...While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:6-7)
...an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” (Matthew 2:13)
This is how the Messiah entered the world, born in a filthy manger among the animals, in the dirt, rejected before he had breathed his first. Soon after his birth, the king even tried to kill him. The Redeemer of all, past, present, and future, was abandoned by his own people. This would be his entire life.
When Jesus was twelve, he was accidentally left in the temple in Jerusalem. Upon returning and finding him, his parents were astonished.
His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:48-49)
In this beautiful moment, Jesus claims the temple in the name of God, his Father, not unlike when he cleanses the temple towards the end of his life, declaring it the house of God. Similar to so many times throughout his life, they do not understand what he is saying.
Despised.
Rejected.
Oppressed.
Afflicted.
Pierced.
Crushed.
Slaughtered.
Raised.
This is our Christmas gift. May we understand, accept, rejoice, and love; we have a risen and living Savior!
-Matt
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Movies
OF COURSE, I forgot to take my camera to the Christmas parties... maybe if someone puts some up on facebook I will post some on here, but for now I don't have any.
I DO, however, have some movie recommendations! The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is a MUST SEE! It is only in select theaters but Matt and I found a place around here that was showing it. Get online and look around in your area and see if you can find it - it is worth it! It is kind of a hard movie to watch at times, but it is very good. In case you've never heard of it, here is the movie trailor:
Then, on a much less serious note, another good movie is Horton Hears a Who. I thought it looked cute and had wanted to see it, but Matt didn't seem to interested. :) It is out at Redbox now so we rented it last night. It is VERY cute! Yes, it is a kids movie, but we both enjoyed it and parts of it were very funny! Here is the trailor:
There are a lot of other movies that we want to see right now. "Changeling" is out at the discount theater here but we haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. We also want to see Australia, Valkyrie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Marley and Me. Matt isn't too sure about Marley and Me but I'll drag him along anyway... ;-)
I DO, however, have some movie recommendations! The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas is a MUST SEE! It is only in select theaters but Matt and I found a place around here that was showing it. Get online and look around in your area and see if you can find it - it is worth it! It is kind of a hard movie to watch at times, but it is very good. In case you've never heard of it, here is the movie trailor:
Then, on a much less serious note, another good movie is Horton Hears a Who. I thought it looked cute and had wanted to see it, but Matt didn't seem to interested. :) It is out at Redbox now so we rented it last night. It is VERY cute! Yes, it is a kids movie, but we both enjoyed it and parts of it were very funny! Here is the trailor:
There are a lot of other movies that we want to see right now. "Changeling" is out at the discount theater here but we haven't gotten around to seeing it yet. We also want to see Australia, Valkyrie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Marley and Me. Matt isn't too sure about Marley and Me but I'll drag him along anyway... ;-)
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Good Samaritan
Our story this week is the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37. So many times, we read this story and we place ourselves in the shoes of the Samaritan. “What would I do if I came upon a scene like this?” At the end of the parable, Jesus does say, “Go and do likewise,” but why? Why are we called to be the Good Samaritan?
It is great to place ourselves into the stories we read in the Bible. It’s also good every now and then to ask, “If I were passing by this guy, how would I respond? Would I treat him like the Samaritan did?” However, let’s put a twist on what role we take in this parable. Put yourself in place of the man on the side of the road.
A different angle:
Imagine that you’re out for a walk one bright and sunny day. There’s a cool breeze blowing, not a cloud in the sky. It is the perfect day. All of sudden, you are on the ground. There is somebody on top of you beating you to a pulp. For what seems like hours, punch after punch, kick after kick; you try fighting back, but it’s no use. There are too many of them. When the chaos subsides, you are left with nothing but a bloody, bruised, and beaten body. They have robbed you, completely stripped you of all you had.
As you lie on the side of the road, body torn and bleeding, you wonder if anybody will pass by and see you. Then, you hear footsteps. You are able to move just enough to see it is the preacher at the local congregation. What a relief; finally, there is somebody that will help. He sees you, and you know it, but he crosses to the other side of the road. What is he doing? You think maybe he didn’t see you, so you muster up a sound, a small cry. He glances over quickly. As he passes, you’re thinking he might come to help, but still, nothing. He keeps walking and doesn’t bother with you.
A little later, somebody else walks towards you. This time, it’s a fellow member at your church. You think, “Surely, they will help.” However, they too cross to the other side of the road and pass you by without even slowing down. In fact, they even turn their head away from you as if they didn’t even notice, but you know they did.
A half hour passes, and you feel all hope is lost. You’ve closed your eyes, almost wishing you would breathe your last when you hear footsteps coming in your direction. As you slowly open your eyes, you can only see the figure of the man coming closer as your sight is still blurry. As your vision clears, you recognize him. It is the guy that stands on the corner every day begging for money, the same guy that you pass thinking, “He just wants boos. Get a job!” And if you get stopped by the red light, you lock your doors and try not to look him in the eye.
You think to yourself, “This is hopeless. If my own family won’t help, surely he will pass me up.” You pray to yourself, “God, help me.” And then he does. This man stops, bandages you as best as he can, picks you up, and carries you to the house down the street. He takes you in and tells the people, “Here’s all the money I have right now. Please do what you can to take care of him. As I can, I will repay you for any extra that you have spent.”
