The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States for Sunday, 04 December 2016 – Prayer Tip: "Whose Child is This?"
Daily Scripture: Matthew 1:18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame.
Prayer Tip:
Sometimes, for myriad reasons, we decide to not do something because it’s technically not required of us. We aren’t legally bound to do it, it’s not part of our job descriptions, or no one expects us to do it. Can you imagine if Joseph had held on to this attitude when he found out his fiancée was expecting a baby that wasn’t his?
Yes, at first, “he planned to divorce her quietly”, but then God told him in a dream to go ahead and take Mary as his wife (Matthew 1:18-24). At this point, Joseph could still have used his free will to go against God’s command…but he didn’t. Joseph did what no one else would have expected him to do, even when he would have been legally justified. He opened himself up to letting God use him even when he didn’t fully understand why.
Much later, Jesus taught the young lawyer that it’s not enough to just do what is expected (Matthew 19:16-22). We are called to go above the standard and beyond the norm to show Christ’s radical love to a world that needs it, even if it’s just to one person at a time, like Joseph’s decision to bless Mary and give her a sense of peace in a confusing time.
Holy God,
Thank you for the example we have in Joseph of your love in action in a way that seems so foreign. Guide us, especially during this Advent season, to love others radically and to touch their lives in surprising ways. Make us instruments of your hope, peace, joy, and love.In Jesus’ Name, Amen.[Angela LaVallie Tinsley, Prayer and Funeral Ministry]
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Monday, 5 December 2016
Matthew 1:18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame.
Psalm 18:28 (27) People afflicted, you save;
but haughty eyes, you humble.
29 (28) “For you, Adonai, light my lamp;
Adonai, my God, lights up my darkness.
30 (29) With you I can run through a whole troop of men,
with my God I can leap a wall.
Isaiah 43:1 But now this is what Adonai says,
he who created you, Ya‘akov,
he who formed you, Isra’el:
“Don’t be afraid, for I have redeemed you;
I am calling you by your name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through water, I will be with you;
when you pass through rivers, they will not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire, you will not be scorched —
the flame will not burn you.
3 For I am Adonai, your God,
the Holy One of Isra’el, your Savior —
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Ethiopia and S’va for you.
4 Because I regard you as valued and honored,
and because I love you.
For you I will give people,
nations in exchange for your life.
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As Matthew told it, the story of Jesus’ birth began with Joseph engaged to Mary. He learned she was pregnant, and knew he had not done anything to father a child. (It seems he lived in Bethlehem and she in Nazareth, so their families may have arranged the engagement.) No divine messenger had visited Joseph to tell him what was happening. As a devout man, feeling pain and disappointment as his dreams fell apart, he likely sought comfort in Scriptures like today’s.
- Isaiah 43 came in a section of the book many mainline scholars call “Second Isaiah.” It spoke first to Israelites returning from exile in Babylon. It emphasized God’s personal bond with God’s people—“I will be with you....I love you.” It did not promise an easy, pain-free life, but pledged that whatever happened, God’s presence was dependable. How could such a passage speak to Joseph’s hurting heart? How does it speak to you today?
- Have you ever faced a situation that, even if not as severe as Joseph’s, involved some of the same feelings? A time when someone you trusted let you down, and you had to face pain, disappointment, perhaps anger, perhaps tears, certainly shock? How can passages like Psalm 18 and Isaiah 43 give you a spiritual foundation from which to move ahead in putting your life back together at times like that?
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Insights from Ginny Howell
Ginny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection’s Leawood campus. Passionate about helping people get engaged in the life of the church, she oversees our ReConnection and New Member teams, and loves spending Friday mornings with our Bulletin Stuffers each week.“Whose child is this?”
The Howell family 14 years agoSimilar questions have been asked of me and my husband for years. More specifically, “whose children are these?” has been common to our ears for about the last 15 years, since we said “yes” to the foster care social worker who called about three little girls one Friday morning. She asked if we’d keep the girls for the weekend, and we figured we could make it to Monday, until they found an appropriate relative placement who could care for the girls.
Like both Mary and Joseph, we didn’t plan to become parents when God brought children into our lives. Some friends encouraged us to become foster parents because there is such a great need in Kansas, and we thought we could help out some teenagers as they headed towards adulthood. We had specifically stated that we weren’t interested in adopting, and didn’t plan to foster young children. That weekend turned into a week, and then a month, and a year… In August of 2004, we legally adopted the girls, who we could no longer imagine our lives without.
