December 2009 DEVOTIONALS Main Devotional Page December 1 Read Mark chapter 14 Memory Verse Chapter 14 Verses 36 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible “Abba, Father,” Jesus said, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.” New Living Translation (NLT) He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflect on that statement for a moment. Why is it important that we know that Jesus felt this much agony and fear before his crucifixion? <back to top> December 2 Read Mark chapter 14 Definition: Abba Abba is an Aramaic word which means Daddy. It is the informal way to address a Father. Jesus uses the word Abba, Daddy, in this setting to reflect his close relationship with God, his Father. Jesus also used the word Abba when he taught us to pray, “Our Daddy in heaven . . .” It might seem strange, but this is the relationship we have with God — we can call him Daddy. <back to top> December 3 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 14:12-26 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: What types of food do we typically have when we celebrate? What is the reason Jesus is having a special meal with his disciples? Look up in your family Bible dictionary the Passover celebration, and read about the foods that people ate during one of these celebrations. (If your Bible dictionary doesn’t talk about the foods, ask your pastor or local rabbi.) How does Jesus tell his disciples they will know where to prepare the meal? What stunning revelation does he reveal to the disciples as they ate dinner? (see verse 18) We repeat this story whenever we celebrate communion in church. The language in Mark varies slightly from the language we use in church but this is the same story. When you come forward to receive communion, what do you think about? What do you feel as you receive a piece of bread and a sip of wine/juice and know that in that moment Jesus is absolutely present and loving you? Jesus uses language of covenant when he talks about his blood being “poured out for many” (NRSV). A covenant is a strong pact which once sealed cannot be broken. What is the covenant Jesus is sealing with us that can never be broken? Why do you think Jesus needed to die that the covenant of forgiveness could never be broken? Person of Interest: Francis Xavier, missionary to Asia, died 1552 <back to top> December 4 Read Mark chapter 14 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember God is present in your midst as you pray. Folding our hands and looking down is a traditional prayer stance, try folding your hands but looking up at heaven. Pray together: Passionate Christ, we look to your suffering and we are ashamed that our sins were part of why you had to die. But you teach us to be thankful that a loving God would not abandon us, but give us a way to know life everlasting. Thank you. Amen Talk about a person who has been an inspiration to your faith. This could be someone you know in church, in your family, or someone famous whose life touches yours. Ask God to bless this person. Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. (Contemporary Version) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen Person of Interest: John of Damascus, theologian and hymnwriter, died around 749 <back to top> December 5 No Devotional <back to top> December 6 Person of Interest: Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, died around 342 – hence this day is celebrated in some countries as St. Nicholas Day – hence we get St. Nicholas, who we know in the US as Jolly ole St. Nick or Santa Claus. <back to top> December 7 Read Mark chapter 15 Bible Concept: Crucifixion In ancient days when the Roman Empire wanted people to know that it was bad to be a rebel, they would kill the rebel in a gruesome way and leave his dead body on display for all to see and to learn that it was not good to be a rebel. Jesus was seen as a rebel because he threatened the Jewish High Council with a different way of believing in God. And Jesus was seen as a rebel against the Roman Empire because he claimed he was God’s Son and the only one to be worshipped was God, not the Emperor. So they crucified Jesus with other rebels in a place where all the people coming into Jerusalem would see and learn it was not good to be a rebel. Crucifixion is a form of torture. The nails in the hands or feet usually didn’t kill the rebel. The blood would clot before too much would be lost, so that didn’t kill the rebel. Heat, extreme physical stress, suffocation, and perhaps even a blood clot inside the brain or lung, this combination resulted in a slow (sometimes several days) agonizing death. It might be easy to blame the Jews for Jesus’ death, as some do—even in the Bible. It might be easy to blame the Romans for his death. Some pastors even blame sinful people today for why Jesus died. The point of