December 7- H-The hymn,
Hark, the Herald Sing has 2 words we rarely use, hark and herald, I
thought hark was an exclamation, but it is a verb: to listen
attentively. A herald gave important announcements and is often a
state envoy. In other words, the hymn is: Listen, the angels have a
broadcast. A salutary spiritual exercise is to take older terms that
we use in church and translate them into more contemporary language.

Monday I-Incarnation
means “God was in Christ, that deity was able to inhabit a
human being. We rush into the life of Jesus and the meaning of his
death. Stay for a moment that the Logos, God’s plan, God’s
logic, God’s idea for the world rested in a baby. How do we
come to grips with the Creator becoming united with the creature so
fully? Remember, this is not God playing the part of a human being.
Jesus is a human being.

Tuesday-J-Joy is an
elusive feeling for many of us. In a season where joy seems to be a
requirement, we may react against it, closing off, instead of seeking
it or embracing it when found. The joy of the season is partly the
joy of relief; the promise really did come true, the joy of a wish
come true. What are times of joy for you?

Wednesday-K-Lately I’ve
been working with the idea in Phil. 2 that Christ emptied himself/was
made into nothing. In Greek the word is kenosis. (See, there’s
the K). Imagine the Creator being united with the developing body of
a baby. Does that square with the mighty God? What withdrawals had to
happen to permit that little brain to develop? What had to remain for
God’s spirit to dwell in that child? How can the finite embrace
the infinite?

Thursday-Light pervades
this holiday season as a protest against the dying of the daylight
during the solstice. It is a protest against the darkness trying to
overcome the light in our lives, deep inside. Lighten our darkness is
a plea to see, but could it be a sense that darkness weighs us down,
and the load needs to be lighter? This season, please try not to pile
burdens on yourself so that Santa’s sleigh could not handle the
weight. Lighten the load.

Friday-M-Magi visited a
child in a manger. (See, 2Ms) In the legendary birthplace of Jesus in
Bethlehem, one must bow before entering the chamber with the star.
The Magi, advisors to the powerful, bowed before a most unlikely
prince, a baby laid in a feeding trough. Their name is related to our
word for magic. These magicians fo wisdom and advice brought gifts
not to a great magician how would possess not magic but the power of
divine love. Better put, they were exposed to the deeper magic of
God’s reality over illusion.

Saturday-N-Noel is a
Christmas word. It holds some of the history of English. With the
Norman conquest of England, French came into our language. It’s
a French word from Latin, for nativity, to be born. It can also mean
any Christmas carol. (We’re not sure where carol derives,
perhaps all the way back to the Greek chorus to play the flute, to
dance to songs. The story of Christmas is able to blend languages and
cultures into its orbit. As a word with a long history, ti helps us
to realize that the past is not merely disposable, but it continues
to help shape our present.