The Howell family on vacation in 2016Like Joseph may have felt when thinking about being father to a son that was not his own flesh and blood, for quite some time we doubted that we could be the right parents for these girls. We’d been foster parents for two days before these girls came to us. Surely there was more we needed to learn to be better at this. The struggles that came our way were unpredictable and felt insurmountable at times. Scriptures like today’s excerpts from Psalms and Isaiah reminded us on those days that God had, in fact, equipped us for the task He had placed before us. Still today, they remind us that God is with us on our best days, and our most challenging, and that the greatest blessings of life come when we follow the path that God sets before us and simply say “yes.”
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when through the rivers, they won’t sweep over you” (Isaiah 43:2a)
Lean on these words when you feel less-than or defeated. Be an active participant in the reshaping of your life knowing that God is on, and by, your side.-------
"Mercy from the doubting carpenter" for Tuesday, 6 December 2-16
Matthew 1:18 Here is how the birth of Yeshua the Messiah took place. When his mother Miryam was engaged to Yosef, before they were married, she was found to be pregnant from the Ruach HaKodesh. 19 Her husband-to-be, Yosef, was a man who did what was right; so he made plans to break the engagement quietly, rather than put her to public shame. 20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh.
Deuteronomy 22:20 “But if the charge is substantiated that evidence for the girl’s virginity could not be found; 21 then they are to lead the girl to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her town will stone her to death, because she has committed in Isra’el the disgraceful act of being a prostitute while still in her father’s house. In this way you will put an end to such wickedness among you.
22 “If a man is found sleeping with a woman who has a husband, both of them must die — the man who went to bed with the woman and the woman too. In this way you will expel such wickedness from Isra’el.
23 “If a girl who is a virgin is engaged to a man, and another man comes upon her in the town and has sexual relations with her; 24 you are to bring them both out to the gate of the city and stone them to death — the girl because she didn’t cry out for help, there in the city, and the man because he has humiliated his neighbor’s wife. In this way you will put an end to such wickedness among you.
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In Israelite culture, a betrothal was as binding as marriage. When Mary, betrothed to Joseph, became pregnant, it led Joseph at first to the “obvious” belief that she had been intimate with some other man. Personally painful as that was, Joseph quickly began to realize that the situation might cost Mary’s life. If he denounced her publicly, she might be stoned to death (see John 8:3-5), as the law in Deuteronomy said. He sought a different solution, even though it might let some people blame him for her pregnancy.
- Matthew, with just a few words, reported something important even before Joseph had his dream about the angel: “Joseph her husband was a righteous man… he didn’t want to humiliate her.” What do you learn about Joseph’s inner qualities from his measured response (“he decided to call off their engagement quietly”)? In the book Safe People, Cloud and Townsend list Biblically based qualities of “safe people.” How safe for others are you? Like Joseph, do you choose not to humiliate others?
- The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels said Joseph was “a devout Jewish man willing to give up what was often perceived to be a Jewish father’s greatest privilege—siring his firstborn son—in order to obey God’s will.” * Have you had to give up some cherished dream to obey God, or might you have to? If so, how are you and God working to bend that loss to produce good results?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, your earthly father showed his righteous character, not in demanding that people follow the law to the letter, but in showing mercy to Mary. Help my righteousness, too, to always lean in the direction of mercy. Amen.
*Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight, The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992, p. 63.
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Insights from Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a volunteer for the worship and missions teams at Church of the Resurrection. He helps lead worship at the Vibe, West, and Downtown services, and is involved with the Malawi missions team at home.The juxtaposition of today’s passages is interesting. On the one hand, you have the Old Testament law (Deuteronomy 22:20-24), which had defined morality for the Israelite nation for centuries, saying that sex outside of marriage is punishable by death. Twice in the passage, it says, “Remove such evil from Israel!” This was a hard rule: adultery was not to be tolerated.
In the other passage (Matthew 1:18-20), we see Joseph faced with this very situation–and breaking the rule. His love for Mary transcended strict adherence to the law, and he loved so much that he refused to punish evil. But Joseph is called a righteous man–not in spite of his deviance, but because of it.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, summed up his approach to Christianity in three simple rules:
- Do no harm
- Do all the good you can
- Stay in love with God
That’s not to say that doing good always feels good or that the truth never hurts. There will be times when doing good goes against an evil establishment and causes harm to it. But there are also plenty of times when truth and goodness are used as a weapon to separate yourself from others. If goodness or righteousness are ever used to belittle someone else, this represents a failure in the Christian mission.