Jesus’ death is not who is at fault. The point is God’s love conquers even the barriers of sin and death. God sent Jesus knowing he would die even though during his life Jesus did many good things, such as healing the sick, preaching about God’s love, feeding the hungry and more. And yet, despite a cruel death, Jesus does not remain dead. Jesus is resurrected on Easter Sunday. By dying, Jesus defeats the powers of sin and death, and by rising, Jesus gives us hope. This is the full meaning of Jesus’ death: because he died and now lives forever with God, we too, shall live forever with God. Person of Interest: Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, died 397<back to top> December 8 Read Mark chapter 15 Memory Verse Chapter 15 verse 34 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible Then at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” New Living Translation (NLT) At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflect on that statement for a moment. This is the first line from Psalm 22. We are meant to hear the whole Psalm. Read Psalm 22 now and talk about what it says in its entirety.<back to top> December 9 Read Mark chapter 15 Definition: The Temple Curtain The curtain of the temple was torn in two when Jesus died. This was not just any ordinary window curtain you might find in your house. This was a magnificent curtain which hung in the Temple in front of the Holiest place in the Temple so the evilness of this world would be separated from the pure holiness of God. This curtain was huge, and was one piece, not separate pieces sewn together. The symbolism of this curtain being torn in two is God is no longer contained in holy places, but found in all the earth. <back to top> December 10 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 15:21-40 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: The death of Jesus was not neat, it was messy and it was bloody. Jesus was tortured so much Mark tells us another man was called upon to carry Jesus’ cross. Who was that man? Crucifixion is a way for empires to get rid of opponents and rebels. What was the charge on the sign over Jesus’ head? Do you think they really believed Jesus was a king? Often when we read the Gospel the people we expect to get it - don’t; and, those who we think shouldn’t understand, do. Who confesses that Jesus really is the Son of God after he dies? What prompted him to make this confession? Not everyone on the Jewish Council agreed that Jesus needed to be put to death. Who was the council member who took Jesus’ body and saw that he was properly buried? Who saw where Jesus was laid? Having read the complete passion story of Jesus, from his entry to Jerusalem through his burial, how do you feel about Jesus, knowing what he has done for you? How do you feel about yourself, knowing Jesus has died for all your sins?<back to top> December 11 Read Mark chapter 15 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember that God is present in your midst as you pray. Use a photo album when you pray for others, it is helpful if you cannot pray in person with someone, that you can at least be looking at a picture. Sure God knows who we pray for, but having pictures helps us remember who we are praying for. Pray together: Guardian of our lives, you took our sins that we may receive your gifts. Help the power of your death to make a difference in the way we live our lives. Let us live only to glorify you. Amen Talk about a person in your family or a close friend who has died. What types of feelings do you remember having when you went to the funeral/burial? What kind of feelings do you have now when you think of this person? Thank God for the gift of everlasting life. Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen<back to top> December 12 No Devotional <back to top> December 13 Person of Interest: Lucy, Martyr, died 304 <back to top> December 14 Read Mark chapter 16 Bible Concept: How does Mark’s Gospel end? When you open your Bible to Mark chapter 16, you will notice there is a shorter ending and a longer ending. Some Bibles might even have other ways of expressing the different ways the Gospel might have ended. Scholars have different opinions for why some ancient manuscripts end Mark at verse 8, and why others have a longer or shorter ending beyond verse 8. Some scholars believe that the Gospel really ended at verse 8 and that a different person added the rest later because he or she was uncomfortable not knowing what happened after the women found the empty tomb. Some scholars believe that Mark really wrote one of the two alternative endings. Yet others believe that the original ending Mark wrote was lost and that another author wrote a new ending trying to remember what Mark had written. Whatever the truth is, we will never know. Despite not knowing how the author intended the