“On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you. . . wrapped in cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you.” (Ezekiel 16: 4-5)

These are the words of God spoken by the prophet Ezekiel to the people of Israel who had been condemned to go into exile for their idolatry and other sins. The prophet reminds the people of their history and of their helplessness before God had chosen them to be His own.

More than five hundred years later, an angel of God appeared to shepherds who were in a field watching their sheep. The angel spoke to the shepherds of the birth of an infant savior which had occurred that very night. The savior was not merely a prophet, but the long expected son of God Himself . The sign that would reassure the shepherds was the swaddling cloths in which they would find him wrapped: “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. (Luke 2:12)

The swaddling cloths were proof that the baby’s mother, Mary, had consciously prepared for the arrival of the little one. Perhaps her mother had helped her pack for the trip to Bethlehem, but in any case this baby was prepared for and welcomed into the arms of Mary, who loved him and who believed in him from the angel Gabriel’s message to her.

What a difference from Ezekiel’s picture of the infant nation of Israel, and what a distance from those early days when no human reached out in love to the Hebrew people, but God Himself brought them to life as a nation. It was many generations before there was a young woman in Israel who would say “Let it be to me as you have said,” in order to bring God’s son into the world. (Luke 2:12) The sign to the shepherds would be swaddling cloths, for they signaled a preparation and a welcoming for the baby. No more was Israel, or any of mankind, to be without pity and unclean, for this baby was welcomed by Mary and Joseph, who knew that they had been chosen by God for this entirely unique purpose.

We call Jesus’ birth, the “Incarnation,” for it signals a union between God and humanity that would be entirely new. Mary and Joseph’s bond with their creator God was displayed in their willing obedience and in the swaddling cloths that were a sign to the shepherds.

Love in Him,

Prue

While I was pulling weeds from the beds in front of our house in the spring time, my five year old neighbor from across the street walked up to me and I said, “Hi, Johnny.” He answered me, and asked, Have you seen any angle worms yet?” I answered that I had seen one or two. “Well, if you see any more, could you give them to me?” he asked. I answered with, “What do you want them for? Are you going fishing with your uncle?” “No,” he answered . “What, then?” I asked. “I’m going to train them to be my shoelaces,” he answered. “Oh,” I said. Do you think that would be easier than tying your laces yourself?” “Oh, Yes!” he said. “I just have to hold the worm over the holes on my shoes and it will crawl though them by itself.” “I’d like to see that,” I replied. “I’ll save any worms I find.” “Thanks!” he said, and ran back home. Of course I did find worms, and put them in a can until Johnny returned while I was weeding again the next day. He was delighted and thanked me.

It was several days before I saw him again. “How are the worms?” I asked “How about your shoes?” “It didn’t work,” he said. “They didn’t want to go into the holes in my shoe, so I gave ’em to my uncle to take fishing.” “So, can you tie your shoes?” I asked. “Oh, yeah,” he replied, and ran back home.

For Thousands of years people believed that the sun revolves around the flat earth. For hundreds of years people believed that tomatoes are poisonous for humans to eat. To this day many people believe that a chicken’s or turkey’s “wishbone” can influence the events of our lives. Is it so very strange to believe that a worm could lend itself to function as a shoelace?

Jesus said, “Let the children come,” with all their imagination, their misunderstandings, their plans and ideas, “for of such as these is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14) The birth and childhood stories of Isaac,Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist all prefigure the appearance on earth of God’s own son. For God to enter human history and become first an infant, and then a child and finally an adult, embraces human life on earth. At Christmas we celebrate the wonder and joy of the Incarnation.

Johnny is a grown man now, and probably has forgotten his shoelace experiment, but I will never forget it. His adventure brought life and delight to my imagination, and I could easily imagine Jesus blessing the children and Johnny being the first in line.

Love in Him,

Prue

My Sister Nancy has identical twin sons and two older sons. One of my nieces has twin sons also, but they are fraternal, not identical. It has been fascinating to follow their growing up and the ways in which twins differ from “singles.” In both cases the boys are very close and engaged in most of the same activities. My niece’s sons both joined the same soccer team for the first time, and their parents were very pleased. It meant only one trip to practice or to games each week. The boys prefer each other’s company, but mingle well with others, especially if their brother is nearby. They don’t always agree, but they always find common ground or drop the conversation.