When this happens, we usually know what we’re doing–we just hide it beneath layers of piety. But taking a page from Joseph’s story, there are times when love should trump punishment, and there are times when showing mercy even in the face of hard commandments is the righteous thing to do. Joseph’s mercy is the beginning of Jesus’ story, so our religion is rooted in mercy. Always remember that when you’re tempted to justify your own retribution with religious doctrine. That’s never been what we’re about.-------
"How Matthew led the story to Joseph" for Wednesday, 7 December 2016
Matthew 1: 1 This is the genealogy of Yeshua the Messiah, son of David, son of Avraham:
2 Avraham was the father of Yitz’chak,
Yitz’chak was the father of Ya‘akov,
Ya‘akov was the father of Y’hudah and his brothers,
3 Y’hudah was the father of Peretz and Zerach (their mother was Tamar),
Peretz was the father of Hetzron,
Hetzron was the father of Ram,
4 Ram was the father of ‘Amminadav,
‘Amminadav was the father of Nachshon,
Nachshon was the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon was the father of Bo‘az (his mother was Rachav),
Bo‘az was the father of ‘Oved (his mother was Rut),
‘Oved was the father of Yishai,
6 Yishai was the father of David the king.
David was the father of Shlomo (his mother was the wife of Uriyah),
7 Shlomo was the father of Rechav‘am,
Rechav‘am was the father of Aviyah,
Aviyah was the father of Asa,
8 Asa was the father of Y’hoshafat,
Y’hoshafat was the father of Yoram,
Yoram was the father of ‘Uziyahu,
9 ‘Uziyahu was the father of Yotam,
Yotam was the father of Achaz,
Achaz was the father of Hizkiyahu,
10 Hizkiyahu was the father of M’nasheh,
M’nasheh was the father of Amon,
Amon was the father of Yoshiyahu,
11 Yoshiyahu was the father of Y’khanyahu and his brothers
at the time of the Exile to Bavel.
12 After the Babylonian Exile, Y’khanyahu was the father of Sh’altiel,
Sh’altiel was the father of Z’rubavel,
13 Z’rubavel was the father of Avihud,
Avihud was the father of Elyakim,
Elyakim was the father of ‘Azur,
14 ‘Azur was the father of Tzadok,
Tzadok was the father of Yakhin,
Yakhin was the father of El’ichud,
15 El’ichud was the father of El‘azar,
El‘azar was the father of Mattan,
Mattan was the father of Ya‘akov,
16 Ya‘akov was the father of Yosef the husband of Miryam,
from whom was born the Yeshua who was called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations from Avraham to David,
fourteen generations from David to the Babylonian Exile,
and fourteen generations from the Babylonian Exile to the Messiah.
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The way Matthew started Jesus’ story feels strange, even boring, to most of us. Family records were a key source of identity in Jesus’ day. King Herod the Great, despised by most Jews because he was half Edomite, actually destroyed official registers so that no one else could prove a purer ancestry than his own! In verse 1, Matthew said three significant things about Jesus: he called him “Christ,” the “son of David,” and the “son of Abraham.”- The Greek word “Christ,” like the Hebrew word “Messiah,” meant “anointed one.” It was commonly used to identify the deliverer God had promised to send. What do you believe made Jesus’ link to Abraham and King David so key for Matthew? In what ways does it matter to you that, in Jesus, God kept the ancient promises made to those men?
- In an unusual move for his time, Matthew named five women (including Mary) in Jesus’ genealogy. The other four (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and “the wife of Uriah”—i.e. Bathsheba) had all, like Mary, faced obstacles, even scandal, in their lives. Yet God had worked through each of them to advance the story of God’s redeeming mission in the world. Does God still work through unlikely people? In what ways is God at work through you?
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Insights from Wendy Connelly
Wendy Connelly is first and foremost a wife and mom, a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology, and will be teaching “Live and Let Think” this April at Resurrection Downtown. She can be reached at wendyleia@yahoo.com.Editor’s Note: You can listen to this GPS Insights post read by the author here.
