Christmastide Devotional - Wednesday, December 27th

“Is this not Joseph’s son?...” (Luke 4:22)

Back to work! At least for most of us, there’s a return – on a limited scale, for this week has another special day. But those routines of our “normal” life are the comfort zone, for there we know what to do, how to do it, and our skills are honed to some level of excellence.

Of course, the workday world also dulls our senses to the presence of God. Somehow, we have come by the idea that the Lord only appears in abnormal ways, in things out of the ordinary. Burning bushes we notice; miracles we can credit to God.

Jesus is rejected in Nazareth because “he’s Joseph’s boy” – we know him, we know his carpentry, his real job. When we know our job, we don’t need to see God at work, too!

But a great spiritual skill is to be able to see God in the ordinary, to be alert to the opportunities to share Christ all around us. Can we notice God’s presence when a co-worker handles a problem well? Or when the sunshine glows with a mellow warmth? Or the shadows of trees on the snow? Or a child sneaking up for a hug? Does Jesus call us when we see someone in need, or as we visit one who is ill or lonely?

Routines which dull our senses can only be overcome by a renewed sense of awareness that every moment belongs to God, and all our gifts, talents, friends, and possessions come first of all from God – and because of that, God can always be found...if only we learn how to look.

WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN CHRIST TODAY?

Prayer: O God, give us eyes that see, ears that hear, hearts that care, and hands that help, as we become ever more aware of your abiding presence with us. Through Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dr. John Clifford