What amazes me about these two sets of twins is that their closeness is remarkably alike; whether they are “fraternal” or ”identical”, their preference for each other displays itself as the same. I couldn’t help thinking that the extraordinary bond between twins might not be primarily genetic at all. It may come from the physical closeness of the womb, family experience, and circumstances that kept them together, all of which implanted a permanent bond.

On the morning of his resurrection Jesus told Mary Magdalene to “Go and tell my brothers: (John 20:17) It was the first time that he had called his disciples “brothers,”as if their status changed in relationship to his resurrection. They would, in fact become inseparable from their “brother.”

I believe that it’s not simply “brotherhood” that Jesus seeks in each of us. Instead, I think that it is twinship. The invisible bond of twins that yields a shared identity is what happens when we come as children to the Living God. It’s the intimate relationship that erases barriers and unites us with Him through His Holy Spirit. “Let the Children come,” said Jesus, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.” ((Matthew 19:14) Every child of God shares a close relationship with his or her twin brother. Jesus is and desires to be closer than a twin to each of us. Child, teenager,adult, or aged.

He came as an infant , grew into an adult, so that we might recognize his Spirit in our own lives. At Advent we can reconnect with our brother, and experience a twinship that satisfies our souls. Christmas is a time for children and for children in heart to experience the assurance of being with our brother, regardless of our age. God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you.” (Jeremiah 1:5) We were born to be Jesus’ twins. God sent him to show us the way.

Love in Him,

Prue

Children still understand the feast of Christmas; they still sometimes feast to excess in the matter of plum pudding or turkey. But there is never anything in the least frivolous about their attitude to a plum pudding or a turkey. Still less is there anything frivolous in their attitude to a stocking or a Christmas tree. They have the serious and even solemn sense of the great truth; that Christmas is a time when things happen; things that do not always happen. (G.K. Chesterton, 1925)

In this paragraph of Chesterton’s , he expresses the core of his perception that, while adults bemoan the commercialization of Christmas and the secularizing of the Christmas celebrations, there is never any doubt that for children, the experience is still out of time and place, and some-how exists in heaven as well as on earth. Isaiah tapped all those feelings and expressed them in his wonderful chapter 9:6: For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Children know that nothing else has been heralded by
God’s angels as the birth of God’s son. They know that no other holiday has so many people singing so many songs. They understand that a “new thing” has arrived, and that it is wonderful. The gifts may seem to be the centerpiece for children, but underneath the toys lies the truth that “Christmas is a time when things happen; things that don’t always happen.” only once did the angel Gabriel speak to a young woman and tell her that she would deliver God’s infant son to the world. Only once did the wise en come from another nation to see this child, and only once did shepherds find their way to Bethlehem to see the baby. The story, so simple, yet so strange, speaks of family, and “The family is the first school of living” (Pope John Paul II)

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ( Mark 10:14) The Kingdom of God came to a stable and it comes to each of our homes when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. For more than two thousand years this event has been celebrated in much of the world. The “things” of Christmas are intangible. They are also spiritual and sometimes emotional. We remember the every year and they helped shape us and bring us closer to God.

Love in Him,

Prue

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who ,then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child to him and placed the child among them. And he said. . . “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18:1,2,5)

With no other age of people did Jesus identify himself as he did with children. He himself came as a child and lived the life of a child in the home of Joseph and Mary, along with his siblings. Since we know very little of that time in his life, it’s easy to forget the son of God as a child, but Advent draws us closer every year, and it’s a rich and important connection to Jesus. When he was grown, Jesus felt parental toward the people of Jerusalem: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem. . . how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings”. . . ( Matthew 23:37)

One day when our daughter Stephanie was only four years old she came in from playing outside, carrying a gray tabby kitten. “The man down the street gave it to me,” she said. I walked with her back to our neighbor four houses down, and asked if it was his kitten. “No,” he said. “That’s not mine. That kitten belongs to anyone who wants it.” I said, “Sir, this kitten lives here and you are caring for it.” “No!!” he answered. “If you don’t want it I’ll throw it into the street!” At that Stephanie started to cry and I knew that we had acquired a cat.

