Word for Today

From Philippians 4:

Rejoice!

(The word of the Lord, Thanks be to God!)

We tend to favor certain emotions rather than others, and so we get much of life backward. William Butler Yeats hit the nail on the head and says it so well, "Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy."

The longer version of that verse from Philippians is "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I say, rejoice." There is much wisdom here. As we are nearer and nearer to the fulfillment of God's promise at Christmas, joy percolates up from within, and we may even (in temporary periods of joy) feel like our insides are fluttering, much like the child in this picture.

What is the joy all about? It's about being captured in the mystery of God born to this world, the mystery that I believe to the point that it's the most real reality I know, the mystery that you share it with me, and the mystery that others around you are about to be captured as well.

May your life mature into the joy of God through Jesus so that you can now live right side up, saying "being (insert nationality or heritage), s/he had an abiding sense of joy, which sustained her/him through temporary periods of tragedy."

pastor James Aalgaard

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ontario Oregon

Word for Today

From Luke 1:

⁷⁸In the tender compassion ^| of our God

the dawn from on high shall ^| break upon us,

⁷⁹to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shad- ^| ow of death,

and to guide our feet into the ^| way of peace.  

Sometimes it's good to pay attention to VERBS. "Break upon", "Shine," "Guide."

This is what the Dawn from On High is going to do to us, and I would say, through us. There is something quite powerful about living with expectation. These few verses are all about expectation. About hope.

The Christian faith has a wonderful way of talking about God. God is not cold and distant. At the end of the day God is not even angry. God is compassionate and loving. Since that's true, God must know fully and deeply the particulars of our selves. We might want to keep ourselves at a distance, shy or ashamed, but in the tender compassion of God, we need not live in fear.

When the dawn from on high breaks upon us, he will not wait for our permission, or for us to be ready. He will come in such an innocent and even powerless way that we are drawn to him, to the Christ-Child, and by being drawn to him, the dawn from on high, we will be changed. We will be able to walk in the way of peace. Peace with ourselves, our neighbors, our enemies.

Pastor James Aalgaard

St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ontario Oregon