Gospel to end, the impact of the resurrection is definitely the most important and central act of this chapter. What is truly amazing is that this story, regardless of how it continues, focuses on women. In Jesus’ day women were not considered worthy of being a witness. They could not testify at a court trial. Yet God chooses them to carry forth the message that Jesus is alive. Even after his resurrection, Jesus continues to turn upside down long-held beliefs and presumptions and traditions, all for the sake of God’s love and forgiveness. Person of Interest: John of the Cross, renewer of the church, died 1591<back to top> December 15 Read Mark chapter 16 Memory Verse Chapter 16 verse 8 – feel free to highlight, underline or circle this verse in your Bible The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk. New Living Translation (NLT) So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Reflect on that statement for a moment. How do you think you would have reacted if you were the first to discover Jesus was risen from the dead? <back to top> December 16 Read Mark chapter 16 Definition: The Tomb of Jesus The tomb of Jesus was not like graves of today. Today we bury our dead in the ground, they are placed in a coffin which is sealed in a concrete vault and placed in the ground approximately 6 feet deep. Jesus’ tomb was typical of his day, it was carved into the side of a hill. It was big enough to walk into and several people could have been buried in the same tomb. The bodies were laid on a bed like shelf, specially prepared with oils and spices, and wrapped in cloth strips. A large stone covered the doorway. Several men would be needed to move this stone. <back to top> December 17 Focus Story: Read Mark Chapter 16:1-8 Use these questions to reflect on what you have read: What is your first memory of Easter? When did the women discover the empty tomb? Who told them that Jesus was risen? Whom are the women to tell and what are they to tell them? The impact of the resurrection is still powerful today. Each day we awake we know we have been fully forgiven and given God’s Spirit to live this day for God. Talk as a family about how Easter has impacted your life. What are ways you share forgiveness with one another? What are ways you help other people, as God sent his Son into the world to teach us to help other people? Is there anything in your life that you are so very afraid of, that you think cannot be overcome? How does the resurrection of Jesus teach us that with God’s help we can overcome anything? <back to top> December 18 Read Mark Chapter 16 Praying together as a family is a special time. Light a candle to remember God is present in your midst as you pray. You have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. Make the sign of the cross on each other’s foreheads and say: “You are a child of God. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Pray together: Light of our tomorrow, grant us the faith to believe in your resurrection, even though we cannot physically see you. Bless our family that we may be faithful in loving one another. Amen What is the most important thing you learned this year by reading through the Gospel of Mark, one chapter at a time. Ask God to always help you to read his Word and to study the Bible. Conclude your time by saying the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen <back to top> December 19 No Devotional <back to top> December 20 Person of Interest: Katharina von Bora Luther, renewer of the church, died 1552 – this is Martin Luther’s wife <back to top> December 21 Mary hears the Word: She will have God’s son Read: Luke 1:26-38 My earliest memory of Christmas is a dream – at least, I think it was a dream. I fell asleep on the couch in the living room, and woke up to find Santa Claus putting the gifts under the tree. No, this wasn’t my dad dressed up to play the part. This was one of those very early childhood memories that I can’t quite explain other than to say it must have been a dream. I wonder what it was like for Mary, facing down all the scrutiny and shame of being pregnant, but not yet married. I wonder if she ever felt like it was just a dream when the angel spoke to her. Yet she remained faithful – she remained convinced it was no dream, and it was not someone playing a joke on her. God had chosen her, little Mary, from unimportant Bethlehem, to do the most amazing thing ever – be the mother of Jesus, our Savior.