Shocking, Isn’t It?

TITLE: Shocking, Isn’t It?
DATE: December 6, 2019

Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.

TEXT: Luke 2: 9-11- ESV - and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

You may be familiar with Thoreau's observation that "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation." Some folks even believe it. 'Tis true that for far too  many, day fades into night then into day again with no real joy, no  excitement, no exhilaration. Existence is BLAH...or something worse.   

As near as I can tell Thoreau was wrong. True, there ARE boring, blah times in our lives - those may even make  up the major portion of our lives - but what defines us are those times that  are anything BUT boring. You know the times you get blindsided and things are upset.

Sometimes those events were global or national.

Tomorrow is  December 7; the day which will live in infamy. If you were alive then, you remember when you heard Pearl Harbor had been attacked. Not around then? How about when JFK was shot... or possibly 9.11?

Other shocks are not so sweeping. They are personal, but that doesn’t make them smaller or less important. A school shooting; an auto crash; the onset of a fatal illness. I remember when my mother passed away,. Dad had been gone for a number of years, and when Mom died, I felt very much alone. Someone I had always counted on to be there in my life., wasn’t.
You, too, know some of those events. If not those, you have some of your own items on the list:
How about the breakup of a family? That’s traumatic. But the death of the family pets, Fido or Fluffy are also shocks.

 Now the reason I share all this about shocks, is because the Nativity story is filled with shocks.

• The priest Zechariah was shocked to receive an angelic visitor while he was in the temple.
• Joseph was shocked to find out Mary was expecting a Baby.
• The shepherds were shocked at the angel’s good news of great joy.
• Herod and Jerusalem were shocked to hear a newborn King had been born.
• Most importantly the world has been shocked that God’s Son has come to earth to give Himself as the sacrifice which rebuilds the bridge between our perfect God and sinfully imperfect humankind.
• But... and this is a big and important difference... BUT the surprises which come from the Lord are different. They are wonderfully, completely different than that which comes from the world.

You see, God’s surprise and shocks are good news. They are joy and gladness, and hope and blessing and forgiveness and an eternity in heaven.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord in a sinful world very few things are certain. I give thanks that Your love and desire to save humankind is solid. Upon the Christ, let me place my hope and in Him let me find my future.  In Jesus’ holy Name I pray it. Amen.   

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html