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Matthew 2:1-12

04 Jan

2 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. 4 He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8 Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

9 After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11 They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Matthew 2:1-12

Dear God, it’s always interesting when we meet these characters in stories and then we don’t hear from them again. In this case, we get these guys from the East, and they were following some sort of sign. I don’t think we are ever told the source of their knowledge for the sign, but here they are, and they are right. Now, they are a little clumsy about it. They just kind of brazenly go in making it a public thing when you had kind of gone out of your way to make it more low-key, and their clumsiness tipped off Herod which caused problems of tragic proportions, but they were just earnestly looking for this child. Why they wanted to worship him, I don’t know. In fact, I checked different translations, and they all use the word “worship.”

So they found him. The worshipped him. The gave him/Mary gifts. And then they left. It’s important to note here that you spoke to them and warned them to go home a different way. You knew they were there, and they were worthy of your attention and care. Of course, you were also protecting Jesus, Mary, and Joseph by keeping them away from Herod as well, but still, this is just another example of how you loved Gentiles, spoke to Gentiles, and let Gentiles know about your plans. Jesus was for them too.

Father, I’m a Gentile sitting here grateful to be your servant. Worshipping you, Three in One. My Father. My Jesus. My Holy Spirit. As Christmas comes to a close, I thank you and commit to walking with you this year. Beyond Christmas. You are my God. I am your grateful child. Part of your creation. You have my worship. Show me how to love you and how to love others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 4, 2026 in Matthew

 

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John 1:29-34

03 Jan

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘A man is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ 31 I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.”

32 Then John testified, “I saw the Holy Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and resting upon him. 33 I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God.”

John 1:29-34

Dear God, Jesus and John had an interesting relationship. I wish I knew more about how they knew each other over the previous 30 years. We never see them together before this, but I’m sure this isn’t the first time they met. After all, their mothers were cousins and they certainly would have sought each other out over the years. So I wonder what kinds of conversations John and Jesus had as they grew up. The way John describes it here, John knew Jesus but it hadn’t been revealed to him who Jesus was until he had the prophecy fulfilled that you had given to him. It took the Jesus he knew and made him Jesus the Messiah. It all changed.

I’m also impressed that his leadoff description of Jesus is that he said Jesus was about taking away the sins of the world. He didn’t say, “Here comes our conquering Messiah!” He called him the “Lamb of God,” your lamb. He might not have completely understood how this would all play out because later, when John is in prison, he will question if Jesus is the Messiah or if there is someone else coming (Luke 7:20). But he also seemed to know that there was more to this Messiah thing than making Israel great again. He knew you were trying to rewrite the covenant between you and your creation. He just didn’t have the picture of what that would look like.

So I don’t know what you’re doing either. I mean, I think I know what you were doing through Jesus, but even that gets convoluted in our modern Christianity. Some would say that Jesus came to save us from hell and eternal torment and damnation. To save us from suffering by forgiving us of our sins. But that seems ridiculous to me now, even though that’s what I was sold as a child. Not that there won’t be a sorting one day. Jesus was clear there would be. But if you wanted to save us from eternal damnation you’d have just let our souls die when we die and be done with us. No, you wanted relationship with us. I don’t understand why, but you want to love us and you want us to love you. You want relationship with us. You took away my sin not so that I would get a great perk after my death, but so that I could learn to walk through the narrow gate.

Father, I give you this day. I’m about to spend a few hours with a friend. Sharpen him through me and me through him. My wife and I will spend time together this afternoon. Sharpen us through each other. We will spend some times with friends over dinner. Sharpen us through each other. We are about to start working with a couple who is contemplating marriage. Make our relationship with them part of all of our journeys. Teach me to walk this narrow path through this narrow gate. Oh, and I just learned yesterday that a friend lost her brother to death. I’m so sorry for her. Please comfort her and her family through this tragedy. Show me how to be her friend through this. Raise up people around her who will love her with your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 3, 2026 in John

 

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John 1:19-28

02 Jan

19 This was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders sent priests and Temple assistants from Jerusalem to ask John, “Who are you?” 20 He came right out and said, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 “Well then, who are you?” they asked. “Are you Elijah?”

“No,” he replied.

“Are you the Prophet we are expecting?”

“No.”

22 “Then who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you have to say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of the prophet Isaiah:

“I am a voice shouting in the wilderness,
    ‘Clear the way for the Lord’s coming!’”

