned what Jesus’s life in Nazareth was like. Jesus is the most written about person in history, but aside from a trip to the temple in year 12, his childhood remains largely undocumented. Grandpa had the good sense not to ascribe attributes to the Christ child.
Lord, you offer redemption so freely, yet we give it so begrudgingly. Work in our hearts, that we may fully understand what it means to be your heirs. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: WOMEN’S MINISTRIES IN THE CHURCH
Jesus Is Inclusivity
WEDNESDAY, January 3
Psalm 148
Years prior to the birth of Jesus, the psalmist encouraged the entire earth to “Praise the Lord” for rescuing his people from oppression. God lays a message on the heart of the writer, but at the end, the writer seems to rethink the inclusivity by implying the “faithful” are the people of Israel.
What causes us to believe we are God’s chosen people? That “we” is not exclusive to any nation, gender, or race. God, through his Son, has made a way for everyone. “Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and women alike, old and young together!” (vv. 11-12).
God of all, speak to us through your word and create in us a heart of inclusivity with the knowledge that we are all made in your image and loved equally. AMEN.
Jesus Is Life
THURSDAY, January 4
Isaiah 61:10–62:3
Connecting prophetic dots is something I struggle with. We want to see meaning in everything, which often causes us to interpret events as messages from God. If only we had the code book.
Just prior to final exams in college, one classmate rose at campus church and confessed she had not studied for an exam the next day but believed her attendance at the service was more important. I don’t know how that worked out for her. My mom used to say, “God helps those who help themselves.” Prosperity gospel was clearly not Mom’s thing.
Prophecies are meaningless without their fulfillment. The revelation of Jesus Christ fulfilled all prophecies. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….In him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (John 1:1, 4).
Yes, the Bible does tell the story of God’s people, but it is first and foremost the story of God revealed to us.
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your Word which gives us life. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: GOD’S ABIDING LOVE
Jesus Is Complete
FRIDAY, January 5
Hebrews 1:1-4
The writer hits the nail on the head. We no longer need to depend on the prophecies and opaque stories of ancient peoples. The world, as troubling as it can be, is in Go(o)d hands. In Revelation for the Rest of Us, Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett encourage us to stop worrying about Babylon (the prophetic city) and to focus on our own Babylons, whatever is keeping us from complete fullness of life in Christ. When we get stuck on prophetic details, we miss the big picture God wants us to see: Jesus sits on the throne. “When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished’” (John 19:30). Why do we keep looking for more? My horse firmly believes the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. But all he has to show for it is a partially missing mane, caused by rubbing his neck against the wood planks of the fence. There remains nothing left to find. It has been revealed.
Dear Jesus, you have completed your work for us. Please complete your work in us. AMEN.
Jesus Is Love
SATURDAY, January 6
Psalm 117
God keeps his promises to his people. The Scriptures provide a track record as a means for us to measure God’s faithfulness. Jesus completes the job he has been given. God’s sacrifice of his firstborn heir throws open the doors for everyone to be adopted into the family of God. Charles Wesley wrote, “No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in him, is mine! Alive in him, my living Head, and clothed in righteousness divine….Amazing love! how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me!” (“And Can It Be That I Should Gain,” The Covenant Hymnal: A Worshipbook, #306). It is amazing how many adages are disproven by Jesus. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” Not! “You get what you deserve.” Also not! “God helps those who help themselves.” Sorry again, Mom, but no. However, “The cat is out of the bag.” True! Come, Lord Jesus.
Praise the Lord, all you nations! Extol him, all you peoples! For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. AMEN.
PRAYER FOCUS: BEING FULLY ALIVE IN CHRIST
