Close your eyes, breathe, and clear your mind. Be still. Center your scattered senses on God’s presence.
SCRIPTURE: Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
CHRISTMASTIDE REFLECTION
We know practically nothing about the first years and the boyhood of Jesus. We do know the family travelled to Egypt to escape Herod, they then returned to Nazareth, and that the family travelled to Jerusalem for Jewish celebrations. This Sunday, in celebrating the family during Christmastide, we look to Scripture to find how to live together in peace and love. Paul tells us that the people of Christ should be wearing compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience in all they do. This isn’t simply a list of virtues we might want to aspire to. This is a list of how Christ lived. How can we exemplify these virtues in our day to day interactions, first with our family and also with all we interact with? How can God guide our relationships to live in right, loving relationship with Him and each other? Take time to celebrate your family today.
COLLECT: Written by Collects are short general prayers used in Christian liturgy to draw our focus of worship. The collect today is from a collection of contemporary collects in the Book of Common Prayer.
O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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MUSIC VIDEO: The Collingsworth Family: Home for Christmas
IMAGE: Raphael: The Holy Family
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