24 Then the Pharisees who had been sent 25 asked him, “If you aren’t the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet, what right do you have to baptize?”

26 John told them, “I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. 27 Though his ministry follows mine, I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the straps of his sandal.”

28 This encounter took place in Bethany, an area east of the Jordan River, where John was baptizing.

John 1:19-28

Dear God, the thing that struck me this morning as I read this passage is that John denies being Elijah when Jesus says John is Elijah (Matthew 11:14). Is this false modesty? Is this him not being willing to claim something for himself and feeling like someone else (namely Jesus) needs to be the one to bestow that label on him? Is he still trying to figure out exactly who he is in your plan? He knows he’s the voice crying in the wilderness. He knows Jesus is the Messiah. But how much more does he know.

One thing that also stands out to me this morning is that he had a great responsibility to speak your words to the crowds. He had an important message for the people. For all of the people, including the Pharisees. My wife and I are going to be starting some premarital…I don’t want to call it counseling because we aren’t counselors. Let’s call it curriculum. We are going to be taking an engaged couple through a pre-marital curriculum that will give them a lot of things to think about, talk about, and work through as they prepare to get married. It intimidates me to have such an important responsibility, and I don’t think I’ve spent enough time in prayer, preparing my heart for our time with them or even praying for them and their hearts. I’ve prayed a little, but not enough.

Father, I’m no Elijah. I’m not a voice crying in the wilderness. But you have put people in my path, and you have messages for them through me as well as having messages for me through them. Give me ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart to discern, and wise words to share. And prepare my wife’s heart in the same way. Help her to have an insightful heart as we go through this process. And help them couple to come in with hearts that are open to hearing from you. Let your Holy Spirit be in the room with us today. Guide the four of us through this process. Give us all breakthroughs in our lives and use this process to draw each of us closer to yourself as individuals as well as closer to you as couples.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2026 in John

 

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Number 6:22-27

01 Jan

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

24 ‘May the Lord bless you
    and protect you.
25 May the Lord smile on you
    and be gracious to you.
26 May the Lord show you his favor
    and give you his peace.’

27 Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.”

Number 6:22-27

Dear God, I’m about to see an old friend. I want to be what you need me to be for her. She’s a good woman who is facing some challenges. I want to be kind. I want to be insightful. I want her to leave here feeling a sense of your presence. Your smile. Your graciousness. Your favor. Your peace.

But we can’t just get that. It is a two-way street. We have to be in a position to receive it. My wife and I were talking last night, and I told her that she is remarkable because she puts herself in a position to allow your fruit to grow in her. She exudes it for others. She is a “good hang” for friends because she emits your presence. Your fruit. I want to be that too. I want to emit your presence and your fruit. I want to share your love and mercy. I also want to share your call to walk through the narrow gate. I talked about that a day or two ago–how I define the narrow gate. They path through the narrow gate ended up looking a lot like the 12 Steps for AA. That’s the path I need to walk, and that is the path I want to be part of helping others not only find but be willing to walk to.

So in thinking about my friend right now, I pray that you would love and keep her. That your face would shine upon her. That you would bless and keep her. That she would feel your smile. That she would find your favor and peace. I pray the same for those I love, those who frustrate me, and those whom I think are acting against you. Bring us all into right relationship with you and guide us into the narrow path.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 1, 2026 in Numbers

 

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Luke 2:22-40

31 Dec

22 Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, “If a woman’s first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord.” 24 So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord—“either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

25 At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him 26 and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,

29 “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace,
    as you have promised.
30 I have seen your salvation,
31     which you have prepared for all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
    and he is the glory of your people Israel!”

33 Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. 35 As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

36 Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years. 37 Then she lived as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple but stayed there day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. 38 She came along just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God. She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God to rescue Jerusalem.

39 When Jesus’ parents had fulfilled all the requirements of the law of the Lord, they returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. 40 There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

Luke 2:22-40

Dear God, I want to spend some time with Simeon and Anna this morning. Why them? Why did you lead them in this way? Why did you promise Simeon he would not die until he had seen the Messiah? Why Anna in this moment?

It’s so interesting to me that Simeon was right and wrong at the same time. He was right in that he could foresee how Jesus would be a stumbling block to others. How he would be divisive. How Mary’s own soul would be pierced. But he was wrong because he still had the idea that the Messiah was coming to make Israel great again (MIGA). His preconceived notions of your plans for Israel and the world through Israel’s power were not big enough to include the truth. That you would be reconciling the entire world to yourself through Jesus. He got words of truth, but they were still tainted by his human conflict of interest that longed for security, power, and certainty for Israel and himself.

