Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all....
-- Titus 2:11
If Christians are tempted to celebrate the birth of Christ as the advent of their own personal Savior, the early church's emphasis on the universal implications of this event is a helpful reminder. The birth of Jesus was the result of the grace of God for all humanity and not a reward for the better qualities of a few. First Timothy says it even more clearly in 2:3-6: "This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all...." As we are increasingly in relationship with other major faiths in the world, this emphasis would be a valuable idea to explore. The early church, which indeed lived in a pluralistic world, saw the universal implications of Christ not as a belief to be imposed on others but a truth that could be witnessed to by our behavior: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly ..." (Titus 2:11-12). As is true in most of Paul's letters, here the emphasis is on the unmerited grace of God that finds its manifestation in the fruits of the Spirit. The purpose of Jesus' sacrifice was to "redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." While good deeds do not save us, they do become a strong witness to the rest of the world of the unmerited grace that we have received and which is available to all. We do not wait for others to come to an agreement with us as the to the nature of the faith but rather relate to them as ones that are already redeemed and worthy of our love and compassion.
-- Titus 2:11
If Christians are tempted to celebrate the birth of Christ as the advent of their own personal Savior, the early church's emphasis on the universal implications of this event is a helpful reminder. The birth of Jesus was the result of the grace of God for all humanity and not a reward for the better qualities of a few. First Timothy says it even more clearly in 2:3-6: "This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all...." As we are increasingly in relationship with other major faiths in the world, this emphasis would be a valuable idea to explore. The early church, which indeed lived in a pluralistic world, saw the universal implications of Christ not as a belief to be imposed on others but a truth that could be witnessed to by our behavior: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly ..." (Titus 2:11-12). As is true in most of Paul's letters, here the emphasis is on the unmerited grace of God that finds its manifestation in the fruits of the Spirit. The purpose of Jesus' sacrifice was to "redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds." While good deeds do not save us, they do become a strong witness to the rest of the world of the unmerited grace that we have received and which is available to all. We do not wait for others to come to an agreement with us as the to the nature of the faith but rather relate to them as ones that are already redeemed and worthy of our love and compassion.
