Sue O’Donnell. Christmas Day 2020
“ ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people’.” (Luke 2 v 10)
A royal Baby,
In a manger lay
That very first
Holy Christmas Day.
A heavenly choir
Of God’s angels
Did surprisingly appear
To some shepherds,
Telling of this
Royal birth in Bethlehem.
“ ‘And this will be a sign to you. You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger’.” (Luke 2 v 12)
How apt.
When in reality,
This royal Baby
Destined to undertake
A unique ministry,
Where He, Jesus,
This precious Baby
Born to us,
Was to be holy.
“ ‘We have seen astonishing things today’.” (Luke 5 v 26)
As well as
Our holy Brother,
And the prophesied,
Well foretold Messiah,
Coming amongst us
As the world’s
Saviour and Redeemer,
Himself a Shepherd.
Jesus has roles
Appointed by God.
“ ‘This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’.” (Matthew 3 v 17)
The Father sent
Him, the Messiah,
To ever be
Century by century
The Servant King
Lovingly shepherding us.
In this way,
In that night
Shepherds keeping watch,
The angel throng sang.
“ ‘Glory to God in highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men’!” (Luke 2 v 14)
A joyful song
Sang proclaiming salvation
For every nation.
Shepherds well understood
A job caring.
Jesus would grow
To know sharing
In holy love.
Love from above
Directly, wondrously given.
“In this the love of God was manifested towards us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” (1 John 4 v 9)
Graced friendship is freely gifted.
The shepherds hurried.
They had to
See for themselves.
Similarly, we do too!
We must name
Him God’s Son,
The holy Messiah,
Our holy Brother,
This world’s Saviour.
“ ‘I am the resurrection and the life. (S)he who believes in Me, though (s)he may die, (s)he shall live’.” (John 11 v 25)
Our watchful shepherd,
Jesus is born
To accomplish much.
He will, does
When we hurry
To visit Him,
Bowing before majesty,
Conversing, being friendly,
Acknowledging the necessity
Of redeeming grace,
Holy love’s embrace.
“We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4 v 19)
Always adhering to
God’s own Son,
Astonishingly, utterly amazing,
The Second Person
Of the holy Trinity,
Come to us!
To lovingly, caringly
Kindly shepherd us.
This is why
And exactly how
Christmas is joyous!
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! ...The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4 v 4, 5)
The seemingly impossible,
Has actually happened.
Angels joyfully sang,
Shepherds eagerly ran,
Finding a Baby
Born to Mary.
Coming to humanity,
Divested, but temporarily,
Of His divinity.
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels...” (1 Timothy 3 v 16)
Jesus cares and
He understandably shares
With His believers,
Turning to Him,
Yearning for Him.
Christ the King
Does bring another
Feature to life.
Loving care by
Our Saviour Brother.
“Talk of all His wondrous works.” (Psalm 105 v 2)
He changes life entirely
Making us holy.
Today is so
Very, very happy!
Jesus, our worship
This is to be.
King of Glory,
Our salvation story,
His life gifting,
Caring, loving forgiveness.
“Oh give thanks to the LORD for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118 v 29)
Showing to us
Our Father’s mercy,
Jesus is born
To shepherd us,
To lead us
Home to heaven.
Yes, pray today
With all praise
And rapturous thanksgiving!
“Because Your loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. Then I will bless You while
I live. I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied...and my mouth shall praise You
with joyful lips.” (Psalm 63 v 3, 4,5)
Our life changed
To be happily
Contented, blissfully satisfied.
The Lord Jesus,
At our side,
Unfailingly, constantly shepherding.
Let us then
Rejoice in our Saviour,
Offering praise forever,
For the reality
Of the Nativity.
“ ‘For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’.” (Luke 2 v 11)
“He will take His stand and He will shepherd them with the power of Yaweh, with the majesty of the name of His God, and they will be secure, for His greatness will extend henceforth to the most distant parts of the country. He Himself will be peace!” (Micah 5 v 3, 4 TNJB)
Lord God, Almighty and ever loving Father of mercy, it seems that today even the sky in all its richest colour, wishes to proclaim the reality of the nativity. Christ, the King of Glory, has been born to shepherd us home to
heaven for He is our Saviour Brother, through whom we worship and adore You.