When it comes to Anna, I think of her as a fixture of the temple that had been there for over 60 years, worshipping you, praying, and fasting. I like to think that Mary had seen her when she was a little girl and her family visited the temple for Passover. So now Mary and her new baby were the center of Anna’s attention, and Anna was saying remarkable things about Mary’s baby. But back to Anna. She was widowed young, and it seems to me the way she survived was by making her home at the temple and throwing herself into worshipping you. That’s how she used her life. Almost like a nun before there were nuns. It’s seemingly how she processed her pain. By just dedicating her life to worshipping and loving you.

I wonder what the Pharisees of the day thought of all of this. I’m sure they must have gotten some wind of what Simeon and Anna were saying about this baby. Did they question it? Did they question Mary and Joseph? Did they ignore it? It’s difficult to say.

Just as a side note, I think it’s interesting that Luke and Matthew tell two different stories of what happened with Jesus from here. Matthew tells us that they stayed in Bethlehem for a while, fled to Egypt, and then finally settled in Nazareth several years later. Luke indicates they went straight home to Nazareth. The discrepancy doesn’t invalidate any of Jesus’s story or the fact that he is your son and our Messiah. But it does remind me that nothing is really giving me a complete picture of what happened all those years ago.

Father, I have a small life to live. I’m one of 7 billion-ish people on this planet and one of over 100 billion that have lived on it at one point. But if my life can positively impact just ten people, and then each of those ten impacts five, and even of those five impacts two, and each of those two impacts one then all of a sudden my life has touched a lot of others. And who knows where it ends? So I offer this day to you. I’m going to get to see my niece and her husband and their friends. Help my wife and me to simply be your messengers today. Help us to be your examples. Your love. Your glory. And help me to love our donors today. Do it all for your glory, Lord.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 31, 2025 in Luke

 

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Jonathan Roumie Quote

30 Dec

“And if I never did anything else again in entertainment, I would be sad, but I would be content knowing that I said yes to this very very intense, long mission–it will be ten years by the time it’s all released from the time I started–and I will feel like, okay, I’ve done something with my life…I’ve seen what this kind of storytelling, and what’s at the heart of it, how it can literally change people’s lives…You see it. They go from non-belief to belief. They go from no being active in the sacraments to all of a sudden going to confession, and going to mass, and taking communion again. And that the difference between life and death. Spiritual life and death. And there’s nothing that’s going to be more important for me than affecting an individual’s relationship with their creator. It trumps everything. It is the top priority in everybody’s life if they acknowledge that there is a relationship like that to be had. And once you know you’ve somehow been a touch point for that person’s journey, it’s like, well, what else is there? What else matters in my work as an artist? Nothing. Nothing does.” (5:15 mark of the video)

Dear God, I listened to this interview from yesterday at least a couple of times, and this is quote is the part that spoke to me the most. I think it comes down to the heart of everything we are called by you to be. And I bolded the part that really touched me with the rest to set the context for Mr. Roumie’s statement: “And there’s nothing that going to be more important for me than affecting an individual’s relationship with their creator. It trumps everything. It is the top priority in everybody’s life if they acknowledge that there is a relationship like that to be had.”

I can’t help but think about the narrow gate. Jesus references it in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:13-14: 13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to [destruction] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. I think I’ve found the narrow gate. And it’s frustrating to try to help friends decide to find it and have them turn me down. Family too.

So what does the narrow gate look like to me? How would I describe the narrow gate? I think answering this question might be different for a lot of Christians, and there are parts of this that I’m better at than other parts, but here’s what I’m thinking off of the top of my head.

  • Humility: Admit I am powerless and I need the God of the universe to restore me to sanity (combination of the first two steps in AA).
  • Make a decision to turn my life and will over to you, repent before you and others, receive your grace and love through Jesus, and turn my life over to you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to start to remove my character defects (steps 3-7 in AA).
  • Seek you through prayer and meditation (step 11 in AA).
  • Love others and carry this message to others (step 12).

