Daily Devotional

In the beginning of the book of Luke, we find the story about the angel Gabriel coming to visit the young Mary.  The angel first tells Mary that she is highly favored and the Lord is with her.  Then he goes on to explain how she will give birth to Jesus, the Son of God.  Understandably, this message was confusing and even a bit troubling to Mary, who didn’t fully understand what this could mean and how this could be.  Gabriel replies, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Whatever we are facing from our past, whatever we are facing in the present moment, or whatever we will face in the future – I think it’s important that we also can remind ourselves of the angel’s message to Mary…

Although the pandemic was an incredibly scary time for most of us, riddled with uncertainty, my family believed Covid-19 was a blessing for us – because it was the main reason we moved back to Oklahoma from Los Angeles. It also allowed us to spend as much time with each other as possible, since we weren’t able to leave the house. This is not to trivialize anyone’s experience with Covid. I spent weeks in the hospital with it, and unfortunately we lost people close to us. But in the midst of tragedy came something we were desperately seeking: time with one another.

When I think of Christmas, I think of time with family around the tree, sharing a beautiful meal, watching It’s A Wonderful Life, and celebrating our one true King’s birth. Admittedly, in years past, we hadn’t taken the time to do this with family. If we did, it was so brief and rushed that we couldn’t really enjoy our time with those we loved…

My work week is probably just like most of yours: full of emails, meetings, and everyday tasks. I am lucky to have a few hours each week teaching and listening to children talk and learn about God. This is a very bright part of my week, but the children probably teach me more than I will ever be able to teach them.

Each week, I ask if there is anything that the children would like to celebrate with the entire group. I get all kinds of answers: my friend had a birthday party, I have a loose tooth, I got an extra recess at school this week, and the list goes on and on.

It’s funny how they always have something to celebrate and be excited about. I think as we get older and busier with life, we forget about the little things in life to celebrate. Too often, I look past mine…

One of my favorite holiday movies is Scrooged. Bill Murray played the role based on Ebenezer Scrooge and Carol Kane played the role of the Ghost of Christmas Past. I read an article where Carol Kane talked about her dancing scene in the movie. She was supposed to have a serious dance scene that would mainly be performed by a professional ballerina. But they would need to have transitions of Carol dancing to blend with the ballerina to make it believable.

So, Carol took ballet lessons and worked hard to be ready for the scene. After several difficult weeks, she knew that she was ready. She met the film’s art director at the studio to show him the result of her hard work. Knowing that she would have a professional ballerina as her double, she wanted her dancing to be as pretty as possible. She was concentrating on each move but soon she was distracted – by laughing. The art director was laughing so hard that he was almost crying…

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.

I leave my house early every Sunday morning. It is dark and there are very few cars on the road. Before I leave my driveway, I turn on my worship playlist and begin singing songs of praise to God as I prepare myself for worship that morning. Sometimes, I sing all the way to the church. Sometimes, I turn off the music and spend time in praying…I am glad it is dark or other drivers might just think I am crazy.

That time in the car is so important to me as I prepare to encounter God in worship. It gives me a few minutes of peace and focus before the business of Sunday morning begins. I find it important to take extra time to draw still and open my heart and mind to God. I know that when I do this, I am more prepared to receive God and God’s word that day…

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.

The Psalms were written for several occasions. Some were songs written to express the deepest of emotions such as fear, worry, shame and joy. Others were written to help the faithful worship God in the temple or while on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Psalm 9 was written to express thanksgiving to God. This Psalm is written to express praise to a God who has done marvelous things for God’s children.

Psalm 9 was written by David. We know so much about David and we understand that God did much for David. It was appropriate for David to express his gratitude to God…

Through my job with Meals on Wheels here at St. Luke’s, I have the privilege of visiting over the phone with many of our wonderful clients. So often, I get to receive the gratitude for the work of many people – our chef, our drivers, our kitchen helpers and more. It always brings such joy to my day to hear the grateful messages of people who receive our meals.

Every Thanksgiving, St. Luke’s and some of our partner churches in the area work together to deliver a wonderful Thanksgiving meal to any client who needs one. As you can imagine, preparing for this project is a large task that requires some intense coordination between the entities. I remember being nervous last Thanksgiving morning that I would receive messages from clients who had accidentally been missed for one reason or another…