In the most unexpected place, from the most unexpected person, you have been saved. You have received grace and been given another chance at life. You weren’t left to die.
I know this is just a hypothetical situation, but what if this is what truly happened? How would you respond? You would, obviously, want to return the favor, but how do you return the favor when he saved your life? In fact, he gave up everything he had to save you. He gave up all of his money and possessions, and with this, he gave up a warm meal, maybe even a hotel room for a night or two. He gave it all so that you could live. I believe I would do more than just a simple favor or two. He would be taken into my house for free, eat for free, live for free. Although there is nothing I could do to ever repay him, I would be at his feet to do just as he asked.
You see, when we read the story of the Good Samaritan from this viewpoint, it’s easy to see that this very thing has been done for all of us. We have all been beaten and broken, and we have all been on our last breath begging for help. And, after being passed up by the very people and things we would expect to take care of us, there is one who comes along, wraps us in his arms, and gives us another chance at life, a chance at true living.
Christ came and died so that we can live. He gave all he had to offer you grace, mercy, and love; he didn’t leave you alone to die. Even after all we have done to desert him, lock our doors and turn ourselves away from him, he was right there to give it all for us. Because we have received such grace from a crucified God, far beyond anything we ever expected, it makes perfect sense why Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
Although there is nothing we can do to ever repay him for what he has done, we have no other choice than to be at his feet, giving our entire lives to loving him and loving others. We who have been given much, much is expected.
-Matt
It is great to place ourselves into the stories we read in the Bible. It’s also good every now and then to ask, “If I were passing by this guy, how would I respond? Would I treat him like the Samaritan did?” However, let’s put a twist on what role we take in this parable. Put yourself in place of the man on the side of the road.
A different angle:
Imagine that you’re out for a walk one bright and sunny day. There’s a cool breeze blowing, not a cloud in the sky. It is the perfect day. All of sudden, you are on the ground. There is somebody on top of you beating you to a pulp. For what seems like hours, punch after punch, kick after kick; you try fighting back, but it’s no use. There are too many of them. When the chaos subsides, you are left with nothing but a bloody, bruised, and beaten body. They have robbed you, completely stripped you of all you had.
As you lie on the side of the road, body torn and bleeding, you wonder if anybody will pass by and see you. Then, you hear footsteps. You are able to move just enough to see it is the preacher at the local congregation. What a relief; finally, there is somebody that will help. He sees you, and you know it, but he crosses to the other side of the road. What is he doing? You think maybe he didn’t see you, so you muster up a sound, a small cry. He glances over quickly. As he passes, you’re thinking he might come to help, but still, nothing. He keeps walking and doesn’t bother with you.
A little later, somebody else walks towards you. This time, it’s a fellow member at your church. You think, “Surely, they will help.” However, they too cross to the other side of the road and pass you by without even slowing down. In fact, they even turn their head away from you as if they didn’t even notice, but you know they did.
A half hour passes, and you feel all hope is lost. You’ve closed your eyes, almost wishing you would breathe your last when you hear footsteps coming in your direction. As you slowly open your eyes, you can only see the figure of the man coming closer as your sight is still blurry. As your vision clears, you recognize him. It is the guy that stands on the corner every day begging for money, the same guy that you pass thinking, “He just wants boos. Get a job!” And if you get stopped by the red light, you lock your doors and try not to look him in the eye.
You think to yourself, “This is hopeless. If my own family won’t help, surely he will pass me up.” You pray to yourself, “God, help me.” And then he does. This man stops, bandages you as best as he can, picks you up, and carries you to the house down the street. He takes you in and tells the people, “Here’s all the money I have right now. Please do what you can to take care of him. As I can, I will repay you for any extra that you have spent.”
In the most unexpected place, from the most unexpected person, you have been saved. You have received grace and been given another chance at life. You weren’t left to die.
I know this is just a hypothetical situation, but what if this is what truly happened? How would you respond? You would, obviously, want to return the favor, but how do you return the favor when he saved your life? In fact, he gave up everything he had to save you. He gave up all of his money and possessions, and with this, he gave up a warm meal, maybe even a hotel room for a night or two. He gave it all so that you could live. I believe I would do more than just a simple favor or two. He would be taken into my house for free, eat for free, live for free. Although there is nothing I could do to ever repay him, I would be at his feet to do just as he asked.
You see, when we read the story of the Good Samaritan from this viewpoint, it’s easy to see that this very thing has been done for all of us. We have all been beaten and broken, and we have all been on our last breath begging for help. And, after being passed up by the very people and things we would expect to take care of us, there is one who comes along, wraps us in his arms, and gives us another chance at life, a chance at true living.
Christ came and died so that we can live. He gave all he had to offer you grace, mercy, and love; he didn’t leave you alone to die. Even after all we have done to desert him, lock our doors and turn ourselves away from him, he was right there to give it all for us. Because we have received such grace from a crucified God, far beyond anything we ever expected, it makes perfect sense why Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
Although there is nothing we can do to ever repay him for what he has done, we have no other choice than to be at his feet, giving our entire lives to loving him and loving others. We who have been given much, much is expected.
-Matt
Wow...
Wow... I realize I have totally abandoned my blog lately! Unfortunately, I still don't have much to say right now, BUT we have a busy busy weekend with Christmas parties! SO, I'll be sure to get pictures and get some posts up soon! :)
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