I know I talked recently about a book that talked about the spiritual significance of the 12 steps in AA, and I think they ring pretty true here. I think if I walk in these steps then I have found the narrow gate. The one thing that is missing that, frankly, I’m not good at, is the intercessory prayer part for others. I think it’s important to pray for others and have them on our hearts, but outside of carrying the message to others there isn’t much in the 12 steps on that. But it’s important, and it’s something that my wife is so much better about than I am.

Father, make a difference in the world through my life. Today. In this moment. Of course, I want it for tomorrow too, but I just want to be in this moment today. Help me to be a man who continuously chooses the narrow gate and then guides others through it. Not so they can be saved from hell, but so they can know the peace and joy of relationship with you. And please forgive me for how I hurt others, myself, and you, and help me to know in the moment when I am doing something harmful and guide me out of it.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 30, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Fr. Mike Schmitz Interviews Jonathan Roumie

29 Dec

Dear God, I watched this interview this morning as I got ready for work, and it really struck me. I think a better word is humbled. It humbled me. I fight against it, but there are so many times that I get a bit full of myself and my “spiritual maturity.” The truth is, I’m an idiot. I don’t have anything to say. I don’t have anything to teach. I’m such a fool. I just need to listen and learn and appear foolish instead of opening my mouth and removing all doubt.

So I listened to Mr. Roumie’s experience playing Jesus–especially having just filmed the crucifixion–and it struck me how much I still take this for granted. How much all of us do. And we can’t, we simply can’t appreciate what you experienced during those 18 or so hours 2,000 years ago. He said he asked you for just a small taste, and even that left him overwhelmed and something that he might have to work through for the rest of his life.

Yeah, I just don’t get it. And I don’t know that I have the courage to ask you to help me get it. I almost prefer to insulate myself from really getting the depths of what you experienced through your incarnation, life as a human, brutal death, and resurrection. Can I just say that I get it and move on?

Father, thank you for fellow believers who inspire me. Fr. Mike and Mr. Roumie are people who inspire me. My young niece and her husband are believers who inspire me. I have young men I know through Christian Men’s Life Skills who inspire me. All of this makes me better. I love you, Lord. And I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul, rejoice! Take joy, my King, in what you hear. Let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. With my foolish ignorance and all, let it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 29, 2025 in Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

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Matthew 2:13-23

28 Dec

13 After the wise men were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up! Flee to Egypt with the child and his mother,” the angel said. “Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

14 That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, 15 and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance. 17 Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A cry was heard in Ramah—
    weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
    refusing to be comforted,
    for they are dead.”

19 When Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt. 20 “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother back to the land of Israel, because those who were trying to kill the child are dead.”

21 So Joseph got up and returned to the land of Israel with Jesus and his mother. 22 But when he learned that the new ruler of Judea was Herod’s son Archelaus, he was afraid to go there. Then, after being warned in a dream, he left for the region of Galilee. 23 So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:13-23

Dear God, I’m not sure I’ve ever really pondered the idea that Joseph’s intent seems to have been to return to Bethlehem instead of going home to Nazareth. I guess from a practical standpoint it was easier to get to from Egypt (I think they are 80 or 90 miles apart). But I also wonder if there were just fewer questions in Bethlehem than Nazareth. Fewer people whispering about the timing of their marriage and Jesus’s age. But this would also seemingly put Jesus closer to John the Baptist, and Mary closer to Elizabeth, as they all grew and aged.

I honestly don’t know where I’m going with any of this except appreciating the lives that Joseph and Mary had to live, the decisions they had to make, and the warnings they had to follow as they raised Jesus. I don’t think that we, in general, appreciate the sacrifices they made for our savior and our salvation. I can certainly understand why Catholics venerate Mary. She made all these sacrifices and she carried Jesus. He is flesh of her flesh. But I want to throw Joseph in there too. He offered his life as a living sacrifice for your plan. He considered his life worth nothing to him. He did it right. I know he wasn’t perfect, but I have him as my favorite biblical character for a reason.

Father, I was talking with my brother yesterday about what it means to be a man for your wife, and how it is hard as you age to not be able to be those things for her anymore. I see friends who are older than me who can no longer be what their wives need. They need care instead of being able to care. Or their limitations make them less than they were just a few years ago. And now I’m at a point where I can still be a man and husband for my wife. I can care for her. But the day will come when I won’t be able to do it, and that will be hard. It will be hard for her, but it will also be hard for my ego. So guide us. Thank you for the example you’ve preserved here in Matthew of Joseph and the kind of man he was for Mary and Jesus. Thank you for the salvation you give me/us through Jesus. Thank you for your love and wanting a relationship with me. Help me to be who you need me to be today.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 28, 2025 in Matthew

 

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John 20:1-10

27 Dec

20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

John 20:1-10

Dear God, when I first read this passage this morning, I just wanted to spend some time in John’s head. I find the details he shares interesting.

