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If you read and use the daily devotions I send out, I want your input! What would be helpful for you in growing closer to Jesus?  What kind of devotional or spiritual discipline are you interested in?  Let me know!

The Shining Star: Day 3

Elizabeth Wang

Gospel Reading: Matthew 2:1-12 .

Reflections from the Church Fathers: "In this way marvel was linked to marvel; the magi were worshipping, the star was going before them.  All this is enough to captivate a heart made of stone.  If it had only been the wise men or only the prophets or only the angels who had said these things, they might have been disbelieved. But now with all this confluence of varied evidence, even the most skeptical mouths are stopped. Moreover, the star, when it stood over the child, held still. This itself demonstrates a power greater than any star: first to hide itself, then to appear, then to stand still.  From this all who beheld were encouraged to believe. This is why the magi rejoiced. They found what they were seeking. They had proved to be messengers of truth. Their long journey was not without fruit. Their longing for the Anointed One was fulfilled. He who was born was divine. They recognized this in their worship." Chrysostom, The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 7.4. 

For Further Reflection and Prayer:
1. Describe the character of the wise men. What do you admire about them?
2. If you were Mary or Joseph, how would you respond to these strangers bowing down and worshiping your son?
3. "But now with all this confluence of varied evidence, even the most skeptical mouths are stopped." What confluence of varied evidence led you to belief?  Who of your friends are skeptical? What varied evidence might help them believe?

Closing Prayer: "Make us glad, O God, in recounting your mercies and adoring your holiness, and let it be our chief joy to glorify your holy name. Almighty and everlasting God, the brightness of faithful souls, who brought the Gentiles to your light and made known to them him who is the true Light, and the bright and morning Star: fill, we ask you, the world with your glory, and show yourself by the radiance of your light to all nations. Amen." The Gregorian Sacramentary

To that end, pray for Penn to be filled with the glory of God and for Him to show His radiance to all.

And a good song to worship to: Glory in the Highest, Chris Tomlin 

The Shining Star: Day 2

Psalm of Response: Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14.

NT Reading: Ephesians 3:1-12 

Reflections from the Church Fathers: "The Gentiles are fellow heirs with Israel. Put more precisely, they are fellow heirs with Christ...It is not that some possession is divided among us but that God himself in his fullness is our inheritance and possession."  Jerome, Epistle to the Ephesians 2.3.5. 

For Further Reflection and Prayer: 
Read Psalm 72:10-14.  How can God use you to accomplish these promises?
Read Ephesians 3:8ff. The same grace has been bestowed to you. What do you think of this?
Re: the quote from Jerome...God himself is your inheritance.  What do you think that means?! Does that excite you?

For your listening (and pondering) pleasure: God of Justice by Tim Hughes 

The Shining Star: Day 1

Theme: Isaiah foretells the coming of the wise men; kings who will bring gifts and fall down and worship the Christ child. The wise men come to Bethlehem from the East, following a star and seeking the newborn Jesus. On arriving, they rejoice and worship him. Through God's grace in sending Christ for us, we are given the mystery of the salvation of humanity.

Opening Prayer: Epiphany: "Almighty and everlasting God, who has made known the incarnation of your Son by the bright shining of a star, which, when the wise men beheld, they presented costly gifts and adored your majesty; grant that the star of your righteousness may always shine into our hearts; and that, as our treasure, we may give ourselves and all we possess to your service; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." The Gelasian Sacramentary

OT Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6 

Reflections from the Church Fathers: "And the Logos, exhorting us to come to this light, says, in the prophecies of Isaiah, 'Enlighten yourself, enlighten yourself. O Jerusalem; for your light is come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.' Observe now the difference between the fine phrases of Plato respecting the 'chief good' and the declarations of our prophets regarding the 'light' of the blessed; and notice that the truth as it is contained in Plato concerning the subject did not at all help his readers to attain to a pure worship of God, not even himself, who could philosophize so grandly about the 'chief good,' whereas the simple language of the Scriptures led to their honest readers being filled with a divine spirit; and this light is nourished within them by the oil, which in a certain parable is said to have preserved the light of the torches of the five wise virgins." Against Celsus 6.5, Origen.

For Further Reflection and Prayer
1. Re Isaiah 60:2, do you notice that darkness covers the earth? Amongst your friends and community at Penn, how do you see darkness covering the earth and peoples?
2. Isaiah 60:4 and 5 state that the Messiah's heart would swell and throb with joy when He saw sons and daughters assembling about him. Have you thought about that? That you make Jesus' heart swell with joy? How does this impact you?
3. The wise men brought costly gifts of gold and incense. Why did they do that? Do you bring costly gifts to Jesus? What are your reasons for doing so?

From Ancient Christian Devotional ed. by Thomas C. Oden and Cindy Crosby

Feast of the Holy Name

Yes, it is New Year's Day, but according to church tradition, it is also the Feast of the Holy Name:

"On the eighth day after his birthday Jesus was circumcised and named, in keeping with Jewish law. So the church marks this octave day, previously called the Feast of the Circumcision and also, in the Roman church, the Feast of Mary. It reminds us of the Jewishness of Jesus.  But also on this day we celebrate with the wider culture the beginning of a new calendar year. (Julius Caesar in A.D. 46 first designated January 1 as the start of the new year.) It is fitting that we begin a new secular year by meditating on the names given to the Christ child: Jesus (the Lord saves) and Immanuel (God with us)...The Word who spoke the world into being is assigned a linguistic configuration of sounds and symbols within that world. He is named Jesus, as the angel had instructed. The Word becomes flesh. The divine takes on the human. The ineffable is named. This is the mystery of the incarnation. Yet the marvel goes even deeper. "He was made man that we might become god," wrote St. Athanasius in the fourth century. A great exchange! He becomes like us that we might become like him. In these remaining days of Christmastide we contemplate this deep mystery.

"Jesus, you are the Word. You are with God and you are God. You were in the beginning with God and all things came into being through you. In you is life and this life is the light of all people. The darkness cannot overcome your light. At your name, Jesus, I bend my knee this day and confess with my tongue that you are Lord, to the glory of God the Father. O God, send the Spirit of your Son into my heart so that I may cry, "Abba! Father!" Amen.

Read Luke 2:21-40 and John 1:1-18.

What do you admire about Anna and Simeon?
Grace + truth. What do these look like in your life? How do you experience grace + truth in your relationship with Jesus?

Taken from Living the Christian Year by Bobby Gross. Can be purchased at InterVarsity Press.