Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Thursday within the Octave of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord

Posted on December 28, 2017 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
Leave a comment

Scripture: St. Luke 2:15-20 (NKJV)

15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Devotion

The shepherds had received a revelation from the Lord. His holy messengers, the angels, declared the birth of the Christ in that area, and in turn the shepherds were also made His holy messengers as they told others this marvelous news!

The message of the Christ was for all people, but the Lord chose to transmit it in this way, from angels to shepherds and from Mary to Luke. God continues to spread the Word of His Gospel among all people by means of people. Pastors teach the Word to the congregations, and all of us are to carry the Lord’s Words with us in our daily lives and vocations. By our faithful words and works in all circumstances He can use these things to stir up faith in others with His Holy Spirit.

At certain times and places the Lord used miracles and grand visions to give man His glorious message, but other times it is passed on by common words and deeds. We don’t need to expect signs and wonders because even the humble witness of common things point back to the grand things. The more important reality is that His Word comes to us! So let us rejoice that Christ our Lord does come to us in His Word, in His miraculous Sacraments, and in the work He does through His people in all their lives and vocations.

We pray: Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that the new birth of Thine only-begotten Son in the flesh may set us free, who are held in the old bondage under the yoke of sin; through the same 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.

Leave a Comment