  1. He ran ahead of Peter. Normally, you would think they would have kind of run together, but John was younger, probably more fit, and capable of getting there faster. He didn’t care about waiting for the older Peter at that point. He just wanted to get there as fast as he could. No hinderances. No pacing himself. Just raw speed. He went from being terrified and hiding to full out running for the tomb. I want to spend some time with that in a minute.
  2. When he got there he was still cautious. He just looked around before going in. I think this was a pattern for John: impulsive but cautious. He was the one who wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans. He was the one who as at the foot of the cross. So he was passionate. He wanted to be there to show Jesus love even though he had initially run away in the garden.
  3. Peter rushes in. To me, this explains why Peter was the leader of the group. No, he wasn’t physically as fast as John, but when he got there he took charge. He went in. Then John followed Peter.
  4. He doesn’t indicate what Peter was thinking in the tomb, but he reveals his own thoughts. He believed. He looked at the evidence. Linens that covered Jesus lying on the ground. The head coverings folded. If someone had taken the body they probably wouldn’t have wanted to take off the linens and reveal his body. And they wouldn’t have folded the head coverings.
  5. The walk home. Did they even talk on the way back? What did they talk about? Were they trying to make sense of it all?

Now, where I want to spend my time is with John and his thoughts while he ran to the tomb. The information he gives us leading up to there is that Mary Magdalene came to him and Peter and said Jesus’s body had been taken. “They” took him. Who is “they?” The Romans, I presume. So that’s when they take out running.

Here are my thoughts on what might have been ignoring Peter’s slower pace and running to the tomb. First, I assume the previous 36 hours he’d been thinking about everything Jesus said, and was trying to find nuggets that would make sense of what he had experienced. Maybe some of Jesus’s mentions of suffering and dying and rising again were finally starting to gel and make sense. Could it be this was really happening. Could Jesus rise again? He’d seen him raise Jairus’s daughter, Lazarus, and the boy from the funeral procession. Could he raise himself? Or was it all over and he was disillusioned, having to come to grips with the humiliation of what Jesus’s death meant to the last three years of his life and his hopes of power and glory for the future. I think that any little piece he could think of while they were hiding during the Passover was running through his mind while his legs were running to the tomb.

Then he gets there and he’s ready to believe. He looked for evidence that would tell him Jesus was either taken or walked out on his own. The evidence he describes tells him Jesus walked out on his own. This isn’t over yet. Jesus is alive! What’s next?

Father, there are some things in my life that I’m tired of praying for. I’m a bit disillusioned on them. But if I got a sign of hope, I’d tear out of this house running as fast as I could. I’d break traffic laws. I’d do whatever I could for hope that is fatiguing and fading. But you call me to faith. You call me to hope. You call me to love. So I will have faith that you are moving, even when I cannot see it. Even when it’s Friday night. I will have hope because I believe Sunday is on the way. And I will continue to love because that is the greatest of these. Faith and hope are internal. Love is external. Love includes action. Help me to continue to take the love you give to me and turn it outward to others.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 27, 2025 in John

 

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Acts 6:8-10

26 Dec

8 Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. 9 But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. 10 None of them could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke.

Acts 6:8-10

Dear God, I need some wisdom. Not only in the words that I speak, but the actions I take–or should not take. I woke up this morning so frustrated with a couple of people. Why are they acting the way they are acting? Why are they making this harder than it has to be? And I’m really afraid they are making decisions now that they won’t be able to undo later and that they will regret. Pain now. Regret later. I can see it now and I can see it coming. And I know that behind it all is pain and injury of some kind. Secrets that are being protected. Shame that is being clung to.

I’m praying about this from this passage because sometimes I am compelled to reach out and say something to them, but I never know whether it is the right thing to say or the wrong thing to say. Should I remain silent? Should I pray for your words to share with them? Should I just pray that you will raise up people in their lives who will give them your words.

Father, I guess I’m praying myself into the serenity prayer from AA and the 12-step programs: Father, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. That is my prayer today. Give me serenity (peace), courage (strength), and wisdom (discernment).

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on December 26, 2025 in Acts

 

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