David Bahn - Reflections

I love the images of the song...Jesus walking on water, healing sons and daughters, giving sight to a blind man, kissing the face of God. This is an invitation to look forward to Jesus' life and ministry with anticipation every time we read the Gospels. It's like watching The Chosen and knowing the stories of Jesus' ministry, but delighting to see how they will be portrayed.

Jesus is God in the flesh. His ministry impacted thousands in his day, and millions since that time. The mystery and wonder of the incarnation is explored here, and I especially enjoy how this song helps me ponder these things.

Are you rejoicing? Listening to Christmas music - not Grandma got run over by a reindeer!  How about Handel's Messiah. Mannheim Steamroller. Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. King's College Christmas Carols. There are certainly many more!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

Emmanuel has come. He will come again. His mission is love, grace, truth, and redemption. He has ransomed us. We are his. We need not earn it. But we must live it. He will come again. On that day faith will be turned to sight. All will be right with the world. Justice will be fully and finally served. The humble will be exalted. The arrogant will be abased. We who look for and pray for his coming will be eternally glad. So in anticipation of that, we sing…

We are broken people, living in a broken world, with broken and false remedies to our own rescue. When we realize that, we are ever more ready to sing, "O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel!"

Emmanuel has come. He has ransomed us. So now we rejoice for Emmanuel has come to us. We wait now for his final appearing and pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

Because God heard the pleas of his people and sent our Ransom. He has redeemed us, not with gold or silver, but with his holy precious blood and his innocent suffering and death, and his kind, good, gracious, merciful love. How precious are his gifts! How blessed are we. God is with us.

Jesus has come to be with us for only a short while, but long enough to ransom us. One day we will be with him forever. We pray for that in this hymn. Come, Lord Jesus... Emmanuel!

We don't have the perfect family. We each bring our own brokenness or shadow-side with us into every relationship. Nothing is without needed compromise, grace, forgiveness, and on occasion, the ministry of holding one's tongue (cf. Dietrich Bonhoeffer). But I am thankful for my family. My wife is a Proverbs 31 woman, of whom I say, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." My children are a blessing for which I give thanks. Likewise our 9 grandchildren, and all the others. I thank God for my family. It's # 2 on my list. Tomorrow I'll share #1.

Here's the text of this prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, Creator of the universe; Jesus, Son of God and Savior of the world; Holy Spirit, Comforter and Helper. In these few brief moments we thank you for your goodness, grace, mercy, peace, and abundant blessings, with these heartfelt praises and petitions:

For forgiveness in a world where many live in guilt …

For freedom in a world where many live in slavery …

For family in a world where many live in isolation …

For food in a world where many live in hunger …

For friends in a world where many live alone …

For faith in a world where many live in fear …

We give you thanks O Lord.

May these realities and remembrances inspire each and all of us to service, to your world and to your church, and to many other expressions of your great love for mankind, that your gifts to us may be used as a blessing for others. In the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I am thankful for my brothers and sisters in Christ. Some may require extra grace. Others may be called on to provide that extra grace to me. But what a blessing it is to know we're all sisters and brothers in Christ. We don't have to face life's challenges alone. We should never withhold our praise at the joy of others. We may need to comfort others in their loss (a high privilege). We might need comfort from others in our times of sorrow. And whenever we simply enjoy each others' company and companionship, a meal, a moment of fun, or the shoulder-to-shoulder blessing of working together on a project, we are experiencing a foretaste of the feast to come. We will then stand shoulder-to-shoulder in praise of the Lamb, enjoy a "feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined" (Isaiah 25:6), and the fullness of perfect love between one another as the redeemed of God.

All this because Christ has redeemed us all, and God has put his name on us in our baptism, and we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

I'm thankful for that. How about you?

Jesus put it well, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." Our government officials deserve our respect. God deserves our thanks and praise. All four of our sons have served in the armed forces of the United States. One of them is an officer in the US Navy.  We are proud of them and thankful for the freedoms they protect. So today I am thankful to God for the freedoms we have here in the United States of America, and for all who serve to make that freedom possible and safe.