Scripture:

9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

Observation:

Note the tenses of the verbs in this passage. 

The shepherds WERE terrified ... the angel SAID to them, do not BE afraid; for SEE - I AM BRINGING you ... 

Past tense, present tense, present continuous tense; and, if you look ahead one verse you will find the future tense "...you WILL find...".

This is the wonderful story of incarnation that we celebrate this night. God breaks into our present to free us from the weight of our personal and collective past. God breaks into our present to secure finally Gods promised vision for our future together with God. 

There are many, many ways that this fabulous surprise changes us, perhaps the most important is that it has power to change our orientation to time itself. No longer do we have to stumble through life looking backwards at the past. Nor, are we left to fearfully strive in the present to secure a future hard one. Nor, are we called to despise the present by fleeing it chasing after the cheap hope of paradise for the chosen only. 

No, we are planted in the present, eyes opened to the majesty that surrounds us, freed from anxiety and anger, and set forward on the adventurous path of following Our Saviour into the future which promises to continually 

surprise and delight is and fellow travellers along the way. 

Application:

I don't know about you, but I need this good news today. I am going to worry less about manufacturing a perfect Christmas for anyone and focus on pointing people to the surprise God wants to give us, and then walking with them until it is revealed. 

Prayer:

Dear God, thank you for Kairos - another kind of time...your kind of time - where you break into our midst 

and set us on our feet to follow you. Soli Deo Gloria!

Scripture: 

Psalm 145:18-19
"18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, 
to all who call on him in truth. 
19 He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; 
he also hears their cry, and saves them."

Observation: 

Scripture is full of stories of healing. In 2Kings 19 we hear one such case. The good king Hezekiah is laying on his death bed. All hope is lost, until he turns to God in desperate, pleading prayer. He is miraculously healed, his life extended by 15 years. 

Wow! I wonder, what your take is on such miraculous cures? Heck, many days I wonder what my take is on stories such as these. You see my father was diagnose with Chronic Lymphatic Leuquemia when I was a little boy (I was 10 and my sister was 7). That was in 1988, and the prognosis was not good. Doctors put his life expectancy at about 5 years, meaning he'd have his work cut out for him to make it to 40. Forty. 

The years that followed were filled: filled with drugs; filled with laughter; filled with tears and remissions and prayers. I prayed long and hard for my dad to be healed. I prayed for him to live to see me play the next hockey season, to see me turn 16, to see me graduate, to see me become a man in his likeness. 

In the end, my dad lived another 15 years like Hezekiah. In the end, my dad died of cancer just days short of his 50th birthday. 

So, did God hear my prayers, or not? Did God answer my prayers, or not?

Application:

The whole experience has made me skiddish about praying for healing of any kind for anyone. The fatalist in me yawns, "God's gonna do what God's gonna do, either way."
But, somewhere along the way I realized that all those prayers had been effecting something I had not attended to. I was too busy watching for whether or not God would heal my father to see that God was drawing up near alongside me through those long hours of lamenting, pleading, thanking, praising and listening.

God certainly heard my prayers, how could God not have? God was with me as I prayed them. God certainly answered my prayers, often in ways beyond my comprehension, but always with his mightily merciful presence. And, you know what? Our Creator wants to hear and answer you too!

Prayer:

Oh Lord, hear my prayer,
Oh Lord, hear my prayer,
When I call, answer me!
Oh Lord, hear my prayer, 
Oh Lord, hear my prayer,
Come, and listen to me!
(These words are ancient, but I credit the Taize community with setting them to music that is seared into my brain.)
Amen.

Redemptive, Relational Power

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  Scripture: 2Kings 29 and Acts 5:41

  "As they left the council (having been flogged to bring home the point they should shut up about Jesus), they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of the name." (Acts 5:41)
  

  Observation:

  King Senacharib will sack Jerusalem and lay out his wrath upon all the Judahites that resist him. The proof is in the pudding, just look what his armies have already done to so many other tribes and kingdoms - many of them larger and more powerful than Judah. Their undefeated record is laid out before King Hezekiah and his closest advisors to convince them to yield quietly. In the process they are warned not to gain false-hope from their god, since Senacharib's armies have already overcome so many other gods. The living God of Abraham, and Isaac, and of Jacob is mocked. How will God (and God's people) respond.
  
  In a similar manner, coercive power is used against the apostles (threats and even floggings) with the goal of gaining their submission through intimidation.
  
  This is the way of the "World-as-it-is". Power does what it can, and the weak must accept it, or face destruction.
  
  Notice how in neither story do God's people become co-opted by this way of thinking/being. Hezekiah's Judah does not rally under their King to an unexpected military victory, repelling coercive force by coercive force. Neither do the apostles leave their torturers vowing revenge.
  
  This is because our Living God is not limited by the World-as-it-Is. God has a vision for the World-as-it-shall-be. You and I are a part of that vision. It is a vision that is already constructed, yet not quite completed; and, in it all things - even coercive power itself are being remodelled and returned to their original glory. By the powerful grace of God we are given a new model of power; no longer is it a scarce commodity that must be hoarded and weaponized. Rather, power is revealed to be relational and distributive. Powerful people and nations are regarded not as threats but as allies.

  
  

  All of this is possible because God has revealed - most clearly in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ - Holy Power to be relational, not hierarchal. God is not fundamentally "over us" but "with us".
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  Application:

  This changes everything. As hope, peace, joy and love are multiplied and amplified throughout creation new paths become possible. Victims and torture survivors turn from focussing on retribution and revenge to seeking justice through tending to the needs of the most vulnerable in their communities. They are set free by their delight at being joined to the Suffering God even in their suffering.
  
  Where does this world-changing reality invite/dare you to go today? For me, it is making it easier (day by day) to humble myself and seek reconciliation through apologies. Instead of seeking to be right at all costs and getting caught on hamster-wheels of self-justification, I am increasingly able to seek restoration of relationships.
  
  Where does our world-as-it-is roar taunts of intimidation in the hopes of gaining our quiet surrender? How will you choose to respond?
  

  Prayer:

  God-in-Relationship; three-in-one; Teach us to let go of all temptations towards coercive power. Humble us and grant us grace to endure the cost of bearing a more holy power into this world, that we may taste in the world-as-it-shall-be, Your Kingdom Come. Amen.