Scuffy the kitten had big ears and paws , and I thought that he would probably grow to be quite big, which he eventually did. He was a good companion to Stephanie, and slept in her room and loved being petted. When Stephanie was in high school and we began to foster young children, Scuffy was a great help in their adjustment to our home. Sometimes I felt that he was the only comfort a child had, and he seemed to know that, too.

Not everyone has known the truth of children’s value in the eyes of God. Jesus knew, and Mary and Joseph knew. The psalmist knew when he wrote, Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring, a reward from Him. (Psalm 127:3) Jesus came into the world as a child; Jesus, the very Word of God (John 1;1) was a wordless infant, just as every one of us once was. In Advent we think of the children more than ever. It’s a fun time, and a holy time as we prepare to celebrate God’s priceless gift. It’s a time when we tap the child within us and those among us to receive the blessing of God Himself.

Love in Him,

Prue

Little Children

Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven ad earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” (Luke 10:12)These words of Jesus were spoken to seventy some followers including the disciples who had returned from visiting towns and villages where Jesus planned to visit. The men who returned were full of joy at how well they had been received. The seventy returned with joy and said , “Even the demons submit to us in your name. ( Luke 10:7) Jesus’ great joy came from knowledge that His Father’s Spirit had been successfully conveyed by his followers and disciples.

When Jesus spoke out of joy, he was also speaking out of experience, for as a twelve year old boy he himself had stayed in Jerusalemfor three days while his parents searched for him. As a child Jesus spoke with the “wise and learned” teachers at the temple, to the amazement of his parents, as well as to the teachers and bystanders. He knew that there were receptive ears in Israel, and it brought him great joy. As a boy, Jesus had a foretaste of his future ministry, It was enough to allow him to return willingly to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. (Luke 2:51)

Many years later, when Jesus was teaching and healing, he spoke about children: Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these . Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it. ( Luke 18:15)

I have a sister who is ten years younger than myself. One Christmas I succeeded in convincing her that I was actually Mrs. Santa Clause in disguise, and that her sister Prudy was in the North Pole, but that at Christmas she would return; and I would go back to be with Santa. She believed it easily. She was only four years old. I was fourteen. I had a lot of fun deceiving her and talking about my life with Santa. At Christmas she was glad I had returned. When we were both grown up, I asked her why it had been so easy for her to believe me. “I never thought that you would lie to me,” she answered. “I didn’t think that you even could.”

Since then I have learned to value the simplicity of children, and the depth of Jesus’ understanding of childhood and the value of children. As Advent approaches, I think of it every year. Jesus’ words are so deeply true that they speak to our hearts two thousand years later.

Love in Him,

Prue

You may not be starting to cook today, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t start praying today for good food, the contact with loved ones, the needs of the world; and it’s not too early to pray for Peace on Earth, good will toward all mankind!

The Blog will return on Sunday.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Love and Thanks in Him,

Prue

In a sixth grade Sunday School class I was teaching we discussed the misery of the Hebrew people when they were slaves in Egypt. “It’s hard for us to understand what it might be like to be a slave, because we don’t own people in America any more.,” I said. A hand shot up and Geoffrey, a red haired boy said, “People can be legally owned here,” he said. “How so?” I asked. “They can be adopted,” he answered. I didn’t want to spend time discussing the difference between adoption and slavery, so I said, “adopted people can’t be bought and sold as slaves are.” I knew he had more to say, but I went on with the lesson.

The very next Sunday I was watching families as they left the church, and Geoffrey walked out between his father and mother, all three with bright red hair. “There’s certainly no mistaking whose boy he is!” I said to another teacher. “Don’t you know?” she asked. “know what?’ I wondered. “He’s adopted. They just signed the final papers at the courthouse,” she said. Geoffrey had wanted nothing more than to be owned by the couple who had adopted him. They certainly looked like a matched set, and were pleasant to see. He had lived with them long enough to know that he wanted to stay.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit,who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. (1Corinthians 6:19)

Better than anyone else in the classroom, including myself, Geoffrey understood the difference between slavery (being on the “ block” for adoption)and freedom (belonging to a family who loved him) He was emphatic that his parents absolutely owned him, by law. It was essential to him on every level. Better than the rest of us, Geoffrey could understand the covenant that God offered to the Hebrew people: I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God; and you will know that I, the Lord, am your God who has freed you from the burdens of the Egyptians, (Exodus 6:7)