<back to top> December 22 Joseph learns he will be the father of God’s Son Read Matthew 1:18-25 I have a cousin whose name is Maria. According to Grandma, she was named for the Sound of Music character Maria. According to my Aunt, my cousin’s mother, Maria was named for the character from West Side Story. I just saw Maria for thanksgiving, and we got laughing about her musical namesakes –whichever one it is. Maria apparently hates the song “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” from the Sound of Music. My cousin Maria is also 15, so it makes sense that she would be embarrassed by first being named for a musical character, and second by any song that calls her a problem. Joseph had a real problem, with a real girl named Mary. “How do you solve a problem like Mary?” he must have wondered. He was betrothed to her, and was being faithful and had not been intimate with her. Yet she suddenly is with child. The right thing to do is to be faithful to her, to still take her as his wife – but in a shame based culture, he would be shamed, too. Sometimes doing the right thing, even when it goes against centuries of religious practice, means following the new way God is leading. Joseph remained faithful to Mary, and faithful to God, even though it meant bearing a lot of shame for going against tradition.<back to top> December 23 Mary goes to Elizabeth Read Luke 1:39-56 Katie and I have very good friends, Amy and Carl, we have known for a long time. In October, they came up for a weekend visit. During the visit, Carl and I were working on a house project when Amy and Katie sent Amy and Carl’s 2 year old son to see us. They wanted me to read the t-shirt. It said, “I’m going to be a big brother.” Yes, they came for a visit to share with us their good news. Mary went to her relative Elizabeth’s house. She wasn’t wearing a t-shirt that said, “I’m bearing God’s Child”; in fact she didn’t say anything when she arrived. But Elizabeth knew immediately – she was so excited to share in the good news with Mary. Not everyone in the Christmas story thought Mary was shameful for being pregnant before being married. Elizabeth was very excited.<back to top> December 24 The Shepherds learn that Jesus is born Read Luke 2:8-20 In America, cowboys are highly romanticized. Their days of romping on the range are the subject of many country/western songs and tv shows. They are seen as having a great deal of fun and living a great life of care-free ease. Of course the reality of the lonely existence of the cowboy, who worked hard and didn’t get time off is nothing like the romantic view of cowboys that movies give us. The same can be said of the shepherds in ancient Israel. Because of children’s programs, we romanticize the shepherds, we turn them into heroes that God’s angels came to, having a job as a shepherd sounds much like the romantic view of the cowboy. But in reality, shepherds were the lowliest of the classes of people. Shepherds spent their lonely nights watching other people’s herds of sheep. They were outcasts from society, and were barely making a living. We might just as easily think those shepherds are like our homeless today – the least of society, the most outcast and the most downtrodden. It is to these people that God’s angels proclaim the news of Jesus’ birth. The Angels don’t go to Jerusalem to tell the high priests. The Angels don’t go around town and tell the merchants or the fishers. The Angels go to the least of the world and tell them. So as Jesus is feeling the first scratches of hay on his newborn body, it is the lowest of humanity who come to adore him. This is how God wanted it to be.<back to top> December 25 The magi come and worship the new born King Read Matthew 2:1-12 Bringing gifts for Christmas is an important part of our culture. We spend months and weeks and every last minute planning gifts for our children and friends. I remember a gift Katie gave me one time for Christmas was a CB radio. She thought it was the coolest gift ever – and she was right; we’re talking about the days before everyone had a cell phone. Now she and I could talk on our CBs while we drove around, and listen to the truckers. She has always said that she thought that was the coolest gift she ever gave me because of how I reacted when I got it. I was totally geeked. I wonder if Mary and Joseph were equally geeked when they received from the magi the gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. These gifts were not gifts for peasants. These gifts were for a king. And while Mary and Joseph knew God was up to something special in Jesus, they really didn’t understand yet what all that meant. All they knew is the lowliest of people came to worship him, and the wealthiest of people came to worship him. And people still today are coming to worship him, and bring Jesus their gifts.