I love the prologue of Matthew for its rag-tag group of misfit women. These are, among the royal Davidic lineage, quite the opposite of the Founding Fathers (the Abrahams, Isaacs and Jacobs) and regal kings (David, Solomon, Hezekiah). These women, in this strange juxtaposition of the extremes of power, embody the unlikely, the disenfranchised, the helter-skelter kingdom of God.
They remind me of the words Steve Jobs made famous:
Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently – they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward.
You can’t ignore these women; they’re woven into the very bloodline of Christ. And yet even today, these archetypes – the Tamars, Rahabs, Bathshebas and Ruths – are oppressed by systems of injustice. The cry of Tamar still echoes loud. But Matthew’s gospel is riven with hope: every injustice against the least resounds in the ears of God.I had a chance last week to sit down for several hours with my friend, Darryl Burton, to talk about his life, the 24 years he spent in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and the place of justice in the life of the church. Here’s what he had to say:
Wendy: What is justice?
Darryl: Justice is correcting things that are wrong and making it right. Bringing forth light and speaking truth to power. You know, that’s what justice is. And I think, you know, as a Christian and as a believer and as a pastor… we fight for the underdog, or for the little person or the person who’s being abused or being forced to deal with unjust situations. And so, justice is making things right.
In the infancy narrative, Matthew is making a plea to his audience, the church. Remember these women. If you’re in a place of position and power, then by God, use it for the sake of the displaced and powerless. And if today you feel like the underdog, the misfit, the round peg in a square hole, take heart – there’s a cloud of witnesses standing in your corner.-------
"Joseph’s great Old Testament namesake" for Thursday, 8 December 2016
Genesis 39:2 Adonai was with Yosef, and he became wealthy while he was in the household of his master the Egyptian. 3 His master saw how Adonai was with him, that Adonai prospered everything he did. 4 Yosef pleased him as he served him, and his master appointed him manager of his household; he entrusted all his possessions to Yosef. 5 From the time he appointed him manager of his household and all his possessions, Adonai blessed the Egyptian’s household for Yosef’s sake; Adonai’s blessing was on all he owned, whether in the house or in the field. 6 So he left all his possessions in Yosef’s care; and because he had him, he paid no attention to his affairs, except for the food he ate.
Now Yosef was well-built and handsome as well. (vi) 7 In time, the day came when his master’s wife took a look at Yosef and said, “Sleep with me!” 8 But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, because my master has me, he doesn’t know what’s going on in this house. He has put all his possessions in my charge. 9 In this house I am his equal; he hasn’t withheld anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 But she kept pressing him, day after day. Nevertheless, he didn’t listen to her; he refused to sleep with her or even be with her.
41:(iii) 39 So Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Since God has shown you all this — there is no one as discerning and wise as you — 40 you will be in charge of my household; all my people will be ruled by what you say. Only when I rule from my throne will I be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Here, I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” 42 Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Yosef’s hand, had him clothed in fine linen with a gold chain around his neck 43 and had him ride in his second best chariot; and they cried before him, “Bow down!” Thus he placed him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.
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Jesus’ earthly father Joseph was named for a great man in Israel’s history. The first Joseph was the patriarch Jacob’s favorite son (born to Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel). Genesis devoted chapters 37-50 to his story. Known for his integrity and reliability, he eventually reached a position from which he saved Egypt (and Jacob’s family) from a great famine.
- In Bible times, as often happens today, parents would choose names that captured the character they hoped and prayed their child would develop. What traits from his great namesake in the Hebrew past could a humble working man like Joseph emulate and live into?
- Do you bear a name associated with any admirable person, either in your own family or from history? If so, what qualities does that name suggest to you? What qualities is God working into your character through the challenges and opportunities you face in life? In what ways do you want your “name” (whether it is famous or obscure) to be remembered?
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Insights from James Cochran
James Cochran serves as Director of Counseling Ministries at The Church of the Resurrection, helping to connect the Resurrection family and community with counseling resources and group programming.My family calls me Jim. My friends call me Jimmy. My colleagues call me James. Personally, I resonate with the adage, “call me anything but late for dinner.” But as I consider the meaning behind the names we choose and the ones that are chosen for us, I am forced to acknowledge something deeply spiritual.