Geoffrey’s parents offered him love and acceptance and identity, all things God offers to us in the Holy Spirit, and God through Christ offers us a brother through whom we can find fulfillment of our own need for companionship and love. I learned more that day than Geoffrey learned

Love in Him,

Prue

Visiting our grandchildren is always a pleasure. Once when we visited, our four year old grandson was wielding a newly aquired plastic sword, and he said to me, “I can’t really decide if I want to be David or Goliath.” I asked, “What’s the difference?” “well,” he said, Goliath had a great sword.” “Yes”, I answered; “but, you know that David ends up with Goliath’s sword,” “He does?!” “Yes,” I answered, “and he gets to keep it, too.” “Oh! Then I’ll be David,” he said. “Good choice,” I replied.

I had once heard a speaker say that the story of David and Goliath should be read to understand that we are all like the frightened and paralyzed Israelite soldiers at the sight of Goliath, needing a savior and acting as bystanders to the drama of David that was unfolding in front of them. As a contrast, the four year old saw in the story that the only question it presents is ‘who will have the sword in the end?’

Recently I read a statement from a theologian that it is impossible to grasp and understand the Bible without a full knowledge of the ancient Greek and Hebrew languages. Such a truth would leave most of the readers of the Bible unable to receive the blessing of reading accurately. Even St. Augustine, (354-430 AD) a teacher of the Bible and a Bishop in the the early church, never studied Greek, but contributed to the survival and the endurance of the church through the dark ages and even up to present time,as most denominations continue to look to Augustine for inspiration.

The Bible is thousands of years old, and every generation has looked for a fresh and new interpretation of the sacred book. Some of the most learned, like Augustine, have left us with wonderful insights: “The God who was able to thrust you out in proper shape from the womb, Himself wishes you to judge what can be done from what has been done, and to believe that He can also bring you alive from the tomb.” (Sermon 242a) Perhaps Psalm 16 was Augustine’s inspiration.: My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead. (Psalm 16:9)

I believe that God speaks to the humblest and the highest through His book whenever the Bible is read in simple faith and a personal desire to be close to the Spirit of God. From children to learned men and women, the word of life can open our spirits to a fuller participation in God’s life here on earth . Sometimes even the simplicity of children opens our eyes to God’s relationship with us. May we all decide to be like David.

Love in Him,

Prue

My father was a retired school administrator who loved gardening.One year he had a bumper crop from his hard work and was telling us how good it was to have so many fresh vegetables for the summer. “You’ll really like the asparagus when it gets ripe, and this is the best year so far for the tomatoes, and we’ll have a lot of green beans,” he said with satisfaction.

I responded with a hurtful joke about a man who died after surviving the 1889 Great Johnstown, Pennsylvania flood, and when he got to heaven he bragged to St. Peter about his experience in the flood. “Oh,” said St. Peter, let me introduce you to a friend of mine. His name is “Noah”.

My father paused, and I knew that I had hurt his feelings. “Ha,ha,ha,” he said dryly, and changed the subject. Afterward I was full of remorse and prayed that somehow the Lord would remove the sting of my “joke” from my father. The truth was that I really did like his garden, and knew what it was to be treated to freshly picked asparagus or tomatoes. I wanted a sign that I was forgiven.

The next time I talked with Dad, he told me a very gentle joke, and I laughed. I knew that my prayer was answered, and that God’s Holy Spirit had worked in the mind and heart of a man who Lived by faith, and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) The incident was a small one, but it stayed with me. I had read scriptures about the Lord forgiving sins, but had not thought of the sin being erased almost as soon as I spoke it and felt regret .

David, in Psalm 52, expressed some of my regret: Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” I hoped a “steadfast spirit” would keep me from repeating the smart-alack responses, not just toward Dad, but toward anyone.

This small event taught me much about my relationship to Christ and about the very limits I place on that relationship. I knew that God answers prayers, and that forgiveness was entirely in His character, but I always believed that I was still responsible for the effects of the sin. (In David’s case, his new-born son had to die.) The grace that I received was undeserved, and I had received as well a spiritual harvest. I had no regrets. It’s true that, The Father Himself loves you because you have loved me. (Jesus) (John 16:27)

Love in Him,

Prue