Today we celebrated The Epiphany, when the Magi encountered God incarnate and they prostrated themselves before Him. And when they left, they went by a different way. Their lives had been changed (and they didn’t want King Herod to kill them for not giving up any intel : )
They brought Jesus gifts, but received The Perfect Gift!
This weekend I went to Church at a neighboring Catholic Church to help volunteer with fellowship after Mass.
They have a large Nativity, big enough to surround the altar table! Behind the Altar is the Crucifix (Jesus depicted on the Cross). My mind reflected upon the title of this devotional that I’ve been doing with a Protestant co-worker titled, “Christmas and the Cross.”
There, was Jesus swaddled in a wooden manger. Later, Jesus would give of His life on the wood of the Cross.
I’m also reminded of the wood that Isaac carried to the mountain where Abraham was to Sacrifice his only son. But, when the Angel of the Lord stopped him, God provided him a lamb stuck in the thicket, a foreshadowing of Christ our Lamb, with thorns pressed upon His head. And like Isaac, obedient and trusting of his father, Jesus would carry the wood to Calvary where He becomes the Sacrifice that “God will provide” (Genesis 22:7-8) and indeed He has! And humbled are we, this “once and for many” Sacrifice is made present to us in the Sacrifice of the Mass (which we call Eucharist, meaning “thanksgiving”).
Last Sunday my Family and I attended the morning Liturgy at St. Joseph Catholic Church (our sister Parish). I like the evening Mass at St. Ann, but one of the things I love about attending St. Joseph at 10:30 AM is the stained glass windows behind the altar. The first scene is the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary. The next large window is of the Nativity. And the third window is a beautiful depiction of Christ on the Cross.
What is amazing is how the sun naturally illuminates the Nativity glass at the start of the Mass and as the sacred Liturgy climaxes to Christ’s sacrifice, the sunlight is perfectly shining through the panes depicting the very moment in Salvation history that we are celebrating right then. It is really neat!
We usually don’t put baby Jesus in the manger in our home until Christmas morning. So he is always “missing” during the season of Advent, where we prepare our hearts for His arrival, but that does not mean Jesus was not present in my life during Advent, He absolutely was! I love Advent. My relationship with our Lord grows stronger as I re-realize how blessed I am and how much I need The Savior.
Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Your Son in our lives. Without Him, I don’t know where I would be. I don’t know what my Family situation would look like. I don’t know what I might be addicted to. What types of Friends I would have. I wonder so many things had You not entered into this world, humble, yet mighty.
We admit in the Sacred Liturgy that we are indeed in need of The Savior:
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault…
I would say that my biggest sin is the sin of pride. I have a high self-perception of myself. I like myself. But, I am not above God. I know that I need Him and that I am a sinner.
Jesus makes us better persons; “through Him, with Him, and in Him” (words from The Great Doxology) and “all glory and honor” are His!
Fun Fact: The word “doxology” comes from the Greek words “doxa,” which means praise and “logos,” which means words.
As this Christmas Season comes to a close and the Season of Lent will soon be upon us, let us reflect on how much God loves us, that He would give of His only begotten Son, Jesus, a Sacrifice and atonement for our sins, so that in Him, we might live and be granted eternal life; where no greater love is found. Amen ♱