Today’s GPS asks us to consider the connection between the Dreamcoat Joseph of Genesis and the Stepfather Joseph of the New Testament. In imagining that the latter was named after the former, I was struck by the fact that each had fundamentally faithful responses to what must have been heart-breaking hardship. Dreamcoat Joseph, you’ll recall, was sold into slavery by his brothers, abused by his masters and thrown into prison. Through all of this he remained faithful to his call. Stepdad Joseph had his own troubles: I don’t imagine there was anything easy about being told you’re about to raise a child that isn’t yours–and by the way, he’s the Son of God. (Interestingly, most spousal homicides are driven by male territoriality. From an evolutionary psychology perspective, men are more motivated to murder their wives than raise a child that isn’t theirs.)
It would seem, then, that Stepdad Joseph would have done his eponym proud. But as interesting as this might be, I think it is less about names and more about values. Using his name as a tool, Joseph’s parents wanted to communicate that they valued the principles of faithfulness even against absurdly difficult circumstances. Perhaps Joseph was strengthened in his resolve to stand by Mary by remembering the lesson behind his own name.
Not all names carry the same sense of purpose, at least not on the surface. James, after all, basically translates to “someone who schemes to take another’s place.” So we have to look deeper, into the values that really matter. I called my parents to ask why they named me James. I knew my father had a favorite uncle named Jim for whom I was named (“the nicest guy you could ever meet”). I also knew this uncle was gay, in a time when that was even harder than it is now. My father told me he knew Uncle Jim wasn’t going to be able to have kids of his own, so he wanted to honor Jim’s legacy in the naming of his first son. I hadn’t expected it, but this simple conversation gave me a fresh understanding of some of my parents’ most important values.
We named our daughter Evelyn James Cochran. This carries with it a number of values that matter to my wife and me, like family and faith. As my daughter grows, I look forward to the discussions we’ll have about the process of choosing her name. Even if she adopts nicknames (or has nicknames thrust upon her), I know those will have values and stories of their own.
Maybe you know the story of your name. Whether you do or not, I encourage you to do some investigating. If the folks who named you have passed, maybe you can seek inspiration through prayer about the values behind your name. There may not be any great revelation (maybe your parents just liked the sound of Hubert), but I pray you find something that gives you a richer sense of who you are or who you are called to be.
In my imagination, I see Joseph going to his parents for advice after he learned his betrothed was pregnant. I see his mother draw him close and say, “Don’t you see? This is why you are named Joseph. In this moment you might think your story is a tragedy, but like the Joseph of old you will be faithful. And in your faithfulness you will come to see you are part of the greatest story ever told.”-------
"For Jesus, “father” connoted generosity and closeness" for Friday, 9 December 2016
Luke 11:11 “Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake? 12 or if he asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? 13 So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!”
Mark 14:36 “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”) “All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me! Still, not what I want, but what you want.”
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We gain a sense of how Joseph went about being a father figure to young Jesus by looking at how Jesus spoke about fathers in his teaching. The failure of too many human fathers, and increasing awareness of the sexism built into many Western cultures, lead us to be cautious in using words like “father” to identify God. But Jesus’ parable after teaching the Lord’s Prayer showed fathers as giving. When Jesus prayed, he used the term “abba” (Aramaic for “dad”).
- Jesus’ words in Luke 11 assumed that it was unthinkable that a father would respond to a child’s needs with anything other than an effort to give the best possible gifts. Was that a realistic assumption for you to make about your father or other father figures in your life? If so, how has that shaped the ways you relate to others? If not, how have other people (and God) helped to fill in the gaps left by your father’s failures?
- The apostle Paul adopted the prayer practice that Mark reported of Jesus, encouraging believers to cry out to our heavenly “abba” in Romans 8:15 and Galatians 4:6. What are your prayers like? Are you able to speak with God comfortably and trustingly, as you would to an infinitely wise and caring father, or do your prayers tend to be more stiff, formal and limited to “safe” subjects? How can you become more at home with your heavenly abba?
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Insights from Ginger Rothhaas
Ginger Rothhaas is a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology and is serving in Congregational Care at The Church of the Resurrection.It was not until I was a mother that I began to understand unconditional love. I realized, looking at my new baby, that love isn’t earned–it is given, and it is endless.
As a child, I loved seeing my dad’s face light up with pride as I accomplished things he valued. But I was programming myself to think that I had to earn his love with straight A’s, purple ribbon horse show performances, and an impressive business career.
