Daily Devotion for December 23, 2005

At the Center

 

At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame.  Zephaniah 3:19 

 

Jesus’ birth is the advent, the beginning, of the hope and the salve to those who have hurts and wounds. The birth is the act of God that allows for the pain of the world (and the hard fact that none are truly worthy to come before the Lord) to be alleviated and eternal suffering abated. I don’t offer platitudes about the nature of disasters that befall God’s children, but if we think about what we hear about the infinite nature of God’s mind in Job and what we know from Christ’s teachings, we can rejoice that those who take their refuge in him are at the center of Christ. They are at the crossroads of the scriptures despite the fact that none truly can understand his mind or all that is his creation or all that is in his Word.

 

The hope of Advent clearly shines through the darkness, and illuminates the faces of all who struggle against the tragedies of the world, manmade and not. It illuminates both those caught up in the whirlwind and those reaching out to help; I bear witness to that light.

 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, let us take comfort in you and how you heal, and gather, and bring back those who are scattered.  Help me and restore me to be in your center.  Amen

 

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Tim Hetzner - President - Lutheran Church Charities
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