<back to top> December 26 Person of Interest: Stephen, Deacon and Martyr <back to top> December 27 No Devotional <back to top> December 28 Jesus escapes Herod’s slaughter Read Matthew 2:13-23 One of the most disturbing stories that happens with Jesus’ birth is when Herod sends his troops to Bethlehem to kill all the baby boys 2 years and younger. It is tragic that death surrounds Jesus’ birth. The Good News for the world means Jesus is born, and mothers and fathers cried as their sons weren’t spared the harsh realities of this world. There is no easy way to understand this question. God apparently has a bigger picture Jesus is sent into the world to deal with, and it means along the way suffering will occur. Suffering has always been a part of the world. So perhaps, the story of the Good News of Jesus’ birth should include a tremendous suffering. Our hope in Jesus tells us that one day, when God completes all his creative actions and Jesus returns the triumphant King, then and only then there will be no more suffering. All we can do in the midst of our suffering, is trust that God and all his goodness is bigger and more powerful than any suffering this world can experience. Persons of Interest: The Holy Innocents, Martyrs - these are the children killed by Herod in his quest to kill the new born king, and they are the topic of this day’s devotion<back to top> December 29 Jesus is brought to the Temple Read Luke 2:21-24 One of the joys parents have is bringing their new born son or daughter to the font for baptism. In this action of bringing their baby to the font, God enacts a promise in the child’s life that will never be broken. I have officiated at over 30 baptisms in my 7 years of ministry and each time the expression on the face of the parents is the same – the expression is of joy. What a joy to bring our children to God and say thank you to God for the gift of this child. Mary and Joseph must have felt that same joy bringing Jesus to the Temple for their newborn rites. The baptism that we understand today wasn’t around yet. But the Jews did have their own ways to present children to God and to give thanks for the gift of the newborn child. And here we discover a very excited Mary and Joseph bringing their first born son to the Temple, a joy any parent can relate with. Person of Interest: John, Apostle and Evangelist<back to top> December 30 The Prophecies of Simeon and Anna Read Luke 2:25-40 Because of scientific advances in genetics, there are planning clinics where would-be parents come and choose from a list of donors based on educational backgrounds of the parents, specific talents of the parents, and so forth. It is scary to think that a person today can almost engineer a child of their own choosing, right down to the hair color and skill or talent that will lead to a big pay-check one day. Mary and Joseph didn’t have access to that kind of genetic planning, but they did know something about their son’s true lineage. But here in the midst of bringing their child to the Temple Joseph and Mary get the stark reminder of what their child has come to do in the world. Think about all the expectations we have for our own children. I have seen in my own children musical talents, faith talents, interests in science and history and geography. My daughter has talked about going to Africa to teach; my son Nate has talked about driving a train (he is only 5, after all). Thinking about the possibilities for our children give us great pleasure and anticipation of what may happen in their lives. I am sure for Mary and Joseph, there was a mix of joy and anticipation with fear and trepidation for what lay ahead for Jesus, and what it would mean for him to live out his reason for coming into the world.<back to top> December 31 John calls Jesus God’s Word made flesh Read John 1:1-14 While Matthew and Luke give accounts of Jesus’ birth, the Gospel of Mark doesn’t tell us anything of Jesus’ birth. And then there is the Gospel of John. This prologue to the story is a very different way of understanding why Jesus came into the world, and it doesn’t involve hearing about his being born, it doesn’t include shepherds or magi. It simply tells us who Jesus is. Jesus is God own Word. Through Jesus, God created everything. Through Jesus, God gave life to everything that has life. Nothing breathes that God didn’t choose to give breath to through Jesus. This passage hearkens us back to the opening verses of Genesis, when the world was a void, and God’s Word spoke “Let there be light”, “Let us create humankind in our image”. And God saw it was good. God’s creative work didn’t finish when God rested on the seventh day. God continued to be at work in the world. And now at the time God chooses, God sends his word to become a human, one of us, to finish the creative work of God by destroying the effects of sin which leads to death and destruction. As John tells us about the beginning of Jesus’ story, there are no proud parents beaming as turtledoves are sacrificed. There are no mysterious visitors, gifts, or prophecies. There is only God and God’s grand overarching plan which has been in place since the beginning of time, and which has the ultimate say over the end of time, and which is most clearly revealed in Jesus.<back to top> | 