But as a new mother, holding my own baby, I had a new awareness that my dad had loved me unconditionally all along. I realized that his face probably lit up every time my curly little head entered the room, not because of what I had accomplished, but because I was his child.
As I read scriptures of Jesus praying to “Abba” Father, I sense Jesus recognizing God’s unconditional love. Likely this was modeled to him through his earthly father, Joseph. Little-boy Jesus was shaped by Joseph’s unconditional love of Mary: Joseph had faith that this pregnancy was God’s work. Joseph taught Jesus what fatherly love looked like and felt like. Joseph and Mary, as parents, fostered an environment where Jesus could grow into his divine calling.
We are all called to be Josephs today…recognizing that God is at work, and doing our part to help people live into their callings. My additional homework, and maybe yours too, is to fully accept that God unconditionally loves us, and straight A’s aren’t what matters!!-------
"Joseph: parenting his Savior" for Saturday, 10 December 2016
Matthew 1:20 But while he was thinking about this, an angel of Adonai appeared to him in a dream and said, “Yosef, son of David, do not be afraid to take Miryam home with you as your wife; for what has been conceived in her is from the Ruach HaKodesh. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Yeshua, [which means ‘Adonai saves,’] because he will save his people from their sins.”
Acts 5:27 They conducted them to the Sanhedrin, where the cohen hagadol demanded of them, 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name! Look here! you have filled Yerushalayim with your teaching; moreover, you are determined to make us responsible for this man’s death!”
29 Kefa and the other emissaries answered, “We must obey God, not men. 30 The God of our fathers[Acts 5:30 Exodus 3:15
] raised up Yeshua, whereas you men killed him by having him hanged on a stake.[Acts 5:30 Deuteronomy 21:22–23] 31 God has exalted this man at his right hand[Acts 5:31 Psalm 110:1] as Ruler and Savior, in order to enable Isra’el to do t’shuvah and have her sins forgiven. 32 We are witnesses to these things; so is the Ruach HaKodesh, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
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We come back to Joseph, engaged to Mary, doubting her story that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and planning to break the engagement quietly. But in a dream, an angel told him to believe Mary, to proceed with the marriage plans. Joseph found himself in a story much bigger than just one wedding. The angel said to name the child “Jesus” (the Greek form of the Hebrew “Joshua,” which meant “Yahweh is salvation”). Many Hebrews wanted salvation from the occupying Roman army. But the angel didn’t talk about the Romans. This child, he said, would save people from humanity’s greatest enemy: sin. The angel’s announcement became central to how Christians from the earliest days expressed their faith.
- Scholar N. T. Wright wrote that “Matthew sees Jesus as the one who will now complete what the law of Moses pointed to but could not of itself produce. He will rescue his people, not from slavery in Egypt, but from the slavery of sin, the ‘exile’ they have suffered not just in Babylon but in their own hearts and lives.”* In what ways has missing God’s path led your heart and life into a kind of “exile”? What are the benefits of letting Jesus save you from that exile? How confident are you that Jesus can in fact save you from any life missteps, that he is the savior from sin that we all need?
* N. T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone: Part 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002, p. 8.
Family Activity: Joseph was present and supportive throughout Mary’s pregnancy, the birth of Jesus and in the early years of Jesus’ life. When someone in your family needs support and care, to whom do they turn? Think about grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, even close friends. How can you connect with them and grow spiritually and personally from their insights and experiences? Consider asking them about significant moments in their lives, then learning from their stories. Share a difficult experience of your own and ask for their help in working through it. If you live close, meet for a meal or dessert and share time together. If you live far apart, consider using Skype, talking on the phone, writing letters, or recording your voice on
tape. Praise God and pray for those who support and care for you.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
- Clark Mohar and family on the death of his father Dave Mohar, 12/5
- Jan Jabara and family on the death of her father Jim Payton, 12/4
- Bernie Benson and family on the death of his wife Mary Ann Benson, 12/1
- Karen Jaqua and family on the death of her mother Mary Ann Benson, 12/1
- Irene Brown and family on the death of her father Glenn H Cota, 11/30
- Jimmie Marie Cosby and family on the death of her father James Edward Murray, 11/30
- Scott Currier and family on the death of his father Craig Currier, 11/27
- David Izzard and family on the death of his brother Jim Izzard, 11/22
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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