WATCHWORD:
There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2 After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[a] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” 4 “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5 Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. John 3:1-5
38 Afterward Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus (because he feared the Jewish leaders), asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus’ body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and took the body away. 39 With him came Nicodemus, the man who had come to Jesus at night. He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. 40 Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus’ body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. 41 The place of crucifixion was near a garden, where there was a new tomb, never used before. 42 And so, because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. John 19:38-42
Meditation:
The Story of Ezbon Continues
The story of Ezbon and the Lamb (See Christmas Day Watchword) is just that, it’s a story. Yet, can you imagine how a young man, a shepherd, would feel, leaving the stable, climbing the hill behind Bethlehem, a different person than the one that made that decent a short time earlier? Think about that. One look at the Baby Jesus, the smile of the Christ Child, and something in his life began to change.
Somewhere on your faith journey, you, too, gazed upon baby Jesus and you began to change, a transformational change in your life. Not only that, but you would’ve seen that transformational change in others. Maybe it was in a Curcillo Fourth Day and you thank the Lord for what you have witnessed in the lives of others. Maybe you saw that change in your own kids, as they grew to adulthood, and their faith changed from yours to theirs.
The Bible is filled with transformational changes in others. Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be born again, and the Pharisee struggles with that image, until, as Jesus died on the cross, he and Joseph of Arimathea took the body of the Lord for burial. We know little of Nicodemus or of Joseph after the Resurrection, but, here again, we can surmise what a transformation was going through.
For this young shepherd on the hillside above Bethlehem, as he leads his flock to the better pasturelands near the border with Samaria, what goes through his mind? He knows that he has changed, but to what end? He might ask himself, who was that baby? Why was there a star? And, those other shepherds, who said they were told by an angel to come. An angel? Really? An angel told them to come to that stable that held only that little family.
Again, his thoughts may have returned to that brief moment, looking into the face of the baby, laying there in the manger. How that smile had calmed him, and caused this feeling of love and peace let’s still persisted.
What about you, and your moment? You know, that moment when you surrendered your life to the Baby Jesus, to the Creator God? Your transformational moment is still with you. It is still carrying you through, even this isolation, you, me and Ezbon, new-borns in Christ. May it be so.
Bulletin Board:
The Church of England has the following COLLECT for the days after Christmas: Almighty God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, in a season when every heart should be happy and light, many of us are struggling with the heaviness of life—burdens that steal the joy right out of our stockings. Tragedy arrives as innocent victims suffer, and an inner voice whispers, “Be afraid!” We need your peace, Jesus. We confess that our hearts are too often filled with wonder of a different kind: wondering when the bills will be paid, when the terror will stop, when rest will come. Will it ever? Is the message still true? In a world where worry, not peace, prevails, stir up that good news again. Never have we needed Your joy and peace more than now. Thank You for the gift of Jesus, our Immanuel, the Word made flesh. We not only need Your peace and joy; Lord, we crave it. You’ve promised rest for the weary, victory for the battle-scarred, peace for the anxious, and acceptance for the broken hearted—not just at Advent, but every day of every year. Your name is still called “Wonderful,” “Counselor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” and “The Prince of Peace.” We know that peace on earth can only come when hearts find peace with You. You are still our Joy. You are still our Peace. You are no longer a babe in the manger. You are Lord of lords and King of kings. And we celebrate You as Lord and Savior. Amen.