Oh for the whole world to recognise this and acclaim the infant Jesus as our Saviour Redeemer. May those who do, rejoicingly honour You. Each Christmas Day we celebrate worldwide the gracious news for mankind
that Jesus is born to save us from becoming separated from Your all loving mercy forgiving our faults and failings His perfect life will win forgiveness for us. And in the meantime, let us bow before Him as King, honour Him as Saviour, and trust Him as He shepherds us safely towards home. Life has been changed forever because Christ Jesus is born amongst us!
This celebration, together with the Paschal Mystery of Easter, Jesus’ Ascension and return to heaven to be glorified and send us the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, here is our faith’s highest happiness
forever shared in the Holy Eucharist.
Thank You that the Lord Jesus as Shepherd tends, protects, leads, guides, cherishes and feeds us His flock, fully committed to save us from sin and all mortal danger. Our Shepherd is a Saviour! We need a Leader such as this in our increasingly secular world where anything goes.
“May the God of peace equip us in every way necessary to enable us to do His will. He raised our Lord Jesus...He is our great Shepherd and we His sheep.” (based on Hebrews 13 v 20) “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want...He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23 v 1, 3)
We rejoice to know our Brother as ‘Jesus’, the One to save us from all sinfulness. He is our Redeemer Saviour, Christ the King of Glory, the Master over us, the Word of God to teach and empower us, and invaluably, the Good Shepherd leading us home to heaven.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” – as will happen for all the Lord Jesus’ followers – “And I (we) will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Psalm 23 v 6) We praise this unfailing steadfast, promised love being fulfilled as from the first Christmas Day.
Dearest Father, “May You equip us through Jesus Christ with everything we need so that we can please You in the way we live. Let Him be glorified forever and ever. Amen! It shall be so!” (Hebrews 13 v 21 The Truth) Thank You, we praise You for having impacted the grace of Your Son, born here to make such a radical difference to us.
We were like sheep going astray, as here Saint Peter describes “You used to wander around like lost sheep, but now you have turned to the One who is Your Shepherd, who oversees your souls because of His
concern for your welfare.” (1 Peter 2 v 25 The Truth)
It is the many roles Your Son takes responsibility for, which mean we glimpse glory. Today is like no other ever, today celebrates the birth of a royal Baby, destined to be King, yet sufficiently humble and loving to
take on the position of Shepherd to us, safeguarding us from all the destructive elements of sin.
It is Christmas Day and I see the sky from my window, bathed in glory as if offering a silent song of praise.
Let the world join in the anthem, but loudly, overjoyed to express our exuberant praise.
“Give to the LORD, O families of the peoples, give to the LORD glory and strength; give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering and come into His courts...Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!” (Psalm 96 v 7, 8, 9)
Lord, dearest Father, I worship You with all praise and thanksgiving for this most special of days, when Your beloved Son is born amongst us. Your creative love is seen even in the radiance of the sky above, shaded
purple and pink.
We now have the opportunity of revelation. “You have chosen to reveal to all who are Yours among the nations, the glorious riches that are centred in this mystery that Christ has now come to live in us,
and in Him alone is our hope of glory, now and for all eternity.” (based on Colossians 1 v 27 The Truth)
What a graced and most privileged people we are, thank You! “The mystery of Christ’s godly nature is undoubtedly great. He appeared in a human body...” (1 Timothy 3 v 18) born as a Baby in Bethlehem, to the utter astonishment of the local shepherds. Did they know, I wonder, the King of Love, our Shepherd has been born for our salvation? Mary would come to believe in Him before He returned to His rightful place in
heaven.
“The highest form of prayer is to stand before God.” (St Isaac the Syrian) This opportunity is gifted us today as Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, born to us as Shepherd and Saviour, enables us to truly worship with rejoicing.
Thank You dearest Father, for life, for love, for the birth of the lord Jesus, born to show us true love in all its godly power and blessed influence. “ ‘...this day is holy to our LORD. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength’.” (Nehemiah 8 v 10) It is indeed! Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
CHRISTMAS
Key Themes
BELIEF
