Day 279 | Wednesday, 23 December 2020

Day 279 - Audio Version

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Day 279 | Wednesday, 23 December 2020
 
“Shout for joy!
 The Savior is coming.
 Sing with gladness!
 Our darkness shall be turned to light.
 Let every heart prepare a space.
 Let every home make ready.
 Let all the hungry be filled.
 Let all the homeless be sheltered.
 For a new day is dawning.
 The world is being made new.
 The Savior is coming.
 Sing with joy!” (behind your mask)
 
“God of manger and star, let us enter your story once again and find ourselves kneeling with the shepherds, singing with the angels and worshiping with the Magi.  Touch our hearts with the wonder of birth and the depths of your love.  Speak to us in word and song and lift us to the realms of glory.”
 
“Today we will think about another word that comes to mind at Christmas. It is the word "wonder."

  “The coming of Christ brings wonder. When the angels made known to the shepherds that the Savior had been born in Bethlehem, "they went with haste" to see the child. Perhaps they used "Donkey Express." They found the little family and soon were glorifying and praising God for all they had witnessed. They were so ecstatic that they simply had to tell the story to anyone who would listen.

The response they received was surely predictable. St. Luke wrote that all who heard their story "wondered at what the shepherds told them" (Luke 2:18).

What does it mean to "wonder"? Wonder has to do with awe, amazement, mystery, regarding that which holds us spellbound.

When the astronauts landed on the moon for the first time, some Christians were in a meeting at a church. Having a television near-by, as the dramatic action began to unfold, they took time out to watch. When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon, they were so awestruck that they stood up and sang the Doxology.

"Praise God from whom all blessings flow." It was a time of mystery, wonder and gratitude.
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What else would have been proper? And what else but wonder is proper when we think of God walking down the stairs of heaven carrying a little baby in his arms? Wonder is what the shepherds experienced. The wise men as well. Mother Mary, too. She wondered and pondered the whole affair in her heart. Wonder of wonders then. Wonder of wonders now.
 
“Let us pray: O God, we thank you for the great gift of Christ our Lord. Truly his coming causes our minds to swirl in wonder. Accept our deepest thanks for all that you have done for us in the sending of our Lord. In his name, we pray. Amen.”