Monday after the First Sunday after the Epiphany
Posted on January 9, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 2:39-40 (NKJV)
2:39 So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. 40 And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
Devotion
This short passage connects the Lord Jesus’ infancy to the time He was twelve years old. It confesses that He grew and matured like every other child, but with this exception: He was the perfect Child. We might like to know what the perfect Child was like, but St. Luke does not indulge our curiosity and he passes over our Lord’s childhood in only two verses. Why?
If we knew what the Christ was like as a child, parents would demand the same perfection of their children. But that is an impossible standard and, besides, the Law already demands perfection. The Christ came to be the Savior of children, too. That means He did what they cannot. He did not come to compel us to be perfect; He came to forgive us because we are not perfect.
By being the perfect Child, the Christ redeemed all mankind. Not everyone lives to old age, but everyone was once a child. Hebrews 2 explains, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same” (v. 14). Taking that which all men share in common (that is, human infancy and childhood), He redeemed all mankind and promises salvation to everyone who believes in Him.
Prayer: O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully to receive the prayers of Thy people who call upon Thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfill the same; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
